In what appears to be a case putting the cart before the horse, the main topic at the Greensboro City Council work session on Thursday, Feb. 16 is “Strategic Framework.”

On Thursday, Feb. 2 and Friday, Feb. 3, the City Council held its annual retreat and spent much of the time, when they weren’t working on their artistic creations, on developing strategy and priorities.

At this work session, the presentation will explain to the City Council why having a strategic framework is important.  However, the PowerPoint presentation does not include a slide on why it is important to represent that strategy for the future of Greensboro with artwork.

The first topic of the presentation is titled, “Why Do We Need a Strategic Framework.”

The first point is “North Star.”  The facilitator at the retreat used the term “north star” over and over and over again in her presentation.

The other points are:

  • Provides Context To Council’s Strategic Priorities
  • Incorporates Community Feedback
  • Connects plans and priority with mission and vision
  • Guides staff and council
  • Informs decision making and financial planning
  • A Living Document – Five-Year Focus

After spending two days setting City Council priorities, the City Council will also now be told, “Why City Council Priorities Matter.”

Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to explain to the City Council why priorities matter before asking the City Council to spend two days setting priorities.

According to the PowerPoint, “Why City Council Priorities Matter:”

Priorities from top leaders influence:

  • Community Connection
  • Community Understanding
  • Short-term execution of long-term plans
  • The allocation of resources to meet goals

Priorities are developed based on the following:

  • Community Feedback – What does the community expect?
  • Staff Feedback- What will it take to meet those expectations?

Priorities are a:

  • A guidepost for service
  • A report card to the community

So now that the City Council has established its priorities, it learns what they do and why they are important.