Some city councilmembers were less than impressed with the progress toward completing a five-year “Strategic Framework” that was reported at the Thursday, Sept. 28 City Council work session.
The presentation covered a lot of territory dating back to Feb. 2022, when the process reportedly started, and continuing through Feb. 2023, when, as part of this five-year Strategic Framework development, the City Council wrote a new vision statement and, after a lengthy discussion, agreed on seven council priorities.
City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba reminded the council that this was not a Strategic Plan, but a “Strategic Framework.”
Jaiyeoba said, “Until we understand the strategy it is difficult for us to be operational. However, that is why we are deliberately not calling this a strategy plan, it’s a framework around the priorities that Council set.”
Jaiyeoba added, “There is already a series of plans that the city has, that is not unique to Greensboro but there is no umbrella around it and every plan is doing its own thing.”
City Councilmember Zack Matheny said about the presentation, “That is not strategic planning, that is an internal audit of projects that have fallen through the cracks. You’re not really planning anything. You’re going around and following up on what is already being funded.”
Greensboro Human Rights Department Director Love Jones, who is on staff Strategic Planning Team, said, “The reality is that in order to plan we have to have an inventory of what happened so that you don’t duplicate efforts or repeat processes that are ineffective. So the reach back is to make sure that as we lunge forward with these projects that we have a solid footing for what has worked versus what hasn’t.”
Matheny said, “I look at this City Council and strategic planning as what we want to do to move forward and y’all are keeping an inventory to keep us in check so we don’t duplicate efforts.”
Councilmember Sharon Hightower said, “We do a lot of talking but we don’t do a lot of action. That’s going to be the critical component of all this, how we act on it.”
Reach back and lunge forward. Got it.
I’ll circle back to you on that.
If a face can reflect a person’s inner self, you can see it in this photograph.
Thank you Counciman Matheny! You are the only one that is not fooled by this awful City Manager. He talks a lot, but not much seen in results. He avoids the public. He has criticized every single thing about our wonderful City. He needs to go. He makes a lot of money for smooth talking. Some of us have been in the business long enough to know an effective leader versus a talk the talk but do nothing person not interested in actually working for the people. Please find a new manager!
Sounds like a lot of mental masturbation, a whole lot of fiddling but not much of a useful result….
Will somebody please tell me why this damn fool was hired in the first place??? Why does Greensboro need to hire somebody else’s GARBAGE?
This is government. . . .plenty of recommendations, and most assuredly benefits for each council district, but it’s the old saying of the blind leading the blind.
If Jaiyeoba was a smart man, who collects nearly $300,000 a year, my thoughst are he still doesn’t understand how to guide the council on their priorities. But then again, each council member wants their “district” to be fully funded so they can get relected again. See how this works?
Seems like several writers would like to convert our $300,000 per annum manager into an annuitant. I wonder if they have considered how much that would cost? But hope springs eternal. Better luck next time?