Unlike budgets and audits, the NRS does not mandate local governments adopt strategic plans. Yet “when it comes to getting things done as a local government, (we are told that) two of the most critical variables are budgets and timeframes. Thus to be as efficient as possible, (we are told that our local government)…need(s) an ironclad strategic plan…that showcases how (it wi)ll spend (its) local budget(,) and (its)…subcontractors will meet timeframe deliverables on public projects.”¹

Thus “a local government(‘s) strategic plan is the process of assessing and addressing the current situations in (one’s) area as they pertain to critical physical infrastructure, regional natural disasters, government technology, cyber-security, the health of (its) constituents, and other variables that…have a direct impact on (one’s) neighborhood and constituents. Once your local government identifies the largest threats for your neighborhood, (we are told that) the key to a high-quality government strategic planning process is forming a plan for mitigating risk and completing infrastructure projects as cheaply and quickly as possible…Without a game plan (we are told that)…our locality is more likely to blow through…departmental budgets and miss deadlines for infrastructure projects. Strategic Plans (allegedly) allow…governmental officials to give serious consideration to the future before building a roadmap that will help (its) team…achieve goals that matter to (its) constituents.”¹ Thus “so called” experts counsel that government “owe(s) it to (its) constituents to have a local government strategic plan, along with examples and tips for crafting the best plan possible.”¹

Understanding the Government Strategic Planning Process: We are told that the “failure to prepare is preparing to fail…Our constituents deserve a well-thought out game plan for how their tax dollars are being spent, and how their elected officials are bringing about meaningful change. (We are told that our local government needs to) take the time to strategic plan across the entirety of (one’s) municipal or county government by considering the largest risks and how (we)…address them. Answer big questions regarding costs and timelines, and set actionable (performance indicators) to turn (one’s) plan into action.”¹

Whew. What a litany of hyperbole!

So What’s Typically Included in a Governmental Strategic Plan? We are told that “our local government will need to consider national issues that pertain to town and city governments across the United States as well as regional issues that more directly impact your community than localities elsewhere.”¹ “Strategic plan(s) focus…on five critical questions that all organizations must ask. 1. What is (y)our Vision and Mission? 2. What Services do (you) provide? 3. Who are (y)our Customers and what do they value? 4. What have been (y)our Results? 5. What’s (y)our Go-Forward Plan?”² Thus we are told to “look at the (below) common features of a local government(‘s) strategic plan:”¹

1. “Voices Across Government Departments & Roles…While government leadership should play a major role throughout the strategic planning process, a true risk mitigation effort needs to consider various perspectives and potential future outcomes. Working with a diverse rank of government officials across departments and leadership levels will allow (one) to craft a well-rounded strategy.”

2. “Consider Your Mission…Our local government needs to build (its) plan around a general mission statement. At a high-level, what are the issues…our government is most determined to address? What upcoming public projects matter most to (we) constituents? Giving these questions serious thought…allow(s our local government)…to articulate the key components of (its) strategy in a simple mission statement.”¹

3. Make an “Holistic Risk-Assessment…Every government has risks to consider and address with policy and infrastructure projects. A holistic view of the various threats to…our locality (should) include: national Issues…constituent frustrations…economic hardship…natural disasters…cyber attacks…intergovernmental challenges…(and,) public policy.”¹

4. Develop “A Refined List of Issues…Once (we)’ve considered all of the broad risks, it’s time to prioritize the most important ones and build…our strategic plan to address them.”¹

5. Develop “An Actionable Game Plan…Now that (we)’ve (allegedly) collectively agreed on the major issues, it’s time to consider the course of action to address them…Our local government(‘s) strategic planning needs to articulate where departmental budgets will be allocated in coming months and time frames for getting work completed along with actionable strategies for hitting these deadlines.”¹

6. “Use Measurable KPIs…To assess…our performance, (we)’ll need to determine which key performance indicators (‘KPIs’) matter most in…our strategic plan and set measurable goals for each. (Such as)…How much is this public infrastructure project expected to cost? How long is this government project going to take? Are constituents happy with the efforts being taken by our locality? Gauging timelines, public perception, project budgets, and other key aspects of a strategic plan will make it easy to see if (we)’re nailing…our goals or missing the mark.”¹

7. “Put…Our Plan Into Action…Upon…completion of…our plan and approval of the policymakers for budgets and timeframes pertaining to…key projects, it’s time to take action on implementing…government projects.”¹

8. “Get Back to the Drawing Board…Taking strategic action to address risks obviously involves some risk in itself. (We are told we)’ll need to…pivot if issues arise with meeting timeline and budgetary goals.”¹

The District’s Strategic Plan: At the Board’s meeting of February 17, 2015, former trustee Bea Epstein “point(ed) out to everyone on the (then)…board that there (wa)s a strategic plan in place that was designed as far back as the most recent one (she had) got(ten her) hands on was 2010.” Notwithstanding, commencing “in January through May (of) 2015…(the) Board of Trustees felt it was important to carefully review and establish a new strategic direction³. (Thus) the District[‘s General Manager (“GM”)] hired…consultant (CoralBridge Partners⁴) to help create a strategic plan.

“Strategic Planning and Team Building Sessions were…initiated…in February 2015 (and)…facilitated by CoralBridge Partners on February 17, March 5 and March 6, 2015. CoralBridge Partners (then) compiled a report summarizing the results of these sessions which were reviewed by the Board of Trustees at their March 25, 2015 meeting…The report provided an overview of the Board’s dialogue regarding the District’s strengths and challenges and recommended a model that sync(ed) strategies with operations and serve(d) as a structural template for the planning process. In addition, the report documented the process for updating the District’s Mission and Vision statements.

The Board of Trustees spent a great deal of time during the facilitation process reviewing operational goals and action steps/tactics for many of the District’s venues. The report summarized this discussion and documented the goals and actions steps…At the June 24,2015 Board of Trustees workshop…the District’s (GM) brought back a recommended process for completing the Strategic Planning Process…Time was set aside at the June 24, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting, along with the July 9, August 5 and September 3, 2015 Board workshops, to complete the Strategic Plan…On September 3, 2015 the Board reviewed the Final Draft Strategic Plan⁵…(And on) September 23, 2015…(it) was adopted.”⁶ This adoption was concurrent with adoption of Policy No. 1.1.0 wherein the District “recognize(d) the importance of using some form of strategic planning to provide a long-term perspective for service delivery and budgeting…

While there is not a single best approach…(we are told that) a sound strategic planning…process…include(s) the following key steps: 0.1 Initiate the…Process…0.2 Prepare a Mission Statement…0.3 Access Environmental Factors…0.4 Identify Critical Issues…0.5 Agree on a Small Number of Long Range Principles…0.6 Develop Strategies to Achieve Long Range Principles…0.7 Develop Objectives…0.8 Create an Action Plan…0.9 Incorporate Performance Measures…0.11 Implement the Plan…0.12 Monitor Progress…(and,) 0.12 Reassess the…Plan.”⁷ So given all of the above, let’s take a look at some of the key components of the Plan the District adopted⁶:

The District’s “Vision Statement:” “With passion for quality of life and our environment, Incline Village General Improvement District will enhance the reputation of our community as an exceptional place to live, work, invest, and play.”

The District’s “Mission Statement:” ‘The Incline Village General Improvement District delivers exemplary recreational experiences and provides the highest level of water, sewer, and solid waste services while striving for fiscal and environmental sustainability.”

The District’s “Value Statement:” “We are dedicated people providing quality service, for our community and environment, with integrity and teamwork.”

The District’s “Mantra:” “One Division˒ One Team.”

The District’s Characterization to The World’s Tourists That Incline Village Represents Their “Tahoe Place:” Although not a key component, at or about the same time that a strategic plan was being developed, the District changed its web Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) from ivgid.org to yourtahoeplace.com. Google ivgid.org and see what you get. You will discover IVGID. Apparently District staff wanted members of the public to believe our home is their “Tahoe place” even though they don’t live here.

So What Was The Cost The District Incurred to Develop This Plan? Bottom line, a $15,000 fee⁸; plus $4,083.50 in expenses such as CoralBridge Partners‘ air fares, lodging, ground transfers, parking, meals, printing costs and resort fees⁹; plus the cost of a court reporter to transcribe the Board’s meeting of February 17, 2015¹⁰ where CoralBridge’s Partners made their initial presentation; plus $4,855.76 to the Hyatt Hotel to rent one of its conference rooms; plus the hidden cost of unreimbursed internal services staff time¹¹. All told nearly $30,000 if not more!

And according to the District’s Public Records Officer (“PRO”), the Board never had the opportunity to weigh in on the propriety of any of these expenses as they were incurred pursuant to our GM’s discretionary spending authority¹².

So now you know!

Why We Think The District’s Strategic Plan is Worthless: If you’re interested in learning why we think the District’s Strategic Plan is worthless, you’re invited to click here.

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1. Go to https://www.govpilot.com/blog/government-strategic-planning-examples-tips.
2. See page 2 of the packet of materials prepared by staff in anticipation of the Board’s March 5, 2015 meeting (“the 3/5/2015 Board packet”).
3. See page 89 of the packet of materials prepared by staff in anticipation of the Board’s May 21, 2015 meeting (“the 5/21/2015 Board packet”).
4. According to the principals of CoralBridge Partners, as stated in their letter agreement of February 3, 2015, their firm represents “a boutique, Chicago based firm with a national presence (which)…champion(s) organizational health and employee engagement. (Their) work uniquely focuses on developing leaders, enhancing organizational and team performance, and leveraging the power of constructive conflict management.”
5. Go to https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/resources/district-strategic-plan.
6. See page 58 of the District’s proposed 2016-17 operating budget following page 134 of the packet of materials prepared by staff in anticipation of the Board’s May 18, 2016 meeting (“the 5/18/2016 Board packet”).
7. See Policy No. 1.1.0.
8. See that Feburary 3, 2015 contract between CoralBridge Partners and former General Manager (“GM”) Steven Pinkerton.
9. See CoralBridge Partners‘ March 6, 2015 Strategic Planning and Team Building invoice.
10. Approximately $2,000.
11. We have explained these costs at our What Are The District’s Internal Services discussion.
12. For a more comprehensive explanation, see our Have We Abdicated Away Essentially All District Powers to Unelected Staff discussion.