Action items and “big, hairy, audacious goals” were discussed at the strategic plan meeting for the Newton City Council and department directors Monday. The vision and mission statements were also confirmed with a slight change.
The mission statement had no changes and will remain: The mission of the City of Newton is to be the best provider of excellent services through a professional, innovative team dedicated to high quality performance and fiscal responsibility.
The vision statement had a slight change that was discussed at a previous regular meeting of the city council. Council member Steve Mullan suggested changing the phrase “shining star” to “rising star” to better relate to Newton being on the rise. The statement now reads: Newton is a progressive, family friendly community, a rising star of Central Iowa, and a place to call home.
To prepare for the meeting, council members and directors filled our a questionnaire to define action items for the group to discuss. Through those questions, eight categories were narrowed down including: economic development, public safety, community engagement, organization effectiveness, quality of life, financial stability, streets and infrastructure and technology.
From there, a list of important action items were placed in each category and as small groups, the council members and directors worked to prioritize the items from most to least important. The results will be figured and released at a later date.
The same is true of the “big, hairy, audacious goals” the group had previous made. The term “big, hairy, audacious goal” came from the book “Built to Last” by Jim Collins and is defined as clear and compelling, serves as a unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal.
A few goals the group set were a major westward expansion to exit 159, a State Fair family travel stop and to create a Maytag museum and restaurant in the old Maytag administration building. The goals were once again discussed and prioritized at the meeting.
To conclude, the group discussed sustainable funding for infrastructure in Newton. As previously presented at a regular city council meeting, options to obtain funding and the pros and cons of each were up for discussion. Results of the meeting will be released for public viewing after all data is compiled and organized.
Contact Staff Writer Jamee A. Pierson at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com.