The 10-year revision of the county’s Comprehensive Plan has been released for review and it contains a ton of information and statistics regarding Fairfield County.
Each of the 10 sections at the end has a list of “strategies” which are much closer to action items than strategies. Regardless, it is a long list of things the county wants to do or should do over the next decade. So how do we get from here to actual results?
Without a specific implementation plan, the Comprehensive Plan is nothing but a wish list, and results will be less than adequate. The final chapter is titled “Implementation Plan.” However, the strategies listed with Responsibility and Timeframe do not contain enough detail to achieve actual results.
So, who exactly is responsible when “Fairfield County” and several other entities are designated as responsible for a strategy?
A better implementation plan would have SMART goals or actions, meaning Specific (the goal and who, for example Economic Development Director to create new manufacturing jobs), Measurable (create 1,000 manufacturing jobs), Achievable (OK let’s settle for 250 jobs), Relevant (aligned with the county’s vision, in this case to develop a “thriving industrial sector”), and Time-bound (create the jobs by June 30. 2025).
With SMART goals and actions, we know who is accountable for achieving measurable results by when. Recognizing money and county staff’s work hours are finite, setting clear priorities for Fairfield County should be the first step, and then establish SMART goals and actions that align with our priorities.
Don Goldbach
Candidate, Fairfield District 2
