The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners sat down for their very first Strategic Planning Committee meeting, and the public was there to see how the plan would come together. Historically the strategizing was done out of the view of the public.

Administrator John Gibbs took to the podium with a prepared slideshow on the current strategic plan. He shared how the Board can empower departments to tell their story so that the public can see what their tax dollars are funding.

• The current Strategic Plan is from 2022–2023

• The plan is narrative based with a lot of text

• Many items do not have due dates or measurables, making it difficult to track how tax dollars are spent or employee time is used

• The plan was created in house and is not visible to the public

• The plan is a good foundation on which to start and expand

• Instead of “stand-alone metrics,” the proposed new plan would be “cost of service”

• Cost of service would allow departments to capture and highlight how each dollar is spent and each staff resource is used

• Cost of service would help us compare Ottawa County to standards, neighboring counties, and past performances

• Instead of being “narrative driven,” the proposed plan would be “data driven”

• Data driven allows for more visuals and graphs, as well as due dates for projects which would aid in tracking

• Numbers and graphs can be an easier way to tell a story and demonstrate how a dollar is being spent

• Instead of being “PDF/document driven,” the proposed plan would be “dashboard driven”

• With a dashboard, users would be able to see visually and in real time, with more measurables and metrics

• Instead of “in-house creation,” the County Administrator proposed updating the plan with the help of a vendor that specializes in strategic plans

• The commissioners and departments would still give input and have planning events, as historically have been done, but a vendor would offer an independent perspective

• The plan would give access to specialized infrastructure, data, and tools, as well as reduce the burden on staff

The new proposed Strategic Plan would empower departments to illustrate their work. The plan would create an easier way to bring their wins to the Board during updates, with the additional ability of being able to voice what is needed to reach their goals. A few commissioners mentioned how excited they were about this new plan and the transparency it would give to the citizens of Ottawa County.

Administrator Gibbs hopes to have the new Strategic Plan in place by the summer of 2024.

January 23, 2024 Ottawa County Strategic Planning Committee Meeting

As always there were multiple reports given at the Health & Human Services Committee meeting to update the Board on what was happening in the departments.

• Community Mental Health, given by Lynn Doyle

• Community Action Agency, given by Jennifer Brozowski

• Department of Veterans Affairs, given by Jason Schenkel

• Environmental Health, given by Spencer Ballard, Kim Wolters, Adam Zantello, and Drew Shaw

The public had no comments and no votes were taken during this committee meeting.

The Talent & Recruitment Committee conducted their meeting in just over eight minutes.

• Commissioner Gretchen Cosby was elected as Vice Chair

• Commissioners Allison Miedema, Gretchen Cosby, and Lucy Ebel were elected to the Interview Sub-Committee

• Richard Kanten and David Parnin were nominated to the Lakeshore Regional Entity Substance Use Disorder Oversight Policy Board

Ottawa County Board of Commissioners
Strategic Planning Committee
Health & Human Services Committee
Talent & Recruitment Committee
January 23, 2024

Ottawa County Administration Building
12220 Fillmore Street
West Olive, MI 49460