WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS DISCUSS STRATEGIC PLANNING OPTIONS

  

Washington County Commissioners held a workshop session today (Tuesday) to talk about the ongoing work to create a new 5-year strategic plan for the county.

EMS Director Kevin Deramus and Expo Director Harrison Williams, who are serving as facilitators in the effort, presented the court with information about a pair of outside entities that could lead the strategic planning initiative.  Commissioners also talked about their goals in what should be prioritized and how feedback from local stakeholders should be collected. 

Commissioner Kirk Hanath opened the discussion by saying an update to the county’s strategic plan is “overdue” and explaining that this workshop is part of the public interaction process to receive feedback on how to best set the county up for success in the future.

Deramus noted that many county departments do their own internal strategic planning and said this process is not to circumvent that, but to provide an “overarching umbrella” that all of those departments can feed into.   

Deramus said the county has looked at two different vendors who could do a strategic plan: Texas A&M University and Strategic Government Resources (SGR), based out of the Dallas area.  Deramus and Williams conducted interviews with the two entities and sent them questionnaires to gauge how they have handled strategic planning for counties or municipalities of similar size.

The benefits of working with Texas A&M, according to Deramus, would be the university’s reputation, expertise and the potential for a long-term collaboration.  However, the rough estimates for how much the partnership would cost are around double what SGR would cost, and the project timeline looks to be lengthier.  In addition, Deramus noted possible administrative issues and bias, given the proximity of the county and A&M and how much the two parties know about each other. 

On the flip side, Deramus said SGR is more cost-effective, has a solid reputation and has been highly responsive and eager to partner.  The downsides include a less local presence that could impact relatability to the community, and the possible risk of introducing county staff to other opportunities given SGR’s status as a recruiter.

According to Deramus, the “ballpark” cost range for the two choices was around $50,000 for A&M and between $20,000 - $28,000 for SGR.  He did say, though, that the cost would be influenced by how the planning process takes shape, such as how many community stakeholders the selected group meets with.  In terms of project timeline, A&M would take 18-24 months, while SGR could wrap up in 6-12 months. 

Hanath said this process needs to be inclusive and solicit input from a variety of community groups, such as local cities, school districts and nonprofits.  Commissioner Candice Bullock asked to hold some form of roundtable meeting with partners such as those and others like public safety and local businesses.  Commissioner Misti Hartstack Corn said the county should keep infrastructure issues like water in mind, depending on where the county goes with this planning.

Williams requested the help of commissioners to help identify stakeholders and break them down into categories so that the county and the organization the county selects to do the planning can meet with all of those stakeholders as separate groups, like infrastructure, emergency services and economic development.  He said it is important for the county to hear from segments of the community, but also the community as a whole.

Deramus said the next major step will be to formally entertain quotes to get better cost projections, but he also stated that whichever group the county wishes to move forward with should come meet with commissioners directly to allow the court to ask questions.   

In regular session, commissioners:

• Approved the Washington County EMS quarterly report.
• Did not hear a presentation of the Washington County Historical Commission’s annual report, which was postponed to a later time.
• Approved a subdivision variance request for a land division fronting Salem Road and FM 3456, consisting of 49.492 acres in Precinct 2. 
• Discussed a formal notice from Industry Telephone Company for new service line installation along the county right-of-way of Lillian Lane in Precinct 4.