Strategic Plan
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he most recent update to Casa Grande’s strategic plan names six areas of focus for the City’s future, including “quality of life.” “The strategic plan is the short-term planning document, which outlines goals, initiatives and projects, as well as directs annual budget resource allocations. The plan is a crucial guide to Casa Grande’s short-term achievements,” City Manager Larry Rains said. In the most recent update, “there was a substantial emphasis placed on quality-of-life initiatives.” In addition to quality of life, the other five areas of focus are marketing, education and workforce development, fiscal responsibility, economic opportunities, and healthy and safe community. Under the banner of quality of life, Rains said, “a blight removal program was initiated in the south and west portions of the community. The City obtained ownership and made improvements to Elliott Park, completed several sidewalk projects, completed alley-way cleanups in various locations around town and held several community events.” Police are targeting graffiti and rounding up unclaimed shopping carts. Efforts to prevent and clean up illegal dumping and homeless encampments also continue. The City has targeted access to the internet for 100% of residents. Bandwidth was expanded at the library and recreation center. As a result, Cox Communications and Mitrelink are expanding Wi-Fi access throughout the city. As some of the City’s overall strategic successes from the last couple of years, Rains cited the opening of the Community Recreation Center and improvements to Carr McNatt Park and Rancho Grande Roadway.
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“Many of our accomplishments are ongoing strategic objectives that will continue into our future,” Mayor Craig McFarland said. The 2018 plan named “infrastructure” as a focus area, but that was changed to “economic opportunities” in the update. Some of these goals include creating a transit plan, improving traffic flow on the city’s streets and automating the application and inspection process for building permits. “The focus area has evolved to include not only infrastructural updates but also to include improvements and plans that encourage economic development and expansion,” Rains said. “With the city’s current boom in relation to development in general, we didn’t really have another category that could highlight some of these achievements/projects.” As part of a healthy and safe community, the City aims to increase residents’ sense of security. Along that line, the Police Department has become certified in the National Incident-Based Reporting System, which opens the department up to more accurate crime statistics. Supporting efforts for education and workforce development, the City is working to increase the number of students attending post-graduate institutions or vocational education. To address fiscal responsibility, the City is developing a plan to ensure that employees are paid a competitive salary. This will make it easier to attract and keep workers with the right skills. The City’s marketing goals are to create an image of the City that residents and businesses rate favorably and to increase presence on the City’s social media sites.
CITY OF CASA GRANDE · THINKCASAGRANDE.COM
