Prince William begins strategic plan process, seeks residents’ input on development

Prince William County residents will still have the opportunity to provide input to the fiscal year 2021-2024 Strategic Plan after the Board of County Supervisors approved a revised timeline.

Updated every five years, the comprehensive plan guides the growth and development of the community. It articulates the goals and policies that the Board of County Supervisors relies on to make informed land-use development decisions and investments in public infrastructure. 

It also presents a blueprint for creating a great quality of place, quality of the community, and quality of life based on the county’s vision for its future.

David Sinclair, of the Prince William Office of Management and Budget, presented updates to the planning process during the Board’s June 2 meeting.

• The Board approved the originally proposed strategic planning process earlier this year at its January 28, 2020 work session. 
• As the original planning process entailed, a Strategic Plan Development Team (SPDT) was formed in February 2020. The team is comprised of 8 county residents and 7 county staff members, totaling 15 people. Each Board member appointed a resident from their district to the team.
• County staff serving on the team includes Lisa Mardon of Community Services, Tomaudrie Thomas of Criminal Justice Services, Ann Marie Maher of Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, Bryce Barrett of Planning, Jarad Phelps of Police, Courtney Tierney of Social Services and Paolo Belita of Transportation. Each of the mixed levels of staff from different departments will support focus areas throughout the planning process.
• The SPDT will assist with the planning process and draft the FY21-24 plan as well as the next strategic plan.

SPDT moves to virtual planning

Adjustments to the original plan included the implementation of a virtual development process. This change was enforced in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines and allows the SPDT to work together remotely. The initial team member responsibilities required them to attend a one-day training and team meetings.

The team will use community input to identify focus areas and priorities for the plan, develop a draft, and then finalize it after soliciting feedback on the draft from the community and the Board.

Revised Timeline

The county’s plans of engaging with the community will be carried online

• Online community surveys: June-August 2020
• Virtual community conversations in each district: Mid-June – Mid-September 2020
• Seeking feedback on the strategic plan once it is drafted; hosting virtual forums: Mid-December 2020 – January 2021

The community will have until mid-September of this year to provide input on the goals and priorities of the plan. The Board is scheduled to have a work session on September 15, where the public is usually allowed to provide input to the Board during public comment time. 

The work session will be the last public forum held before the SPDT begins drafting the Strategic Plan. The team will be tasked with completing the drafted Strategic Plan by December 2020. 

Beginning in January 2021, the community will have two months to review the draft and provide feedback on the drafted strategic plan and SPDT revisions. 

In February 2021, a finalized version of the Strategic Plan will be brought to the Board for adoption. County staff says that the adopted Strategic Plan will guide the fiscal year 2022 budget decisions.

The SPDT will begin working Thursday.

According to the county website, questions about the strategic plan can be emailed to [email protected] or directed to the Strategic Plan Coordinator, Kaye Wallace, whose phone number is 703-792-7058.

The presentation for the revised 2021-2024 Strategic Plan Development Process can be found here, while the presentation for the original Strategic Plan Development Process can be found here. Both can also be found on the county website.