Earlier this month, Jamestown’s Council drafted a list of “Focus Areas” for its 2026-2027 Strategic Plan. Residents will have an opportunity to provide input this Thursday evening, from 5pm to 7pm at Town Hall, during the first of several Budget Planning Sessions.

Strategic Plans are documents consisting of priorities, strategies and performance measurements used by North Carolina cities and towns for short- and long-term budget planning. They are developed with input from town council, staff and citizens, the latter of which – writes Heather Drennan of the UNC School of Government – is required in order for strategic planning to be effective: “Research has found that even if best practices in strategic planning are followed, to be truly accountable to the community, citizens must participate.“

In her article, “Effective Implementation of Strategic Plans in North Carolina Cities,” Drennan cites the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management: “It is equally important that policy-makers and professionals formulate the visions, goals, and objectives of their strategic plans with the benefit of public input. To do otherwise invites the criticism that even the most efficiently performing local governments lack relevance in the eyes of their citizens and reinforces perceptions of the citizen’s inefficacy.“

Jamestown’s Council started the process on on January 7th & 8th during a training/work session facilitated by Rebecca Jackson (an organizational consultant and adjunct professor at the UNC School of Government) that ended with a strategic-direction-setting exercise.

Due to time constraints, this final hour of the two-day event was very rushed and a bit jumbled, but we did manage to connect some of the dots to come up with a list of seven “focus areas.” We were then given three sticky dots to place on what we each felt to be the top three priority areas for the Town. The actions under each heading were compiled from yellow sticky notes written and placed by the facilitator (some of which are difficult to read), and from my handwritten notes. I also borrowed a bit of text from Strategic Plans that Jackson developed for the cities of High Point and Asheboro. Join us Thursday night, January 22nd, to provide input or comment on this list:

Here is the previous Council’s Strategic Plan as amended last January:

During the two-day, Jackson also stressed that strategic planning needs to include “meaningful input from staff, residents and partners.”

Two staff members attended the January 7th & 8th event (the town manager and clerk, who also organized it). Even though it was noticed as a Public Meeting, none of Jamestown’s residents showed up – understandable, given that it took place over two weekdays and a lot of the content was instructional in nature.

Here’s your next opportunity: Read through the (blue) draft of the “Strategic Plan Focus Areas,” compare them to last year’s Strategic Plan and Focus Areas, think about what matters most to you as a resident or business owner, and share your thoughts and concerns during Public Comments at the January 20th Town Council Meeting, at the January 22nd Public Budget Planning Meeting, or by calling/emailing the Council.

Jamestown’s 2026-2027 Strategic Plan will greatly impact financial and planning decisions made for the year ahead, and thus greatly impact you.