Mission, Vision, Strategic Plan
Mission Statement
To provide quality services to our citizens while being fiscally responsible.
Vision Statement
To grow as a regional destination for employment, economic development, commerce
and cultural pursuits.
Core Values: Serving Cumberland County citizens with PRIDE
- Professionalism
- Respect
- Integrity with accountability
- Diversity
- Excellent Customer Service
Recognizing that all people are different, we treat everyone with dignity and serve
our diverse population with professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellent
customer service (PRIDE).
Strategic Plan Documents to Download
Goals, Objectives and Action Steps:
GOAL 1: Ensure a safe and healthy community by providing needed services to our
citizens in a timely manner.
Action steps:
- Conduct an assessment of all youth development services currently being provided
by county agencies and look for areas for collaboration and gaps in services.
- Provide youth development opportunities through 4-H, youth component of the County’s
Citizens’ Academy, library youth services, and volunteer programs through various
departments.
- Coordinate application and administration of grant funding available for youth development
initiatives.
- Advocate with the Board of Education for alternatives to the high school academic
track and seek an increased focus on vocational and military programs to combat
the drop-out rate.
Action steps:
- Continue well-structured Pre-trial Release and Day Reporting Center programs featuring
education classes, employment and life skills training, cognitive behavior intervention,
drug classes, alternative care services and curfew monitoring.
- Continue efforts to expand the Detention Center and address capacity issues.
Action steps:
- Implement emergency and non-emergency notification system.
- Work with the Public Safety Task Force on recommendations to improve emergency response.
- Consolidate Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) between City and County.
- Integrate Cape Fear Valley EMS ambulances into county CAD system to provide ambulance
location.
- Explore feasibility of a citizens watch telephone service.
- Upgrade FireHouse records management software for Cumberland County Fire Departments.
- Implement new hardware and communications software to decrease the response time
for Animal Control.
- Meet national standards for dispatch emergency calls.
- Plan for regional back-up 911 Center.
- Move toward Nextgen 911.
- Establish a consolidated Public Safety Answering Point between City of Fayetteville
and County within the next five years.
Action steps:
- Conduct community health needs assessments.
- Provide health, child/elder abuse prevention, mental health and nutrition education
programs and consumer resources for children, citizens and employees.
- Provide rabies clinics and encourage spay and neutering programs.
- Provide mental health and human services programs that improve citizen health and
well-being.
Action steps:
- Promote recycling efforts through marketing and education.
- Increase concrete recycling by purchasing a concrete crusher and promoting more
construction and demolition recycling.
- Establish County government-wide green programs and policies.
GOAL 2: Provide adequate infrastructure consistent with orderly growth of a dynamic
county.
Action steps:
- Inventory and assess all County facilities to determine usage, space availability,
feasibility of retrofit, regulatory compliance and condition of infrastructure.
- Develop a County facilities plan and explore opportunities to share and create needed
office space.
Action steps:
- Conduct an assessment of current transportation needs to include review of: usage,
points of interest, locales and best practices from other communities.
- Provide portal-to-portal transportation to rural residents.
- Continue road improvements through the thoroughfare planning process.
- Advocate for a direct flight from Fayetteville to Washington, D.C.
- Educate and encourage citizens to participate in ride-share/carpool programs.
Action steps:
- Enforce ordinance and code regulations in order to maintain a visually friendly
and safe environment.
- Enlist Master Gardeners to assist in beautification and green efforts by providing
educational opportunities and consultation services.
- Promote Master Gardener hotline for citizens to contact regarding horticultural
questions and concerns.
- Promote Community Development and other programs that offer rehabilitation assistance.
Action steps:
- Move forward with Gray’s Creek Water & Sewer District referendum.
- Seek resources to implement projects in other priority areas as outlined in Rural
Water Feasibility Study.
- Continue work of Safe Water Task Force.
- Update the Safe Water web page.
GOAL 3: Promote economic development by creating and retaining jobs, and providing
career opportunities, quality education, cultural and recreational services.
Action steps:
- Identify expectations for economic development through partnership with the Chamber
of Commerce to include existing incentive program and policy, utilization of existing
business sites and industrial parks, and job creation.
- Continue to support economic development and incentive plan for businesses.
- Promote development that is economically viable through responsible land use planning
and zoning.
- Continue to support affordable housing development.
- Provide engineering technical assistance to Chamber regarding existing business
and industrial parks.
- Establish a user-friendly customer referral process to include a web page to answer
frequently asked business-related questions.
- Explore assigning an economic development case manager to provide information and
referral to new and existing businesses as they navigate the County’s permitting
and other regulatory processes.
- Provide small business programs, databases, job and career centers, and skills training.
Action steps:
- Utilize the Working Lands Protection Plan as a guide to promote the long-term use
of agricultural land.
- Assist in the expansion of agriculture to include new markets, traditional commodities,
and farmers markets in order to increase revenues of local farm products.
- Promote programs for young farmers and students to encourage the growth and development
of careers in agriculture.
- Promote agri-tourism as economic opportunities for farmers.
- Promote the expansion of the Cape Fear River Trail.
Action steps:
- Provide diverse events and programs to entertain, educate and enlighten.
GOAL 4: Educate, inform and engage employees, citizens, elected and appointed officials
through effective and efficient communications.
Action steps:
- Develop a Cumberland County Citizens’ Academy for residents to learn more about
their county government and encourage county employees to participate.
- Continue to participate in Institute for Community Leadership and the Chamber’s
Leadership Fayetteville.
- On application, ask applicants for county’s boards and commissions to indicate if
they have completed any of the leadership academies.
- Engage and educate citizens through public forums in various parts of the county
on important issues.
Action steps:
- Develop additional online services for citizens such as automated employment applications.
- Establish a web team to update and enhance the County’s public web site to ensure
ease of use and posting of pertinent information i.e., Board of Commissioners committee
agendas and minutes.
- Expand use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
- Develop a telecommunications strategic plan.
- Update GIS website.
Action steps:
- Update and enhance Intranet and ensure all departments have access to site.
- Hold monthly meetings with department heads and their administrative assistants
to provide updates and facilitate dissemination of information to employees.
- Determine which employees in each department do not have access to e-mail and ensure
they receive county-wide employee e-mail notices.
- Repeal the existing personnel code and adopt the contents therein as a master County
personnel policy.
- Update Human Resources policies by researching existing policies and revising or
developing new policies and posting.
- Update Human Resources web page to a customer-service focus providing service offerings
and contact information.
- Utilize performance management evaluation system to enhance effective communications
between supervisors and employees.
Action steps:
- Develop and approve a county strategic plan by April 2011. Review plan after budget
process and provide update. Provide annual “State of the County” update.
- Develop a committee to monitor strategic planning.
- Display mission, vision, and core values in all departments.
- Set and work toward specific departmental strategic or work plans and report progress
on a regular basis.
- Incorporate any applicable County goals, objectives and action steps into departmental
reports to appropriate boards and staff.
Action steps:
- Maintain schedule of joint meetings between Commissioners and various other governing
boards.
- Collaborate with municipalities to adopt a unified Animal Control code.
GOAL 5: Employ motivated, professional and well-trained personnel who offer excellent
customer service with PRIDE – Professionalism, Respect, Integrity with accountability,
Diversity and Excellent Customer Service.
Action steps:
- Seek and implement automated systems that enhance or create new service delivery
methods. For example, the state’s NC FAST integrated system at Social Services.
- Reintroduce and promote the Employee Suggestion Program to motivate employees to
develop innovative ideas and suggestions to save the county money or otherwise make
service delivery more efficient.
Action steps:
- Post directories in all departments with name and contact information for director
and/or key staff.
- Respond to complaints from public within 24 hours.
- Ensure comment box suggestions, webmaster e-mails and other feedback are reviewed
and responded to by appropriate staff member.
Action steps:
- Develop courses that target supervisors’ and employees’ training needs and promote
customer service, teambuilding and leadership.
- Automate registration, tracking, monitoring, and reporting of training courses.
- Support department-specific licensure and certification training needs.
Action steps:
- Recognize employees at the departmental level.
- Develop mechanisms to recognize departments and employees countywide for their achievements.
Reintroduce and promote the Employee/Team Recognition Program designed to spotlight
outstanding employees and teams for the work they do to strengthen the quality of
life of our citizens.
Action steps:
- Update salary/compensation plan after conducting a labor market pay analysis.
- Update position classification plan and salary schedule to incorporate labor market
data in pay ranges and develop pay policies that allow for movement within the pay
range.
