Village of Coal City’s Board of Trustees embarked upon a strategic planning session during the early months of 2009. This process, which was facilitated by the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies took many inputs, including those of the Village employees and appointed officials and paired them with the opinions of the Village of Trustees to determine a series of goals for the Board. The process of strategic development is to consolidate the opinions and concepts for the direction and miscellaneous projects on which the Board should focus its efforts on a short-term and long-term basis. In order to organize this information, the goals developed from the Strategic Planning process were reduced down to a categorized list, which provides a number of priorities to be completed in a reasonable time period.
Those goals are listed below. For a link to the complete strategic planning study and process, click Summary Report.
| SHORT-TERM ROUTINE |
| 1. Develop information campaign for the storm sewer referendum
2. Develop municipal budget to build credibility and transparency and understanding (include performance measures/develop consent agenda) 3. Determine funding for short-term facility needs 4. Address short-term maintenance needs of Village Hall and Village facilities 5. Implement personnel training in office; become technology savvy 6. Initiate sump pump disconnection program 7. Construct 1st Avenue 8. Complete office renovation and staffing additions for Administration to increase capacity 9. Acquire GIS capability for Public Works 10. Examine positions and ranks in the Police Department 11. Create an I-55 Mayor’s Caucus 12. Economic development plans need a business retention component 13. Update policies and procedures in the Police Department 14. Develop economic site on the web page 15. Prepare information packet for economic developers and new residents 16. Conduct quarterly crime prevention programs for the community 17. Conduct traffic study to evaluate stop sign usage 18. Upgrade, repair decorative street lights; adopt a standard design 19. Preserve and restore Village records including digitizing and preservation |
| LONG-TERM ROUTINE |
| 1. Explore revenue alternatives,sources for Village improvements and operations2. Complete sump pump disconnection program3. Expand/create external economic development marketing including web target searches
4. Improve communications/relations with all government jurisdictions in and adjacent to Coal City (schools, neighboring municipalities, etc.) 5. Continued growth of personnel and facilities to maintain services; e.g. street sweeping 6. Reed Road Industrial Plan completed 7. Succession planning within the Police and other departments 8. Conduct regional traffic study and implement traffic impact fee 9. Begin Police accreditation program 10. Develop crime scene processing capacity 11. Internal adjudication of code violation “P” Tickets 12. Institute a multi-family (rental) inspection program/licensing and single-family at change of occupancy |
| SHORT-TERM COMPLEX |
| 1. Begin storm sewer expansion and zeolite treatment
2. Conduct a water main assessment analysis (plus sewers) 3. Complete boundary agreements with Braidwood, Mazon, Channahon, and Braceville 4. Adopt/Finalize TIF Program downtown and Reed Road corridor 5. Initiate railroad quiet zone; conduct study, contact railroad 6. Complete storage facility for Public Works 7. Upgrade phone system and improve security in Village Hall and parks, and network computers 8. Develop a downtown renovation plan 9. Determine new street cross-section and application 10. Conduct ARCH/TEC needs assessment for Police Department 11. Acquire 10 acres at Marguerite for park land; acquire yellow house on Broadway for park expansion 12. Complete analysis of a Park District referendum |
| LONG-TERM COMPLEX |
| 1. Complete storm water improvements with available funding
2. Design installation of west wastewater sewer trunk line 3. Reconstruction of Broadway (north of Division) 4. Complete Border Agreements 5. Commercial and industrial expansion 6. Complete engineering and analysis of railroad grade separation 7. Plan and complete lagoon development/rehabilitation/ and re-use 8. Coal City annexation north of clubs 9. Commercial development and residential along Route 113 Corridor 10. Complete intergovernmental agreements and plans to widen and improve Reed Road between Broadway and I-55 11. Implementation of the downtown plan plus new update commercial elements to include new street lighting plan 12. Village annex westward towards Route 47 13. Establishment of recreational programming with a park district to include necessary facilities 14. See new municipal complex and park district sites designed and built to include many shared uses throughout. |
