CLEARLAKE, Calif. – During a special meeting held on Thursday, the Clearlake City Council approved a newly created strategic plan for the city and conducted its midyear review of the budget.

Finance Director Chris Becnel worked with a city council ad hoc committee made up of Mayor Russ Perdock, Vice Mayor Bruno Sabatier and city staff members to create the new strategic plan, presented at the Thursday evening special meeting.

“The Strategic Plan aims to further the organizational vision of the city of Clearlake,” said Becnel. “The ability of the organization to accomplish its goals depends on that organization’s capacity as measured by its available resources.”

The four main council goals addressed in the strategic plan included:

– Make Clearlake a visibly cleaner city;
– Make Clearlake a statistically safer city;
– Improve the quality of life in Clearlake with improved public facilities; and
– Improve the image of Clearlake.

Secondary, supporting goals included:

– Ensure fiscal sustainability of city;
– Update policies and procedures to current government standards; and
– City policies will support economic development.

“The new strategic plan will focus our efforts on those things that are in line with the council’s goals of improving our city,” said City Manager Greg Folsom.

The city council also approved various budget adjustments based on the first six months of city operations this fiscal year.

The budget adjustments proposed and approved were primarily in support of the council’s goals of making the city safer, improving public facilities and ensuring fiscal sustainability.

The council approved additional funding for Animal Control; approved funding for Public Works in anticipation of work to be performed this summer under Measure V, the road tax measure; authorized the budget adjustment for the purchase of replacement police vehicles; and authorized additional funds to be placed into reserves.

Councilman Nick Bennett asked that there be a report during the annual budget workshops discussing accomplishments towards meeting the goals so that the council can monitor and make appropriate changes as needed.