Background
In the past 30+ years, Fort Lauderdale has had only two broadbased visioning processes.
One was in 1982, when the Commission and staff embarked on a goal-setting process, which led to the "Ft. Lauderdale 1994" Mission Statement and the "Shine On" Bond Issue of 1986. While the process started internally, it was devolved to the citizens in a broad, diverse and unifying process of citizen subcommittees formed to prioritize the concepts of the Mission Statement and recommend projects for inclusion in the bond issue, which funded many of the improvements throughout the City that help make Fort Lauderdale special today.
In 1995, FAU sponsored an "American Assembly", a weekend-longvisioning process, for the City. The report and recommendations of the Assembly were impressive (and much is still relevant today), but implementation by the City did not seem to match the vision.
With newly elected leadership for the City, the time is right for a new visioning process. Although the current economic environment is challenging, consensus, vision and priorities are crucial, even in times of budget-cutting, to ensure that we preserve and protect the things most important to our Community.
"Ad Hoc Visioning Planning Group"
The ad hoc "Visioning Planning Group", which includes citizens involved in most segments of our business community, non-profit organizations, former City Officials, and neighborhood residents through out the City, has been working to prepare a proposal for a community-oriented visioning process for the new Mayor and Commission to consider.
"Outline of Possible Strategic Planning Process"
A sub-committee reviewed a variety of visioning processes, and has prepared a detailed suggested process specific to Fort Lauderdale, as set forth in the "Outline of a Possible Strategic Planning Process for the City of Fort Lauderdale".
The outline suggests an ambitious four-step process: from broad community input, to defining a vision, to working with the City staff and the Commission on a realistic plan and then monitoring implementation of the plan.
First Step: "Visioning Workshop"
To initiate a community-oriented visioning process, the Commission could appoint a representative group of citizens to organize a "Visioning Workshop", at which various visioning ideas could be reviewed and discussed, with a report back to the Commission as to recommendations for the Commissions's consideration and decision as to how to proceed.
Conclusion
Fort Lauderdale is facing difficult economic times. In the past, we have worked together as a community to deal with the challenges and to protect and enhance the quality of life in our City. We've done it before, so surely we can do it again.The Ad Hoc Visioning Planning Group
