Mission

Coconino County is a land of vast and endless beauty, and home to many cultures.

With energy and enthusiasm, we commit to:

• Conscientiously serve our community and provide our citizens with accessible local government;
• Provide the most effective and efficient delivery of services;
• Be sensitive to the needs of ALL citizens in our changing world;
• Challenge, recognize and support our employees because they are the backbone of the County;
• Protect, preserve and care for our environment.

In our second century of public service, we envision our citizens and staff proud of their government and its accomplishments. We look forward to the future—confident that working together in an atmosphere of cooperation and trust, we will meet each new challenge with creativity and integrity.

Values

We are responsible and accountable to all, and our actions are guided by these core values:

• Honesty - Everything we say and do is based in truth.
• Respect - We value differences and treat everyone with kindness and civility.
• Integrity - We honor our commitments.
• Responsibility - We take ownership of our actions and     their results.
• Community - We share goals, solve problems cooperatively, and promote a spirit of belonging within the organization.

Leadership Philosophy

Each employee has a shared responsibility for the leadership, management and outstanding performance of our organization.

• To achieve excellence, we promote opportunities for self-development, encourage the use of each individual's talent, knowledge and creativity, and support recognition of achievement.
• As a result, higher performance is achieved by dedicated colleagues who are interdependent with a common sense of purpose and a shared vision of success.

Vision

In partnership with our residents, Coconino County is a dynamic community connected by shared values of sustainability, cultural appreciation, environmental stewardship and a spirit of progressiveness.  We are a strong, diverse organization that is flexible, responsive and innovative.

Strategic Planning and the Strategic Budget Process

The leadership of Coconino County uses six strategic priority areas to focus their resources and evaluate the effectiveness of County programs and services. While these areas were identified by the County Leadership, teams of employees further defined the outcomes for each area and presented maps showing all the causal factors influencing each area to County leadership. Using these maps and the suggestions of the employee teams, the County leadership adopted the following statements of the desired outcome for that area and measurable indicators of progress to demonstrate to citizens what is influencing our ability to achieve those outcomes in Coconino County. For each area the County Leadership also adopted strategies where the County could seek to have the greatest influence to provide services and resources in the FY11 Coconino County budget.

 Community Vitality: Coconino County supports citizens in taking responsibility for themselves, their families, their neighbors, and their communities. Government and citizens collaborate to care for the most vulnerable populations and to nurture the healthy development of youth and families. All citizens live in communities where they are valued, connected to others, and their diversity and uniqueness are respected.

Indicators of Progress:

• Poverty Rate
• High School Graduation Rate
• Percentage of Residents that are satisfied with the quality of life in Coconino County (future measure when we are able to continue the County Citizens Survey).

Strategies for FY11 Budget:

• Increase efficiencies and reduce redundancies by pooling resources through internal and external partnerships.
• Create opportunities for citizens to connect, interact and work collectively to support each other and strengthen their communities.
• Create and maintain resources for programs that provide a “safety net” for vulnerable populations.
• Support arts, culture and life-long learning and enrichment opportunities to enhance the quality of life for all citizens.
• Create the service delivery infrastructure and technology to connect employees and citizens to resources provided by the County.
• Develop and strengthen programs to encourage youth and family engagement in their communities.

Cultural And Natural Resources: Coconino County provides visionary leadership celebrating, enhancing and sustaining cultural and natural resources. Coconino County preserves, conserves, manages and protects our cultural heritage and natural assets now and for future generations.

Indicators of Progress:

• Percentage of public and private land in Coconino County with cultural and natural resource management plans and/or guidelines. (Note: this revised measure will need to be developed).
• Number of building projects that are processed through the County Sustainable Building Program.
• Number of local and regional partnerships in which the County participates supports or convenes to accomplish cultural and natural resource management (To be developed, not currently measured).

Strategies for FY11 Budget:

• Develop County cultural and natural resource management guidelines and plans for County-owned lands.
• Participate in, support and convene planning efforts and implement partnerships to achieve collaborative cultural and natural resource management on non-County owned lands.
• Invest in internal resources that allow the County to better understand and respond to trends, threats and pressures.
• Form an initiative to integrate existing County programs, positions and collaborative efforts with our partners that are focused on achieving cultural, natural resource and sustainability outcomes.

Economic Vitality and Development: Coconino County is a leader in developing collaborative opportunities for establishing, retaining, building and attracting vital businesses that are compatible with our region and its vision for the future. Residents have many options to earn livable wages and enjoy rewarding work.

Indicators of Progress:

• Unemployment rates in each community
• Median wages compared to cost of living
• Employability of the workforce (Note this would be a composite of a number of measures)

Strategies for FY11 Budget:

• Develop business retention and attraction through a single point of access to information and resources for potential and existing employers.
• Provide leadership and facilitate regional economic development by fostering collaborative opportunities for education, workforce training and business partnerships.
• Promote existing programs and seek additional opportunities to improve personal and business financial literacy and management.
• Develop community assistance for rural areas using proven approaches such as the Arizona Hometown Competitiveness model.
• Promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation measures.
• Promote opportunities to train new and existing members of the workforce in foundational skills (basic academic and ‘soft’ skills) to complement technical skills.
• Review county ordinances and zoning to streamline community development approvals and other processes.

Organizational and Fiscal Health: Coconino County implements sound financial and organizational management to achieve a strong and flexible County government, thus meeting the current and future needs of residents. Citizens experience operational accountability and seamless accessibility to services. Efficient systems and an innovative, flexible, diverse, well-trained and responsive work force are foundational for County service delivery.

Indicators of Progress:

• Ratio of employee retention in Coconino County as compared to the national average.
• Citizen and customer satisfaction (Note this would be a composite of departmental measures that would be developed until we are able to continue the County Citizens Survey).
• Balanced budget based on a ten-year plan (while not a specific number, this would be a formula to educate about the County’s ten year plan and budget strategy).

Strategies for FY11 Budget:

• Continue a commitment to a positive organizational culture including implementing best practices such as succession planning, cross-training, leadership planning, team building, knowledge management, etc. Keep it a top priority and allocate funds as mission critical.
• Educate and engage in dialogue with employees on the County’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities and how every employee contributes to our success.
• Encourage transparency and clarity at all levels and between all levels of the organization.
• Align and implement planning efforts to balance revenues and expenditures, create and maintain mission critical infrastructure and processes; and develop accountability around the County’s Strategic Priority Area Outcomes and Results.
• Recruit, train and retain a qualified work force.
• Position Coconino County as a regional leader and role model for all government using strategic partnerships.
• Engage citizens in planning, setting priorities, addressing challenges, sharing stories and expanding the understanding of the value of county services.
• While maintaining our long-term conservative and highly effective budget strategy, actively expand revenues to increase service and value to citizens, as appropriate.

Public Health: CCoconino County strives for residents and visitors to enjoy an optimal quality of life in clean, healthy communities. Prevention, education and health care are accessible to all, contributing to long, healthy lives. Everyone works together to prevent or respond to diseases, accidents and public health emergencies.

Strategies for FY11 Budget:

• Implement a public relations campaign to elevate citizen understanding of public health including making needed public health information and/or resources readily available on current concerns.
• Protect against communicable disease.
• Promote healthy behaviors through public education tied to a public health awareness campaign.
• Reduce redundancies and maximize community/economic resources by engaging in innovative partnerships.
• Continue education, monitoring and prevention activities that contribute to a clean and healthy environment.

Public Safety: Coconino County proactively and responsively mitigates situations that threaten safety and welfare in partnership with our community. Public Safety improves quality of life for people in the community through preparedness, education, prevention, and corrective actions to ensure justice, to provide avenues for reform, and to create a community where people feel safe at home, work and play.

Indicators of Progress:

• Crime rate compared to state and natural crime rate
• Response time for 911 calls and non-911 calls
• Percentage of the public that perceive they are safe
• Recidivism (to be developed this year by the CJCC)
• Victim’s satisfaction

Strategies for FY11 Budget:

• Secure funding to maintain Public Safety services.
• Inform and engage the public on processes, problems and proposed solutions.
• Refine local rehabilitation and enhance prevention programs drawing on evidence-based practices.
• Further empower CJCC and other County collaborative efforts to improve system efficiency and public safety outcomes.
• Recruit, train and retain a qualified public safety work force.