Alexandria City Council - Strategic Plan

In September 2009, the Alexandria City Council convened to discuss development of a new strategic plan for the City. The discussion, held among the seven Council members (including three newly elected members), began with a simple premise: assess the direction of the City and, where necessary, provide a strategic course of action for realizing our goals.

The strategic planning effort of 2009-2010 begins by looking back. In 2004, City Council completed a similar strategic planning exercise. Much of that plan, including the collective vision of the Council for the City, still resonates. However, in the five years since the last strategic planning effort concluded, much has changed. The national economic downturn has caused decline in the City’s financial condition. The pace of residential and commercial development is now only a fraction of that experienced a few years earlier, and the City’s ability to afford and deliver critical services in a changed fiscal environment dominates public discussion. Changes in conditions compel changes in strategy. The 2009-2010 strategic planning undertaken by City Council considers these “new realities,” and seeks the best path forward for the community.