Departmental Business Plan Development

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Buncombe County, nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina, has a current population of 261,191 individuals inhabiting 660 square miles. Believe it or not, Buncombe County Government with 1,499 employees serving in 30 departments never had a strategic plan, or at least not in the past 30 years. The result was that departments were running their daily operations independently, with no north star, and no aligned strategic direction. Our new County Manager made it her priority to change that when she took the helm in 2019. No time was wasted and a strategic plan was finalized by County Commissioners to take effect July 1, 2020. It was then to the task of creating alignment with the goals of the departments. To that end, the Performance Management Department developed a robust, replicable, and consistent approach to the planning, development, implementation, and sustainability of departmental business plans that aligned with the county’s strategic plan. As a result, departments now have actionable goals that are tied to moving the needle on the county goals. These business plans, revised budget justification process, and intentional workgroups lay a clear path to how Buncombe County will achieve the goals set forth in the strategic plan.