Today’s Morning Buzz is brought to you by Heaven Schott from Arlington, Va., Customer Success Manager at ClearPoint Strategy, a strategic planning and execution software for local governments. Connect with Heaven on LinkedIn.
- What I’m watching: “Ghosts” on CBS — such a heartwarming show!
- A hobby I enjoy: Reading — working through an extensive summer reading list!
- Who my pets are: Goldador and professional snuggler, Milton, and Maine Coon, Koto
Working with government leaders, I hear from people all the time who are passionate (and let’s face it… stressed) about enhancing public trust, improving accountability, and demonstrating service to their community.
In partnering with Fort Lauderdale, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing their incredible journey from creating a bold, new strategic plan shaped by community needs, to being a beacon for fiscal stewardship and transparency.
A Strategic Refresh: Planning for the Future
Fort Lauderdale just launched their new five-year strategic plan titled, “Press Play Fort Lauderdale 2029,” which represents a bold and energizing vision for the city. Aricka Johnson, the city’s Structural Innovation Manager, shared the story behind the name: “In 2013, the city developed a 22-year vision plan titled ‘Fast Forward Fort Lauderdale’ to fast forward the implementation of our city’s big ideas. ‘Press Play’ builds on that vision, pressing play on the work needed to achieve our incremental goals and key initiatives.”
This is their third five-year strategic plan, which has now evolved into a holistic approach: celebrating wins from the last five years, integrating insights from their community survey, and identifying the city’s shared vision that would shape their key strategic priorities.
Further, the city has changed the way they think about internal goals, like fiscal responsibility, efficiency, and trustworthiness, and shifted these into “Guiding Principles” that are woven into the fabric of everything they do. This transformation, along with their city-wide effort to implement cohesive messaging and branding, has helped to strengthen strategic alignment and reinforce their shared community mission.
Budget Built on Strategy: Prioritizing What Matters
Fort Lauderdale’s budget process has matured hand-in-hand with strategic planning. About five years ago, they merged the budgeting and planning functions into a single department — underscoring the importance of linking budget and strategy.
Each January, they kick off with a Commission Prioritization Workshop, where the City Commission sets broad priorities informed by the strategic plan. Departments then develop annual business plans linked directly to these priorities, identifying operations, challenges, and any new spending projects required.
The culmination? A fully vetted and aligned plan, backed by the resources needed to execute their strategy.
“Building the budget based on strategy feels more like a partnership rather than one overcoming the other,” Johnson explained. It’s a sentiment that reflects a mature, integrated approach to governance.
Reporting that Drives Action
When it comes to performance management and accountability, Fort Lauderdale has found its perfect reporting rhythm. They report internally on a quarterly basis across their 12 departments, which all roll up into a comprehensive citywide report presented annually to the City Commission.
Departments maintain their annual business plans, directly linked to the five-year strategic plan. Using ClearPoint, departments plug in their updates each quarter, making reporting seamless and standardized. “ClearPoint has become muscle memory to our organization,” officials said. “Reporting and accountability has become a part of our culture.”
As a result, reporting isn’t a burdensome task; it’s ingrained in how Fort Lauderdale drives progress.
Transparency in Focus: Public Dashboard Refresh
Fort Lauderdale’s commitment to transparency shines through in their newly updated, public-facing dashboard. Redesigned to mirror the updated strategic plan, the dashboard also fits seamlessly into a broader city-wide branding refresh — ensuring consistency and a greater sense of community.
“The ultimate aim of the dashboard was to create a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate web page for residents to learn about the strategic plan,” Johnson said. “We also wanted to be transparent with data, sharing why we track these measures, how data is collected and calculated, and explain any unexpected trends or outliers.”
Accessible and clear, their dashboard provides residents with an easy-to-navigate view of the city’s progress on key priorities. It’s not just about displaying data — it’s about empowering the public to understand and engage with their government’s performance.
Check out Fort Lauderdale’s public dashboard here.