WHITMAN – Strategic planning is already paying off.
Select Board member Shawn Kain provided an update on Whitman’s strategic plan during the board’s Tuesday, July 11 meeting.
“It was actually really helpful for me to go through this – working with [Town Administrator] Mary Beth [Carter] and some of the team – to go back and thoroughly look at the strategic plan, and look back over the time that we’ve been here and figure out what progress that we’ve made and where we need to move forward,” Kain said. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much progress we have made toward strategic plan.”
The five-year planning window spans 2022 to 2027 and has five focus areas: Finances, public policies and infrastructure, economic development, citizen services and schools.
Finances speak to the responsible and sustainable aspect of services the town wants to provide to the public with initiative goals of providing financial policy, a process through which residents can be informed of how much and when new revenue is needed, an accurate financial and capital forecast, and enhanced communication with all educational partners.
“It’s pretty obvious that we’ve made significant progress,” Kain said. “We have adopted a financial policy and used it to guide the budget process – we’re still getting used to that, but we have actively done that over the past year.”
Whitman has also dedicated funds to contract with a consultant on financial forecasting and has enhanced communication. Todd Docuoto was also hired as the facilities manager and he has conducted an “extensive facilities assessment” to give officials a better understanding of the town’s capital needs.
“We have also committed to working together with the schools … earlier in the budget cycle and develop that process earlier so that,” he said. “As far as that first pillar is concerned, we’re definitely making good progress.
A new DPW building project, approved at Town Meeting and at the ballot box is a “huge step” toward the goal of replacing the deteriorating facilities that department is working in.
Professional assessment of ongoing facilies, such as a completed sewer main project, downtown infrastructure improvements such as underground utilities and high-speed internet, will benefit from having a full-time facilities manager.
Economic development “speaks to an enhanced downtown infrastructure, community engagement and communication of benefits and tradeoffs, establishment of a Chamber of Commerce and competitive MassPIRG grant application submittals, according to Kain.
“We’ve definitely made some progress toward this imitative, but we may want to target some areas in the near future,” he said. “We’ve applied for a grant to update under the Master Plan.”
That took place a few months ago and that project is in the works. Assistant Town Administrator Kathy Keefe has also met with the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) to discuss available grants that the town would be eligible for in that area.
Kain said he thinks there will be a couple.
Carter and Select Board member Justin Evans have applied for another MassPIRG grant to cover the town side of the South Avenue corridor project.
“That’s a significant project, so there’s a good chance that we’ll have grant money to cover the town’s side of that project,” he said. The town has also qualified for an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant which also pertains to the South Avenue corridor.
“That area of Whitman seems to be, when you think about it, [where] some of the new businesses that we’re bringing in – so, good economic growth, good infrastructure, working with the state to get multiple grants that can help us achieve our goals – so I think there’s some big progress.”
Whitman is also working with OCPC to develop an affordable housing plan with the goal of increasing affordable housing by 10 percent and to do “a lot more flexible zoning.”
“The one area we may want to pay attention to is the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce,” Kain said.
Select Board member Laura Howe expressed enthusiasm for a Chamber of Commerce idea.
“The Brockton Chamber of Commerce is excellent,” she said, asking if that was the type of group Kain had in mind. “It’s immensely helpful … to people. I used them a long time ago and it was really informative. They were very welcoming.”
He said he has reached out to business owners in town who have that type of experience.
“I think with just a little bit of organization, we could have one,” he said.
Kain said communication might also be an area on which to concentrate materials can be produced to give residents a better picture of the budget and the town’s finances.
Where the schools are concerned, Kain said the town “took from their strategic plan and embedded that as part of our strategic plan,” Kain said.
It helped them institute all-day kindergarten, even as they have other goals still in the works and plan to update their strategic plan, he noted.
Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski asked Kain if he would be willing to give an annual summer update on progress with the town’s strategic plan. Kain agreed, reiterating the value in the “reflective process” of reviewing what has been accomplished and what is left to be done.
“I think it’s a really healthy part of what we should do,” he said.