Elected officials and administrators for the city of Lilburn, a suburban community near Atlanta, are getting a blueprint to help direct their goals for economic development through the efforts of faculty in the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
The strategic business plan developed in partnership with the city will help to inform municipal leaders’ efforts to attract jobs over the next decade. The plan will draw on past experience and current economic realities to establish governmental goals and enunciate a shared vision.
“It’s a strategic planning effort with an economic development focus,” said Murray Weed, local government training program manager with the Vinson Institute.
Department heads, city administrators, and elected officials will help formulate the plan through a series of interviews and meetings facilitated by Weed.
Common themes that emerge from the meetings will be refined into directional goals and accountability measures by Malik R. Watkins, a planning and program development expert with the Institute’s local government services program.
The finished document will present strategies to help Lilburn officials achieve their economic development goals, Watkins said.
Data gathering is under way, with Weed currently conducting telephone interviews with elected officials, municipal administrators, and department heads. A strategic planning meeting with municipal officials is scheduled for later this month.
Institute faculty will facilitate up to two public meetings to present the strategic business plan to the community this summer.
