City of Columbia asks for citizen input to help shape city priorities as part of strategic planning process.

The City of Columbia is undertaking a strategic planning process. The strategic plan will provide direction for the city in which resources are aligned with clear, established city priorities.

Through this strategic planning process, the city will develop and implement priority goals and objectives to address the needs of the citizens of Columbia. This will provide a context to align the budget process with key priorities, thereby maximizing the utilization of city resources.

"With a united sense of mission and goals, we will know exactly what to measure and how to rate our performance. We will increase our accountability to our customers," stated City Manager Mike Matthes.

As a part of the strategic planning process, getting customer input is critical. In addition to other input from citizens through the city's citizen satisfaction survey, Visioning and city's comprehensive planning processes, the city wants to hear from citizens about what's important for the city's future strategic direction.

The city is asking citizens to take an online survey as a part of its strategic planning process. A link to a short online survey has been posted in the "announcements" section of the city's homepage at www.gocolumbiamo.com. A printed version is also available at City Hall, first floor lobby, 701 E. Broadway, and other city locations.

Questions about the strategic planning process may be directed to the City Manager's Office at (573) 874-7214.