Black Hawk County unveils three-year strategic plan, names champions for mental health and staff training

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, Iowa — The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday presented a three-year strategic plan that the board and staff say will guide county decisions on services and investments and is intended to remain flexible as needs change.

Chairman Davis Hall, chairman of the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors, told attendees the process involved broad participation and extensive staff time: "We've totaled 1,973 collective hours that we poured into strategic planning to this point." He said the plan is intended as "a start of the next step" rather than a final roadmap.

The plan, developed over nine months by a group of about 30 participants that included the board, other elected officials, department heads and frontline managers, sets a three-year horizon and a set of priorities the county will work to move from strategic initiatives into operational practice.

"Our 3 year plan provides a clear framework to guide decision making, services, and investments," Vice Chair Linda Lane said, describing the outreach used to shape the plan, including an all-staff survey, departmental meetings and internal and external focus groups. Lane said the county previously completed a full strategic planning process in 2013 and earlier created an initial plan in 2008.

The board identified a top set of 12 priorities and said it will concentrate staffing time and resources on the top four during the three-year period. Board member Justin Brandt, one of the newly elected supervisors, listed the top four as: supporting mental health needs in the community, strengthening professional development and a culture of accountability, supporting economic development, and improving the safety and security of county facilities.

Brandt said staff will allocate roughly 5% of their capacity to strategic objectives while maintaining existing service levels with the remaining resources. He said the county had "over the course of several ... put together" a larger set of ideas and narrowed them to the top priorities through a selection process.

County leadership described the plan as intentionally flexible so the county can adapt when unexpected events occur. "Our 3 year plan provides a clear framework... but to remain flexible and ready to adapt as many things are beyond our control," one presenter said, noting another county's plan shifted after an emergency.

County officials named departmental "champions" to lead the top priorities and to coordinate alignment of department capacity with the plan. Chairman Hall identified those leaders by name and role: Caitlin Emrick, public health director, will lead efforts on mental health; Amanda Fezenmeyer, human resources director, will lead professional development and accountability; Kathy Nicholas, county engineer, will lead economic development support; and Brad Metcalf, county safety coordinator, will lead work on facility safety and security.

Speakers emphasized that the plan belongs to the whole county workforce and community and that further community engagement and department-level alignment will follow. A mission statement the group agreed on was read at the rollout: "Cultivating a diverse community that embraces our unique assets, positioning our county as a thriving center for all to live, work, and succeed." That statement, a county staff member said, received positive feedback in internal and external reviews.

No vote or ordinance was taken at the rollout. Officials described the plan as the result of prior board-level agreement to undertake strategic planning (which Lane said the board approved unanimously in February 2023) and outlined next steps for departments to align work with the priorities over the coming months.