Clark County: Beyond the first 100 days

It’s hard to believe that Commissioners Richard L. Lohnes, Lowell R. McGlothin and I have been serving together as Clark County Commissioners for 100 days. It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day management, such as contracts, copies and budget approvals, but — while we have to assure those things are done responsibly — all three of us are working hard to stay focused on strategically leading our county into the future.

In our first century of days, we have started into a strategic planning process for the first time in the commission’s history. This process is going to allow us to take a look at the long-term best interest of the county and how we approach things in county government. In the past, most of the commission’s planning has been in lockstep with the budgeting process, which starts late summer/early fall and results in the adoption of a budget around December for the following calendar year.

So what does strategic planning mean to our constituents? I think Thomas Friedman explains the concept well when he quotes his friend and teacher Dov Seidman, CEO of LRN, in his latest book “Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations:” “When you press the pause button on a machine, it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings they start. You start to reflect, you start to rethink your assumptions, you start to reimagine what is possible and, most importantly, you start to reconnect with you.”

That’s what we hope to accomplish through this process — pause in the midst of our busy, daily tasks to reflect and challenge assumptions that surround us about our role, our work, our goals and objectives, and reimagine what’s possible in our community. At the end of the process, we hope to have clearly defined priorities that provide a framework for decision-making.

In addition to this undertaking, we have already accomplished some other low-hanging fruit together, including:

• Establishing open lines of communication with the public

We have started a public information program that currently consists of a more active news section of the county website at www.clarkcountyohio.gov and a county Facebook page (www.facebook.com/clarkcountyohio). With this effort, we have established a completely open forum for two-way communication between our government entity and the public. As we continue to build on this, we hope to find more meaningful ways to provide information and a forum for public input.

• Establishing open lines of communication with other elected officials and entities

My fellow commissioners and I have proactively met with the county department heads and our fellow elected officials in every area of county government. We’ve also conducted meetings and idea exchanges with the following organizations (and I’m sure I’ll miss naming some!):

• Transportation Coordinating Committee

• WESCO Port Authority

• OSU Extension, Clark County

• Clark Soil and Water Conservation District

• Bethel Township

• New Carlisle City Council

• Tecumseh School Board

• County School Superintendents

• Township Trustees Association

• Right to Life

• Clark County Humane Society

• Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce

• Clark County Fairgrounds

• Navistar (plant tour)

• Springfield Rotary

• New Carlisle Rotary

• Tecumseh Boy Scouts

• 178th Fighter Wing Circle of Women

• Area Agency on Aging

• Citizens Against Mining

• Planned Parenthood

• Interfaith Hospitality Network

• People for Safe Water

It is a pleasure to serve the residents of Clark County, with whom we meet every day. We want to hear from you on the issues that are of interest to you and will help move our county forward. Please visit our Facebook page or email me at mwilt@clarkcountyohio.gov with your questions or concerns.

Melanie Flax Wilt wrote this in cooperation with her fellow Clark County Commissioners Richard L. Lohnes and Lowell R. McGlothin.


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