Last year, Care4Suffolk talked about the lack of vision in the 2045 Comprehensive Plan which was still in the planning process at the time. The plan had no stated vision, but a read through the draft left no doubt that regional goals and efforts to support the Port of Virginia were at the forefront of the design. At the time, we were frustrated that the City failed to use the public feedback that they obtained to form a vision more in line with public desires.
It turns out that this lack of vision is very much still a reality for the City of Suffolk. We scoured the pages of the City’s website to find the official City of Suffolk’s Vision and/or Mission statements. It turns out, we as a city, don’t have one. Maybe that is part of the problem when we look at the interactions between the City and its citizens. There are competing interests and there is nothing documented to actually direct efforts, and hold leadership accountable to following an agreed upon direction. They do what they want, we tell them we don’t like it, and nothing changes.
Many think vision and mission statements are meaningless fluff, but in actuality, businesses, organizations, and yes, even municipalities use the vision and mission statements to help guide long term goals and set priorities.
A vision statement is simply a short statement, usually just a sentence or two, that describes what a long-term goal or direction they want to be working towards. A mission statement is also usually only a sentence or two and it describes the objectives the organization is working towards.
Here are some examples:
To create a better everyday life for the many people.
– IKEA Vision Statement
To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.
*If you have a body, you are an athlete.
– Nike’s Mission Statement
Our mission is to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. As we move into the second century of our work, we are advancing health and hope for everyone, everywhere.
– American Heart Association Mission Statement
What we did discover during our search is that many of the departments within Suffolk’s local government have their own vision or mission statements. Here are a few we found:
Strive for excellence in education, celebrate diversity, and be committed to students, staff, and the school community.
– Suffolk Public Schools
We work to provide law enforcement excellence and public service through partnership with our community.
– Suffolk Police Department
The City of Suffolk Department of Public Utilities is committed to ensuring a quality of life for our valued customers by providing water and sanitary sewer services in a safe and efficient manner.
– Suffolk Department of Public Works
When a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request was made to obtain the City’s Vision and/or Mission Statement, the City sent us this:
You might recognize this as the giant banner that greets everyone as they enter City Hall. The thing is though, it isn’t about the City in general. In fact, right after it says Vision for Suffolk, it follows with the words “Suffolk City Council”. So is it Council’s Vision or Suffolk’s? It is unclear. It is also unclear how much public input was incorporated. Was the public involved at all? If not, then it definitely doesn’t represent the citizens or the City as a whole.
It’s also not a vision statement – it is way too long. At 327 words, and multiple paragraphs, it misses the mark to be a statement. Additionally, it doesn’t talk about what Suffolk wants to achieve. In fact it reads like a cheesy tourism excerpt detailing how awesome Suffolk is. That’s like asking what’s your vision for the future and you answering about how great your current job is. It misses the point of a vision statement entirely. Where does Suffolk see itself in the future?
Here are some examples:
The mission of the City of Charlotte is to ensure the delivery of quality public services and promote the safety, health and quality of life of its citizens.
– Charlotte, NC
The City of Richmond’s vision is to be a welcoming, inclusive, diverse, innovative, and equitable city that ensures a high quality of life for all residents. This includes creating a vibrant community that is a great place to live, work, learn, play, visit, and raise a family. The city aims to be a beautiful, well-functioning, and safe place that is affordable and accessible to everyone.
– Richmond, VA
To preserve and enhance the quality of life of the citizens of the City of Charleston.
– Charleston, SC
Note that many cities incorporate “quality of life” in their vision or mission statements? It’s the residents of that city that matter. The focus is its people, and the rest is there to support making the quality of life a reality.
Contrast that with Suffolk’s version – in all 327 words – it fails to mention ‘quality of life’ at all.
Out of 8 targeted areas, half of them mention fiscal and economic development concepts, even under the targeted area that is titled: LEISURE, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS. It follows with:
Implement programs and services designed to improve the health, economic and social wellbeing of citizens.
Why does their economic focus need to also appear in Leisure, Health, and Wellness? The answer is that Suffolk’s City leadership is intently consumed by the concept of economic development. Not the actual fiscal soundness of economic development. If that were a concern, they would incorporate fiscal analyses in the running of the city – they don’t. The focus is truly on the development part of economic development.
Somewhere along the way, our City turned into an agent for development. It isn’t even development for the betterment of the citizens. That rarely comes into play. It is simply the idea that development = money = good decision. All this despite the City never actually obtaining real data on the fiscal feasibility of specific developments. It is just stated as a maxim and anyone who questions the fiscal soundness of a development is categorized as a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) or anti-development. The closest thing that the City of Suffolk has for a vision is to develop. It’s not about the people at all.