Commission Goals

Goal 5 Anticipate future service needs, costs and resources, and plan ahead to address them.

To operate efficiently and successfully, city government must consistently observe the trends of our ever-changing world, and anticipate and plan for future needs. Forecasting exact changes that may take place can prove difficult, if not impossible. It is, however, the City’s responsibility to formulate general ideas concerning these changes taking place in the world and adjust accordingly to maintain the health and well-being of the local community.

The City of Great Falls acts proactively in its services and operation, choosing not to live hand-to-mouth or accepting consequences of poor planning. City staff must not only be aware of the need for and acceptance of change, but they also must continually examine the present processes or services that may be outdated and require necessary changes.

For example, several years ago the City did not always have the resources to replace aging or faulty equipment when it should. This lack of resources naturally affected the productivity of various departments and the services provided to the citizens of our community. Old equipment can result in higher maintenance costs, downtime for frequent repairs and inadequate service. Recognizing these problems and choosing to act proactively, the City created the Equipment Revolving Fund, which plans for the timely replacement of equipment and vehicles such as fire engines, garbage trucks, police cars, mowers, computers, and other items. Through its annual budget, the City Commission puts money into this savings account so that equipment can be replaced when it is worn out. Good equipment simply costs less in the long run than poor, unreliable equipment and ensures continuous quality services to residents.

Another example is the Park and Recreation Master Plan. The City Commission adopted a long-term plan which contains input and ideas from hundreds of citizens, to set priorities for the park system. While the City cannot afford to do everything the Plan envisions as quickly as it would like, it provides a way to help make decisions as resources are available.

The City Commission has also adopted a program to encourage employee innovations. So far, the program has yielded a change in the way the City reads water meters that will save dollars annually as well as providing safer and more comfortable working conditions.

The City Commission believes that to most effectively anticipate and plan responsibly for future needs, it is necessary to always look as far ahead as possible to any changes that may be required to maintain service and operations. While certain aspects of change can sometimes prove difficult, it is nonetheless inevitable. The City recognizes that to fully realize the most positive results and effects, change must be embraced.