The City of Franklin is currently working to revise its Strategic Plan. A hallmark of all high performing organizations, a strategic plan serves to define the direction, priorities, and actions necessary to achieve long-term success. Strategic planning is even more important in communities who have to balance limited resources, ever increasing citizen needs and maintain high-quality service delivery in the most efficient manner possible. Efforts began in late 2023 with a Vision exercise with the Board of Mayor and Alderman and have continued throughout 2024 and into early 2025. 

Timeline of the City's Strategic Plan

December 2023:

• Kick-off & Values discussion with BOMA

January 2024:

• Breakfast with the Mayors: Community kick-off & launch of community-wide survey

March 2024:

• Determination of vision statement and values by BOMA
• Small group discussions (non-profit, youth, faith leaders, business leaders)

July 2024:

• Strengths-Opportunities-Weaknesses-Threats (SWOT) Analysis conducted
• Mission statement worked on
• Strategic Goals with initial outcomes determined between BOMA and Leadership Team

August 2024:

• Leadership Team Plus Work Retreat on the new Strategic Goals

Fall/Winter 2024-2025:

• Internal work to refine Indicators, tailor Outcomes and further develop Mission Statement

Achievements of the Strategic Plan

To date, the following components of the Strategic Plan have been accomplished:

Vision:

All plans require a vision - a statement and a focus of where we are going in the future. The City adopted a new vision in Spring 2024 as part of this process:

America's finest hometown, driven by excellence, balancing preservation and progress

Values:

Every organization - from your household to your business to your community - has a core set of values. The Board of Mayor and Alderman set forward the following values for the City of Franklin as part of this Strategic Plan: 

• Culture of Excellence - We lead with integrity, wisdom, and are results-focused
• Collaborative - We are inviting, approachable, and engaged with our community and each other
• Service Driven - We are adaptable, responsive, and people-focused
• Heart - We find joy in the work while caring and respecting our team and community
• Purposeful - We are pragmatic and future-focused in our approach to solving problems

Strategic Goals:

After determining the strategic vision and shared values, the Board of Mayor and Alderman and senior staff for the City of Franklin collaboratively developed the following six (6) strategic goals which guide all service delivery and initiatives of the City: 

Under each strategic goal will be between 3 to 5 outcomes and paired data indicators which will allow staff, the BOMA and citizens alike to measure progress towards achieving the components of the plan. These are still being refined by City staff. 

Curious to learn more?

Contact the City's Office of Budget & Performance at 615-550-8445 or reach out to the City's Chief Budget & Performance Officer, Michael Walters Young at 615-550-6687 or michael.waltersyoung@franklintn.gov.

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Previous Strategic Plan  

The City's first Strategic Plan - Franklin Forward - was developed in 2013 and approved by the Board of Mayor and Alderman in 2014. 

Franklin Forward was focused around four main themes:

• A Safe, Clean, and Livable City
• An Effective and Fiscally Sound City Government Providing High Quality Service
• Quality Life Experiences
• Sustainable Growth and Economic Prosperity

View the previous Strategic Plan. 

Each of these themes have sub-themes, goals and baselines. These baselines form the essential Workload, Efficiency and Outcome measures which the City uses to evaluate performance within its operating budget. To see how this integration works and how well the city is doing, please look at the City's annual operating and capital budget.