Vision 2016

Due to the City of Dearborn’s financial challenges, and the difficult decisions that lay ahead for our community because of the economic outlook impacting all Michigan municipalities, Mayor O’Reilly determined it was very important to involve residents in identifying possible options to serve as the foundation of a five-year strategic plan. 

To do this he formed a Community Task Force in January 2010. The Community Task Force comprises 31 opinion leaders from all areas of our city’s life, each with their own perspective and priorities, but all who were committed to maintaining Dearborn as an enviable community in which to live, work, invest in and visit.

They met for nine months to develop the extensive recommendations that are currently under consideration. The recommendations fall into four categories that were eventually developed: administrative efficiencies, personnel, revenue enhancements, and image and development.

These recommendations are the result of a comprehensive review of the financial challenges currently faced by municipalities, and on the very different economic environment they will face in the future. The members of the Task Force engaged in debate, discussion, research, and analysis to produce the wide-ranging recommendations, which represent a menu of options or tools that can be used to address the City’s challenges.  It is likely some recommendations will be selected, some rejected, some modified, and others added.

Ultimately, the City will use three-year budgeting and a strategic plan to continually guide decisions about how the city’s financial and human resources should be directed over the next five years. With the plan in place, decisions affecting services, employees, investments and new initiatives will be part of a comprehensive, rather than piecemeal, approach.

The report on the recommendations as they exist on November 30, 2010 can be accessed using the following link:   Community Task Force Recommendations