Council Sets Goals for City and Itself

The City Council has set goals for itself as it maps out what it hopes will be La Habra’s future.

At two recent goal-setting sessions, council members listed what they value and want for the city.

At the top are safe and attractive neighborhoods, a strong economy, a small-town atmosphere with places to shop and play, and well-qualified city staff members willing to reach out to the community and develop a close working relationship with local school districts.

David E. Hartl, president of General Learning Climates Inc. of Tustin, led the goal-setting sessions this week and last. He will be paid about $1,000 for his services.

Hartl had each council member rate each “value” on a scale of 1 to 10 to determine which need more attention.

Doing so revealed the council’s vision for La Habra, Hartl said.

“To sum it all up, the council wants a safe, attractive community with a strong economy and quality government,” he said.

Those ideas will become the essential components of a five-year strategic plan that will guide officials when they decide how to spend city money, beginning in fiscal 1998-99.

“It’s a challenge and a road map for the leadership of the city,” Hartl said. “This puts the priority thinking in front of the fiscal thinking, which is exactly where it belongs.”

Hartl now will work on a first draft of the strategic plan, which will be presented to the council in July. The final draft will be considered in January.