SWMA Strategic Plan

Newton County Solid Waste Management Authority’s

Strategic Plan

2020 to 2023

Vision Statement:

What We Aspire To Be As A County (Long-Term)

 A financially responsible system wherein citizens reduce, recycle, and dispose of waste in a cost effective, technologically innovative, and sustainable manner, eliminating litter and dumping.

Mission Statement

Our Primary Focus for the Next 3 Years (2020 to 2023)

To provide and oversee effective, environmentally and financially responsible trash collection, disposal, and recycling options for everyone in Newton County

Key Stakeholders

Who We Will Focus on for 2020 to 2023

• Citizens (all ages, including youth)
• Business – Industries, Medium, Small

Governing Authorities – Municipalities, Newton County Government Employees, Constitutional Officers, and Authorities

Core Values

(What We Believe In as a County / What We Stand For / What We Will Hold Ourselves Accountable To / How We Treat One Another)

• Collaboration – We work together to achieve our common goals.
• Dependable – We honor our commitments.
• Energetic – We encourage passion and creativity that inspires our community to thrive.
• Equitable – We advocate fairness and impartiality in all things we do for the good of all.
• Integrity – We stand by truth and transparency.
• Unity – We are an exceptional and inseparable community.

Strategies

Strategy A:

Enhance the public’s confidence of the Solid Waste Management Authority (SWMA) while meeting the needs of its stakeholders

Definition:  Employ innovative solutions through effective human resources and technology

Strategic Action Items:

• Educate director, staff and authority on trends and best practices in solid waste management through participation in SWMA programs
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• Monitor performance criteria and landfill data, documenting results)
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• Ensure collaboration with consultants, municipalities, local haulers and customers
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• Evaluate performance of potential waste diversion systems
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• Continue to evaluate the feasibility of and the efficiency of convenience center operations
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• Employ innovative best practices in day to day operations
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• Manage current staff using lean performance objectives
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• Identify household waste reduction goals by 2021

Strategy B:   

Establish a Comprehensive Financial Management Plan providing adequate resources to deliver recycling and solid waste services to the public.

Definition:     Develop a financial plan maximizing revenue generated from landfill, convenience centers, and recycling operations to provide solid waste and recycling services to meet citizen needs in an efficient, equitable, environmentally responsible, and innovative manner.

Strategic Action Items:

1. Analyze current revenue streams to determine the source and stability of those revenues.

2. Conduct a cost of service study to link revenue streams from the landfill, convenience centers, and recycling to fixed, variable, discretionary and capital expenses.

3. Review, update and formally adopt a set of financial policies, including but not limited to Purchasing, Debt Management, Fund Balance, Revenue Administration, Capital Improvement, Accounting, Auditing and Financial reporting, Capitalization

• Develop a multi-year plan leveraging technology to reduce costs, promote efficiencies, and expand services as the demand for services grows.

5. Compare and contrast analysis with 2017 proforma prepared by Harbin Engineering

Strategy: C
Communicate clear, accurate, timely, and complete information to the public and respond efficiently and effectively to communication from the public

Definition:
Provide information that is easy to understand.  People are fully and correctly informed, form good impressions, think and share positively about, and take appropriate actions based on the information they receive.

Strategic Action Items:

• Create SWMA logo for all publications, letterhead and official materials.
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• Increase the level of effective internal and external communications.
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• Review, revise, and adopt all SWMA operational policies.
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• Review current employee holiday plans and rules.
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• Upgrade and restructure the SWMA web page
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• Develop a culture of customer service
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• Create a community Public Relations program (PR)
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Strategy D:
Develop and implement efficient environmental management policies and facilities for Newton County’s waste stream.

Strategy Definition:

Placing environmental protection first, supported by sound financial and personnel policies to enable the SWMA to become both EPD-compliant and financially independent

Strategic Action Items:

• Make environmental protection a key factor in our decision-making process.
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• Develop personnel policies (job descriptions) focusing on EPD compliance.
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• Improve landfill infrastructure and operations focusing on EPD compliance.
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• Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse.
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• Improve Convenience Centers

Key Success Measures

Note: The debt service coverage ratio, is a popular benchmark used in the measurement of an entity’s (person or corporation) ability to produce enough cash to cover its debt (including lease) payments.

Newton County Solid Waste Management Authority Strategic Plan Linkage matrix

Illustrating how all components of the Strategic Plan support each other

Definition of Terms

The Newton County Solid Waste Management Authority Strategic Plan 

The Newton County Solid Waste Management Authority (SWMA) Strategic Plan utilized a systems-thinking framework to guide its work and set its future Strategic Direction. The Strategic Direction will serve as the “roadmap” for the SWMA for the next 3 years as it delivers services to its stakeholders as outlined in the following order:

Vision 

What the SWMA aspires to be; what it wants its future to look like; where it wants to be in the future. The Vision describes future hopes and may never be fully attainable. It becomes the “North Star” for the County to follow. It embodies the legacy it wants to create.

Mission

Identifies who the stakeholders of the SWMA are, the SWMA’s response to the Stakeholders’ Needs Assessment needs, and what results the stakeholders can expect from the County Government based upon those expressed needs.

Stakeholders                                                                                                                   

Those individuals or entities on whom SWMA will focus its time, energy and resources during the (3) year timeframe of the Strategic Plan. Once these needs are addressed as outlined in the Strategic Plan, then another set of individuals or entities may become the focus in future Strategic Plans.

Core Values

Core Values are the fundamental beliefs of the SWMA that will guides its behaviors and its decisions. They are the principles it stands on in its service delivery. These are behaviors they want to hold themselves accountable to in their dealings and how external stakeholders can expect to be treated. Internally. The Core Values also describe the organizational culture it wants to create and guide how management and coworkers will treat each other in their daily interactions with one another.

Strategies

The critical areas of focus that have been identified based upon the Stakeholder Needs Assessment for the Plan period (2019-2022) that will move the SWMA towards becoming what it states it aspires to be in its Vision statement.

Strategy Definition

The Strategy Definition explains the meaning of the Strategy from the perspective of the SWMA.

Strategic Action Items

Strategic Action Items provide the high-level action steps stating how the Strategies will be executed.