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issues. He reiterated his previous statement that no two plans were the e same. Mr. Miller said the SPC needed to outline a plan for the consideration of the committee and council in order to see how the process might work. The com- mittee needs to agree that it wishes to proceed with strategic planning. Dr. luke referred to the Phoenix Futures Forum process outline included in the packet. He said that the committee may find it can adapt the process to strategic financial planning. He said that process had included five commu- nity forums. Ms. Rich said she thought that a corporate planning process would not involve the same level of public participation as outlined in the Phoenix model. Dr. luke responded that it was his belief that the plan would be "dead in the water" if the committee proceeded without that level of pub- lic participation. Ms. Rich said she believed it would be easier for the committee to start the process on its own, although she supported the idea of public participation. She considered that to start out with 40 or 50 people and their hopes for Eugene ensured that the community would never get to the financial issues in a timely way. She asked if the process could begin with the Budget Committee and then follow the model. Dr. luke said the committee could follow the same process with a focus on finances. Mr. Gleason outlined a possible scenario for the committee to pursue. He said that the Budget Committee already forms a type of strategic planning committee. The Budget Committee could serve as the steering committee for the process. It would need to agree on the current conditions facing the City, and then use forums, surveys, and pamphlets to make the community aware of the condition. Mr. e Gleason said Mr. Boles had accurately characterized the situation. The com- mittee could downsize the organization, which he stressed would not be easier in Eugene than the alternative of seeking new revenues, or choose a combina- tion of downsizing and seeking new revenues. The committee would need to work through the issue with the community until it could test a consensus and then take action around that consensus. Ms. McMillen said that one of the problems facing the committee was its own inability to reach consensus on the issues. She liked the idea of employing a community process that involved the key stakeholders as a way to obtain more broad-based community support for a resolution. Ms. McMillen said the committee could arrive at consensus regarding the City's situation. Then, when all the people are aware of the situation, they could be involved in the discussions. Mr. Nicholson said the City's "selling" of issues in the past was a principal source of cynicism in the community and a block facing the committee. If the committee needs to "sell" its agenda, it was clear that it had not involved the proper stakeholders in the beginning of the process. Mr. Boles said public agencies are different than other entities, and often the City as a ~ municipality has adopted a "sales" strategy that he objected to. Mr. Nicholson said there may be some kind of appropriate activity to employ, but it would require a delicate definition if it was not to be destructive to the process. Mr. Rutan said as a practical matter, it was difficult to involve everyone in the process. He agreed with Mr. Nicholson that if the City must e MINUTES--Strategic Plan Committee November I, 1990 Page 7 ,