Naperville hiring strategic planning consultant

Naperville is hiring a consulting firm to help launch the city's strategic planning process and begin developing a vision for the future.

The city council on Tuesday unanimously approved awarding a $124,520 contract to Shockey Consulting, one of eight companies to submit a proposal to the city early this year. The firm was selected in February by an evaluation team and was ready to move forward before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Naperville to hit the pause button, City Clerk Pam Gallahue said.

Staff members kept in touch with Shockey throughout the year to "discuss options and think creatively about how we could still do community engagement in the world of COVID," she said. "We believe now is the time to go out and begin this (process)."

The first three months of 2021 will be centered around gathering information about the community's operations, demographics and statistics, Gallahue said. A public outreach period would likely begin in late spring, at which point the circumstances of the pandemic would dictate the method of engagement, she said. Initiatives could range from face-to-face meetings or small groups to virtual town hall sessions or other forms of online dialogue.

The goal is to develop a big-picture plan, based on guidance from residents and stakeholders, that will allow the council and staff members to proactively prioritize projects and allocate future resources, city Manager Doug Krieger said.

"It really starts as a listening tool," he said. "If we're driving the discussion, the conversation is going to be slanted. We're looking for a company to come in and bring us ideas ... that are important to our residents that we don't know about."

Addressing the council Tuesday, resident Marilyn Schweitzer and Jodi Trendler, co-chairwoman for the Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force, encouraged the city to quickly fill two new positions slated for 2021 - a diversity, equity and inclusion manager and a sustainability role - to ensure their input is included in the planning and development process.

City council members supported kicking off the strategic planning initiative, though some expressed hesitation over how the COVID-19 crisis could affect the timing and accessibility of the engagement period.

"There are so many things that we're not sure about right now as to what it's going to look like next year," said Councilwoman Patti Gustin, who sat on the team that chose Shockey. "I would want to make sure we actually do get a full rounded opinion of everyone from the community."

Councilwoman Judith Brodhead, who also was on the selection team, said residents of all ages and demographics have learned to adapt to a virtual environment over the last several months, making it easier to connect with people remotely if needed.

"I really think it's time to move forward with this," she said. "I think it's extremely doable."