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Strategic Planning in Klaipeda |
Very often Klaipeda is called the capital
of West Lithuania. This is a very clear, simple and comprehensive
vision of the city, but also obligation and responsibility
are hidden in these several words. In the summer the city
celebrated its 750th jubilee with the motto "The
city where I wish to live". The main task of the process
of strategic plannning was to learn and understand what
kind of a city the community wanted, how to achieve common
goals and decisions that reflected its interests.
Strategic Development Plan 2001 -2010 was
adopted by the City Council in April 2001. The voting result
was 25 "for" out of 26. We were proud of this
result, because it was achieved by democratic procedures
harmonising the positions, compromising and discussing with
all economical partners, politicians, executive insti-tutions
and the community. This was actually the first attempt to
see the perspective of the city under market economy conditions.
Five major priorities equal in their significance were defined
in the document: to create employment opportunities by offering
investment incentives and encouraging business development,
to develop infrastructure for business improvement, working
and living conditions, to strengthen integration between
the city and the port, to develop the housing stock and
improve its quality, to develop the fields of education,
science, and culture.
These priorities were born after identification
of the city's main problems and formulation of certain strategies.
Identification of priorities helps to optimize the resources,
allocating them to implementation of the set goals. The
investment of about one third of a billion EUR is necessary
to carry out the measures set in priority goals. Since today
the city budget allows just provision of municipal functions,
but not investment, the role of active assets management
and privatization policy can significantly contribute to
implementation of various projects. By partnership with
private sector and EU funds the city can attract investment
to implement the strategic goals.
Introduction of strategic planning in Lithuanian
municipalities is a new and complicated process that embraces
the demand for much knowledge, work and a wish to change.
A strategic plan is never perfect. It is a living document
of contemporary times that proposes the city's perspective.
Our responsibility is to coordinate our joint actions to
create the city where we wish to live.
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