FLORENCE, AZ – The Town of Florence Council unanimously adopted a new strategic plan on Feb. 3, setting priorities for infrastructure, economic growth, government performance and community identity through 2031. The Florence strategic plan will guide how the town allocates resources and makes policy decisions over the next five years.
A Framework Built on Community Input
The plan emerged from nine months of public engagement led by consultant Raftelis. That process began in May 2025 and included one-on-one interviews with each council member, focus groups with department heads and community members identified by the council as “Community Champions,” and an employee survey administered in July.
Nancy Hetrick of Raftelis presented the plan to the council. She said consistent themes emerged across all groups. Community Champions and others specifically pushed for a focus on economic development. Another theme was how to balance current capacity with anticipated growth. “The organization needs to reflect what’s on the horizon, and that’s a lot of growth, to be prepared for that,” Hetrick said.
Hetrick said the engagement also revealed a desire to unify geographically separated parts of town. “There’s opportunity to bring different parts of the community, different neighborhoods, different sections of town that may currently be separated geographically into a focus on one Florence,” she said.
Feedback — particularly from Community Champions — stressed the need for a clear implementation approach. Hetrick said they wanted assurance the plan would produce visible results. The employee survey produced the plan’s five organizational values — teamwork, customer service, integrity, respect and professionalism. Broader engagement with employees and staff informed the mission statement: “Driven by community pride, we deliver exceptional services to enrich life in Florence.”
Four Goals in the Florence Strategic Plan
The plan organizes the town’s priorities into four goal areas.
Delivering Reliable Infrastructure focuses on roads, water and sewer services. The plan includes five objectives: conduct a needs assessment to prioritize critical infrastructure improvements; expand diverse funding sources through legislative relationships and partnerships; ensure reliable water and wastewater infrastructure; develop comprehensive road infrastructure; and address infrastructure capacity to support growth.
Under water and wastewater, specific initiatives include planning treatment plant and water system upgrades, maintaining the sanitary sewer cleaning program, meeting Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) compliance directives, implementing security upgrades at utility facilities and updating the master plan to meet projected demand.
Road projects identified in the plan include completing the Attaway/Hunt Highway intersection, completing highway from Franklin to Magic Ranch, addressing traffic from Attaway/Hunt Highway to 287, improving circulation at Plant Road and Butte, and improving circulation from Felix/Hunt Highway/Arizona Farms in partnership with developers.
To support growth, the plan directs staff to clarify town policy on balancing community benefits and costs with new development, plan water and wastewater campuses with developers, plan staffing for new facilities and work with regional partners to expand capacity.
Promoting Economic Development and Vitality aims to attract new businesses and support job growth. The plan includes four objectives: encourage responsible growth through a welcoming business and development climate; sustain and retain the current employer base; promote local business opportunities; and support development with strong planning and policy.
To encourage growth, initiatives include creating an economic development strategy, streamlining the development review process, establishing an Economic Development Committee, designating a staff position focused on economic development and expanding relationships with regional partners. The plan also calls for developing a business retention strategy and strengthening relationships with existing and future business owners.
For local business promotion, the town will partner with the Chamber to highlight businesses on social media, create a newsletter and website content promoting incentives and events, and create marketing support for economic development programs. The plan also directs staff to pursue actions in long-range planning documents including the General Plan, Façade, Rental, Parks & Trails and Open Space plans, and to complete the Public Works Transportation plan.
Cultivating High Performing Government addresses workforce retention, internal operations, service delivery, employee engagement and public safety. The plan includes five objectives.
To attract and retain staff, the plan calls for competitive compensation analysis, flexible work arrangements, expanded training resources, skill gap assessments and succession plans for hard-to-fill positions. For internal operations, initiatives include modernizing HR policies, procuring updated HR and agenda software, enhancing safety protocols, improving workflows and updating equipment replacement policies.
On external service delivery, the plan directs staff to improve customer service, modernize field service and automation, and conduct a bi-annual resident survey to assess satisfaction. To strengthen employee engagement, staff will administer a Polco employee survey, improve internal communication through newsletters and an intranet, expand professional development and showcase safety and recognition programs.
For public safety, the plan directs staff to conduct a standards of cover analysis for future fire staffing and service delivery needs. Additionally, staff will develop a police resource allocation model to link staffing and technology investments with population growth.
Strengthening Community Character and Sense of Place targets branding, placemaking, beautification, events, parks and historic preservation. The plan includes six objectives.
To market Florence’s identity, the town will create a clear brand and develop a communications strategy focused on community storytelling. For signage, the plan calls for entryway signs at town gateways and new recreation signage for parks, Poston Butte and other spaces.
To beautify natural spaces, initiatives include adopting maintenance best practices, improving arterial right-of-way appearances, researching green infrastructure programs and exploring a public art program. For community events, the plan directs staff to enhance marketing, host events celebrating local culture, engage the Chamber and community partners to market and deliver events, and develop a sponsorship and partnership strategy.
The plan also calls for identifying land for park expansion and honoring historic properties by verifying which properties have been identified as historic and assessing the town’s role and policy regarding them.
The full plan document contains additional detail on initiatives under each goal area.
Florence Strategic Plan Vision Statement
The strategic plan establishes a new vision statement: “Where heritage and progress meet, creating a vibrant future.” Hetrick said the engagement process surfaced that balance. “There’s a lot of pride and appreciation for the adobes and all of the rich history that is here, but there’s also a bright horizon on the future,” she said.
Mayor Calls the Plan a Framework for Accountability
Mayor Keith Eaton emphasized that the strategic plan is a starting framework, not a final policy document. “This document is not the end-all document,” he said. “This is the framework.”
He acknowledged skepticism from some community members who had participated in past planning efforts. “We heard this from a couple of our champions that have been through this process with this town a number of times,” he said. Eaton added that some would view the plan as “another pretty document that’s gonna sit there.” However, he said this council intends to prove otherwise.
“This council is ready for accountability from its citizens,” Eaton said. “I certainly hope that our residents do hold us accountable for that.”
He also noted that some items in the plan had already been completed. “We didn’t stop working while we were building this,” he said.
Council Reaction and Vote
Vice Mayor Cathy Adam spoke in support of the plan. “It’s very amazing what comes out the other side from when we started,” she said. She acknowledged contentious debate among council members during the process but said they share a common goal. “At the end of the day, I’m here as everyone else is here to promote the town,” Adam said.
Council Member Tony Bencina thanked the Raftelis team and all participants. He said he was satisfied with the content and process. However, he said he had reviewed Raftelis’s work for other clients and “was looking for something more exciting.” He also said he wished the council had more involvement toward the end of the process.
Vice Mayor Adam then moved to approve the Florence strategic plan as presented. Council Member Nicole Buccellato seconded the motion. All seven members voted yes.
According to the agenda staff report, the act of adopting the plan carries no immediate fiscal impact. Future costs will be evaluated through the annual budget and Capital Improvement Program processes. The staff report also states that staff will report periodically to the council on progress and outcomes.
