The City of Natchitoches has developed a set of strategic goals for the community for 2022. This page provides in detail the City’s goals and objectives for each department within the City of Natchitoches. The goals align with the City’s mission statement which is to serve the citizens of the City of Natchitoches and meet the community’s needs by bringing people together and creating partnerships enhancing the quality of life for all citizens of Natchitoches.
- Increase prosperity among residents by reducing the number of people who live below the national poverty line from a current high of 43.8% to 33.8%
- Decrease the number of violent crimes that occur in the city by 30%
- Maintain and improve the infrastructure that directly impacts our residents.
- Reduce blight by 25%
- Expand the number of households with access to broadband internet by 10% from 59.7% to 69.7%
- Community Development: Further support the development concept for the Texas Street business corridor
- Early Childhood Education: Increase free childcare tuition kids from 50 birth to 3 year olds to 120 for the 2022/2023 academic school year
- Farmers Market: Grow vendor base for the 2022 Spring and Summer Markets
- Beautification: Plan to reach out to local organizations (professional, educational, and private) to implement seasonal projects to help create community between our department and the citizens of the City of Natchitoches
- Maintenance: Hire an individual to oversee street signage maintenance
- Develop an improved recruitment/retention program to entertain opportunities to access money for raises
- Develop an Advanced Life Support system that works on training employees on the paramedic level and places cardiac monitors and the proper cardiac drugs on all of our response vehicles. This will greatly benefit the citizens we serve as well as ensure the safety of our crews
- Develop a strategy to access funding for the moving/remodeling of Station 3 and potential development of a fourth fire station
- Develop our Public Fire Education Program into a regional program where we promote fire safety in our parish and surrounding parishes expanding our ability to assist others by reaching a larger population base
- Stream line department processes for a smother transaction with our customers. The department plans to implement the option to submit and application for a permit online, pay for the permit, and schedule inspections allowing the department to be more efficient and improve their quality of service. Contractors would have the option to create an online account to view permits submitted, inspection requirements and inspection results allowing them to correct any delinquencies that may delay their projects.
- Update department software and technologies. With the constant changes in land use and development it is important to stay up to date so the City can remain competitive in attracting people and businesses for city growth.
- Reduce blight with the assistance of the community. The department will work diligently with property owners in the efforts to revamp abandoned and blighted areas in the community focusing on improving property standards.
- Implementation of Violent Crime Task Force comprised of members from NPD, Sheriff’s Office, and Drug Task Force.
- Deployment of investigative resources during peak-crime periods.
- Field Training Officer program to ensure uniform training for all officers.
- Build upon current surveillance; purchase and placement of surveillance equipment in areas of high crime
- Increase pay and officer retention; seek pay increases to both keep and attract qualified officers.
- Increased participation in community events; increase staff and police participation in the communities they serve; more community-based.
- Establish a community-based action committee with the purpose of identifying public safety issues in communities and developing strategies.
- Achieve a high level of customer service and satisfaction by improving the effectiveness of our services. Increase citizen’s understanding of the function, practices and procedures of the Public Works Department. Improve tracking system for service requests and responding in a timely manner.
- Ensure adequate staffing and equipment to meet the needs of the City and citizens by retaining and growing a skilled workforce through development of on-the-job training to prepare employees for advancement within the department. Working closely with the Finance Director and Purchasing Director to acquire the necessary equipment required to ensure quality projects are completed in the City of Natchitoches.
- Warehouse Inventory: Our goal is to keep the warehouse adequately stocked and to keep the increase of total value to less than 10%. In these current times with material shortages, long lead times for receiving orders, and significantly higher prices, it will be difficult to keep the warehouse stocked with adequate supplies and keep the cost or value of the items in the warehouse from ballooning
- Employee Pay: Work with the new Finance Director to try and find a way to increase employee pay by more than the typical 2% per year. In these current times, it is difficult to attract new employees and to retain the current employees. This should be highly considered to stay competitive with other employers in this region
- Airport Fuel Sales: Fuel sales are a major generator of income for the Airport operations. Even with high fuel prices, our goal is to increase sales volume by 5%
- Increase participation numbers in all recreational opportunities provided by the Recreation Department
- Reimplement adult league activities and other recreational activities for area youth
- Launch a Parc Natchitoches website
- Create an inviting and engaging atmosphere between staff, participants, and volunteers for all league sports and events
- Have all Certified and Non-Certified Water and Sewer Operators advance at least one level a year towards their required levels
- Improve response time from a 10 day to a 5 day turn around on street light work orders
- Trimming 2 to 2.5 miles per month of Right of Way compared to the 1 to 1.5 miles the Electric Department currently trims on average
- Replace approximately 2 miles of cast iron water mains each year if budget permits