Vision, Strategic Plan, Culture

Strategic Plan and Leadership Summit
Wasco County's Strategic Summit and Leadership Development session was held in February 2023.  The Leadership Team used a SWOTT analysis (which reviews Strengths and Weaknesses (internal), Opportunities and Threats (external), and Trends) to identify the environment the county works in. Additionally, the team explored the financial position of Wasco County, both in the present and up to 30 years into the future. The analysis and review, along with a compilation of the individual department strategic plans, helped us form the basis of the 2023/2024 Wasco County Strategic Plan. The Wasco County 2023-2024 Strategic Plan has been adopted by the Board of County Commissioners and provides a view of County-wide actions currently in progress.

Vision, Mission and Core Values
The uniqueness of Wasco County – its history, its citizens, and what they need – feeds our vision of service as a county government. 

VISION STATEMENT: Pioneering pathways to prosperity

Pioneering: the definition means to invent new things, go into unexplored territory, or act as pioneer. Wasco County (as a government agency serving the citizens), will look to find innovative ways to open doors and create opportunities for Wasco County (the geographic area and its citizens) to prosper while at the same time ensuring that we don’t forget our past.

Pathways: We are a County of pathways, from the past to the present. We have a constant tie to our past, and we live with a constant tension between preservation and progress. Embodied in our story are the pathways of the Oregon Trail, the rivers, railroads and Interstate. These pathways not only serve as avenues to market, recreation, and agriculture, they are the intangible pathways that allow us to move forward toward an opportunity. Pathways are also the key to a successful future. Finding the right path — both internally and externally, tangible and intangible — for Wasco County is at the core of achieving our Vision.

Prosperity: This means that our county prospers from our past and into our future. It is a vision of our county that balances where we came from and where we are going. It ensures that we are prosperous while we move forward, and at the same time does not discount where we have come from. Travelers on the Oregon Trail headed West in search of prosperity for their families, we follow a similar trail in search of prosperity for Wasco County (both the entity and the geographic area).

Together these three words embody what Wasco County envisions to be: a County that looks for new ways to open opportunities for ourselves, our citizens and creates landscapes in which we will prosper, all while balancing the tension between preservation and progress.

MISSION STATEMENT: Partner with our citizens to proactively meet their needs and create opportunities.

County government is usually the first agency citizens turn to when they need help doing something they can’t do themselves. Our mission statement reflects that we will work with citizens, in an active versus reactive way, to create opportunities that “pioneer pathways to prosperity.”

CORE VALUES:
Embody the 100% Love culture
  • Equity and fairness in all things
  • Keep an open mind and be open to change
  • Kindness and compassion for people who live in our community
  • Love what you do and have fun doing it
  • Build a strong team
  • Excellence in service
Relationships are primary
  • Relationships come first, whether individuals or organizations
  • Be a good neighbor
  • Use honest and active communication
  • Say what you mean, with 100% Love
Do the right thing, even when no one is watching
  • Provide open access and transparency
  • Accountable for actions and decisions
  • Be impeccable stewards of our resources
  • Strive to be the best performing rural county government