The Strategic Plan is a key foundational document that serves as a blueprint to build and improve our organization. It is designed to focus our attention and guide our decision making as we continue to transform the District into a reference agency of exceptional quality and best industry practices. This plan is the result of a year-long collaborative effort between all members of our organization and commences where the previous strategic plan concluded. Information for this plan was gathered in both group settings and individual one-on-one meetings with all employees and key stakeholders of the District. The Board formally adopted this plan on February 25, 2009.

The Business Plan is designed to guide the implementation strategy developed to accomplish the vision and goals set forth in the 2008-2013 Strategic Plan. Whereas the Strategic Plan describes our dreams, the Business Plan details our action plans, defines our facility, apparatus and equipment needs, outlines our personnel and funding requirements, and provides a comprehensive method to measure our progress. Planning and control processes include 189 specific goal statements and performance indicators to chart and monitor our course. The Business Plan aims to further integrate and align agency focus around the five major goal areas identified in the Strategic Plan and reinforces our commitment to achieving results through the use of rigorous performance measures and information-led management techniques being pioneered by the District.

By addressing critical questions, the Self-Assessment Manual (SAM) contains detailed evaluations of all District programs and activities and compares our effectiveness next to the best practices in the industry. The findings from these evaluations form the basis for future goals and planning activities of the District in a focused, organization-wide effort to understand and improve the quality of our services. Where practices were found to be deficient, specific action plans for tangible improvement were developed and incorporated into the 2008-2013 Business Plan. These action plans can be found in the Goals and Performance Indicators section of the Business Plan beginning on page 15. The methodology used to prepare and present the SAM is consistent with the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) and the Commission of Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) model (7th Edition).

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) presents the financial position of the District as well as significant demographic and statistical information to help the reader understand the financial health and operational condition of the District. The CAFR also offers residents and other interested parties extensive historical data about the District. Several prior CAFRs are also available for review or download.

The Annual Operating Budget is a detailed public plan of the expected revenues and intended expenditures of the District for each fiscal year, which begins July 1st and ends June 30th. The development and ultimate adoption of the budget requires considerable effort by the entire management team and the Board of Directors. The budget represents a one year implementation of the Business Plan stated in monetary terms.

The Standards of Cover (SOC) establishes written policies and procedures that define the distribution, concentration and deployment of District resources. The fundamental purpose of an SOC analysis is to determine whether an agency is prepared to provide a level of service commensurate with its responsibilities, risks and service level objectives. This study has a broad set of long-range applications including performance benchmarking, land use planning, CFAI accreditation and Insurance Services Office (ISO) compliance.