McMinnville leadership being recognized for overall excellence from the Tennessee Municipal League following a multi-year effort to transform city operations.
Administrator Nolan Ming said the recognition represents a significant achievement that impacts the entire local population. Ming said the city reached this milestone by spending several years identifying how to best deliver public value through a structured organizational mission.
“I would definitely say it feels great,” Ming said. “It’s a huge accomplishment for the entire community. The entire community benefits when the city does well and is recognized for it. So, I think we all win with an award like this.”
Ming said the city initiated a strategic planning process four years ago that utilized online surveys and in-person focus groups to gather feedback from residents. Ming said the administration also conducted workshops with elected officials and city employees to establish a shared vision for the municipality.
“Our mission is to provide reliable and cost-effective services that support our community’s safety and enhance the quality of life,” Ming said. “We continually improve McMinnville by fostering an atmosphere of integrity, innovation, and collaboration. Our vision is to keep McMinnville safe and fiscally sound, balancing small-town friendliness with opportunities for all, with superior services delivered in an attractive community with beautiful natural amenities.”
Ming said the city adopted seven core values including safety, integrity, innovation, and financial responsibility to guide employee performance. Ming said the administration is currently preparing to renew the strategic plan as the original three-year cycle concludes.
“It’s time to refresh, take a look at what goals we’ve met, what goals we need to reset, and maybe what new goals we need to put out there,” Ming said. “I would hate to put words into the community’s mouths as far as what they would like to see from us. But as always, we’re hoping to continue to focus on our safety and our infrastructure here.”
Ming said the city implemented a Pavement Condition Index scoring system to manage transportation infrastructure more efficiently. Ming said this technology allows the city to scan streets and perform surgical repairs in numerous problem areas rather than exhausting the budget on just one or two roads.
“Better transportation would look like more paving,” Ming said. “We would always like to do more paving than we have money to pave with. So trying to get smarter about how to fix the streets through, we have a new process.”
Ming said maintaining high standards in local government ensures that tax revenues are utilized in the most effective manner possible. Ming said the ultimate goal of achieving excellence in leadership is to provide a high quality of life for residents, workers, and visitors.
“My vision is to continue to execute the vision of our board and the community by continually asking them, them being the public, what is it that we’re doing well and what is it that we need to be doing better,” Ming said.
Ming said the city plans to maintain its momentum by staying in constant contact with the community to understand evolving needs.