Tillamook County, Oregon – Community members are being asked to shape the strategic direction of Tillamook County. The Tillamook County Futures Council, in partnership with Oregon State University (OSU), has launched a community survey to collect opinions from across the county to better understand what community members want Tillamook County to look and feel like in 20 years. An in-depth community visioning process will help inform the development of a community plan by exploring the positive aspects of our communities and understanding areas where Tillamook County can do better. “We value your input and perspectives, and we encourage everyone’s participation in this important process,” said Jennifer Purcell, Chair, Tillamook County Futures Council.

The survey is now available online in both English and Spanish at www.TillamookSurvey.com and has been extended until March 15th.

The Tillamook County Commissioners have charged the Tillamook County Futures Council with updating the County’s Strategic Vision. Much has changed in Tillamook County since Tillamook County’s Vision 2020 was developed in the late 1990s. The Tillamook County Commissioners want their priorities and decision-making to reflect citizens’ vision for the future. In order to do a good job of that, the Commissioners need to know what the community wants. An update to the County’s Strategic Vision will provide a timely shared vision for Tillamook County’s future.

The Tillamook County Futures Council was established by the Board of County Commissioners in 1997 as an advisory committee to develop a citizen-based vision for Tillamook County. Today, the Futures Council serves as stewards of the County Vision, encouraging citizen engagement, promoting partnerships, monitoring progress, and updating the Vision through broad-based community input. Over the past 20 years, the Futures Council has heard about priorities in the areas of health and human services, youth and education, society and culture, the economy, growth and development, and the natural environment. We want to hear from you. What is important to ensuring your vision for the future of Tillamook County is attainable? What are emerging as priorities today?

Grounded in citizen engagement, the process to update the County’s Vision seeks to capture a diversity of points of view to ensure that the Vision represents all of Tillamook County. This strategic planning process began last Fall with a series of interviews with community leaders throughout the county. The Futures Council and OSU have also been working with each of the county’s school districts to solicit student input and participation, ensuring the county’s youth have an active voice in the future of our communities. And recently, OSU launched a community survey distributed to a random sample of Tillamook County households to help the Futures Council better understand what community members want their communities to look and feel like in 20 years. If you would like to participate in this community survey and have not yet been able to do so, the survey is now available to the general public online in both English and Spanish at www.TillamookSurvey.com and will be open through February 28, 2021.

The Tillamook County Futures Council is an advisory committee to the Board of County Commissioners serving as stewards of the county Vision and its ongoing visioning process. The Futures Council is charged with encouraging citizen involvement in issues that relate to Tillamook County’s Vision and communicating the citizen’s priorities and perspectives back to the Commissioners. The Futures Council accomplishes its mission by convening community conversations, facilitating citizen and stakeholder engagement, and assimilating broad-based community input to inform decision-making.