Strategic Planning

Organization Assessment and Staffing Study

The City engaged FCS GROUP in June 2019 to evaluate its workforce and its alignment to needs of the community. This engagement included:

  • Interviewing City management and staff;
  • Conducting an inter-jurisdictional comparison of job duties for similar position titles;
  • Comparing and contrasting organizational structures to neighboring and other communities that have similar contracted public safety services;
  • Identifying cities experiencing or currently undergoing a similar rate of growth; and
  • Evaluating City level of staffing to ensure alignment with current as well as future community level of service (LOS) needs.

Concurrent with our analysis, the City contracted with Washington State University to conduct a citizen’s satisfaction survey to determine the quality of services received and to identify gaps and opportunities to improve the services residents were receiving. The results of our work, along with the results from the community survey, presents a comprehensive and detailed evaluation of the needs facing the City. Using this information, City leadership can outline an informed and thoughtful

pathway to manage and grow the City’s workforce to meet the community’s needs. This report provides highlights and key findings from these bodies of work and outlines a strategic workforce assessment plan to align the City’s organizational structure, the size and make up of its workforce, to meet the needs of the community as identified by the citizen’s survey, City Management and staff, and Mayor and City Council’s vision.

View the Report: Stanwood-FCS Report: Organization Assessment and Staffing Study, May 2020


Community Survey Results

With Stanwood’s recent and rapid growth, the City worked with Washington State University to conduct a community feedback survey for residents of Stanwood and Camano Island. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate the community’s desired levels of service, how to best align our resources to meet them, and how to enhance communications both to and from our citizens.


Stanwood Community Survey WSU FULL Report      

CommSurveyCover