The Strategic Plan sets goals and objectives, which provide the overall destinations of the plan. It also lists actions needed to accomplish the goals and objectives. The implementation plan describes how these actions will be carried out. It is likely that the implementation plan will span shorter time blocks and will be revised based on the pace of the implementation. For each action, the implementation plan spells out:

• priority ranking
• time schedule
• personnel responsible for administering and carrying out the action
• funding sources
• specific budget on an annual or multi-year basis and funding source(s)

Review Priorities

Priority rankings are used to phase activities over time so that high priority tasks are completed before low priority tasks. Use the previously established priority rankings of goals and objectives to determine how to allocate the budget. For example, dealing with a backlog of potentially hazardous trees may be the highest priority in the first years of the plan. After the backlog has been cleared out, other actions (such as replanting after tree removals) may have the next highest priority.

Also, decide if you want to include viable actions in the implementation plan that were considered, but not selected due to lack of priority or funding.

What are the highest priority actions? Rank actions according to priority.

Which actions need to occur in a specific sequence?

Establish Time Frames and Timelines

The implementation plan should include realistic timelines for conducting actions and meeting objectives. Some activities need to be completed in a certain order. Budget and funding affect the timeline for plan activities. Following the level-of-service approach, it might be advantageous to delay or spread out implementation of lower priority actions to ensure that high priority tasks are accomplished first. Long-term urban forest management plans often have to be completed in phases. An implementation plan might span the first phase, for example one to five years. (If it only covers one year, it can be called an annual plan.) Implementation plans are regularly revised and adjusted according to factors that speed or slow progress.

Should goals, objectives, and/or actions be phased or organized by time frame, e.g. within one, five, or ten years?

As the implementation plan is developed, it might become clear that some actions actually require multiple steps to complete. If so, it is useful to specify time schedule, budget, and responsibilities for each separate step in an Implementation (Actions) Matrix.

Assign Responsibilities

The implementation plan should indicate who and which department is going to carry out the actions. For actions that require cooperation and coordination between departments, all department managers involved should agree on assigned responsibilities. Managers should also agree on the level of priority that is needed to ensure that actions can be implemented successfully. Developing and revising implementation plans usually occurs at the program level by the departments directly involved.

Funding

During your review of existing management activities, sources of existing funding will be identified. If these funds are inadequate for newly identified goals and objectives, one of your new goals will be to develop suitable sources of funding. Grant funding may be appropriate for one-time or infrequent expenses, such as developing educational handouts. Ongoing activities, such as tree care and maintaining the tree inventory, will need a stable source of funding. Some sources of funding for municipal programs include:

• Gas Tax
• Citywide assessment district
• Fines from ordinance violations
• Tree removal permit mitigation fees
• General fund
• Grants
• Community groups
• Corporate/local business sponsorships
• Partnerships with utilities

Dedicated funding is typically more reliable than funding from common sources such as the general fund.

Have you investigated all possible sources of funding for the plan? Determine funding sources/levels for action items.

Budget Development

The implementation plan budgets are needed to help develop annual work plans. Based on available funds, you might be able to accelerate or defer specific management activities called for in the plan. You can develop a level-of-service matrix to show service levels (from minimum to optimum) for each program activity area and their associated costs. This enables decision makers to understand how funding levels will affect program outputs.

How will we develop and present the budget?
Upon which scenario or scenarios (varying levels of service) should the budget be based?

Example Budget Projections

The worksheet below, which is adapted from the one presented in A technical guide to developing urban forestry strategic plans and urban forest management plans by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, can be used to estimate budget figures for tree care.

Activities in the worksheet budgeted by diameter class include:

• Tree removal
• Stump removal
• Immediate priority pruning
• High priority pruning
• Routine pruning

Based on your own experience, you may decide to use different diameter classes or other factors to develop individual cost categories. Overall averages per tree may also be used if you do not track costs by tree category. You can also check with other organizations or communities to get per tree cost estimates if you lack this information.

The spreadsheet from Wisconsin DNR also includes other tree care activities that are not categorized by tree diameter class. Some of these activities may vary according to other categories that you may want to include (e.g., planting site prep may differ based on site characteristics).

Level of Service Matrix

Based on available funds, you may need to accelerate or postpone actions called for in the plan. If you develop a level-of-service matrix, it can help decision makers see how funding levels could affect program outputs (from minimum to optimum). Using a level-of-service approach, you might choose to delay the completion of lower priority actions to ensure that higher priority tasks are accomplished first.

Broad urban forest program level of service budget projections

Another example of budgeting is found in the Davis Community Tree Management Plan developed in 2002. This plan used a level of service (LOS) matrix. Level of service methodology has been applied in various areas of planning, including traffic planning and emergency response. A LOS matrix is developed by selecting specific scenarios that address plan goals to varying degrees and determining the cost associated with each scenario. The LOS matrix provides a way to show the costs and benefits associated with different levels of management inputs.

The Davis plan explains how each level of service was determined. Levels of service were based on the City of Davis’s existing urban tree program and best practice recommendations for tree care from various sources. Budget figures are from their calculated expenditures. The table includes both the current LOS and the staff’s recommended LOS for the plan.

A sample survey conducted in Davis showed a backlog of potentially hazardous trees in the street tree inventory. Removing hazardous trees was given the highest program priority in the plan.