Debate over goals and objectives and performance measures for the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development.during last week’s Chautauqua County Legislature should have been pretty mundane.

For the record, the goals are:

– to improve the quality of life for all county residents by completing more than 10 plans and studies;

– implement state-mandated programs to ensure state compliance and effective governance;

– support smart growth principles, complete streets and placemaking initiatives in downtown corridors to attract residents, address population decline and provide labor to open positions;

– focus on long-term economic sustainability while minimizing environmental impacts and preserving natural resources;

– promote, protect and celebrate the county’s tourism destinations and preserve and improve water quality, support biodiversity and ensure the sustainable use of water resources;

– improve the quality of life for all county residents;

– focus on long-term economic sustainability; and

– improve the business environment in Chautauqua County.

No wonder legislator Fred Larson, D-Jamestown, wanted to place increasing the number of jobs at the top of the Planning and Development Department’s list of goals. There was no appetite for that among most county lawmakers, so instead the legislature approved a set of “goals” – and we use the quotation marks sarcastically – that are things the department already does.

Some of the goals are duplicative. Many are just part of the department’s current workload. Focusing on long-term economic sustainability includes helping the IDA identify and develop shovel ready sites – which really should be something that is already happening. Performance measures for improving the quality of life for county residents includes administering the county’s eight community contracts and ensuring compliance with contract guidelines.

Measuring how the county supports smart growth principles, complete streets and placemaking initiatives includes facilitating 35 community outreach initiatives by engaging residents and municipalities in planning and development processes throughout the county.

And some are so easy to meet that, with apologies to Geico, even a caveman could do it. Performance measures for focusing on long-term economic sustainability while minimizing environmental impacts and preserving natural resources includes applying for four or more grants to secure funding for projects that the county has already identified.

How will the county know it’s promoted, protected and celebrated the county’s tourism destinations, preserved and improved water quality, supported biodiversity and ensured the sustainable use of water resources? By administering more than 50 existing contracts and working continuously to improve the bed tax agency contracts and competitive grants programs.

Most of these goals are bureaucratic gobbledygook that don’t mean anything and simply keep the county doing what it already does – but some things we want to do better, like administer existing grants.

No wonder Larson wanted to place creating jobs at the top of the county’s list. Good jobs help create community wealth. The problem is the county can’t create jobs. It’d be great if it could. The best any government can do is to set the stage for job creation – running a lean government, keeping taxes low, having development sites read and programs to help get businesses off the ground, and beating the bushes to place Chautauqua County and its development sites in front of as many companies as it can.

Larson’s focus on jobs is commendable. While we don’t think government can create jobs, we give Larson credit for trying to come up with a goal that holds the Planning and Economic Development Department’s feet to the fire on something rather than allowing the legislature to lob softballs at the department. If these goals are the best the legislature thinks its planners and economic development department can do, we’re all in big trouble.