In municipal government, a business plan is a document outlining how a department or service area will achieve its objectives over a defined period. Business plans typically include a mission statement, goals and objectives, strategies to achieve them, performance measures to track progress, resource requirements, and budget linkages. Business planning connects high-level strategic priorities to operational activities, helping ensure that day-to-day work aligns with council direction. Good business plans provide accountability by setting measurable targets against which performance can be assessed. The term is borrowed from private sector planning but adapted for public sector contexts where profit is not the goal.