Posted: Monday June 03, 2024
At the meeting of Tuesday, May 28th, City Council adopted the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan serves as a comprehensive roadmap for the future progress and development of the community and resulted from the dialogues council members have had with the community, including residents, businesses and other stakeholders.
An executive summary of the plan was shared with the public and feedback was gathered by way of survey between the dates of April 10 and May 7, 2024. Through this process, priorities were validated by survey participants as a vast majority of the feedback received was supportive of the identified priorities. Thank you to all who took the time to participate.
The following four core priorities have been identified for council and staff for the balance of the term:
Our People and Our Community
The priority area of “People and Our Community” is at the heart of a mission to create a vibrant and inclusive environment for all residents and visitors. The City aims to create a place where everyone feels at home and visitors feel welcome. Some of the initiatives at the forefront of this priority include increased customer service and service deliver efforts, transit improvements, modernization of online services and greater efforts to bolster tourism and recreational programming.
Sustainability and Well-Being
Identifying Sustainability and Well-Being as a priority reflects the commitment to a ensure a thriving, eco-conscious, and harmonious community where residents can live, work, and play in a balanced way. Initiatives related to this priority include efforts related to housing intensification and the development of affordable housing options while maintaining neighbourhoods. In the pursuit of environmental sustainability, programs centered around waste reduction and recycling will be launched and parkland development to provide green spaces that enhance the well-being of our citizens will be promoted.
Asset Management
The City recognizes that the foundation of progress lies in the strength and adaptability of infrastructure. With this understanding, the priority of Asset Management has been identified with a commitment to building and maintaining a modern, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure network that not only meets the needs of the community today but also anticipates the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. Initiatives related to Asset Management include modernizing roads, sidewalks and water systems, developing a new recreation complex, expanding the marina and museum and fostering a built environment that promotes both safety and accessibility.
Governance and Policy
Identifying Governance and Policy as a priority demonstrates a firm commitment to fostering transparency and accountability in decision making. Initiatives include enhanced organizational management, the implementation of an asset management and long-term financial planning. Through streamlined processes, data-driven decision-making, and active community engagement, the City aims to strengthen an environment of trust and collaboration. By emphasizing good governance, the foundation for a municipality that is not only responsive to the needs of its residents but is also adaptable to changing circumstances is established.
Staff will begin to incorporate benchmarking and measures that align with the adopted priorities in their future reports and annual updates on the status of the various initiatives will be presented to Council.