TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT: 2023-2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan be approved as is; AND THAT consideration of the feedback provided be included as part of the planned annual “check-in” in late winter/spring 2025.

OPTIONS:

Given the extent of new feedback provided, it is important that all members of Council consider the information and determine, as a group, how to proceed. Staff propose the following options:

• Option 1: (Recommended) THAT the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan be approved as is; AND THAT consideration of the feedback provided be included as part of the planned annual “check-in” in late winter/spring 2025.

• Option 2: THAT the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan be approved as is.

• Option 3: THAT consideration of approval of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan be tabled; AND THAT a further discussion of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan be scheduled to take place at a regular meeting within the next month or two to facilitate in-depth consideration of the feedback provided.

Recognizing the iterative, “living document” nature of a strategic plan, and the importance of releasing Council’s Strategic Plan, Staff recommend Option 1.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to obtain approval for Council’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The draft Strategic Plan 2023-2026 was approved in principle at the March 12, 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting and subsequently made available for public comment through the Town’s website and social media feeds.

While no public feedback has been received, two Council members have provided feedback on the Strategic Plan.

ANALYSIS:

The 2023-2026 Strategic Plan is provided as Attachment “A”. In response to Committee comments at that March 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting, the document has been enhanced with photographs for visual interest and, to improve readability, a table of contents has been added and the table format has been replaced.

Given that the Plan is a “living document” and is the subject of regular quarterly updates to Council, the status information has been removed from this benchmark Plan as it will be provided in those regular update reports. Also, the targets and measures information are not included at this time based on discussions during the Strategic Plan workshops where it was noted that additional resourcing in this area would be required to fully develop the few listed targets or establish targets for areas not already identified; collect and analyze the data; and monitor the data to measure progress made on the targets over time.

As noted above, the Plan was made available for public comment through the Town’s website and social media feeds after it received approval in principle at the March 12, 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting. No public feedback has been received.

Two Council members did submit feedback. Feedback from Councillor Kowalewich, provided in a document for a broader diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) discussion already provided on the April 16, 2024 Council agenda package, recommends that a statement on DEI be woven “into future strategic plans”.

Feedback from Councillor Rogers includes comments and questions on the Plan’s vision, which is the current Official Community Plan vision. As well, Councillor Rogers provided feedback on each of the six strategic plan priorities. Councillor Rogers’ feedback is provided as Attachment “B” to this report.

Options for consideration are outlined above.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

CONCURRENCE:

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment “A” – 2023-2026 Strategic Plan Attachment “B” – Feedback received from Councillor Rogers