Elliot Lake residents have a brief opportunity on Tuesday and Wednesday, to participate in the development of our new Strategic Plan.
The Strategic Plan outlines the city's main objectives and how we plan to achieve them. This is an important exercise because a strategic plan has a long life. The last time our plan was updated was in 2014.
Drop-in sessions at the Public Library are scheduled for residents to view the draft plan, ask questions, and offer suggestions. Residents can also view and comment online. Details of the drop-in schedule and where to find the online Strategic Plan and feedback form are at the end of this column.
“Effective strategic planning articulates not only where an organization is going and the actions needed to make progress, but also how it will know if it is successful.” – Balanced Scorecard Institute
Where are we going? What actions are needed to get there? How do we measure progress? And how do we know we have reached our goal?
Presently, the draft Strategic Plan does not include a Vision Statement. That leaves us without a clear description of where the Strategic Plan is taking us. As well, the action descriptions are very general and there are few measured goals.
Some urgent needs are only addressed lightly or are missing altogether. Here are three examples.
- Housing strategy
There is no strategy for new housing. We are in a housing crisis in Canada. The province just pledged $400 million annually for three years, to Ontario municipalities to build new housing. It was announced at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) last Wednesday. Councillors Norman Mann and Luc Morrissette attended the conference.
- Employment opportunities
There are no specific plans for creating employment.
- Infrastructure maintenance
The plan mentions "comprehensive asset management planning." We should know what this includes because the general state of our infrastructure with recent building failures and shutdowns, makes this information critical.
We should also know what is meant by “This will be done by balancing the needs of the community with available finances, resources, and capacity.” What does that mean specifically, for roads, sewer, water mains; and recreation and culture infrastructure?
Tuesday and Wednesday is our opportunity to review the plan, offer feedback, add ideas for improvement, and point out missing items.
A good plan needs input from all the stakeholders.
If we snooze, we lose, Elliot Lake!
Drop-in Schedule and Online info
Elliot Lake Public Library
Tuesday, Aug 29,
- 6 to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug 30,
- 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
- 2 to 4 p.m.
- 6 to 8 p.m.
The draft Strategic Plan and the Feedback form are on the City of Elliot Lake website.
Draft Strategic Plan pdf: here
Feedback form: here