Kimberley City Council received the newly finished Corporate Strategic Plan last week, a document begun shortly after the new Council was elected in 2011.
“All of Council has been involved in the development of this plan,” said Mayor Ron McRae. “It represents a watershed in terms of corporate planning for our City.”
The plan developed from Council wanting a more informed environment from which to operate, McRae said.
“We’re happy to be involved in this,” said Troy Pollock, speaking for the City’s Planning Department. “We see value in it. It will make sure our processes and decisions are in line with Council’s priorities.”
The purpose of the plan is to provide direction and set strategic priorities for the City’s limited resources. First and foremost, the City is committed to becoming a sustainable community, meaning a community with a robust economy and serving a strong, equitable society, with a highly functioning natural environment.
The plan identifies strategic goals and priorities in three basic categories that encompass everything the City does.
Services - encompasses all direct (or via third party) services to citizens and visitors
Governance - encompasses the structures and processes under which the City must operate and the fundamental service of providing leadership to the community.
Corporate Capacity - encompasses various components of the City’s ‘machine’ that ar the foundation from which all of the City’s services are provided. This includes staff, finances, physical assets and internal processes/systems.
Within each category, goals have been set. For instance, within services is economic development, and within that strategic priorities include the branding process, marketing industrial lands, finding an economic anchor, and encouraging regional engagement and partners. Secondary goals include pursuing alternative energy opportunities and dealing with climate change issues. Strategic priorities within governance include a corporate structure review, a communications strategy, and a corporate planning and reporting system.
The first priority for corporate capacity is infrastructure sustainability, which means developing a sustainability plan for all major tangible corporate assets (water, sewer, storm, buildings, vehicles and equipment. A service review is also included. The entire plan is available at www.city.kimberley.bc.ca