The mayor of Whitby, Ont., is developing a strategic plan for the next four years and is seeking input from residents to shape their priorities.
This marks the first strategic plan in many years – the last one was released in the ’90s.
Mayor Elizabeth Roy emphasizes that this is a necessary step.
“We’re talking 20 or so years where we have not had what the community wants us to concentrate on,” says Roy.
“I think as a whole as council, we are all in agreement that we should work with the community to say what we have accomplished, where are we at.”
Roy wants to outline plans for the next four years and include public opinion throughout the process. This will help council focus on priorities based on a public survey currently underway.
The main concern identified so far is health care.
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“We’re starting to look at community safety, health care, the hospital and physicians, our open spaces.
Discussions about how we bring initiatives for development in the community,” she says.
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“Community events, diversity. They have also expressed a need and a want for health care and a new hospital.”
Whitby’s chief administrative officer, Matt Gaskell, mentions that they usually don’t get feedback from residents unless it’s about specific issues or budget matters. Gaskell notes that this information will aid them in forming strategies for enhancing the town.
“This is an opportunity for the community to weigh in and share their thoughts and the feedback to inform on the vision, the strategic pillars and action items for the plan,” says Gaskell.
More than 1,300 people have completed the survey which asks locals about government actions, inclusivity, green spaces and other regional topics.
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“Concerns about the town and taking the next steps on the hospital, protection of our green space, we’ve heard about. And homeless issues, lots of issues and we’re still crunching data,” says Gaskell.
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“As Whitby is continuing to grow, the pressure is on the town to deliver services,” he adds. “Really what we need now with this plan is we can align our priorities and help us fashion our investments and where we put our tax dollars.”
Once finalized, officials say it will present a common vision along with goals and objectives guiding how staff and council will manage Whitby over these next four years.
“Next steps are to have that all captured together. March 12th is when we’ll close out responses.
And pulling together that information for further engagement with stakeholders within our community.”
Every completed survey enters participants into a draw as well.
Council plans to engage with residents again later this year before finalizing priorities.
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