Municipality of South Huron
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Municipality of South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan 2015 – 2019 FINAL REPORT Adopted by By-Law #02-2016, January 11, 2016 Source: By phrawr from Canada (Autumn Tree) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Contents 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 METHODOLOGY 2 2 COMMUNITY SNAP SHOT .................................................................................................................................3 3 BACKGROUND REVIEW ....................................................................................................................................5 3.1 CURRENT POLICY FRAMEWORK 5 3.2 COMMON THREADS ANALYSIS 7 4 COMMUNITY AND MUNICIPAL ENGAGEMENT ............................................................................................ 10 4.1 PUBLIC MEETINGS 10 4.2 COMMUNITY SURVEY 14 4.3 KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS (20) 34 4.4 INTERNAL PERSPECTIVES 42 4.5 STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION 53 5 COMPETITIVENESS ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................................. 55 5.1 SWOT ANALYSIS 55 5.2 COMPETITIVENESS REVIEW 59 6 STRATEGIC DIRECTION, OBJECTIVES, AND PRIORITIES ......................................................................... 61 6.1 COMMUNITY VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES 61 6.2 KEY PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 64 7 TAKING ACTION .............................................................................................................................................. 65 7.1 INTERPRETING THE ACTION PLANS 65 7.2 ACTION PLANS AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES 67 i MDB Insight: Municipality of South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019 7.3 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 77 8 ANNUAL DEPARTMENTAL UPDATE AND CORPORATE STRATEGIC PLAN ANNUAL REPORT ............. 79 8.1 ANNUAL DEPARTMENTAL UPDATE 79 8.2 CORPORATE STRATEGIC PLAN ANNUAL REPORT 80 9 APPENDIX –TECHNICAL REPORT ................................................................................................................ 81 9.1 POLICIES REVIEWED 81 9.2 COMMUNITY PROFILE 109 9.3 OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE 116 9.4 BUSINESS PATTERNS ASSESSMENT 128 ii MDB Insight: Municipality of South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019 1 Introduction Municipalities are the closest level of government to residents, businesses, and community stakeholders. They act as regulators and social, cultural, and community service providers. They are also on the front line of support for safety and security, and have a fiduciary responsibility to manage growth, development, and community wellbeing. Municipalities regularly face difficult decisions from a community building, asset maintenance, and service provision perspective. With limited resources and means of generating revenue, increasing levels of demand on services, and downloading of responsibilities from other levels of government, it is essential that local municipalities have a clear understanding of where they are, and where they are headed. An overarching strategy is a critical component to effectively managing a municipality’s capability for growth. It is a key tool in ensuring that the Administration’s various roles and responsibilities are integrated, and that local governance is aligned behind a common vision for the future that reflects the aspirations, goals and desires of the community at large. This Corporate Strategic Plan for the Municipality of South Huron has been designed to achieve these goals. It is the product of multiple forms of community engagement that provided local residents, businesses, and various community stakeholders, including those who serve the public, to have their voice heard. During this process it has become abundantly clear that South Huron has a strong climate of community volunteerism, and that people highly value their quality of life which is firmly connected to a beautiful, natural environment with an evident strength in agriculture. However, along with the desire to maintain a small town feel and rural setting, there is also a desire for growth, revitalization, and the ability to increase the population and put steps in motion to secure a sustainable future for generations to come. Another key message that emerged from the strategic planning process was the need for renewed efforts in municipal leadership, administrative efficiency, increased communications, and a greater sense of collaboration with the public. There was a clear recognition that positive changes are taking place, and a strong sense of hope and optimism for the current administration. However, a strong sentiment emerged that the community is looking for its local government to champion the vision for the future, and clearly illustrate its commitment to the Strategic Plan by leading through example. This Plan lays the foundation for the current Council and administration to increase its transparency, accountability, and heighten its level of responsiveness to the community. It establishes a renewed Community Vision, Corporate Mission, and set of Guiding Principles that govern how the Municipality conducts its affairs. Based on extensive research and community, and stakeholder input, it establishes a set of key priorities and strategic objectives that will be pursued during the current term of Council. In order to operationalize these, a series of action plans have been developed for each of the six objectives that are 1 MDB Insight: Municipality of South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019 accompanied by an implementation plan to identify when initiatives should be occurring, and a set of performance measures to allow the Municipality to track and report back on progress to the public. 1.1 Methodology FIGURE 1: SOUTH HURON STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS The diagram in Figure 1 highlights the strategic planning process that Phase I: Project Planning was undertaken for the South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan. Project Launch - Workplan and Consultation Plan and Detailed Report As was identified above, extensive community engagement and an Communications Strategy Outline evidenced based approach was a key priority for the current administration when undertaking the renewal of the Corporate Strategic Plan. In order to support this requirement, MDB Insight delivered: Phase II: Environmental Scan and Consultations SWOT Analysis & Two public focus groups Background Community Internal and External . Competitive Advantages and Interim Report Consultations Review Profile Disadvantages . A community based survey . Twenty key informant interviews . Frontline staff and management survey . Council and senior staff strategic planning workshop Phase III: Strategic Directions, Draft Plan A thorough review of the municipal policy framework was also Selecting Strategic Directions, Strategy Input - Municipal Presentation of the Draft examined and common threads analysis performed to identify key Goals, and Actions Senior Team Strategic Plan policy areas that required integration or alignment with the Strategic Plan. The collective findings from the various strategic planning activities were filtered through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Phase IV: Final Council Strategic Plan Preparation Threats (SWOT) analysis and through a facilitated, democratic Garner Feedback from Internal & External Presentation of the Final Strategic Plan to process, a vision, mission, guiding principles, and key priorities were Stakeholders on the Draft Strategic Plan Council/Municipality established. Finally, strategic objectives and action plans were created to operationalize the plan, including an implementation plan for coordinating resources and metrics to track progress. 2 MDB Insight: Municipality of South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019 2 Community Snap Shot 3 MDB Insight: Municipality of South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019 4 MDB Insight: Municipality of South Huron Corporate Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019 3 Background Review Local policy and governance plays an important role that influences and supports socio-economic, community, and cultural entities, groups and individuals that make up a municipality. These critical stakeholders are valuable partners in community building, and have a direct impact on the policies that are developed and implemented. When considering a strategic plan that will guide the direction of the Municipality and its decision making, the existing policies, strategies, and plans of community partners and key organizational stakeholders must be effectively incorporated into the planning process. The following sections in the Background Review explore the existing strategic plans and initiatives of the Municipality of South Huron and those of groups and organizations that directly influence local public policy considerations. Combined with the outcomes from the consultation efforts and stakeholder engagement, key findings from the policy review are incorporated into components of subsequent sections of this Plan, such as the SWOT and Competitiveness Analysis. These will inform the Municipality of South Huron’s Corporate Strategic Plan and provide Council with a roadmap of key priorities, objectives, and actions rooted in a firm understanding of where South Huron currently is and where it wants to be. FIGURE 2: POLICY FRAMEWORK DIAGRAM 3.1 Current Policy Framework Municipal Regional Policies Policies The diagram in Figure 2 shows the relationship between the various