Strategic Plan
2023 - 2027 Strategic Plan
What is a Municipal Strategic Plan?
Vision and Mission
The Strategic Plan will start with a brief long-term vision: what sort of a community is Espanola aiming to be in 20 or 30 years? It will also summarize the mission of the municipal corporation: what is the role of the municipal corporation in helping to achieve the long-term community vision. Espanola last prepared a Strategic Plan in 2013. While many things have changed since then, the long-term vision of residents and businesses is not likely to have changed much.
Taking Stock
The Strategic Plan will outline the current and foreseeable circumstances of both the community and the Town, noting the advantages (circumstances that may help the community toward its vision and/or the Town in its mission) and the challenges (circumstances that may hinder the community to realize its vision and/or the Town to meet its mission). Not surprisingly, financial issues are a common limiting factor, while infrastructure conditions and the local economy are common challenges.
Four-Year Objectives
Against this background of foreseeable advantages and challenges, the plan will
- set out a number of objectives for the next four years of municipal decisions and activities
- apply a framework for setting priorities among all the possible objectives
- define the measures by which the Town will monitor - and report to the public about - the extent to which objectives are being achieved
Action Plan/Specific Initiatives
In order to achieve its objectives, the Town of Espanola will spell out specific initiatives (or continuation of ongoing initiatives) that will yield definite progress over the next year or two toward each objective. The action plan will assign responsibilities (typically to a senior member of Municipal staff) for completing each initiative, estimate resource requirements, and identify other conditions that need to be met for the initiative to be successful.
Monitoring and Reporting
Finally, the plan will commit the Town to incorporating the plan's objectives into municipal decisions, budgets, and activities; to monitoring regularly how much progress is being made; and to reporting to Council and the public.
It’s Common Sense
It’s only common sense for municipalities to plan. Once it is decided on what the Town wants to achieve, and take account of the resources available to work with, there is a better than average chance of achieving those objectives.
The Sky Is Not The Limit
Available funds and time will keep our feet firmly on the ground, but when the Town of Espanola and the community move forward in the same direction, progress is inevitable!
For more information on the 2023-2027 Strategic Panning process please visit: www.espanola.ca/strategic-planning
For more information contact:
Allan Hewitt
Chief Administration Officer/Treasurer
705-869-1540 Ext. 2102