THAT Council of Town of The Blue Mountains directs the Administration Department to report on the 2020-2024 Corporate Strategic Plan as to date no reports have come before Council since the commencement of this term of council in November 2022;
AND WHEREAS the Accountability and Transparency Committee met on Monday March 4th, 2024, and the committee would like to move forward with the Council approved Terms of Reference for this committee, but we need to have the Corporate Strategic Plan updated and reported to Council, before moving forward;
AND WHEREAS the Administration Department was to report to Council three times annually on the progress of the actions. The final report was due January 2024 and to date we have not received this report;
AND WHEREAS the Mandate of the Accountability and Transparency Committee is to create and implement a plan to grow trust between the community and the Town, by reviewing, modernizing, and designing the corporate strategic plan to create a responsive and democratic governance structure within the Town. This outcome will be achieved by recommending to Council to support the following actions:
- Educating staff, Council, residents, stakeholders, and visitors to ensure a shared understanding and meaning about the Town’s corporate strategic plan while also building a culture of learning and providing evidence of change
- Updating the “Accountability and Transparency of Town Actions to the Public Policy, POL.COR.07.01”
- Recommending strategies that will ensure Council, residents, stakeholders, and visitors continue to be educated on all Town direction and activities
- Reviewing of the Staff Report template to ensure that corporate strategic objectives are aligned with the established policies of the Town, Grey County, the Province, and the Federal Government
- Decision making of staff and Council is supportive of the corporate strategic objectives
- Collaborating with Communications staff to ensure all elements of accountability and transparency are engrained into every Town communication vehicle including surveys.
- Reviewing and providing recommendations regarding the Code of Conduct
- Providing recommendations on the establishment of the Lobbyist Registry and its ongoing effectiveness
- Reviewing and, where appropriate making recommendations on any other matter that comes forward during Committee discussions through the lens of accountability and transparency or as requested by Council
- The mandate will be supported by measurable action items and timing
- Ongoing and continuous monitoring of accountability and transparency of trends and issues
AND THAT Council give support to receiving an update of the Corporate Strategic Plan so that the Accountability and Transparency Committee may move forward before our next meeting in April. I would also ask for the report to include the timeline for the commencement of the next corporate strategic plan.