MD OF BIGHORN – One of Bighorn council’s most important documents was given the thumbs up.
At the Oct. 11 council meeting, Municipal District of Bighorn council gave its approval to move forward with its corporate strategic plan.
“Administration and council have been working diligently on the new council’s 2022-2026 corporate strategic plan,” said Shaina Tutt, director of finance. “This project began back in January and we have reached the closing point of it now, short of any amendments.”
The document is one of the most important for a municipal council, serving as a high level look at what it hopes to achieve in the remainder of the term.
While only 11 pages, it is one of the more labour-intensive projects between staff and council as it outlines the goals and visions.
“I want to thank administration for all the time they took putting into this document,” Reeve Lisa Rosvold said. “It has been a lot of work. We started back at the basics of the incorporation of the MD going up to 2026. Thank you for all your support.”
One month ago, the MD of Bighorn got its first look at the corporate strategic plan. The plan had been presented to council the day before the meeting. Rather than approve the plan, the decision was made to postpone it.
The original plan featured five goals, labelled A-E, for what the MD hoped to accomplish between 2022 and 2026. These goals focused on enhancing the communities, fostering healthy relationships between residents & industries, investing in sustainable infrastructure, and ensuring services evolve to address resident needs.
Goal E was for the MD to be a steward of the natural environment, while balancing the challenge of being a popular tourism destination. In a recent strategic planning meeting, this goal was split into two.
Goal E now reads as safely and thoughtfully balancing the challenge of being a popular tourism destination and an area rich in economic opportunities. The new Goal F states that the MD will be a steward of the natural environment and strengthen its resilience in the face of climate change.
Each of the six goals outlines strategic initiatives, with the intent of improving the municipality.
Among the initiatives are to complete both a Municipal Development Plan and a Recreation and Community Services Programming and Facilities Plan to find what the community wants and needs, while a communications policy for internal and external use will also be established.
The development of an industrial park in Dead Man’s Flats, the creation of new municipal buildings for an operations shop, Exshaw fire hall and administration building as well as an asset management policy are also highlighted.
An emphasis on developing long-term relationships and agreements in the community will be a priority and encouraging environmental responsibility through responsible use of resources by visitors and residents was identified.
The municipality will also plan, prepare and respond to any natural disasters that come from climate change and will assess social, economic and environmental priorities.
Coming back to council on Oct. 11, there were several amendments put forward by council, most of which were centred on issues with wording on various pages such as adding additional graphics like a map, photos and a compass.
Work on the plan took place from January to May, with three planning sessions “that involved hours of comprehensive discussions to map new directions for the municipality by establishing goals and strategic initiatives to guide council and administration over the next four years,” according to a staff report.
“The corporate strategic plan provides a high level view of council’s goals and desired outcomes that administration will incorporate into the capital and operating budgets,” the staff report stated.
“The corporate plan will be reviewed yearly by council to monitor the achievement and progress to attain council’s goals and strategic priorities. The corporate plan is not static and will be amended by council to meet new challenges or create new goals. The corporate strategic plan is a document that adapts and evolves over time.”
