WESTLOCK — Westlock County’s CAO has scheduled a meeting with a consultant to work on a strategic plan with the new councillors after the Oct. 18 election.
During council deliberations June 22 about whether or not to pass Coun. Dennis Primeau’s motion and do a survey of taxpayer priorities, Kay Spiess said they could instead hire a consultant and conduct a strategic planning event with the new council.
Primeau’s motion was ultimately defeated, but Spiess told councillors that she does have a meeting scheduled with Kelly Rudyk, a consultant with Sherwood Park-based It’s Logical Strategic Planning Services.
Spiess has worked for Strathcona County before starting her own consulting firm, and former interim CAO Rick McDonald was also based in Sherwood Park.
“I’m starting to think about what we could do with the new council, looking at the strategic plan, what’s needed, and how to take vision and priority developed into an action plan we can actually carry out, which is a lot of problems that Coun. Primeau talked about,” Spiess said.
The current five-year strategic plan was adopted in 2019, but in contrast to municipalities like the Town of Westlock, county councillors do not reference it when they make decisions.
It lists fiscal responsibility and reality, maintaining and improving our transportation network, investing in your quality of life and improving how we communicate with you as council’s strategic priorities.
The plan is also based in continuing to offer the same services, and speaks less to innovation. Since the plan was passed, the county has made some changes they say will improve their communication with residents: meeting briefs are posted online, council meetings are recorded, and the county has ramped up its use of Facebook.
