By this time next year, the Town of Quispamsis should have its first strategic plan in place.
Council recently awarded an RFP to a Toronto-based consulting firm to develop the plan.
Aaron Kennedy, the town’s acting CAO, said the plan was identified as a top priority during an internal performance audit in 2019.
“We’re a town that post-amalgamation in 1998 is now up to probably 20,000 people with the next census, so it’s long overdue,” Kennedy said in a phone interview.
The town had hoped to begin the process last year, but Kennedy said it was postponed due to the year-long delay of the May 2020 municipal elections.
“We didn’t think it made any sense to have a strategic plan and then place that upon an incoming council,” he said.
Council awarded the strategic plan RFP to MDB Insight at a cost of just under $40,000.
The firm has committed to working collaborative to craft a plan that “considers local assets, amplifies local strengths, explores opportunities, municipal capacity, and future readiness,” according to a staff report.
Kennedy said the strategic plan will be key to guiding council’s priorities and focus areas over the next several years.
“It’s one of those things when there’s so many things in the bucket right now so it’s important to prioritize so that you’re not chasing every squirrel that runs in front of you along the way,” he said.
Kennedy suspects the plan will cover a four-to-five-year period but said it will depend on what the consultant suggests.
Members of the community will have the chance to provide input during the process, which he said is expected to begin in earnest in the new year.
“Probably late spring, early summer of 2022, we’d be able to put a bow on it and move forward,” said Kennedy.
