What's New
At the June 20th, 2023, meeting of Council, the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan was approved. The Plan sets an overall direction for the current term of Council and identifies clear priorities with goals, objectives, and action plans for each priority.
The top five (5) priorities identified in the plan are:
- Service Delivery and Communications – Goal: enhance service and improve efficiencies.
- Facilities and infrastructure - Goal: ensure long-term viability of our assets and the Town’s financial sustainability.
- Tourism and Events - Goal: to meet the demographics and cultural diversity of our growing community, attract visitors and establish an identity.
- Economic Development and Managed commercial growth - Goal: create a diversified tax base & job growth.
- Transit system & options: implement transportation master plan - Goal: better move people and goods in town and beyond in a sustainable way.
Preparation work began in February of this year with the Town engaging the services of Lockhart Facilitation and the Queen’s Executive Decision Centre to lead Council and Senior Staff in identifying priorities.
“Our day-long strategic planning session was an opportunity to take the group’s broad range of ideas and focus them on an ambitious list we believe is achievable and measurable during our term,” says Toby Randell, Mayor of the Town of Carleton Place. “This list will add day-to-day value to our citizens of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, today and in the future, and will position us to ensure Carleton Place is moving forward in a positive direction.”
“Each newly elected Council is unique, and each individual council member has their own ideas about what is important to them and the community from what they heard
while on the campaign trail,” says Diane Smithson, Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Carleton Place. “By undertaking a Strategic Planning process, it really puts into focus what council would collectively like to accomplish during their term and sets a clear path towards accomplishing those goals, and how Town staff can support them along the way.”
Some of the more urgent objectives identified in the plan include:
- Making more resident services available online including standardized booking systems
- Improving the functionality of the Town’s website
- Improving Asset Management to engage Council and the community on levels of service and effects on assets/budget to ensure long-term viability and sustainability of the Town’s assets
- Developing a Multi-Use Recreation Facility Concept Plan
- Engaging with community partners to determine existing and future community needs/wants
- Creating events tailored to meet community demographics
- Mapping existing industries to identify community gaps
- Undertaking a transit study to identify options for intra (in Town) and inter (between communities) connectivity.
