By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Essex County Council received an update on the implementation of its very first Strategic Plan as information during its November 5 meeting.
CAO Sandra Zwiers was pleased to report that 83% of the action items outlined in the document are either fully completed or in the progress of being completed since County Council approved the first Strategic Plan for the County of Essex in December of 2023.
Since implementation, County staff has been working on its implementation, Zwiers told the regional decision-makers. She wanted to take the time to explain how staff has been able to advance some of those initiatives outlined in that framework.
The vision – to be a regional champion and trusted partner in delivering services for the success of local communities; mission – deliver fair and valuable regional programs and services for communities; and values – accountability, inclusion, teamwork, equity, champion, service excellence – outlined in the Strategic Plan are “meant to inspire each of us at the County to advance the County of Essex in a lasting, positive way,” Zwiers said.
They are posted throughout the Essex County Civic and Education Centre and other locations.
The strategic plan had three main goals: working as team Essex County, growing as leaders in public service excellence, and building a regional powerhouse.
Since she provided an update on the Strategic Plan back in March, Zwiers said originally there were 70 action items. Now there are 96, which includes action items related to Sun Parlour long-term care home that the County operates.
Under the goal of working as team Essex County, one of the achievements include the implementation of the HRIS software system that is working to improve efficiencies with HR and payroll.
Improvements in scheduling still need to be done.
The County has also connected with regional groups to talk about shared services and systems, and integrated the Strategic Plan into corporate and divisional business planning and budgeting processes. That’ll be noticed when County Council goes through the 2026 Budgeting process in the near future.
In the goal of growing as leaders in public service excellence, Zwiers said there have been a number of accomplishments, including tracking metrics for Council. Each department will present an annual update that will include more robust stats on the work being done. The County has also established middle-manager meetings, which has been well-received.
There have also been sessions through the Council training program, with more to come in the new year. A Strategic Planning session has also been completed for Sun Parlour Home.
In the goal for building a regional powerhouse, Zwiers said the County has developed an annual Asset Management Plan, passed the Official Plan – a road map as to how land will be used over the next 30-years, created an Affordable Housing Strategy, and has been working towards the culmination of the Development Charges By-Law.
In terms of advancing Truth and Reconciliation, Zwiers said the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) was able to present its work on its action plan for that. The County is working towards incorporating the work AMO has done on this file to develop its own RFP that will be released to the public before the end of the year to have an action plan.
Looking ahead to 2026, Zwiers said administration has tried to craft the upcoming budget that highlights and touches on the key goals of the Strategic Plan.
In the future, the hope is to reconvene with the consultant who put the Strategic Plan together and Council to ensure validation of the direction being taken.
Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy noted there was a lot of good information provided in the report. She asked why the documents outline holding the implementation of the Regional Affordable Housing and Attainable Housing Strategy.
Zwiers noted the next step in that process is to convene a workshop with the County and its local municipal partners to determine what achievable recommendations would be. The plan tried to outline low-cost, high-impact solutions. There was a need to have a dedicated platform to discuss what is achievable and the timeline. Then, some final recommendations can be brought back to County Council for consideration.