In September 2023, I wrote a detailed submission to Mayor Piper and Members of Council opposing the draft 2023–2026 Strategic Plan. I was vehemently opposed to approving it as written and called for the process to restart. Council approved it anyway — largely unchanged — 42 days after the public town hall. What follows is a plain account of what I found wrong, and what I believe we must do differently when the next council takes up this work.
1. The Timeframe Problem
The most fundamental issue with the 2023–2026 plan is that it shouldn't have existed in that form at all. We already had a Strategic Plan running through 2024. Starting a new one in 2023 — approved on November 14th of that year — meant we had already burned through nearly a fifth of the plan's total lifespan before it even took effect.
A Plan That Was Already in the Past
Our existing plan covered 2019–2024. The new plan covers 2023–2026. That's two full years of overlap. We shortened the previous plan's lifespan by 40% without ever formally acknowledging that decision. And the "new" plan only truly covered 2025 and 2026 as genuinely new territory — making it a two-year extension wearing a three-year label.
Beyond the math problem, there's a bigger one: three years is not enough time to execute anything strategic. The incoming 2026 council will inherit a plan that expires the moment they're sworn in — forcing them to scramble for a new one or operate without direction in their first year. A 12-year horizon ending in 2039 would avoid this: 2039 is not an election year, meaning the next planning process can begin on schedule with a stable council ready to lead it.
Compare this to our neighbours: North Bay plans 10 years out. Callander looks 20 years ahead for its community vision. We don't need to match their resources — but we should at least be asking the same kinds of questions about our future.
The next council should develop a 2027–2039 Strategic Plan, with the planning process beginning in early 2027. At 12 years, it avoids expiring in an election year and gives us time to do it properly — producing a plan that can guide meaningful, multi-year decisions.
2. How the Town Halls Failed
I attended the Town Hall meeting at the Commanda Community Centre on June 28, 2023. I left baffled. What was framed as a community engagement session was, in practice, a presentation of the existing plan — with almost no room for new ideas, genuine brainstorming, or resident-driven input.
Scripted, Presenter-Led, and Closed to New Ideas
There was no meeting agenda distributed in advance. No public survey beforehand. No working group, no pre-consultation — no opportunity for residents to shape what would even be on the table.
- A third-party facilitator with no apparent background in strategic planning was tasked with leading the session. The meeting went off the rails quickly and never recovered. It felt like a presentation — not a place for collaboration.
- The facilitator read from the old strategic plan and asked residents what they thought. That is not brainstorming. That is anchoring people to a predetermined outcome and asking them to approve it.
- What came out of the process was a heavily council- and staff-influenced document. There is no evidence that core ideas from residents were brought into the plan in any meaningful way.
- Other municipalities bring together working groups, distribute surveys in advance, and let community themes emerge organically — before any draft is assembled. We did none of that.
Create a joint council-community working committee to design the engagement framework before anything is drafted. Survey residents first. Then hold town halls that are genuinely open-ended — not presentations in disguise.
3. Organization & Structure
The 2023–2026 plan introduced a new visual format — cleaner and more readable than its predecessor. I'll acknowledge that. But better formatting only made the underlying gaps more visible, not less.
Tactics Up Front, Goals Buried
- In the plan as laid out, tactical methods are the most visually prominent elements. The goals — the actual strategic intent — are de-emphasized and easy to miss.
- There is no consistent numbering system. Without reference codes, it is impossible to track progress, produce a report card, or cite specific objectives in a council discussion.
- The Town of Huntsville uses a clear alphanumeric shorthand that allows them to build annual report cards and have precise conversations about specific goals. We should do the same.
A reference system is not bureaucratic overhead — it's what makes accountability possible. If you can't point to goal 2.1.3 in a council meeting and ask for a status update, the plan is just a document sitting on the website.
Adopt a hierarchical naming convention — section, sub-section, and numbered objective — so that any goal can be cited, tracked, reported on, and amended by name throughout the council term.
4. The Goals Framework
The goals in the 2023–2026 plan bundle too many things together, making it impossible to determine what success actually looks like. A goal like "ensure effective communication while maintaining municipal services and meeting the needs of the community" contains at least two distinct objectives — each deserving its own treatment.
Goals That Can't Be Measured Can't Be Achieved
To show what's possible, I broke down just part of the plan's first strategic area into six discrete, measurable, actionable objectives:
| Reference | Objective |
|---|---|
| 1.1.1 | Create a licensing model for short-term rental properties, including enforcement mechanisms for excessive noise and disruption |
| 1.1.2 | Develop a property standards policy |
| 1.1.3 | Develop a clean yard by-law with enforceable restrictions appropriate to a rural township |
| 1.2.1 | Implement radar speed signs on municipal roadways |
| 1.2.2 | Develop a public education strategy related to speed safety |
| 1.2.3 | Complete a Community Risk Assessment |
Six specific goals — from just one section of one strategic area. With this kind of specificity, residents can follow along. Council can be held to account. And at the end of the term, we can actually answer the question: what did we accomplish?
The plan also needs to make a clear distinction between two types of goals:
- Passive (Continuous) Goals — things that are ongoing and never truly "done," like maintaining transparency, supporting volunteerism, or preserving natural heritage. These matter, but they are not deliverables.
- Actionable Goals — specific things that need to happen, can be completed, and can be marked as Not Started, In Progress, or Complete. These are what a report card is built on.
Break every goal to its lowest common denominator: time-bound, specific, and achievable. Separate passive commitments from actionable deliverables. Publish an annual progress report against every actionable goal at a public meeting.
5. What Was Left Out Entirely
Even setting aside the structural problems, there are substantive issues that have been raised by residents repeatedly — at council meetings, at committee meetings, and in public forums — that did not find their way into the 2023–2026 plan. These are not fringe concerns. They are recurring themes that any serious strategic planning process should have surfaced.
Four Areas the Plan Ignored
Procurement & RFP Reform
The Township's RFP process produced two high-profile failures: the municipal software replacement that arrived massively over budget and required a significant scope reduction, and the CAO recruitment contract where the promised deliverables weren't met. These failures need to be addressed in the plan — not ignored.
Modernization & Technology
The Township now has Bell Fiber available. Yet the 2023–2026 plan has almost nothing to say about what that means for residents, home-based businesses, or Township service delivery. Digital property tax bills, complete by-law access online, and digital service delivery are present opportunities. They deserve a place in the plan.
Committees & Boards
There is a documented knowledge gap and lack of clear expectations across Township committees and boards. Without clear mandates, training, and direction from council, committees cannot function effectively. A strategic plan should address this directly — including mandate letters and annual objectives.
Capital Facilities Vision
What facilities does Nipissing Township want to have in 20 years? A council chamber that functions properly? A museum with adequate space? The $4M Township Office and Public Works replacement the Asset Management Plan identifies? These conversations are happening in fragments — without the big-picture strategic thinking to make them real.
Any new strategic plan must directly address procurement reform, digital modernization, the role and expectations of committees and boards, and a long-range capital facilities vision — by name, with specific objectives and timelines.
The Full Record
The complete submission — including all six formal recommendations, talking points, and an unfiltered post written the night of the Town Hall — is available below in full.
Why This Connects to Everything Else
Strategic planning is not a standalone file. It is the foundation that anchors every other priority. Each of my four campaign priorities depends on a strong, community-driven plan to give it policy footing and hold the new council to account.
Fiscal Responsibility
A 10-year capital forecast and rigorous goal structure ties spending decisions to public commitments — not last-minute motions.
Community Services & Recreation
Facilities planning, committee mandates, and recreation programming all need a strategic home — with timelines and real accountability.
Communication & Technology
Modernization has been absent from two consecutive plans. It must be named, resourced, and tracked in the next one.
Community Governance
A plan that describes council's role and doesn't follow it is worse than no plan at all. The next council must own its strategic direction.
What I Will Do Differently
If elected to Nipissing Township Council in October 2026, I will advocate from day one for a strategic planning process that does this community justice.
Begin the process in early 2027 — with time to do it properly
A new council should launch strategic planning in its first quarter, with a community working committee, a public survey, and open brainstorming sessions before any draft is written.
Advocate for a minimum 10-year planning horizon
Three-year plans serve the next election. Ten-year plans serve the community. We should plan the way our neighbours do — with ambition and a genuine long view.
Insist on numbered, time-bound, measurable goals
Every objective must have a reference code, a deadline, and a clear definition of what "done" looks like. Vague goals produce vague results.
Distinguish passive commitments from actionable deliverables
Supporting volunteers is ongoing. Building a new dock at Chapman's Landing is not. The plan must treat these differently — and measure them accordingly.
Require an annual public report card
Progress must be reported at a public meeting every year — goal by goal. Residents deserve to know what was promised and what was delivered, in plain language.
Ensure technology, modernization, and procurement reform are in the plan by name
These topics have been avoided for two terms. The next plan must name them explicitly — with specific objectives, timelines, and someone responsible for each one.
Your Community. Your Plan.
A strategic plan for Nipissing Township should reflect what residents actually want — not what's easiest to produce. If you have a vision for this community, I want to hear it.