The County of Essex’s first ever Strategic Plan is already showing positive results.
At last week’s county council meeting, deputy warden Joe Bachetti said that members of county council, thanks to the plan, are growing as leaders.
“We have done a paradigm shift. We are out there in the community,” said Bachetti, the deputy mayor of Tecumseh.
County CAO Sandra Zwiers brought county council up to date on the plan and said that the three goals are – Working as Team Essex County, Growing as Leaders in Public Service, and Building a Regional Powerhouse.
“People right now are seeing the County of Essex in the news. They know county councillors exist and we are going to build on that foundation,” said Bachetti.
Bachetti added that those three goals are exemplified in the fact that last Wednesday night the county acknowledged several of its employees for their contribution to Essex County.
As well as several honourable mentions the following were recognized as the recipients: Teamwork – Tanya Fick, Innovation Award – Adam Jamieson, Service Excellence Award – Nicholas Kramer, Empowerment Award – Janey Murphy.
In her presentation to council, Zwiers noted that creation of the first Strategic Plan has had some challenges especially in that first year, 2023 in which there were significant turnover in senior leadership.
“The worse thing that can happen with a Strategic Plan is that it can sit on a shelf and gather dust. Administratively we don’t want to see that happen,” said Zwiers.
In her report she said that recent political events both at home and abroad create uncertainty for the county and that the strategic plan allows the county to move forward in a positive direction.
In February 2023, Strategy Corp was brought on as the consultants for the plan, which among other areas focuses on decision-making, service delivery and organizational priorities.
Zwiers said that it was a complete task that included employee engagement surveys and meetings with the public.
“It was a real robust consultation process and there were some tough conversations around this (county council) table as we tried to develop our strategic plan.”
The Strategic Plan guides the county into 2027 and Zwiers highlighted some of the 70 tasks to complete the plan. The completion of those range from being 100 percent to 20 percent.
Bachetti gave accolades to county warden and Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald for having the vision to see the county has a Strategic Plan.
“I know this is one thing she wanted to accomplish. It’s the first for the county,” he said.
Essex County’s Strategic Plan showing positive results
By Fred Groves
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