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City unveils strategic plan to community

The City of Thompson opened its doors to the public to discuss its strategic plan on June 12 at a breakfast meeting in the City Hall foyer.
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Thompson Mayor Tim Johnston holds one of the City of Thompson's strategic plan 2009 brochures, which outline the values, ideas and concepts city council is founded on.

The City of Thompson opened its doors to the public to discuss its strategic plan on June 12 at a breakfast meeting in the City Hall foyer. Many different people turned out for the meeting, which went over the city's values, core strategies, vision and mission.

Coun. Harold Smith started things off by telling those gathered about the history of the strategic plan and how it was developed. Once the current city council was elected in 2006, Smith says they've been working on developing the strategic plan. Part of this work included holding monthly strategic planning meetings, holding regular strategic planning sessions of the legislative and intergovernmental affairs committee, and attending six neighbourhood meetings in the fall of 2008, where residents were encouraged to talk with council members about ideas on how to make Thompson reach its full potential.

Consultations were also conducted with city employees and community stakeholders in February and a draft document was presented at the time.

Under the values section of the strategic plan, the city outlines the need for accountability and transparency, environmental responsibility, innovation, integrity and credibility, recreational and cultural wellness, respect for employees, respect for people, safety in the community and workplace safety and sustainable growth. Smith says the city will be accountable for its actions and will respect the privacy of people while working in a transparent way. As well, they will be dedicated to attaining value for public funds and, where it's reasonable to do so, providing services on a user-pay basis. He also says that part of being environmentally responsible will include respecting the environment when making decisions and taking precautions to avoid environmental impacts.

The city plans to support and promote healthy living by providing healthy recreational and cultural opportunities for people who live in Thompson and people who come for a visit. Respect for people, a safe community and workplace safety are issues, Smith says, that are very important to city council.

He says council is dedicated to a safe community that people can feel at home in, and that the City of Thompson itself plans to undergo the appropriate training and safety measures to ensure safety is a number one priority within City Hall. Emphasis was also put on sustainable growth and innovation. Smith says that the city is going to look to create opportunities to attract people and businesses to develop and grow in Thompson, and also remain open to innovation and continuous improvement.

The strategic plan's core strategies include communications, community recognition and leadership, healthy community, infrastructure renewal and city development, public safety, safe operations and practices, teamwork and technology. Smith says the city plans on advocating important issues at municipal, aboriginal, provincial and national levels, and plans to encourage healthy lifestyles by strengthening partnerships to expand recreational and cultural opportunities. The city also plans to act under the guidance of an infrastructure renewal plan and a sustainable community plan to ensure the replacement and maintenance of city infrastructure. The city plans on allocating appropriate resources for protective services, creating an improved physical environment and partnering with different organizations to talk about the root causes that revolve around public safety. They also plan to implement a workplace safety strategy.

Smith says the strategic plan will remain as a living document that future councils will be mandated to review and update within their first years of being elected, and strategic objectives will always be openly discussed and planned.

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