Municipal governments across Ontario are nearing the half-way mark of their current four year mandate. This means that in addition to the very real possibility of a federal election before next fall, and a possible provincial election being called before June 2026, municipal voters are less than two years away from a municipal campaign. That said, it is difficult to see – for some municipalities – that their mandate has even begun.
One of the first tasks of a municipal council when elected is to undergo a “visioning” exercise. This process helps determine and consolidate the goals of those elected into a clear path forward throughout their term. This is extremely important considering that Ontario’s municipal politics do not have parties. Getting all elected officials to row their proverbial boat in the same direction is good. However two years in, many municipalities are only just getting to this point.
North Dundas only passed its strategic plan in August, SDG Counties passed theirs in the spring, and in South Dundas – the plan is still a work in progress. A draft plan was brought to a public meeting in June and was met with a large volume of feedback from the public. At the time, Mayor Jason Broad said the ‘pillars of the plan’ would be presented at a council meeting in July. It is now September and South Dundas’ finalized strategic plan is nowhere to be found.
South Dundas is not alone in not having its plan completed. Across Ontario, many municipal councils took over a year to get their planning for their mandate ready. In some cases, some municipalities extended the existing strategic plan. In South Dundas’ case, there were some understandable delays; that only accounts for some of the delay. The reason for the continuing delay remains unexplained.
The risk of a municipality not having some form of a formal plan means there is no measurable expectation of action or its goals. How can the residents of a municipality know if their government is serving them well, or at all, if there is no plan, no goals, and no action? They cannot.
Without a plan of their own, councils are either working through projects that were set up by the work of past councils. If there is no action plan, a council can appear to just be responding to the day-to-day business of municipal government. Day-to-day business is the work for administration and staff, not for elected officials. Elected officials are the ones who are to set the vision and the action plan.
Some municipalities, including neighbours to South Dundas, have set aggressive goals in their strategic plans, responding to current and future needs like housing, employment, and the environment. Other municipalities – SDG Counties – reworked previous plans while maintaining focuses on collaboration, rural education, housing, and infrastructure. In these locales, progress is not just measurable, it is noticeable.
Just under two years remain before South Dundas council moves from work mode to election mode. It may be time to consider finishing their plan, before voters start making a plan of their own.