Thinking Foward

After being incorporated, the District of Lake Country has grown by leaps and bounds but also with pain. Today the District is ready to advance in all aspects of its business and services, and to take a more central role for its citizens.

In order to achieve the best for its citizens, the District needs to select and work on priorities and organize itself from a corporate perspective.

Council and staff met under the experienced guide of Gordon McIntosh, President and CEO of the Local Government Institute, and have identified many projects they wish to accomplish for the sake of the community. More important, they were able to select 5 immediate priorities and a number of subsequent tasks they need to work on before the end of this term.

The new strategy has been named "Thinking Forward" and the Annual Report contains a message from me to the community about the new approach to business our local government is taking.

The 5 priorities are:

* the completion of the Water Master Plan
* the creation of an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan
* the creation of a Community Brand
* the creation of an Active Transportation Plan
* the development of the Town Centre

To complement the five main priorities, Council and staff have identified a number of other concurrent projects that need to be done as well. For instance, it is necessary to create a Corporate Business Plan reflecting the connection between the priorities, the budget, and the current and future levels of service. Another task is to work closely with our select and standing committees, such as the Access and Mobility Committee and the newly created Economic Planning and Development Committee, for instance, to make their input more valuable from a strategic and advisory perspective.

The good thing about all this, is that Council and staff have become more aware of each other and that they are prepared to collaborate on a positive culture change for Lake Country.

I believe our community is ready to embrace positive change and to move a step forward, to be more mature about the complexities of life and its quality for the benefit of all citizens. I also believe Lake Country is ready to be positioned in a more relevant way, not only in the Okanagan and BC, but also as a beacon of quality at the national and international levels.

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