Department Plan

Strategic Initiatives Department

update and implementation of initiatives to support the development of affordable/attainable housing in North Perth will be a key focus of Strategic Initiatives in 2023. Costs for the development of the new Strategic Plan, Housing Community Improvement Plan development, and Atwood Affordable Housing Project planning work are included in the proposed 2023 operating budget. Implementation of the new Corporate Strategic Plan and Housing Community Improvement Plan will produce additional costs in the coming years.

North Perth’s 2023 share of the costs of the PC Connect community transportation service is included in the proposed operating budget at $137,500. North Perth’s share has increased from 2022 as a result of the City of Stratford’s contract renewal with service provider Voyago. The Local Partnership Agreement with the City of Stratford for PC Connect will continue until project grant funding expires in March 2025. Sustainability of the service will be a key focus of the Project Committee in 2023.

Communications Division:

North Perth’s online engagement platform Your Say North Perth continued to be used throughout 2022 to increase and collect input on the Municipality’s initiatives (e.g., Wallace Ave. S. One Way Block Trial, Affordable Housing, Youth Programming, and the development of the North Perth Public Library Strategic Plan). Your Say North Perth will continue to be highly used in 2023 to support public consultation for various projects, such as the update of the North Perth Corporate Strategic Plan

The Communications division is proposing a branding refresh exercise and municipal website update as a 2023 capital project. Staff will also focus on various strategic priorities leftover in the 2019-2022 plan. These include: communications plan on municipal service levels, enhanced communications/social media visibility of services and service levels, investigation/development of a commuter survey, creation of North Perth vision and small-town character statement via public consultation, enhancement and promotion of online services.

In line with how a growing majority of the public now receive information, the Communications division is proposing budget funds to be allocated towards paid social media advertising in 2023. This will allow online municipal communication to spread to a larger audience and be targeted towards specific demographics of users (e.g., public notices, employment opportunities, public engagement projects, etc.). An increase in the traditional advertising budget (i.e., radio and newspaper advertising) is also being proposed to meet current service level demand.

Economic Development Division:

Strategic and departmental projects were the focus of Economic Development efforts in 2022 in part due to successful funding provincially and federally. Due to staffing and construction competition, both internally and regionally, projects will continue into 2023. The Agriculture Excellence Strategy completion and the launch of Set7 Skills and Technology North Perth and Region were both successes that will stimulate prosperity and cross-sector economic growth for businesses and residents in North Perth. Multi-year funding for Set7 is pending.

To address workforce attraction and retention priorities in 2023, the Economic Development division proposes execution of the North Perth Workforce Attraction Employment Branding project and the Listowel Downtown Parkette projects. The Listowel Downtown Parkette project

Last updated: 2023-03-02