City of Waterloo council summary October 18, 2021

** The council summary below provides a snapshot of the major items presented at today's council meeting. Please refer to the minutes for an official record of the meeting.

City delivering against strategic plan

The new East Side Library Branch, the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex (WMRC) expansion and the construction of Platinum Drive on the City’s West Side Employment Lands, headline the projects making significant progress this year against the city’s three-year strategic plan. The new library branch and expanded WMRC are on track to open in 2022.

Council received an overall update on staff’s progress on delivering initiatives that support the city’s strategic plan. The plan has six pillars: equity, inclusion and a sense of belonging; sustainability and the environment; safe, sustainable transportation; healthy community and resilient neighbourhoods, infrastructure renewal; and economic growth and development.

The priorities identified in the strategic plan are supported by departmental business plans. Those business plans contain 79 initiatives, with a total of 11 initiatives deemed completed. This is significant given the challenges staff have had to address as a result of the COVID pandemic. Another 34 initiatives are on track. As is the case with the completed initiatives, this is also significant given how staff has had to pivot to address changing corporate priorities as a result of the pandemic. Another 32 projects were deemed delayed and one is on hold.

The city’s business planning, budget cycles, and corporate reporting are strongly based on the strategic plan which ensures the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remain incorporated within and aligned with the city’s strategic projects.

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Media contact:
Tony Iavarone
Director, Corporate Communications
tony.iavarone@waterloo.ca