Prince George, B.C.- It is  a document which  outlines the  objectives of Prince George City Council  for the balance of this term in office.

It is called the Corporate Plan, and  outlines the  Council priorities  for  2016 to 2018 and how administration will follow through. “It’s really a road map for  what we’re going to do  for the next while” says Mayor Lyn Hall.  The plan  is the result of two strategic planning sessions,  one held in February, the other  in October.  “It lays the foundation for what we’re going to do, and we’re going to come back to  this in 2016, probably  in the spring,  just to make sure we’re there but we want  the public to look at this,  we want the public to know where we’re headed.”

The plan  outlines Council’s  focus in  4  areas:

• Social Development:
  • Reconnect to create an inclusive and proud community.
  • Support and promote initiatives that facilitate healthy and active living.
  • Collaborate with partners to enhance the quality of life for residents.
  • Celebrate success of our citizens and our community partners in order to foster civic pride.
  • Continue initiatives related to youth engagement and education.
• Environment:,
  • Advance activities and operations that are environmentally sustainable.
  • Develop and integrate transportation linkages, means and solutions.
  • Monitor and work to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
• Economic Development
  • Advance progress in the Downtown.
  • Prioritize infill development and advance housing within targeted growth areas.
  • Integrate economic development priorities and strategies with City operations and functions.
• City Government
  • Prioritize service, transportation, recreation, and facility infrastructure needs and investment.
  • Build a strong and committed team.
  • Provide a workplace committed to health, safety and wellness.
  • Improve City of Prince George communication by fostering a service culture focus and ensuring transparency.
  • Actively communicate and engage with employees, citizens, local organizations and partners, and key constituencies outside of Prince George to advance the community.

Councillor Albert Koehler has concerns  the plan is too broad “Sometimes I think are we over extending ourselves, are we listing too much and do we miss focus?  I  don’t know.” He would have liked to  see the document  have  a timeline and  details on who  is doing what, so  it is clear  there is progress being made.

While the Mayor agrees  the plan is  comprehensive,  he doesn’t think there is too much there “I think  what Councillor Koehler was  getting at is that he , and us, want to see some outcomes,  we want to make sure, we achieve the goals we  are setting down on paper.”

City Manager Kathleen Soltis says  the plan  is being broken  down  into  each of the three years to  “Determine precisely what is going to be done, who is going to lead it and by when.”  She says the milestones will be  documented and presented to Council.

“I think we are more focused now than we have been in a long time” says Councillor Brian Skakun “There’s a lot of  good news stories on the horizon that we know about.”

It may not be easy to get the  public  excited about the  corporate plan,  but Councillor Jillian Merrick says  if  residents are really  interested in what’s  going on in the City  they  should examine the  document “It may not seem like much on paper, but  it represents years of investment” including the  vision developed during the development of the MyPG  project which  outlines what the residents would like the City to be by 2040.  “Anyone in the community  who is interested in what Council does should read this document.”

“If this year is any indication, I know we will be revisiting it ( the plan) on a periodic basis” says Councillor Murry Krause “It will be revisited  on a regular basis and we will refine it, we may find things that didn’t work and we will know the reasons why.”

Mayor Lyn Hall says  there have already been achievements,  he points to the road rehab and sidewalk rehabilitation program  for 2015 as a significant improvement for Prince George “That really puts into perspective the amount of work we did in 2015 on those two types of projects.  That’s a deliverable for me.”

The  document is fluid  says the Mayor “It’s not good to have one  in the first year of our mandate and then not come back to it, it is  fluid, we need to look at it consistently  and  I think the other thing is  we want to be able to go to the public and say, ‘ok this is our  corporate plan and this is what we achieved over the last year’ so we need to report out on it as well.”

The full  document can be accessed here.