Council Priorities 2019-2022 focuses on moving Kelowna closer to being the city residents envisioned through the Imagine Kelowna process. The new guiding strategic document was formally presented at Monday’s council meeting.
Council has identified six priority areas where they want to see a difference during their term of office. These are the services, programs, and key infrastructure items that help make Kelowna a great place to live:
1. Community safety – crime is reduced and residents feel safe
2. Social and inclusive – fewer people will experience homelessness and inclusion and diversity are increasing
3. Transportation and mobility – fewer trips are being made by car and solutions are innovative
4. Vibrant neighbourhoods – high quality site design, affordable housing and higher density neighbourhoods are prioritized
5. Economic resiliency – the infrastructure deficit is reduced and Kelowna is investment-friendly
6. Environmental protection – adaptable in the face of climate change
While many actions and projects are currently underway, a next step will be to publish a list of initiatives each January that advance Council’s priorities, and report on progress each spring.
“We know that the world is changing more rapidly than ever,” said Mayor Colin Basran. “Our residents want us to be proactive in that change, not passive observers. We are making an open and clear commitment to residents about what we want to achieve. Reporting annually will keep us accountable to achieving what we said we would.”
In turn, the City’s administrative leadership will focus the organization in three distinct areas – financial management, clear direction and people – to ensure results are achieved and to deliver good value for public funds to residents.
The result-based approach balances the need to provide sufficient direction with the need to allow flexibility to foster innovation and creative solutions, adjust quickly to changes in the community, and take advantage of opportunities as they arise
“As an organization, we work at Council’s direction to deliver the best results for residents and enable our community to thrive,” said City Manager Doug Gilchrist. “Council has set the direction of the change they want to see and in turn, we as an administration have identified how we will support that shift.”