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Achieving outcomes is the best part of having a well-informed and well-laid strategic plan. Successful strategy implementation is not always easy, and that’s why it’s important to celebrate the outcomes when they happen.
We’re proud of the remarkable outcomes our public sector customers have achieved over the spring, and wanted to take a moment to highlight a few important initiatives that came to fruition last quarter. Let’s take a look at successful plan outcomes related to economic development, aging in place, sustainable building, and inclusionary housing.
Westlock County, Alberta: Economic Development Master Plan
Westlock County has been working on boosting the region’s economic strength through their strategic plan.
This past spring, the County Council approved a 6% reduction in the Non-Residential Tax Rate, with the hopes of trying to create a more attractive business environment. Efforts are also underway to expand the North Sky Business Park and the industrial/commercial tax base.
Another significant milestone outlined on their Envisio public dashboard is that the Westlock Regional Economic Development Action Committee (WREDAC) successfully launched its official brand.
The Town of Westlock, Westlock County, and the Village of Clyde officially joined forces this past spring, ready to showcase Westlock as a region of rich economic potential. The new brand both highlights Westlock as an investment hotspot and strengthens the ties between these three communities. Westlock County’s accomplishment of strategic outcomes is positioning the area as the heart of Alberta agriculture.
Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois: Aging in Community
“Aging in place” (sometimes called aging in community) is the concept of older adults staying in their own home as they age. This helps them to maintain strong social connections, access familiar resources, and receive support from friends, family, and neighbors in their later years. It is increasingly understood that the sense of belonging and continuity that is created from aging in place contributes to better mental and physical health, reduces feelings of isolation, and enhances overall well-being, enabling older individuals to age with dignity and security in an environment they know and trust.
The Village of Mount Prospect has been making remarkable progress with its “Aging in Community” initiative. Launched in 2019, this initiative aims to strengthen community infrastructure and systems to enhance the lives of older adults. A dedicated Task Force developed a three-year Action Plan with goals to advance Mount Prospect as an accessible and inclusive community.
Work groups focused on transportation, housing, information and communication, social engagement, and health and wellness have been actively implementing the aging in community action plan.
One notable event this past spring was a transportation information session for low-income seniors, where representatives from various programs provided information and assistance to 44 attendees. Public engagement has been an important part of this initiative, ensuring that seniors know the resources that are available to them locally.
This is wonderful work to improve the quality of life for older adults living in Mount Prospect.
City of Rockville, Maryland: Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Codes
Local governments are often serious change-agents when it comes to tackling climate change.
An impactful way for cities to start taking climate action is by addressing building and development processes. Environmentally friendly sustainable building codes are essential for promoting energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprints, and conserving natural resources in the construction industry.
Rockville is leading the way in energy conservation and sustainable building practices with their climate action plan. The outcomes highlighted here are related to the groundwork they started laying in 2023, where interdepartmental working groups reviewed international building codes and recommended amendments to further strengthen green and energy conservation requirements. These codes establish guidelines for using renewable materials, improving insulation, and incorporating energy-efficient systems, which not only reduce environmental impact but also lower long-term operational costs.
The proposed amendments, presented to the Environment Commission, support renewable energy development, electric vehicle charging stations, climate resilience, electrification, and increased energy efficiency. Rockville successfully held public review sessions in early 2024, concluding them in the spring.
Las Cruces, New Mexico: Progress Towards Inclusionary Housing
Las Cruces has been working on promoting inclusionary housing policies.
Their focus is on providing affordable, clean, and safe housing options for all residents. With the public comment period for the Realize Las Cruces draft ordinance complete, the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council adopted the final ordinance in May.
Ensuring access to affordable, safe housing helps prevent homelessness, supports a stable workforce, and promotes community diversity. This is especially important in states with a warmer climate where higher demand for housing can drive up prices, making it essential to prioritize housing solutions that are accessible to all income levels.
In addition, heat-related climate disasters can disproportionately impact these already warm states—and unhoused populations or housing insecure individuals are often the people who feel this reality the most.
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That wraps up our spring retrospective! We hope you’ve enjoyed celebrating these visionary local governments. We’ll see you again in November, where we’ll take a look at the outcomes accomplished by Envisio customers over the fall.
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Mary King
Mary King is a professional writer and researcher based in Toronto. She comes to Envisio with a Masters Degree, where she researched the relationship between the disappearance of urban public spaces, and high level decision-making processes in local governments.
For nearly a decade, Mary has worked as a community organizer, promoter, and supportive researcher in a variety of nonprofits and think-tanks, and her favorite area of focus was in connecting local artists with marginalized youth. Since 2017, her writings and research on policy, local governance, and its relationship to public art and public space has been presented at conferences internationally. She has also served as both a conference chair and lead facilitator on professional and academic conferences across Canada on how to better bridge academic research with local change-agents, policy makers, artists, and community members.
Envisio’s mission of excellence and trust in the public sector maps onto Mary's interest in local government and community mobilization. She loves working at Envisio because she cares about having well organized, strategic, and transparent public organizations and local governments. Mary is also a creative writer and musician and has been supported in her practice by the Canada Council for the Arts. Her stories can be found in literary journals across Canada.
