Council action plan prioritizes doctor recruitment

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 20, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

City council on Tuesday approved unanimously its 2022 action plan.
The plan, called Gateway to Opportunity, establishes priorities and strategic focus areas of council this year.
Speaking about the plan, mayor Blaine Hyggen said at Tuesday’s meeting it will “clearly articulate priorities, create transparency, measure and report performance and build community trust.
“As a new council, we spent the first several weeks of our term working together to understand challenges, explore possibilities for this amazing city.
“The overwhelming sentiment in those conversations was that we are poised to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. The result of those conversations, the feedback we heard on the campaign trail and consultation with the administration, has produced the document we have before us today,” he said.
Among the matters that council has determined needs immediate attention, the mayor told council, is “supporting our provincial partners in healthcare with family physician recruitment and retention, establishing a regional economic development and tourism strategy and establishing an Indigenous resource hub.”
Council used the city’s Municipal Development Plan for its strategic direction, the mayor said.
“We didn’t come up with a new strategic plan for city council. We spent a lot of time on the recently updated MDP gathering stakeholder and community feedback. That is the vision of our community and that’s what we’re aligning with,” he said.
He called the plan “action-oriented.” Throughout its four-year term, council will develop annual plans “and are committed to quarterly reporting, communicating that progress to the residents,” Hyggen said.
“We know we’ve got challenges and change ahead of us as we continue to work with our partners to address social issues in our community, manage this ever-changing global pandemic and now looking to hire a new city manager.
“In times of change, it’s important and reassuring to have a plan. This action plan gives council and staff a clear roadmap to achieve the things we’ve identified as most important in our community.”

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