A roadmap of the town of Essex is now in place for the foreseeable future.
Essex Town Council approved the town's Strategic Plan for 2019 to 2022 during its meeting Monday night. It's intended to be a reference for council members in their decision-making, according to Mayor Larry Snively.
"This plan represents a vision for the future, and provides our community with a road map to get there," said Snively. "It is a document our citizens can use as a guide to where we want to go as an organization while providing transparency and accountability as we push to meet our strategic goals and actions."
Six priorities have been identified through public consultations, as well as meetings with town administration and councillors. Each priority comes with a list of objectives to be completed, which include progressive and sustainable infrastructure, healthy community and quality of life, financial and economic stewardship, vibrant growth and development, citizen and customer experience, and finally, organizational effectiveness and resiliency.
Chris Nepszy, Essex's chief administration officer, said this information was gathered through an online and paper survey that collected about 500 responses.
"The process was designed to be as inclusive as possible and gathered feedback from a wide range of residents, businesses, organizations, and employees," said Nepszy. "The engagement process helped us identify our strengths and where we should focus our resources to continually improve our community and organization."
The next step is for the administration to develop an implementation plan, along with procedures for reporting to council and residents.
The complete Strategic Plan is available at the town's official website, and physical copies will be available in the weeks ahead.