Lauren Driver

Every municipality wants to deliver great services, support its community, and make thoughtful decisions about the future. But with limited resources and growing demands, how do we make sure our budgets are actually supporting what matters most? That’s where priority-based budgeting comes in. Rather than starting with last year’s budget and making small adjustments, priority-based budgeting starts with a more important question: What are our priorities, and how can we make sure our resources...

A municipal strategic plan shouldn’t be a binder gathering dust on a council shelf. It’s the foundational framework meant to keep elected priorities, municipal administration, and capital allocation tightly aligned. The reality on the ground, however, is that communities rarely stay static. What made strategic sense three or four years ago often fails to align with present-day realities. Shifted economic conditions, accelerated growth, housing pressures, and infrastructure bottlenecks can...

Strategic planning is an important responsibility for any municipality, but the role of the CAO in the process is sometimes overlooked. Council provides the overall direction and identifies the priorities for the community, while the CAO plays a key role in turning those priorities into something that can actually be implemented. The CAO acts as the bridge between Council’s vision and the organization’s day-to-day work. This means helping Council understand what is realistic, providing advice...