Niagara-on-the-Lake says more than 80 per cent of its strategic plan is complete or on track as the council term winds down, but one councillor questioned whether some of the work labelled finished is really done.
Chief administrative officer Nick Ruller delivered his end-of-term report to council Sept. 22, reviewing the town’s progress over the 2022-26 term and his first 14 months in the role.
As of the end of June, 80.3 per cent of the strategic plan’s 127 measures were complete or on target, including 73.2 per cent considered fully complete. Another 17.3 per cent were below target.
But Coun. Sandra O’Connor zeroed in on some of the items the town had checked off.
“[The] concern for me is in the completed items you saved for the climate and environment. For me, I mean, I haven’t seen these completed,” she said. “If they’ve been done I’d love to see it.”
The town says 23 of 27 actions in its climate change adaptation plan are complete, while four longer-term initiatives remain underway.
Public works director Jordan Frost said some actions are considered complete because the town has put a new process in place, even though the work continues.
“It’s a continuous improvement process,” he said. “We have put the measures in place.”
O’Connor also questioned why the report listed implementation of rural road safety audit recommendations as complete when the town is instead going back to unfinished recommendations from its 2012 review.
“There’s some confusion here,” she said.
Ruller acknowledged the wording could have been clearer and said the town is reviewing what was completed in 2012 and working through the outstanding items.
Ruller’s report also highlighted the town’s new official plan, the Glendale secondary plan, the expansion of the Old Town heritage conservation district and a 10-year capital plan.
It also valued the town’s infrastructure at about $1.07 billion and identified an estimated $13.08-million annual funding gap.
“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together while recognizing that considerable work remains,” Ruller told council.
Councillors also approved Ruller’s report card that night.
His performance evaluation, covering July 2025 to this past August, was presented in closed session and approved unanimously. Council deferred setting Ruller’s next objectives and development plan until the incoming 2026-30 council takes office.
