Grant Gessell

This strategic plan outlines key priorities for a municipality, aiming to deliver exceptional services and cultivate an unparalleled quality of life based on agriculture and innovation. Key focus areas include Financial stability (mill rate protection, asset management), Culture (broadband, community spaces, recreation), Environmental improvements (drainage, public safety), Government efficiency (standardized policies, governance review), and Road infrastructure (gravel supply, maintenance).

This document outlines the strategic priorities for the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie, aiming to cultivate an unparalleled quality of life based on agriculture and innovation, while providing exceptional municipal services and attracting investments. Key focus areas include Planned Growth, Roads, Financial Stewardship, Partnership, Utilities, and Drainage. The municipality seeks to ensure long-term financial sustainability, enhance infrastructure, foster regional cooperation, and attract investments to develop the Portage region.

The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie's Accessibility Plan for 2022-2023 demonstrates a commitment to providing equal service to all citizens and visitors, aiming to remove and prevent accessibility barriers in compliance with the Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA). It focuses on meeting the requirements of the AMA, which seeks a barrier-free Manitoba by 2023, and addresses standards in customer service, information and communication, employment, the built environment, and transportation. The plan outlines actions for 2022 and 2023, including updating and posting the Accessibility Plan, developing accessibility policies, creating a customer feedback process, ensuring RM publications are accessible, providing accessible customer service training, exploring alternate service methods where physical barriers exist, ensuring public events are accessible, and offering reasonable accommodations during employee recruitment and employment.

The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie's Accessibility Plan (2017-2019) focuses on providing equal service to all citizens and visitors, striving to remove and prevent accessibility barriers, and meeting the requirements of the "Accessibility for Manitobans Act". Key actions include creating and updating the Accessibility Plan, developing accessibility policies starting with customer service, establishing a customer feedback process, ensuring RM publications are available in accessible formats, providing an "active offer" on all RM documents, training employees in accessible customer service, exploring alternate methods of providing customer service where physical barriers exist, ensuring public events are accessible, and creating a dedicated accessibility web page.

The strategic plan focuses on several key areas including roads, drainage, partnerships, utilities, financial stewardship, and growth. For roads, the municipality maintains a large network using graders and gravel, following a 5-year improvement plan. Drainage efforts involve managing the natural flow of surface water and implementing a comprehensive drainage master plan. Partnerships with the City are emphasized to attract industries and share costs. The municipality also manages a water distribution network and promotes broadband uptake. Financial stewardship is a priority, with a commitment to responsible use of tax dollars and a focus on long-term financial sustainability. The plan also aims to foster growth by partnering with stakeholders to attract investment and increase employment opportunities in the Portage region.