Organizations without vision lose focus and fail.  Vision is more important than strategy.  If you have a clear vision then you will eventually attract the right strategy.

Milton’s vision is “Engaging, Balance, Connected”.  What does that mean?  What does ‘connected’ mean?  Connected via roads?  Trails? Broadband?  Connected as a community?

It has five goals.  Lets analyze some of them:

• A responsible, cost-effective and accountable local government. The explanation adds a direction: “Demonstrate leadership in matters that affect Milton“.
  • Has Milton demonstrated leadership?
  • In sustainability Milton is certainly not a leader (arguably Halton and Oakville are).
  • I can go to the City of Mississauga website and see their entire budget, financial statements from previous candidates and a lot of other data that the Town of Milton doesn’t publish online. That’s not leadership.
  • Halton streams all council meetings online, Milton has no such accountability.
• A safe, liveable and healthy community. The direction adds: “Protect and enhance our heritage, identity and character“.
  • What is Milton’s “character”? What does it mean to be “Milton”?
  • Is there a lens we can look through to make sure new land-use and development applications fit the character?
  • Are developers looking at enhancing it? Is Milton holding developers accountable?
  • The residents on Duncan Lane living next to the rail track do not even have the most basic sound barrier (they just have a small metal fence). Not safe, not livable and certainly not healthy.
  • Residents do not get biking / walking trails and neighbourhood parks until years after moving in to the community.
  • Heck even basic things like coordinating street lights is not done for years.
• A diverse and sustainable economy – Direction adds: “Attract and retain employers that provide a range of employment opportunities and assessment growth“.
  • The Town may disagree with me but Milton isn’t doing enough to attract high-quality employers. The assumption is, ‘if you build them, they’ll come’.
  • Check out mississauga’s online business section. There’s a ton of information there.  Milton has http://www.miltonthiswayup.ca/ (did you even know about it)?
• A thriving natural environment that is a valued community asset to be protected, maintained and enjoyed
  • Again, Halton has taken the leadership with Sustainable Halton and Oakville has initiatives, but there’s no “Sustainable Milton” plan.
  • Scott Blvd is getting a bus service only because the transit plan passed by just one vote (and that’s with two missing councillors).
  • Milton has no problem with excessive street lights in some areas but it does complain about having to maintain trees.
  • The long-term priorities are backward IMO. Development keeps moving further and further west, practically touching the escarpment.
  • Many parts of Milton (parts of Main Street, pretty much all of Steeles) are an eye sore.

On the day-to-day basis Milton is actually run fairly well.  In execution of its vision it isn’t.  I think part of the problem is how its vision is highly ambiguous.

Does your municipality have a clear vision? Is it concise and easy to understand?

More importantly, what is your vision (for your municipality)?