We are a team of seasoned Ontario CAOs and municipal sector consultants – Bill Winegard, Murray Clarke, David Cash and Susan Shannon, who bring lifetimes of experience in smaller municipalities and who’ve, “been there and done that”. We know municipal strategic planning works and we have a passionate belief in the value of strategic planning and of a respectful atmosphere for sharing ideas and learning the ropes.

See our Municipal Strategic Planning Associates brochure.

Bill Winegard: Both as a CAO and as a consultant, Bill Winegard has worked with Councils and staff of smaller and mid-sized municipalities to facilitate full and fruitful early discussion and `ghost-author` meaningful municipal strategic plans.  Bill’s RESUME and References

Murray Clarke: Murray retired in 2017 after a long career as a CAO in mid-sized small urban and rural municipalities in Ontario and British Columbia. He has  extensive experience in strategic planning for results. Murray’s RESUME

David Cash: As a Subject Matter Expert (SME), David has participated as a team member on several consulting projects with KPMG, MDB Insight, (now part of Deloitte) and the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI).

In his consultancy he has delivered training workshops for elected officials for the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) and served as the prime consultant in delivering economic development strategies to municipalities and evaluating options for more effective and efficient service delivery. In his role as CAO in Whitchurch-Stouffville (York Region) he gained broad-based experience in in strategic and fiscal planning and overall management of an urban/rural municipality (pop 47,500), that was experiencing rapid growth. Dave’s RESUME

Susan Shannon: Susan is a well-known and respected municipal strategist with an experience-based, internal understanding of municipal affairs, roles and operations.  She understands the importance of inclusive consultation processes and citizen engagement.

Earlier in her career, she was a municipal CAO and guided municipalities through the complexity of restructuring.  Now in her consultancy, she helps municipalities find innovative ways to increase efficiency and plan for their future needs. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, service delivery reviews and organizational reviews. Susan’s Resume

Municipalities of all sizes will begin the new Council term with an organized discussion among Council members and senior staff about what Council wants and will be able to achieve. There is no substitute for a good start!

We look forward to working with you – Here’s to a successful Council Term!