Wilmot approves new communications strategy, but questions raised about public input

By Galen Simmons

Wilmot council has approved a new corporate communications strategy intended to guide how the township shares information and engages with residents through 2030, though not without some concerns about how the plan was developed and what it prioritizes.

Presented by Redbrick Communications vice president Andrea Montgomery at the April 27 council meeting, the 2026-2030 corporate communications strategy aims to stabilize and strengthen a department that has seen significant turnover and growing demands in recent years.

“This was really about reviewing and kind of getting a sense of the current setting and the current environment from your communications perspective as well as from the community and things that are happening around the organization itself, and evaluating the relevancy of the past communications strategy we had developed, which was left in a draft form,” Montgomery said.

“And then of course, the deliverable at the end of the day is to develop a refreshed communications strategy and provide recommendations for improvement and to elevate your communications function as you move forward. These are things for consideration and … there is not an implementation plan at this stage. These are the recommended actions and a strategy to give you some direction and focus as you move forward, and the next step would be how do we actually implement this and what would that plan look like?”

The strategy, which council approved in principle along with its priority actions, focuses on three key areas: stabilizing the communications function, building on recent improvements and strengthening storytelling to better share the township’s work with the public.

At its core, the plan calls for increased investment in communications capacity, including hiring a manager of communications and government relations and establishing backup support for the township’s current one-person communications operation.

The need for additional resources is a central theme throughout the strategy. The township’s sole communications specialist, Brett O’Reilly, is currently responsible for supporting all departments, managing media relations, handling social media and responding to emerging issues – a workload Montgomery described as exceeding a manageable level during regular business hours.

“Demand has consistently outweighed capacity for many years,” the strategy notes, adding there is little to no backup when the specialist is unavailable.

Montgomery told council communications as a critical tool for building trust with residents, particularly in a climate of increasing misinformation, declining trust in government and rapidly evolving digital platforms.

Research informing the strategy found residents want more and better communication from the township. In a recent community questionnaire, increasing spending and service levels for communications ranked as the second-highest priority, while satisfaction with communication about programs, services and events ranked lowest.

Despite that feedback, the strategy places relatively less emphasis on public engagement as a primary focus area.

While the plan includes some actions aimed at improving engagement – such as developing templates, creating an organization-wide engagement calendar and promoting the township’s online engagement hub – these items are identified as lower priority compared to stabilizing the communications function and enhancing storytelling.

In fact, the strategy explicitly notes that improving public engagement is not currently a key priority for the township, with related actions assigned lower priority levels as a result.

Appearing as a delegation before council on this topic, Barry Wolfe questioned why enhancing public-engagement efforts, one of the six priorities included in Redbrick’s original draft communications strategy developed in 2022 and presented to council in 2023, was not included in the new strategy.

That original strategy, Wolfe said, came as a response to public outcry against the controversial development of the Prime Minister’s Path project without adequate public consultation back in 2016.

“The scope was reduced from six (priorities) to three, and it’s all, basically, maintain the current, maintain the current, make the current better,” Wolfe said. “I want you to take a look at history and the reason why this whole process go started in the first place. Redbrick did a super job on the first one – you almost got there with six priorities. The scope has been defined differently for them for this one; it’s not their fault that input is not there.

“ … If you’re going to try to address issues of distrust, you’ve got to give people a chance, with process, to give input before the decision is made, and seven minutes (as a delegation appearing before council) 10 days before does not do it.”

Wolfe recommended council receive the strategy for information and direct staff to expand the scope of the communications strategy to develop an enhanced public-engagement process as part of the strategy.

After Wolfe finished speaking, Coun. Kris Wilkinson said he agreed with the points raised and questioned both the level of public input used to shape the strategy and the limited focus on enhancing engagement with residents moving forward.

Though Wilkinson introduced an amended motion that would have done just that, the majority of council voted against the motion. Members raised concerns about the potential lack of clarity around what the township would be asking the public for feedback on and the need to strengthen township communications capacity immediately, the fact there are currently numerous opportunities for residents to engage with the municipality on projects and initiatives led by each of the township departments, and the opportunity for council and staff to enhance the public-engagement process as part of the strategy’s implantation plan.

The strategy is a refresh of the draft communications plan presented to council in 2023 but never formally approved. The updated version draws on research conducted for that earlier effort, along with internal interviews, document reviews and survey data collected through other township initiatives.

According to the report, the refresh was intended to ensure the strategy reflects the township’s current realities, including leadership changes, organizational restructuring and increased service pressures.

The strategy also evaluates Wilmot’s current communications approach using Redbrick’s municipal communications maturity index, placing the township at a “doer” level – characterized by a largely reactive, operational focus with limited strategic-planning and capacity.

To move toward a more strategic model, the plan recommends formalizing communications processes, improving coordination across departments and integrating communications planning into project development.

It also emphasizes the importance of proactive storytelling – highlighting township projects, staff work and community impact – as a way to build trust, reduce misinformation and demonstrate value to taxpayers.

Implementation of the strategy is expected to roll out gradually beginning in mid-2026, with timing dependent on council decisions around staffing and resources.

Township staff will return to council with a future report outlining implementation options, including details related to the proposed communications manager position and associated costs.