Town Council
Wolfville Town Council consists of six Councillors, plus the Mayor. Each Councillor, and the Mayor, is elected at large by Wolfville residents to represent their interests. Municipal elections are generally held every four years; the current Council was elected in 2024 and the next municipal elections will be in October 2028.
Town Council and town staff provide leadership and collaborative governance in the allocation of public resources for the greater good of the Wolfville community and strive to work towards making the vision a reality:
The town's vision is a community based on respect for all people, property, and the environment; a community where there is adequate housing, appropriate employment, personal security, and cultural enjoyment.
Town Council meets twice a month, at Committee of the Whole and at Town Council meetings.
How Town Staff support Council
The role of town staff is to deliver proactive, effective, and responsive services; promote citizen-based involvement and problem solving; foster an atmosphere of quality service to citizens with an open and responsive manner; promote learning, co-operation, and shared resources; encourage alternative, creative, and effective methods of service delivery; and support and take direction from Council decision making.
In February 2021, Council adopted a new Strategic Plan to guide where the Town will prioritize efforts over the next four-year term and how future Council decisions will be made.
VISION - A vibrant, progressive town at the centre of a thriving and sustainable region, where residents, visitors, businesses, and university thrive and grow.
The vision identifies four equally important elements – residents, visitors, businesses, and the university. All operate in harmony and provide mutual support and benefit. None is expendable, none more important than the other. All must be healthy and stable for this vision to be achieved. The vision statement acknowledges that the Town exists within a sustainable region that supports the Town’s health which in turn is necessary to the region’s wellbeing.
MISSION - To provide leadership and collaborative governance for the responsive and responsible allocation of public resources for the greater good of Wolfville.
This mission outlines the purpose of this Council – to provide leadership for the Town’s decisions, to do so in collaboration with the important segments of the community – residents, businesses, the University, and the greater region. Those decisions will be made understanding our role is the responsive and responsible management and expenditure of public funds entrusted to the town for the good of the town.
PRINCIPLES
Key principles guide Council’s work. There are five principles that were identified in the Strategic Plan:
- Sustainability: Decisions will be made with a view to long-term viability of the Town and its sectors.
- Transparency: Decisions will be made openly and in public.
- Accountability: Council is responsible for decisions and their impact. Decisions are a function of the whole of Council.
- Well-Communicated: Council decisions and the processes leading to decisions will be well communicated using the media and mediums available to ensure the decision processes are shared.
- Evidence-Based: Decisions will be based on factual evidence, the importance an issue is to the community, and other realities of our community life.
STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS - The Strategic Directions found in the new Municipal Planning Strategy – Economic Prosperity, Social Equity and Climate Action, along with an additional priority of Community Wellness, have been adopted by Council as primary or strategic focuses for the Town’s services. Decisions will be made with consideration to these broad goals.
