EMPOWERING SMALL MUNICIPALITIES
Welcome to Small But Mighty Municipal Consulting, where expert support for small municipalities leads to powerful outcomes.
ABOUT SMALL BUT MIGHTY MUNICIPAL CONSULTING
Photo Credit - Kihew Cabell-White 2025
The Mission
Small But Mighty specializes in offering expert support to small local governments to fill the workflow gaps. We see the strength in small local governments and are committed to providing tailored services that ensure strategic goals are met and good governance thrives.
About Cynthia
I have been working in small municipal government settings for the last 12+ years, four of those as a Chief Administrative Officer. This sector has become my passion. I started Small But Mighty because I want to be able to support municipal administrators in their pursuit of providing the best service to their residents. Working in this sector is fast paced and every day brings new challenges and opportunities to create success. I found that when I was responding to the ever changing priorities in the job it meant that some of the work was pushed to the side of my desk, almost like they were nice to do's. Unfortunately, these tasks are actually essential, but not as visible as those fires that need to get put out. That's where I come in. I want to use my municipal administration expertise to help fill the capacity gaps in small municipal governments so that all the essentials get done. Small communities and small municipal governments have a strength and resilience that are truly unique and those of us that live the small town lifestyle see it everyday.
WHY CHOOSE SMALL BUT MIGHTY
Tailored Solutions
My expertise lies in creating tailored solutions for small municipalities. This means that I will get to know your community and your individual needs. The results will reflect the resources and potential of your community, ensuring that the tools I create are useful and can be realistically implemented. There is no one size fits all solution in municipal government.
Lived Experience
I know how many balls administrative staff are juggling. I can take a couple of those off your hands and help you keep everything else in the air. My experience in the sector ensures that I know how everything fits together. The end product you receive from Small But Mighty will make things a little easier, not create any more balls for you to juggle.
I Love This Work
It's just that simple. I love doing the work that impacts the quality of services that your organization is able to provide to your small community. Service to community is a personal value that is an essential part of who I am.
Mentoring
Mentoring staff is my passion. When the policies, bylaws, or plans involve their department it is an ideal time to engage them in the process so that their skills are enhanced and they become a value added resource for the organization.
Photo Credit - Storm Cabell-White 2025
Services
Grant Writing
I will work with your staff team to identify priority projects or programs that require additional funding. Grant opportunities which align with these priorities will be researched and identified. I will work with the project and program leads to formulate a grant application for submission. If so desired, grant management for the full lifecycle of the grant is an available service.
Strategic and Master Planning and Progress Reporting
Municipal governments rely on various strategic and master plans to help set direction and priorities. I can help you develop realistic, implementable plans to fit within the resources of your staff and the community as a whole.
Reporting on the progress of those plans is often something that staff do not have to time to do. I will work with departmental staff to assess progress and re-prioritize plans to demonstrate implementation success and ongoing challenges.
Emergency Management Program Development
I can work with your municipal team to develop or update an emergency management plan (EMP), including developing resources to ensure a successfully operating EOC, evacuation planning, and recovery planning. To ensure the EMP stays relevant and staff have the capacity to implement it, I will create an exercising program and facilitate the activities.
Policy and Procedure Development
Policies and procedures are key documents that direct staff in daily operations. Unfortunately, regular reviews and updates require time and are often put off to the side when dealing with more public facing issues. I will work with staff to review and update policies and procedures and identify gaps. I will collaborate with staff to ensure and update or new policies and procedures meet operational needs and can be implemented with the available resources.
Bylaw Reveiw and Drafting
Small municipal governments often struggle with keeping bylaws up to date, especially those that require public input or review. In collaboration with the staff team I will review current bylaws, set priorities for updates and research current practices and legislated requirements to modernize bylaws. Gaps will be identified and new bylaws drafted as required.
Project Management
Do you have projects that you have not yet initiated or that you don't have a team member to lead or need someone to take over because you simply don't have the time? I can take those on, working with consultants or contractors to ensure your community gets the best value and outcome from the project. I can support a project from the initiation stages of developing scope, budget and timeline to project completion.
Asset Management
Do you need to develop and implement an formal asset management program? Are you looking for a software system to support your program? Let me support you in developing a program that all staff integrate into their daily work. I will help you develop policies, research software and change manage the implementation.
Community Engagement
I believe that meeting people where they are is an essential part of community engagement. This means engagement opportunities will happen out in the community and will reflect the types of engagement and data collection that works best for your community.