Last week:
Not last week, but I published a St. Albert Community Events and Information page in response to a resident question I received about how to keep up-to-date on events, feedback opportunities, and community information (open houses, town halls, etc.) - I hope it's helpful for those who like to keep up with City goings-on.
Governance, Priorities, Finance Committee agenda highlights:
FOIP Workshop
I used to teach a Freedom of Information and Protection Act workshop at one of my old jobs - I suspect this workshop, for councillors, will give many examples about how much of what we record as public servants is subject to information requests from the public.
Services & Service Level Inventory
Services (RCMP, road maintenance, transit, community events, waste management, parks, recreation facilities, etc.) form everything that we use as residents, and pay for as taxpayers. "Service level is a statement that tells clients what level of service they are to receive," like for snow removal ( St. Albert Trail and Ray Gibbon Drive, within 8 hrs. after a snow event, plowed and sanded after 2-5 cm of snow accumulation), Business Licensing (payments are available online & we respond to all inquiries within one business day), Traffic (for emergent safety issues, response time is one hour), boulevard grass mowing (1X/2 weeks)... This is an opportunity for Council to review and ask questions of the entire list of municipal services & service levels. (It's 141 pages, but the whole report is well worth the read for anyone interested in all it takes to run a city.)
Municipal Inspection Report Recommendations (Part 2)
Council asked Administration to further review the potential for reviewing Council policies through a sub-committee; They are presenting findings: "Administration is currently developing a City Manager Directive to formalize this systematic review of all bylaws and policies by the sponsoring department and facilitated by Legislative Services. Under this review process a set number of bylaws and policies will be reviewed each year, resulting in the review of all bylaws and policies over a four-year period. This review process over a number of years is less labour intensive (than a Council sub-committee) and allows staff to pursue a more detailed review of all bylaws and policies to determine if updates are needed, if a number of policies should be consolidated or if a bylaw or policy should be repealed or rescinded. For bylaws and Council Policies reviewed each year, an annual report will be compiled and provided to Council with a list of those bylaws and Council Policies reviewed, a summary of any amendments made or an indication that no changes are recommended."
Downtown Parking Management
This is a request by Administration to delay the deadline for the the Downtown Parking Management Plan & Draft Policy until after the Municipal Development Plan is completed.
"As the previous Parking Surveys do not indicate a shortage of parking within the downtown, there is no immediate need to prioritize this Plan over other planning activities. When Administration has a clearer understanding of the parameters of the build-out of the downtown (and it is incorporated within the Municipal Development Plan), the development of a Downtown Parking Management Plan would resume. Results of the Management Plan can be incorporated into the DARP Implementation Plan, which will ensure strategic delivery based upon need."
Budget 2019
This is a presentation regarding Priority-Based Budgeting from experts in the field.
This is a brief high-level overview of highlights from our meeting agenda, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors. As always, I also encourage everyone who is able to tune in the the live-stream of the meeting (3pm here) or attend in-person (3rd floor of St. Albert Place, hang a right getting out of the elevator). You can also register to speak if you have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.