Town council is awaiting further recommendations from the Olds Institute For Community and Regional Development regarding a Genuine Wealth Index report that was recently presented to council.
Town council is awaiting further recommendations from the Olds Institute For Community and Regional Development regarding a Genuine Wealth Index report that was recently presented to council.
The index was carried out to determine how the community is faring in social, cultural, health and other non-monetary aspects. Several community sessions were conducted with students and the general public and surveys were also used to gather feedback earlier this spring. The town wants to use the information as a guide to further measure non-monetary aspects of the community in the future.
The report, written by Mark Anielski of the Genuine Wealth Institute, made four recommendations that were accepted by the Olds Institute For Community and Regional Development in June. The recommendations included: the development of well-being-based operating and capital budgeting "that can demonstrate to decision-makers and citizens an authentic 'return on investment’ from taxes and public expenditures;" that an annual update of the well-being of the community be held each year to look at the community’s progress and look forward to areas in which improvements can be made; undertaking an assessment of the well-being of the community every two years; and that members of the Olds High School leadership class be tasked with helping conduct a renewed assessment of the community’s well-being every two years.
Mayor Judy Dahl said she was pleased that 160 people took the time to fill out the survey. She said however, that because survey respondents were also from the surrounding area and not specific to Olds only, that more information is needed as updated surveys are conducted in the future.
"I think the four recommendations are what are going to be resolved by the (Sustainable Olds Committee). Until I see that (implementation) plan, I really can’t comment," she said, noting she is eager to see the committee’s work on the recommendations.
Dahl, like several other councillors, thought the inclusion in the index of 233 violent crimes in 2012 in the area was misleading, as they believed some of these crimes that were reported were committed in the entire Olds RCMP detachment area, which goes north to Highway 587, to two miles east of Highway 805, south to the Bergen Road and west to the Harmattan Road. The statistics were obtained from the Olds RCMP.
"I do agree that some of the stats that were presented in the report … tended not to be Olds community only. A lot of these results came in as a region," she said.
The report also indicated all types of crime were something that reflected negatively on the community. However, the report indicated that most people nonetheless feel safe.
Some of the other negative aspects that people in the community feel, that were noted in the report, focus on satisfaction with work, personal health perceptions and self-reported stress levels. Positive aspects of the community that people reported included their overall level of happiness, autonomy over life and their perceptions of their capacity to perform daily living activities.
Dahl said she supports reviewing the progress the community has made in the previous year on an annual basis.
"You have to keep current with the stats. You’ve got to be careful what trends are and what the actual celebration of well-being is for a flourishing community. I think as decision-makers we have to be authentic on what is the return on investment from tax dollars. This is a real good indicator for us to start," she said.
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