Sundre council meeting minutes dating back to when the municipality was first incorporated as a village in 1950 and later as a town in 1956 have been fully digitized and stored on the town’s network.
Cynthia Robey, the town's legislative executive assistant, prepared a report to council that was presented during the June 11 meeting.
“I’m super pleased that we have them all now digitally stored and protected,” she told elected officials.
The project was part of an effort to bring Sundre’s official records into the 21st century, said Linda Nelson, chief administrative officer.
Members of council extended their gratitude and praised Robey’s work, which Coun. Richard Warnock described as a “monumental task” of painstakingly going through decades of records and digitally organizing and categorizing them all.
Accessing past minutes through the municipality’s network is much easier than digging through old paperwork, added Coun. Cheri Funke.
Mayor Terry Leslie said bringing the municipality’s records into the 21st century will help to ensure their longevity moving ahead to the next century.
The minutes are vital documents that form the legal record of council’s actions and provide authorization for administration to implement decisions, reads Robey’s report to council.
“As a public record, minutes also provide an open and transparent disclosure of council actions to the municipal residents and stakeholders. The minutes of council meetings provide a basis for the accountability of councils to their electors, and promote public confidence and trust in the leadership and governance of the local government.”
Additionally, the minutes are — as per the Municipal Government Act — legal documents that must be preserved indefinitely. The process to digitally safeguard the municipality’s minutes onto the network server started this May. Prior to that, meeting minutes saved on the server dated back only to 2008. The project’s completion means an additional 53 years of minutes are now digitally preserved, she wrote.
Coun. Paul Isaac's motion to approve Robey’s report for information carried unanimously.
