A provincial government Municipal Corporate Review of Sundre has concluded the town is in “relatively strong financial position” and commended staff for keeping the town in good working order despite the high turnover in recent years of administrative leadership.
The review (MCR) is the first provincial probe of its kind in at least a decade, said Mayor Annette Clews, who recommended the process to council in 2011. The 19-page report was presented to council at its regular meeting on Dec. 3 and was brought forward to council's governance meeting on Dec. 10.
“It was very informative,” said Clews. “It is very challenging for an organization not to have that lead position (chief administrative officer) within the corporation. So yes, we have had our challenges. Staff has actually, as you have seen in the report, stepped up to the task and council has supported staff throughout that process.”
And those challenges for council and administration were highlighted in the closing comments of the MCR report, which noted there were four new council members and an overworked staff that kept the town operating in good order amidst an environment that led to a confusion of roles.
However, the authors of the report emphasized Sundre council and administration served the “best interests of the community”, and earned high praise from Doug Griffiths, the minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs.
“Despite the strain placed on the organization in recent years due to turnover in the Chief Administrative officer position, it is apparent that council and staff have met the challenge and maintained a sound standard of governance, administration and financial practice,” said Griffiths in a letter attached to the MCR and sent to Clews.
The MCR was requested by council in a letter on Sept. 1, 2011. The review, which is a free service provided by the municipal affairs ministry, was conducted in by three government reviewers, two municipal advisors and one financial, on May 22 and 23 of this year. They interviewed council members and several administrative staff, including the late Verne Balding, the chief administrative officer who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident on June 29.
The reviewers also analyzed municipal documents, including policies, agendas, minutes, bylaws and financial records. They also attended a regular council meeting on May 22.
In the report, the authors made several recommendations to improve governance, administrative practices, and financial management.
On governance, the authors recommended council discontinue the practice of conducting closed meetings before regular council meetings, ensure the town's web site is updated with current agenda and meeting minute documents, and town councillors and key administrative staff participate in a Roles and Responsibilities workshop.
“In general, council appears to have the ability to make decisions on behalf of the municipality, however, in the reviewers' opinion, council experiences some challenges in working together collaboratively and in distinguishing administrative functions from those of governance,” said the report.
MCR reviewers also dealt with communications, a thorny issue the town recently faced head-on during the tumultuous east side servicing and financing issue.
The report noted the town uses various methods – website, newsletter and open houses – for communications but the authors recommended the town continue to pursue various means of communication, including open houses, which the town is now doing with the 2013 budget process.
“We have already seen changes to date,” said Clews in response to the communications issue. “We actually have had ongoing conversations with (current CAO Dean Pickering) about how we can improve internal and external communications.”
With administrative practices, the MCR recommended the town consider hiring a consultant to complete an organizational review, and town documents be kept in a secure area, notably a fireproof file room. The report also noted some councillors were dealing with town staff on a regular basis about their duties, contrary to sections of the Municipal Government Act. The authors of the report said this should be discouraged, noting council must not assume any CAO role.
In the area of financial management the reviewers probed information from interviews with council and staff, including the town's director of finance, as well as analyzing statements and graphs. The town earned high praise.
“Information gathered from these sources consistently indicates the Town of Sundre is in a relatively strong financial position,” said the MCR report, adding administration's financial reporting to council at regular council meetings is “very strong.”
Nevertheless, the authors still made recommendations, including administration develop a formal policy for the use of corporate credit cards as it would “provide clarity” on their use.
“Actually this town is in great shape, according to that (report). It is good to hear,” said Pickering, who arrived as the town's new chief administrative officer last September. “The areas that they have discussed were around governance and a few minor changes to some administrative processes but overall I think it was pretty good, pretty stable.”
