TAMRMS#: B06
8.2
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Council Policy C-CG-06 - City of St. Albert Strategic Framework
Presented by: Darija Slokar, Strategic Services and Communications
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
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1. That the amended Council Policy C-CG-06 - City of St. Albert Strategic Framework, provided as an attachment to the August 30, 2021 agenda report entitled "Council
Policy C-CG-06, City of St. Albert Strategic Framework Policy", be approved.
2. That Administration review and bring forward any other Council policies that may require updates as a result of amended Council Policy C-CG-06 - City of St. Albert Strategic Framework by the end of Q2 2022.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
The purpose of this report is to present for amended Council Policy C-CG-06 - City of St. Albert Strategic Framework for Council approval.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
The Policy helps align the City’s short, medium and long-term operational efforts to the Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability and the City of St. Albert Council’s Strategic Plan.
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
The Policy helps align City's efforts related to service delivery to Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability, the City of St. Albert Council's Strategic Plan and Long-Range Strategies that use Municipal Development Plan Goals as a foundation.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
Council Policy C-CG-06 directs Chief Administrative Officer to review the policy "at a minimum of four years from the date of its last revision and recommend amendments to Council if necessary" and for Council to provide input for continuous improvement of the Strategic Framework.
On March 20, 2017 Council passed the following motions:
AR-16-444 - Public Participation Policy
That the amended City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation Policy, provided as an attachment to the March 20, 2017 agenda report entitled "Public Participation Policy", be approved.
That the amended City Council Policy C-CG-06 City of St. Albert Strategic Framework, provided as an attachment to the March 20, 2017 agenda report entitled "Public Participation Policy", be approved.
That the amended City Council Policy C-CAO-18 Public Communication, provided as an attachment to the March 20, 2017 agenda report entitled "Public Participation Policy" be received as information, and that Council Members provide comments to Administration on the amended City Council Policy C-CAO-18 Public Communication by March 30, 2017.
That Administration bring City Council Policy C-CAO-18 Public Communication, amended as per Council Members' input, back to Council by April 24, 2017.
That Administration review and align City Council Policy C-PE-01 Public Consultation requirements for Planning and Development processes with City Council Policy C-CAO-20 Public Participation as approved on March 20, 2017, and bring back recommendations to Council for consideration by Quarter Two 2018.
On March 21, 2016 Council passed the following motions:
C-153-2016 Consent Agenda/Council Policy C-CG-11- Community Vision & Pillars of Sustainability Policy
That City Council Policy C-CG-11, Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability, provided as Attachment 1 to the March 21, 2016 agenda report entitled “Council Policy - Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability”, be approved;
That Administration bring forward amendments to City Council Policies C-CG-01 Council's Vision, Mission and Values, C-CG-02 City of St. Albert Strategic Plan, and C-CG-06 Strategic Framework, as outlined in the March 21, 2016 agenda report entitled “Council Policy - Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability”, to align with Council Policy C-CG-11 Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability, by the end of Q2 2016.
On April 18, 2016 Council passed the following motion:
C-235-2016 - Policy Alignment - Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability
That the following City Council Policies, provided as Attachments 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13, respectively, to the agenda report entitled “Policy Alignment - Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability”, be approved: City Council Policy C-CG-01, Council's Vision, Mission and Values , City Council Policy C-CG-02, City of St. Albert Strategic Plan, City Council Policy C-CG-06, City of St. Albert Strategic Framework, City Council Policy C-CC-01, Council and Administrative Policy Development, City Council Policy C-CG-03, Council Governance Approach, City Council Policy C-CG-05, Mayor and Councillor Roles, City Council Policy C-CG-08, Council Members' Code of Conduct
On September 24, 2001 Council passed the following motion:
C-486-2001
That the Policies Governing City Council and the Corporation dated September 25, 2001, as amended, be adopted.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City of St. Albert follows an established strategic framework to align the City’s strategic and business planning, budgeting, management and reporting practices and processes to achieve outcomes established in the Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability and City of St. Albert Council's Strategic Plan.
The strategic framework includes the following components:
1. Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability
2. City of St. Albert Council Strategic Plan
3. Municipal Development Plan
4. Long-Range Strategies
5. Mid-Range Department Plans
6. Corporate Business Plan
7. Corporate Budgeting
8. Program and Service Delivery and Optimization
9. Monitoring and Reporting
These components, together with Council’s Bylaws, Policies and Resolutions, provide direction to the Chief Administrative Officer for decision making related to strategic and business planning, budgeting, management and implementation of initiatives to achieve established outcomes, and corporate reporting to Council and the community.
Since the policy was last updated, Administration has enhanced the framework with more formalized processes for some components. In addition, recent Operational and Fiscal Review conducted by Ernst and Young (EY), recommended stronger alignment and integration of the key strategic and business plans to provide solid foundation for prioritization of activities and new budget requests.
As a result, the Policy has been updated to reflect these enhancements and EY recommendations, to ensure alignment of the City’s short, medium and long-term operational efforts to the Community Vision and Pillars of Sustainability and the City of St. Albert Council’s Strategic Plan.
Some of the amendments include addition of the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) as a guiding document within the framework and standardize process for developing Long-Range Strategies that align to Goals outlined in the MDP. The new approach will streamline and reduce a number of directional documents while providing more collaborative and outcome based long-range strategies to inform business planning. Development of the process for long-range strategies was one of the projects in the Corporate Business Plan. Development of the Green Environment Strategy currently in progress is a pilot for this new process.
In addition, amendments include documented standards for development of Council's Strategic Plan, better articulated alignment of department plans, corporate business plan and budget, and enhancements made to practices related to delivery of services to community (Service and Service Levels Inventory) and continuous optimization of services (Program and Service Review Policy).
Other updates have been made throughout the Policy to better reflect current practices. The amended Policy is being presented to Council for their approval.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
Internal stakeholders were consulted to ensure relevant updates are made to each element of the Strategic Framework.
Separate public participation opportunities take place for components of the framework that require public input (Community Vision, Municipal Development Plan, and Proposed Budget)
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
Approval of this policy does not have financial impacts. The framework will help ensure proper alignment of strategic and business plans, including prioritization of initiatives, to inform budget development.
Legal / Risk:
None at this time.
Program or Service:
The framework provides foundation for aligned and integrated planning for programs and services delivered to community.
Organizational:
The framework is used to initiate and deliver related activities at which time there will be organizational impact on resources to develop and implement plans, prepare budget, deliver and optimize programs and services and report back to Council and community. The enhanced approach for development of long-range strategies will have impact on the organization with multiple internal stakeholders involved to ensure collaborative and outcome based long-range strategies.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
1. If Council is not satisfied with the proposed amended policies, Council Members may put forward motions to alter the policies during the meeting:
a) Council could direct Administration to make the additional revisions based on direction made by Council at the meeting, and bring the documents back to Council at a later date. This option delays approval process and is not recommended at this time.
b) Council could direct Administration to make the additional revisions based on direction made by Council at the meeting, and provide approval of the policies as amended. This would expedite the approval process and eliminate the need to discuss the items again at a another Council meeting.
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Report Date: August 30, 2021
Author(s): Darija Slokar, Manager, Strategic Services
Department: Strategic Services and Communications
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts
Chief Administrative Officer: Kevin Scoble