TAMRMS#: B06
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2016 Annual Report
Presented by: Kevin Scoble
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
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1. That the report entitled “2016 Annual Report, City of St. Albert, for the year ending December 31, 2016”, provided as an attachment to the June 12, 2017 agenda report entitled “2016 Annual Report”, be approved.
2. That Administration be authorized to submit the 2016 Annual Report to the Government Finance Officers Association for consideration under their Canadian Award for Financial Reporting Program.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
The Annual Report includes 2016 operational highlights, progress achieved towards implementing the City of St. Albert Strategic Plan, statistical information and discussion of the financial statements, as well as the approved audited consolidated financial statements.
COUNCIL DIRECTION
On April 18, 2017, Council passed the following motions:
(AR-17-059)
1. That the City of St. Albert Consolidated Financial Statements December 31, 2016, provided as an attachment to the April 18, 2017 agenda report titled “2016 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements”, be approved.
2. That Administration bring to Council by June 12, 2017, the 2016 Annual Report that includes the City of St. Albert Consolidated Financial Statements December 31, 2016, as approved by Council on April 18, 2017.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Each municipality must submit to the Minister of Municipal Affairs audited financial statements for the previous year by May 1 (Municipal Government Act, Section 276). Council reviewed the 2016 audited financial statements on April 18, 2017. This enabled Administration to submit the audited financial statements to the Province as part of the MGA requirement by May 1, 2017. Council approval of the financial statements and the auditor’s report must also be made public by May 1 of each year.
The Annual Report is an important element of the City’s transparency and communication efforts, providing residents and stakeholders with quality information on the City’s performance. The report highlights the Corporation’s major accomplishments and is presented with the City’s audited consolidated financial statements, statistics and management commentary. The 2016 Annual Report contains a variety of important information organized in the following sections:
1. Introduction and Organizational Context
2. 2016 Year in Review
3. Financial Statements Discussion and Analysis
4. Audited Financial Statements and Notes / Schedules (approved by Council April 18, 2017)
5. General and Financial Statistics
Approval of the Annual Report enables Administration to submit it to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) by June 30, 2017 for consideration of their award. The award recognizes excellence in governmental accounting and financial reporting. St. Albert has received the award 16 years consecutively. The GFOA established the award to encourage municipal governments to publish high-quality financial reports and to provide peer recognition and technical guidance for officials preparing these reports. The GFOA is a non-profit professional association serving more that 17,500 government finance professionals in the USA and Canada.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
The 2016 Annual Report will be posted to the City’s website where it will be accessible to the community. It will be communicated to the media, and the community via social media and CityLights.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial: None at this time.
Legal / Risk: None at this time.
Program or Service: None at this time.
Organizational: None at this time.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation to approve the 2016 Annual Report, the following alternative could be considered:
Alternative 1 - As the only requirement under the MGA is the filing and making public the audited financial statement, Council could opt to only make available to the public the audited financial statements and not the entire Annual Report as presented. The reason this is a viable alternative is that quarterly reports provide similar updates on the progress of the City of St. Albert Strategic Plan and major projects, with the final Quarter 4 report having been presented to Council on February 27, 2017, with the reports accessible from the City’s website. However, the Year in Review provides a summary and a more convenient recap for readers. The Financial Statements Discussion and Analysis similarly provides commentary about the consolidated financial statements that help the reader understand the context and the explanation of the information presented.
Alternative 2 - Council could take additional time to further review the Annual Report and provide input prior to accepting the report.
STRATEGIC CONNECTIONS
a) City of St. Albert Strategic Plan (City Council Policy C-CG-02)
Governance Strategy
Council is committed to ensuring that the City of St. Albert is a responsive, accountable government that delivers value to the community.
One of Council’s goals under this strategy statement is to “Maintain fiscal responsibility and transparency”. The 2016 Annual Report supports this goal in providing Council and the community with an overview of major accomplishments, financial analysis, audited financial statements and statistics.
b) Long Term Plans (e.g. MDP, Social Master Plan, Cultural Master Plan, etc.)
• N/A
c) Corporate Objectives (See Corporate Business Plan)
• Exercise strong fiscal management
• Ensure our customers are very satisfied
d) Council Policies
• N/A
e) Other Plans or Initiatives (Business Plans, Implementation Strategies, etc.)
• Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.
Report Date (Council Meeting Date): June 12, 2017
Author(s): Nicole Duley
Committee/Department: Strategic Services
General Manager: Michelle Bonnici (Acting)
City Manager: Kevin Scoble