Last week + Committee Agenda Highlights November 12, 2019
Last week
With budget planning in full swing, it’s been a busy few weeks. Last week included:
Smudging: Since being elected, most of Council has participated in a smudging ceremony prior to our annual organizational meeting. This ceremony, our third, was a good reminder of why we serve.
World Café on Community Amenities location: Council continued our preparation for deciding on a site to plan for our future needs through a session with residents who provided input on the benefits and drawbacks of the three short-listed sites that we are considering. The report resulting from World Café sessions will be included in our agenda package when we make our decision.
CLSC Agenda Highlights
The Community Living Standing Committee, which along with the Community Growth and Infrastructure Committee replaces our GPFC, meets for the first time this week. In addition to selecting our chair and vice-chair, we will discuss:
Payhonin Reconciliation Plan
Earlier this year, Council received a report/plan to move address the municipality’s inclusion of reconciliation efforts in our municipal framework. We’re looking at this plan again to consider recommendations that were not already accepted by Council. Recommendations from Admin include:
Instal two new flag poles at St. Albert Place ($17,000 + $500/year operating costs). These are included in the proposed 2020 budget and there is already a motion to have them unfunded, which we’ll debate in one offer budget meetings.
Develop a reconciliation plan ($10,000). I don’t know what this is for since we already approved funding to develop the plan that was delivered earlier this year.
Start a Indigenous Advisory Committee ($20,000/year). We will be reviewing our committee structure early in the new year, so I suspect this will be tabled to be discussed along with the 5 advisory committees (7 including Art & Economic Development) that the city maintains.
Offer reconciliation awareness training to staff ($5,000/year). I was under the impression we were already doing this, so I’ll be asking for clarity around the added budget.
Apparently, we’ve already also approved a full-time position to handle reconciliation activities within the city, but I was under the impression that this was a term position - I’ll ask for clarity during out meeting.
CGISC Agenda Highlights
I don’t sit on the Community Growth & Infrastructure Standing Committee, but I will be attending any meetings where I feel additional perspectives on the agenda topics will be beneficial; I’ll be attending this one.
Inclusive Hiring
Administration is required to present a report on the effectiveness of our Inclusive Hiring Policy every three years. Right now, we have a $50,000/year budget for this program that expires in about 2021. Although there are no St. Albert-specific statistics available, the Government of Alberta reports the following:
2.9% - Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who reported a developmental disability
13.4 % - Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who reported a learning disability
11.3% - Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who reported a psychological disability
12.6% - Percentage of persons with disabilities who reported that their condition limited their ability to work
This year’s report includes the findings that there were 4 persons with disabilities hired in ongoing temporary roles with the city. I find this statistic odd since I can count more than 4 employees who I know personally who fit into this statistic. The report acknowledges our numbers are likely inaccurate because because we primarily hire outside of this program and there isn’t a mechanism for staff to self-report disability. I will ask why we don’t allow self-reporting diversity, like what the federal government does:
Non-Standard Meter Reading
Earlier this year, Council directed Administration to provide a framework to charge residents cost-recovery fees for meter-reading services outside of our standard service. Admin is recommending a $35 bi-monthly reading fee and a bi-monthly $10 self-reported (online or mail) reading fee for alternate months, which is lower than fees charged in most municipalities that allow non-standard services. Right now, there are 124 properties in St. Albert (of about 25,000) that would be subject to this $270/year fee. This fee would cover the cost of manually attending homes to read water meters and manually calculating bills. Other proposed fees include:
Billing estimate for missed self-reported readings (not received by the 15th of the month): $20.00 per estimate
Billing adjustment for incorrect read submitted: $20.00 per incorrect submission
Touch pad inaccessible during visit: $45.00 per occurrence
Replace Standard… Transmitter and replacement with a… Non- Standard Remote Read Touchpad: $50.00
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our meetings, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors. As always, I also encourage everyone who is able to tune in the the live-stream of the meeting (9:30 and 1:30pm respectively here) or attend in-person (3rd floor of St. Albert Place, hang a right getting out of the elevator). Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
