Moment with the Mayor: Governance

Hi Everyone:

One of the things Council is working on is a review of the Governance Policy by which Council works; it is in effect and we have to follow it until we approve any changes. This Council is working towards a Kindersley Governance Model built on the work of previous Councils. As appropriate as Carver is for many organizations it isn’t really designed for politics. As I write members of Council and Administration have been reviewing the Policy Manual to see what changes can be made. After this some members of Council and Administration will be sitting down to make some suggestions. One change you can see we are working on is our monthly reports. Here is a sample of how I have changed the Mayoral report to link it to our policies.

Date	Activity	Purpose/Outcome	Follow Up	Policy Number
01/07/13	Budget Meeting	Capital budget	Waiting for supporting numbers	GP.2.

As you can see there is a lot more detail for you to see what I have been up to on your behalf. To see a full report go to:  . There are some good things in the Policy Manual and our responsibility is to keep the good stuff and enhance the stuff that isn’t as effective as we would like.

This is a very important initiative because it ensures that Council is working on your behalf giving leadership to Administration ensuring that Kindersley is the type of community we want. The Policies ensures that Council is acting appropriately and Admin is fulfilling the direction set by Council.

This is important because municipal leadership is about trust. It is our job to demonstrate that you can trust us. Trust is based on your perception that we are acting in Kindersley’s best interest and not our own. You may disagree with our decision on a particular issue, which is good, but if you think we made the decision based on what is best for ourselves then we have a problem. Good governance provides a framework for both Council and Administration to make the best decisions for Kindersley. Unfortunately, governance models are not perfect.

I would like to invite you to attend a Council meeting at the end of the month. We have moved a lot of items to the public session that used to be in the working session. Come out and learn about how great a job Kevin is doing managing our water quality, see what shape our finances are in, listen to us debate the merits of various issues, and see us write out motions to reflect the conversation we just had.

I would like to thank everyone who has asked after my wife, sent flowers, provided meals, prayed, and encouraged us. My wife had a skiing accident resulting in severe head injuries and is off of work for an extended period of time. We are trying to be patient as her body heals itself.

If you have any questions or comments drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca.