2005-06-28_Minutes--Procès-verbal
June 28, 2005
131-2005
Minutes of the Portion of the Committee of the Whole Meeting Open to the Public
Tuesday, June 28,2005, 5:30 p.m.
7th Floor Boardroom, City Hall
Present:
Mayor McFarlane,
Deputy Mayor Hooton and Councillors Chase, Court, J. Ferguson, McGuire and
Tait
- and -
1. Totten, City Manager; L. Farrell, Solicitor; P. Woods, Deputy City Manager and
Common Clerk, and J. Ferrar, Administrative Assistant
1. MeetinQ Called To Order
The Mayor called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order.
2. Operational Review Teach-in
Mr. Alan Mitchell of Chartwelllnc. delivered a slide presentation based on a submitted
presentation outline updating Council on the Operational Review Program. The
Program outcomes, which were established from the beginning of the project, were
reviewed with Mr. Mitchell expressing the view that he would like to see Saint John as
the model City in New Brunswick; and stressing the importance of respect by the
Province of N.B. with regard to the City undertaking a complete review of their business
operations and setting in motion a "continuous improvement" plan. It was noted that
Chartwell received approval to proceed on March 4, 2005 after submitting an
implementation plan to the Steering Committee; and it is anticipated that a report will be
going to Council on September 26, 2005.
Mr. Mitchell explained this is not a six month initiative because the culture of the
organization is being changed and advised it could be 3-5 years long; and referencing
Fredericton and Winnipeg advised they have taken that long - but it is making a
difference. The program and service profiling exercise was reviewed with Mr. Mitchell
commenting with regard to the following workshops - Vision Setting, Role Responsibility
Mapping, Opportunity Identification (which resulted in 19 high priority opportunities being
identified which will develop into an implementation plan); and noting that the
Prioritization and Implementation Planning workshop established how the 19 high priority
projects joined together with the vision to achieve the vision statement. Referring to the
Program / Service Model, Mr. Mitchell stated a mission statement is the mandate to
achieve the vision; and the vision statement is an idealistic statement about some point
in the future.
Referring to public service and internal service, Mr. Mitchell referenced a document they
have created which contains all programs and services for the City complete with a
detailed profile for each one; and pointed out there are currently 86 public services and
35 internal services.
June 28, 2005
132-2005
Discussion continued regarding governance with Mr. Mitchell proposing a new
governance model with eight Standing Committees of Council - Property Development
and Housing, Public Safety, Transportation, Leisure Arts and Culture, Internal Services
(corporate), Community Leadership and Partnership, Economic Development; and
Environment, Public Health and Energy; with each committee having a Chair and a Co-
chair. The existing Agencies, Boards and Commissions would report to the relevant
Standing Committee, with any recommendations then being taken to Council. Mr.
Mitchell explained that all the City's departments would report through these committees
as well; and stressed that the City will not achieve its vision with the existing governance
model. Commenting with regard to the high risk of service failure, Mr. Mitchell pointed
out that staff resources have been stretched to the limit providing the same services,
with less staff, every year for 10 consecutive years trying to maintain the service levels.
The deteriorated state of assets was brought to everyone's attention.
Mr. Mitchell expressed the opinion that the proposed governance model will provide the
public with greater access to Council; and commented that federal standards, which
have been included in the programs and services definition, result in the City being
Governments of Canada Strategic Reference Model Compliant. It was also noted that
Infrastructure Canada has funds available for organizations that can prove they are
governed well and have a plan on how to spend it in a prudent way - which is what the
Operational Review is all about. Discussion followed with questions being raised
regarding the committee structure and budget process. Mr. Totten stressed the
significance of this change and how the City will be governed.
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Common Clerk