WESTLOCK – Westlock County is working on a new policy/bylaw development policy, a document mandated by Municipal Government Act that the municipality has never had on its books.
At the Oct. 18 governance and priorities committee (GPC) meeting, county CAO Tony Kulbisky admitted that the idea of creating a policy to guide the crafting and management of its policies “sounds silly” but is required under the MGA — the three-page document is expected to be in front of councillors at their Oct. 25 meeting for ratification following the 7-0 vote Oct. 18 to accept it as information.
As per the document, policy direction will be set to meet the legislative requirements for policy direction identified in the MGA; protect the municipality from potential civil liability; ensure issues are responded to and decisions are made by staff and council in a consistent manner; provide positive and clear direction to staff to take action on issues without undue delay; and schedule regular review of existing policy and programs to ensure their continued relevance.
“The key part of policy development is having a standardized template that has an automatic review piece built into it, so you never come into a situation with a sitting member of council not sure how current the policy actually is,” Kulbisky explained. “It actually encourages council to do a regular review of policy throughout your term. By the time your term in office (2025) is completed, you will have reviewed every policy that’s within the organization.”
Kulbisky said that the regular review will mean some policies will be rescinded “as they’re no longer applicable” while others will need re-writes or revisions. Ultimately, policies will come in front of council at their GPC meetings for debate and then ratified at regular council meetings.
“Administration will provide those recommended amendments and council may have a good discussion and go somewhere else with it,” he added.
Coun. Stuart Fox-Robinson, who moved the policy be brought forward to the next meeting for ratification, called the document “well written” and “ready to go in my opinion.”
“I think it is great and I love that we’re going to able to look and see what needs to be reviewed,” added reeve Christine Wiese, who noted a couple minor tweaks. “I think it will be great for us and for future councils it will be wonderful.”
