Lac Ste. Anne County Activity Report LSAC_Flipbook_Activity Report 2016-17_FINAL_HiRes | Page 6

REPORT FROM CORPORATE SERVICES Leveraging the momentum of our energies and accomplishments of 2016, our teams continue to move forward with strategies and initiatives that help steward a growing County and benefit its ratepayers. ROBERT OSMOND Assistant Chief Administrative Officer & Chief Financial Officer [email protected] 780.785.3411 TF 1.866.880.5722 As Assistant Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer with Lac Ste. Anne County, I lead the Corporate Services team in the delivery of Assessment, Taxation, Finance, Information Technology, Records Management and Human Resource services. In addition to these roles, I lead the County Emergency Management Agency as the Director of Emergency Management. Looking back at 2016, I’m pleased to report that these teams performed very well against the goals outlined for the year. For 2017, our group has a new set of ambitious plans, and anticipates an exciting and productive year. FINANCE The Finance team’s most significant milestone last year was the implementation of substantive improvements to the budget process. The 2017 budget process developed a funded multi-year capital infrastructure plan that helps expand our capital perspective to a ten-year outlook, ensuring that the urgencies of today don’t overshadow the long-term needs of the community. The budget process was also modified to better focus on zero-based budget practices and service level consideration, and includes a public engagement element for budget planning. Although these changes vastly improve upon the County’s legacy budget process, the Finance team will LSAC ACTIVITY REPORT | County Progress 2016/17 780.785.3411 www. LSAC .ca continue to develop, review and refine this process for the 2018 budget year and beyond. Lac Ste. Anne County was also privileged to host a Municipal Finance Officer Intern in 2016/17. The intern joined our finance team and has used the past year to learn the role of a Municipal Finance Officer. The program has been so successful that Alberta Municipal Affairs has allowed the extension of the internship to 2017/18. In addition to the immediate benefit of having an experienced intern with the organization, the longer-term value to the County of having experienced municipal finance professionals available for recruitment is considerable. ADMINISTRATION With the engagement of a communications firm to assist with the County’s communications across all operational areas in 2015, Administration continues to strengthen its communications program in accordance with Council’s establishment of communications as a very high priority during their strategic planning process. Following the launch of the County’s social media program in 2015, this firm also assisted in a complete redevelopment of the County website, LSAC.ca, and logo in 2016. Another significant step forward for our organization in 2016 was the engagement of a human resources consultant. During their two-year contract, the consultant will assist with a number of important issues including: recruitment; onboarding; employee surveys; professional development; organizational assessment; review of key documents; and compensation review. The County management team is excited to use these services to augment its ability to be a quality employer. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT The 2016 season brought a series of incidents that required activation of the Lac Ste. Anne County Emergency Management Agency. The most challenging event was a wildfire on the Alexis Nakota Sioux First