Staff Report to Council: City of Langford Policy Review & Community Advisory Committee Involvement

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Policies are an important part of good governance within a municipality. Staff are actively reviewing internal policies (sometimes referred to as “administrative policies”) and external policies (sometimes referred to as “Council policies” or “public policies”). Staff are seeking direction from Council to bring forward polices that align with the Community Advisory Committee’s mandate for their consideration and recommendations.

BACKGROUND

Policies provide direction, outline best practices, and help regulate areas of the organization that are not governed by bylaws. As a result, recommendations for policy review, updating, and possibly rescindment are part of the routine work of the Legislative Services Department.

COMMENTARY

With added resources in 2024, the Legislative Services department can now undertake an in-depth review of the City’s policies. This review will include all departments of the City as they work with the Legislative Services team to evaluate policies pertinent to the area of their responsibility. Also included in this review will be policies that are currently worked on for potential revision.

As some City policies are considered Council policies, these policies will require approval of Council. If staff identify Council policies which need to be amended or rescinded, Council must approve those changes. As part of the in-depth policy review, staff plan to bring any proposed amendments to Council beginning in late 2024.

Council’s advisory committees serve the function of making recommendations to Council respective to their mandates as outlined in the Committee Terms of Reference. The Sustainability Development Advisory Committee (SDAC) specifically reviews and makes recommendations respective of projects in the City including rezoning applications, development variances applications, transportation and public works related projects. The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) has a slightly broader mandate which allows them to make recommendations on matters, inclusive of policy recommendations, that fall within their scope. The CAC mandate is as follows:

The Community Advisory Committee will make recommendations to Council on matters relating to health, safety, and environmental concerns including parks and recreation, protective services and financial and administrative matters.

Staff have identified, as a starting point, the following polices that closely align with the Community Advisory Committee mandate:

• Council and Staff Travel Expense Policy
• Permissive Tax Exemption Policy
• Flag Policy
• Parks Naming Policy
• Proclamation Policy
• Purchasing Policy

Staff recommend that the Council and Staff Travel Expense Policy be the first policy to be reviewed by the Community Advisory Committee as this particular policy was identified as a priority in Council’s 2023 Annual Report:

“Update Council and Staff Reimbursement for Expenses Policy - The City will update the Council and Staff Reimbursement Policy to ensure clarification and transparency and to ensure travel reimbursement amounts remain updated”.

In addition to the specific policies listed above, staff are preparing to review all polices that pertain to the Finance and Legislative Services departments as the first priority and will create a work plan to address all other City policies.

Staff are seeking high level direction from Council regarding the policy review process in order to utilize the expertise of the Committee where applicable to allow for valuable insight, and a less formal opportunity for the public to provide input and ideas prior to the policy recommendations appearing before Council for consideration. As policies do not require a series of legislative readings like bylaws do, including the Committee where possible throughout the policy review process will allow Council to hear from more residents.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications associated with this report.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Policies of the City take time to develop, amend, and implement. Staff review all legal considerations necessary when working through policy review.

STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT

While this review is not explicitly outlined within the 2023-2027 Council Strategic Plan, a policy review is an important part of Good Governance (Strategic Initiative #5). It also contributes positively to Strategic Initiative “5g – Maintain the City’s Long-Standing Corporate Efficiencies.”

It should also be noted that numerous polices align closely with the Strategic Plan. For example, Strategic Initiative “5h – Finalize a Comprehensive Asset Management Policy” will have many financial policies associated with it. Further, bringing policies that align with the Community Advisory Committee mandate supports Strategic Initiative “5c – Expand Opportunities for Public Engagement” as the public will have an additional opportunity to provide input.

OPTIONS

Option 1

THAT Council direct staff to bring forward any pertinent City policies that align with the mandate of the Community Advisory Committee for review and recommendation prior to the documents coming forward to Council, with priority to be given to the Council and Staff Travel Expense Policy.

OR Option 2

THAT the Council direct staff to bring forward any pertinent City policies that align with the mandate of the Community Advisory Committee for review and recommendation prior to the documents coming forward to Council with the exception of the Council and Staff Travel Expense Policy amendments to come forward for consideration at a future Council meeting

Option 3

THAT Council direct staff to bring all pertinent policies reviewed by staff as a result of the policy review currently being undertaken by staff directly to Council for comment, review, and approval.

SUBMITTED BY

Nisa Johnston, Legislative Services Administrative Coordinator

Concurrence

• Melisa Miles, Manager of Legislative Services
• Donna Petrie, Senior Manager of Communications & Economic Development
• Yari Nielsen, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities
• Matthew Baldwin, RPP, MCIP, Director of Development Services
• Leah Stohmann, RPP, MCIP, Director of Community Planning and Climate Change
• Katelyn Balzer, P.Eng., Director of Engineering and Public Works
• Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance
• Marie Watmough, Director of Legislative & Protective Services
• Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer