Coun. Robert Dumanowski speaks during Tuesday's meeting of the corporate services division at city Hall.--News photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
City Hall will conduct a major survey of residents in early 2022 regarding local issues and the city’s communications efforts, a council committee heard Tuesday.
The third-party survey would be conducted by an established outside contractor, and the results used throughout the city’s divisions, but not replace specific outreach on emergent issues, say administrators.
“It would be used in planning and in a communications strategy,” said Colleen Graham, the director of the city’s corporate communications office.
“There are (firms) that have experts that go through and design surveys … I’m confident that it will provide us some very good information that will help us make informed decisions.”
Members of the corporate services committee approved the plan that is now forwarded to council.
Typically the city has only performed issue-specific campaigns and public feedback processes through the corporate communications office.
Officials have solicited input and feedback on issues facing seniors services, parks and the city’s development plan, for example, over the past two years.
That sort of work would continue, members of the corporate services committee heard, but a wide ranging survey every two years would plumb the opinions of Hatters on general issues.
Those include quality of life, safety, city services, expected service levels, how the city communicates, financial issues and overall priorities.
It would be conducted every two years, staggered within a council term to line up with strategy setting and budget implementation.
Because of the current timeline, the first would be done in the spring of 2022 however, which is after the recently elected council is to set priorities early next year, but before the next budget cycle begins in 2023.
“Ideally, the survey should be conducted before council sets its strategic priorities, but that (list) is a working document as we go through the four-year term,” said division head Dennis Egert.
The 2025 survey would be used by the council group that is elected late that year.
Human resource rep
Coun. Robert Dumanowski will continue to be the designated council representative in contract talks and human resource issues, but expects to share the role with two other incoming council mates.
The veteran council member has for the past two terms filled the role given to a member of the corporate services committee.
The two other members of the committee, Couns. Cassi Hider and Shila Sharps (who operates a private human resources firm), were named as alternates with plans they attend to as many items as possible to “build capacity” and potentially succeed Dumanowski, he said Tuesday.
Councillors typically do not get directly involved in bargaining, but act as an envoy to keep council informed.
Administrators said they saw no problem with the new potential set up, other than attendance in grievance meetings can be limited by protocol outlined in collective agreements.
