Review, schmeview

One voter deemed it of vital importance that the candidates read the Organizational and Operational Review report. I hadn't read it because I think it's the SAO's job to administrate and the Council's job to lead. I was busy looking for vision and ideas. But since the voters insist, I went and read said report, which is available here if anyone else hasn't read it yet.

Ok.

Seriously?

It's not irrelevant or a waste of time to read it, but it's really not worth the fuss that's being made about it. It's an administrative document that will be of some use to the SAO and contains very little that needs to be made much of by the Council or the people. Nonetheless, now that I've read it, I might as well have an opinion about it.

Let me share a quote that amused me.

In 2009, Town Council adopted an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) which included: 1) the strategic plan; 2) the community energy plan; 3) the capital investment plan; and 4) the human resources plan. During the interview process, all members of Council and senior administration indicated that the plan was developed to obtain funding from the Federal Gas Tax program. The document contained several strategic goals and priorities for the Town of Hay River. All of the internal stakeholders interviewed by the consultants indicated that the document is not used by Council or administration and does not set the strategic agenda for The Town or Council’s relationship with the SAO. In essence, The Town does not appear to be following a strategic agenda and corporate and business planning is inherently operational or tactical at best. This reflects reactive as opposed to proactive planning.

From the consultant’s perspective, Council’s most significant responsibility is to establish a vision and strategic agenda for the community and the town as an organization. All other business and operational plans and budgets should logically flow from and support a well-defined strategic plan and agenda that identifies and resources a limited number of strategic priorities. Operational priorities should logically flow out of the identification and attainment of strategic priorities.

To some extent, I'm amused because I think I said just that. I mean, about Council working on the vision and not the administrative details, and about being essentially reactive. But I'm more amused because that's the first I heard of the ICSP since I participated in some consultation of some sort about it in 2009, at which time I thought the process was not only flawed but fairly delusional and highly unlikely to produce any useful outcomes. You see, I'm not randomly negative – I'm actually right about being negative. (I'm right 97% of the time. True story.)

They also had this cute little diagram:

I like it. You know what I like about it? Actually, I love graphs. But see the part about "social"? That's why you need to elect me. Because which of the other candidates had anything to say about the social aspect? "Social" strategy here seems to boil down to two things: more entertainment for young people, and drug-resistance campaigns of dubious efficacy. We need to have both a broader and deeper view and be considerably more energetic, and above all, as I've been saying, Council needs to start feeling responsible.

And that, in a nutshell, is everything I read in the Organizational and Operational Review report that's really worth the Council's undivided attention and warrants three questions in the forums. Funny though, there were three questions about the review, and only one question about social strategy (Rebecca Bruser on mental health and addictions).

Since I'm at it, though, I'll give you my opinion of all the recommendations, thusly:

Recommendation	My opinion
That The Town undertake a comprehensive review of all of its policies and bylaws to ensure they are up-to-date, accurate and in compliance with Territorial legislation.	Absolutely. I didn't need this report to tell me that.
That the size of Town Council be reduced from eight members plus a mayor to six members plus a mayor.	No. Too many quit or have nothing to say.
That the Mayor be designated as a full voting member of Council as provided in the Cities, Towns and Villages Act.	No. It would make sense in principle, but I don't trust the mayors we've been electing.
That a new and comprehensive Council orientation process be developed prior to the next municipal election.	Hard to say having not seen the existing one, but that's a job for the administration, not the Council.
That Council commit to updating and following a strategic sustainability plan to guide operations of The Town.	Yes.
That Council adopt a performance management system predicated on the Human Resource Plan contained in the existing ICSP whereby the SAO’s performance is linked to Council’s strategic agenda, and that performance management be implemented for the organization as a whole.	That seems self-evident if we had a strategic agenda.
That the Executive Assistant position be tasked to serve all members of Council and the SAO, and that this position continue to serve as Council recording secretary.	Sounds like a good place to save money.
That Council should hold two regular Council meetings per month instead of one Committee of the Whole meeting and one regular Council meeting per month, and that a Committee of the Whole session be incorporated into the regular Council meeting agendas if and as required.	Yes. Again, did we really need a report to tell us this?
That The Town investigate reconfiguring Council chambers such that the Mayor and SAO are seated at Council table with the other members of Council to improve inter-council communication during meetings.	Might as well, since it won't cost money.
That The Town should adopt a new standard report format for reports to Council. The report should contain recommendations followed by discussion of relevant considerations, justification for the recommended action, alternatives, financial considerations and link to Town strategic initiatives or priorities.	Sure, but again that's the administration's responsibility.
That the SAO with support of the senior management team implement a defined agenda review process to review all reports being submitted for consideration by Council to ensure the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of information.	Same.
That The Town undertake a comprehensive review of the current committee structure.	Sounds like a good idea, which the consultants got from the outgoing Council, so we didn't need this report for that.
That The Town develop a comprehensive communication and citizen engagement strategy for stakeholders – for both internal and external stakeholders.	Yes. But again, we didn't need a report to tell us that.
That The Town conduct a biennial citizen satisfaction survey to gather specific feedback from Town residents on satisfaction with Town programs, services and facilities.	Yes, but again, fairly obvious.
That The Town accept job groupings based on the job evaluation process carried out for this project by Western Management Consultants.	Don't care, that's the administration's job.
That The Town develop a business case to determine the feasibility of assuming operational control of the NWT Centennial Library.	Same.
That Council consider the observations and position of the Trade and Tourism Advisory Committee relative to the need for a Special Events/Tourism Coordinator position for The Town.	No. Having read the job description, I think that's completely going in the wrong direction.
That The Town’s organization structure be realigned under a services model with four service areas/departments and that each service area be led by a Director.	Again, don't care, that's administrative.
That human resources (HR) be centralized in one Town department.	Same.
That The Town undertake a core services review to determine if The Town is providing the right services at the right levels with the right resources.	No. The consultant estimated $65,000 - $90,000 for this job. No way we need to spend that kind of money to find this out.

So there you have it. I really don't think it warrants much discussion, and I could have spent this time getting good ideas from The Economist. But I did it for you, voter. See? I listened and did what you told me. I'm a natural for this job. Vote for me!