Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCompass Kitchener - 11-06-13 COMPASS KITCHENER MINUTES November 6, 2013 – 4:00-6:00 Conestoga Room, KITCHENER CITY HALL Present: Theron Kramer Holly Duff Tristan Wilkin Sarah Marsh Karim Fathi Moni Lagonia Krishna Khetani Scott Harris Mark Paul Staff: Laurie Majcher Jenn Grein Janice Ouellette Mark Hildebrand Steve Ramnath Regrets: Chris Hyde Theron welcomed all to the meeting. 1. Review and Approval of Minutes The minutes from October 2, 2013 were approved by Compass Kitchener, with one change – Chris Kopar is leaving the committee, Chris Hyde will remain. Moved by Sarah Marsh, Second by Karim Fathi Carried. 2. Follow-up to minutes  None at this time. 3. Sub committee Reports Sarah, Tristan and Chris met this week and finalized the metrics which will be going forth to council on November  th 25. A report for new Compass Kitchener members will be going forth this same night for approval. Holly reminded the group of an email volunteer request sent out earlier today for the next Youth Forum coming up  near the end of November. All members are welcome to attend the session. Time frame is approximately 8:45- 10:00. th Theron noted, the Compass Kitchener All Committee Gathering will be taking place November 26 , and  encouraged all members to consider coming and participating in this annual event. 4. Community Survey Update Environics has been selected as consultant of this survey. Darren Karasiuk will be at the sub-committee meeting  this evening, he also presented, answered questions and provided timelines to council when approval was provided to move forward with this consultant. 5. Voter Turnout sub-committee update – Steve Ramnath With the use of a PowerPoint presentation, Steve provided a thorough update on the research that has been taking  place with the Voter Turnout sub-committee. Further to the presentation, Steve outlined that he has met with clerks to consider the potential of including  candidate information on the city website and links to their personal campaign sites through the next election. This was previously considered and rejected for several administrative and legal reasons. He cited Edmonton as an excellent example of this, however also indicated it’s different for Kitchener given we are part of a three tiered government. Compass Kitchener would like to seek out partners to assist with increasing voter turnout for specific populations in the next election, rather than take that on as their own mandate. Krishna and Theron intend to visit the Kitchener Youth Action Council to see if they would consider undertaking outreach to youth to encourage greater voter turnout in the October 2014 election. . Provincially, proxy options have been altered as ‘special ballots’ now so that individuals are able to write in to place  their vote. This may be something to consider for the future, although we are not certain if this has been offered at the municipal level as of yet. Costs associated with e-voting may be worthwhile since voter turnout has not decreased in the many cities that have  tried this method, and new cohorts have been reached. The research also looked at the need to increase citizen engagement generally in municipal decision-making as a  means to increase voter turnout. Steve will continue to research models successfully used in other cities and the sub-committee will determine which best practices to recommend to staff and council. His presentation included the example of participatory budgeting as one potential model. It was noted that it will be important to include budget and resource information required for both increasing voter  turn-out and citizen engagement generally in any report to Council. This process will be an ongoing learning experience. Next steps will include:  November 6, 2013 CITY OF KITCHENER - 2 - 1. The sub-committee will develop recommendations regarding including election information on the city’s website 2. Reach out to organizations/groups related to specific target populations to explore outreach activities for the 2014 municipal election 3. Explore models for enhancing citizen engagement in municipal decision-making. By consensus, Compass Kitchener agreed to the sub-committee moving forward with this.  6. Strategic/Business Planning process With the use of a PowerPoint presentation, Laurie provided the committee with information on the Strategic and  Business planning processes. The objective for the strategic plan is to set clear goals for the next term of council that will guide resources  allocations, policy decision, business plans and performance targets. The process has been split into 4 phases- Community Assessment – Compass Kitchener’s main area of  participation, the Environmental Scan led by Integrated Planning, followed by Strategic Options, facilitated through corporate wide collaboration and finally, Confirm Direction which will be focused on with Mayor and Council. She provided members with a one page road map outlining what will take place in each of these phases and  indicated each phase will be completed with a report to Council. The Community Assessment phase is where Compass Kitchener will take the lead by validating the mission and  vision, gauging progress on 2011-2014, and confirm community expectations and priorities for actions. This will begin with community survey then community focus groups as well as online discussion forums. The Environmental Scan will take a look at the other pieces that will affect work including approved strategies and  projects, service levels, resource constraints, external trends and pressures and municipal innovations in other communities. This will include interviewing key leaders, survey front line staff and benchmarking discussions. The third phase will begin in Sept 2014 with Strategic Options – facilitated corporate wide collaboration including  idea generation, business plan impact assessment, financial scenario planning, strategy mapping and strategy selection. Engagement activities will include council input, staff workshops, consultation with key leaders, Compass Kitchener feedback , Corporate Leadership Team(CLT) session and Corporate Management Team(CMT) prioritization. This will be presented to the newly elected council and act as their play book that they commit to for their term. The fourth phase will be to Confirm Direction and commitment – Mayor and Council take the lead to review  recommendations, gather new insights, ideas and expectations, refine the direction, build commitment, and communicate the plan. Engagement activities include interviewing Council members, ward meetings, community workshops/events, circulate to key stakeholders, CMT review and refinement and presentation to council for approval. This will finish up in June 2015. A refresh of the city’s People Plan is currently underway which is a separate document tied into the work outlined  within the business plans and the strategic plan. The current Strategic Plan represents a 20 year plan with a 4 year commitment more specific to the work taking  place currently. Each four years the direction is confirmed to ensure the ship is sailing in the right direction. Verification of accomplishments from the previous Strategic Plan happens via the Report Card process, as well as  the community survey we have recently begun working on, and its subsequent community engagement process. Theron indicated some concern that Compass Kitchener’s role in this process has diminished, specifically beyond  phase one Laurie explained that the current Strategic Plan does not set specific goals and strategies, tangible measureable  goals that the organization can commit to accomplishing. This piece of work must be framed by staff throughout the organization. Compass Kitchener will help form the strategy at a higher level so staff have an understanding of the areas of priority and focus items within. With this, Laurie believes business plans will be inextricably linked to the strategic plan. Some concern was expressed regarding timing to ensure Compass Kitchener can adequately ensure community  feedback has been included through the second and third phases. After discussion, the committee agreed it may be beneficial to include an additional opportunity for this in phase three. Laurie confirmed the Report Card as being the true check back with community priorities identified and an  opportunity to confirm the organization has lived up to them. Members suggested that if the work in phases two and three deviates from the community priorities, it could  potentially also lead to less strength in the report card process, which would be concerning. In order to assist with a better understanding, it was suggested that we use a current strategic direction as an  example and outline what it might look like through this new process. 7. Other Business th Advisory Committee Gathering: November 26 Location: Conestoga Room, Kitchener City Hall November 6, 2013 CITY OF KITCHENER - 2 - Next regular meeting: December 4, 2013 Location: Conestoga Room st The January meeting will not be held the 1 Wednesday as that is a holiday. Jenn will send out a doodle to select a new date early in January. Attendance: Compass Kitchener Attendance 13-14.xls