Good afternoon members of the business community, colleagues, - PDF document

Good afternoon … members of the business community, colleagues, regional elected officials and citizens. We are honoured to see so many of our municipal partners here today. In the year of Canada’s 150 th birthday, it is certainly a good time to reflect. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 1

John A Macdonald It is valuable to remember that on the path to Confederation John A. Macdonald made a very powerful statement. To paraphrase his words “If we doubt our ability to succeed we may lose and regret the opportunity to do great things such as starting Canada”. His vision led to founding our great nation and building a strong global community – however, it required brave conversations. I am proud to say that we too have had some very brave conversations this term, involving Council and administration. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 2

Executive Team Our professional executive team, who focus on Council’s strategic plan and priorities, is committed to enhancing efficiencies to working smarter and delivering service excellence – even in challenging times. Let me introduce our executive team … starting with our Chief Commissioner – Rob Coon, and our associate commissioners: Gord Johnston Lori Cooper, Greg Yeomans; and Kevin Glebe State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 3

Council has a different job. We strategically position this entire organization for success for today and into the future. Your elected officials focus their skills and energies in several key areas: State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 4

Strategic Visioning/Planning Intergovernmental Advocacy Governance & Oversight Stakeholder Outreach: Communication & Engagement Decision Making All are critical to maintaining a high quality of life for our citizens and in planning a successful future for their children, here in Strathcona County. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 5

Introduction of Council All members of Council are here with us today, let me introduce them: Dave Anderson Fiona Beland-Quest Vic Bidzinski Brian Botterill Linton Delainey Carla Howatt Bonnie Riddell; and Paul Smith State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 6

Council’s principal guiding document is the Strategic Plan. It defines governance, community development, infrastructure and service delivery. One of our most important functions is to re-visit our strategic plan at the beginning of each year to ensure it remains the right direction, given economic and other factors. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 7

Advocacy efforts enable us to create efficiencies and leverage opportunities between municipalities to advance our region and speak with one voice. I have said this before - Strathcona County is not an island. We continue to speak with one voice to strengthen our relationships with all levels of government. We strive to maintain an unbiased and non-partisan stance. We make special efforts to advocate for funding to support our local and regional needs. Municipalities also band together through our municipal associations, and we took a leadership role by spearheading resolutions, with partner municipalities at last year’s conventions: Alberta Urban Municipalities Association; and the Alberta Association of Municipal District and Counties’. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 8

State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 8

Joint efforts and investments can and will make a significant contribution to economic diversification in the region and increase sustainable jobs in Strathcona County. Approval of provincial royalty credits, for instance, resulted in two new propane facilities in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland – Inter Pipeline and Pembina. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 9

In this four-year term alone, Council has secured more than 20 million dollars from provincial and federal governments, including infrastructure grants to: support the purchase of three double-decker buses, three mobile buses; and the revitalization of the Ordze Transit Centre. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 10

Even more impressive, since 2013, we have secured more than 148 million dollars in grant funding that has been used to enhance our: trails roads transit facilities; and utilities State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 11

Understanding changes to provincial legislation and being involved has strengthened our voice on the provincial and the federal levels. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 12

We were there to offer expert advice to the province on proposed changes to the Municipal Government Act … particularly about changes to industrial assessment. Strathcona County is an undisputed expert in the industrial assessment processes. We have been preparing major industrial assessments for more than 40 years and understand that it has many complex variables. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 13

On behalf of Council and our citizens, I wrote and spoke with the Minister of Municipal Affairs on numerous occasions to share Strathcona County’s perspective. I thank Sturgeon County for joining us in support when meeting with the Minister. As a result of this advocacy, Strathcona County senior administrative officials will be at the table to ensure the best possible outcomes for Alberta municipalities, major industry partners and our taxpayers. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 14

Metro mayors Strathcona County is also an acknowledged leader in the Capital Region. We are a founding member of the Metro Mayors’ Alliance and proud to be at the table with like-minded regional leaders, who have very brave conversations. It is my hope that these discussions will contribute to the future success of our new growth management board. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 15

Growth Plan It’s been a true honour to chair the Capital Region Board's Growth Plan Update Task Force. After two years of hard work this group delivered a new plan to guide growth over the next 30 to 50 years. My next focus as Vice Chair of the CRB’s Transition Task Force will be … to ensure a successful move from 24 to 13 municipalities. These are interesting, challenging times that offer great opportunities. Through our continued participation we remain a leader in creating a strong and more dynamic region. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 16

I take pride in our county’s history and celebrate the fact that Strathcona County is well-positioned for the next 50 to 100 years, due to: our unique governance structure, our strong administrative process, and; our connection with our community. Council must remain strategic to ensure our policies and administrative processes remain strong and support the vision and goals that we have established. That includes shaping and implementing an effective and efficient budget for a municipality of our size … no easy task. Council has encouraged administration to expand our toolbox to meet the challenges of changing economies and to remain transparent, open and fiscally accountable. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 17

PBB As a result, we are one of only a handful of Canadian municipalities implementing priority-based budgeting, which ensures all decisions are viewed through a priority lens. It also provides us with measures to accurately evaluate and report on our county’s performance. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 18

We are now having better conversations about the wide range of programs and services we offer, based on a solid understanding of: What programs we deliver … at what level … and at what cost How strongly each aligns to Council-defined priorities What proportion of our community they serve, and how much of that cost is recovered; and Whether they are mandated, or available elsewhere in the community Going into Budget 2017, this knowledge led to better decisions, and connecting resources to the highest community priorities. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 19

These efforts, along with a prudent fiscal attitude and sound decision-making are the reason our taxpayers will see a 2.15% municipal tax dollar decrease this year. This decrease is a direct result of looking at what we already have and re-allocating those resources to best address our priorities … rather than just asking for more dollars. We are maintaining services and supporting our infrastructure, while doing all of this. An additional portion of your total property taxes is what the county is required to collect on behalf of the provincial government for education. The amount required for 2017 will be known shortly following tomorrow’s release of the Province’s Budget 2017. We also look to the province to announce predictable and continued funding for municipalities. State of the County Address - Mayor Carr - 2017 03 15 20