10/20/2026
This is from Kirby Schaffer's Blog - Inspiring City Engagement - along with a comment from Nicole Frey.
I watched the meeting from home. The standout for me was that I was surprised that Bill C***s - as a retired lawyer - did not know the requirements of the MGA - the Municipal Government Act.
Other than that it was a tame affair.
Greg
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2026 UPDATE
It was a short council meeting with the main talking points being rezoning in Saamis Heights and Performance Evaluation Policy of the CAO. Both passed.
Some notable takeaways from the discussion on the Performance Evaluation Policy I noticed are the following:
The presentation from HR or People Services (whatever we want to call it) was very short and uninformative. Councillor Young, in my opinion, not only did a great job to explain the policy but was by far the most invested in this policy. He sees the importance of this. Its not only a requirement in the MGA to have this policy but as history has shown it is important council create this policy to correct past problems with the relationship between council and the CAO. Councillor C***s, in his comments, asked if performance evaluations are done on all employees at the City. I know at Electric Distribution I used to do annual evaluations on all the employees that reported to me, and these were unionized employees, but judging from James Will's answer I am confident this is not being done any longer or HR is out of touch on what departments are doing. Councillor C***s also noted he doesn't feel evaluations need to be done annually. I am not surprised by this comment. It shows he doesn't realize evaluations are an avenue to have discussions. Discussions that ensure what administration is doing is on course with the vision of council (which has still not been created by this council). Discussions that remove confusion, foster ideas and help identify challenges being faced by not only council but administration and our community. Probably the most important part of this policy is it ensures that the CAO is committed to councils vision. I was concerned that there was confusion on the policy from Councillor Varga on start dates and timelines. Does council not discuss policies this important in closed sessions prior to it being presented in open meetings? This is a good start in moving forward and would like to thank the Governance Committee for leading this, especially Councillor Young.
Also presented was new standing committee appointments as it has almost already been a year since they were elected. I would like to see council give an update on decisions that have been made this year.
Solar Field. We have borrowed $67 million + dollars for this project and still no one has signed on the dotted line to be the primary purchaser for this project. Maybe our veteran Councillors Clugston or C***s, who sit on the Energy Committee, could update the public on this project. The interest on this loan is growing. Or are we waiting to reallocate these funds to pay for our new pool and sports fields? Or is there another project Energy will need a budget amendment for that wasn't included in the budget?
Speaking of budgets, an update from the budget committee would be nice. Have any savings been found? Budget gap grown? Tax increase grown for next year? I have read the financial report and see the word "favorable" used alot BUT by year end we are still facing a budget gap. One of the reasons we are favorable that was listed is because of staff vacancies. Judging from the number of jobs listed on Linkedin in the past month these vacancies are shrinking. It will be interesting to see staffing levels at year end.
Communication and transparency was a key topic during the campaigning and election. "Neat to know" is not an effective way to communicate with residents. Town hall update meetings or special council meetings are better ways to ensure everyone gets accurate information. Just an idea.
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Nicole Frey
Thank you for this! I have been up councils ass about their performance management of the cao since the days of Ann Mitchell. In fact it's a root premise of the current judicial review which I must say I was disappointed to see Council not retain a lawyer for last night . However I think the performance evaluation policy is a step in the right direction, I absolutely disagree that people Services should be involved in any way, councillor C***s in my opinion only solidified the need for Council to have independent advice since he didn't even know the MGA required him/council to do an annual evaluation on the CAO. Varga asked some good questions and I think showcased that the policy could be tightened to bed especially in its wording to make it clear and not open for interpretation and I'm not sure what administration and council is not getting about that yet. And I totally agree...this council needs to step up in transparency. Administration is apparently projecting a 9 million surplus or something at the end of the year and so I'm curious to see how they justify a tax increase again.
