For those who do not receive the Killam newsletter, following is my message to our residents.
There is much happening in & around Killam, and my family & I feel very blessed to be part of this great community.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all,
Tammy & Bud James & family.
As we near the end of another year, I want to take this
opportunity to give you a bit of an update on activities of your Council.
As you know, the municipal general election in October
2013 saw a change in faces around our Council Table. Brenda Grove & Carol Kinzer were elected
as new Councillors and joined returning Councillors for a new four year term of
office. Job number one was to review
& approve the municipal budget for 2014; an important & challenging
task, especially for someone new to the position.
Once that was complete our group moved on the Job number
two – a comprehensive review & rewrite of our strategic planning document. This was completed over a two day period in
early 2014.
Killam’s Strategic Plan (Municipal Sustainability Plan)
is a document that identifies our long term vision for the community and
outlines strategies and actions in the areas of economic priorities, governance
priorities, social priorities, and recreation & cultural priorities.
Council was able to check off many of the previously
identified actions as complete, which meant substantial discussion on where we
go from here. I am pleased to report
that we have updated our document, and continue to consult it from time to time
to make sure we are following the right path.
A few of the items identified as strategic priorities,
and what we have been doing to achieve them, include –
Continued
Participation in Economic Development for the Region. Killam is a member of the Veterans Memorial
Highway Association (VMHA), and continues to be actively involved in the Battle
River Alliance for Economic Development (BRAED) and the Eastern Alberta Trade Corridor
(EATC).
Support
the Business Community and Create the Supports to Thrive. Council recently
participated in a BRAED pilot project – The Business Walk – where Council
members & volunteers visited most of our businesses to engage the owner or manager
& ask 3 simple questions that were designed to get a snapshot of the health
of each business in our business community.
Response was overwhelmingly positive, with the issue of labour
attraction being identified as the most challenging. As well Council continues to support the
Chamber of Commerce in other ways, including a radio advertising campaign
happening this Christmas season.
Enhance
Regional Partnerships Within & Outside of Flagstaff County. Council continues to seek meaningful conversations
with our municipal neighbors, with the intent of exploring opportunities for
cooperation & sharing of services.
Invest
in & Maintain Infrastructure. Council, Administration & our engineers
are working to identify priorities for infrastructure renewal using historical
information & physical examination of our assets. It is critical that we stay on top of
this. Thanks to an infrastructure
renewal fee attached to your utility bills, we have been able to accomplish
much of this with cash savings and not have to rely solely on grant funding or
borrowing.
Recognize
& Enhance the Volunteer Sector in the Region. I firmly believe that volunteers are the
lifeblood of any small community, and the Killam Community is no
exception. Our volunteers continually
step up to make our community better and we are blessed because of this. Of course we all know that people don’t
volunteer for the accolades, but it’s nice to receive a pat on the back once in
awhile. With this in mind, Council has
planned a small thank you event for our volunteers on January 22, 2015. However we don’t want to miss anyone. We have contacted all of our service groups
& boards to request a list of their volunteers; make sure your group has
responded, and we hope you can join us.
Attract
& Retain Engaged Residents to the Region. This is a big task, and we have asked a few
members of the community to help us move this forward. We will have more to report in the future.
If you would like to learn more about Killam’s Strategic
Plan, the document is viewable on our website or stop by the Town Office for a
copy.
Regarding Budget 2015, Council has committed to a 3%
increase in revenue from taxation. Our
goal in the last several years has been to keep the increase close to the
Consumer Price Index, and this year is no exception. The capital portion of our budget commits to
projects valued at approximately $1,000,000, including some water & sewer
works projects. Your tax dollars are spent wisely and this is due to a fiscally
prudent Council and an Administration that works hard every day to ensure our
municipality lives within its means.
Thank you to my colleagues on Council for their hard work
this past year. As well thank you to CAO
Kim Borgel and her team for their continued good service to our citizens.
I hope you are able to take time in the next few weeks to
enjoy the company of family & friends, and reflect on the many blessings we
enjoy as a community. We truly are
living “Life Without Compromise”.
On behalf of my Council colleagues & our families, I
wish you all a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Bud James
Mayor