Reflet_2016_12_15

Russell Township gets a B+ on its first annual report card "$56"- * 54  r  /&84

VICKY CHARBONNEAU vicky.charbonneau@eap.on.ca

Since the launching of Russell Township’s Annual Report Card survey in May 2016, the general public was asked to rate the way the delivery of its services wasmade as well as its performance. During the Dec. 12 council session, administration presented council with its first Report Card results, showing an overall grade of B+. “Well I think B+ for a very first time is quite acceptable,” saidmayor Pierre Leroux. “It gives us some leeway to improve and to strive for better. I think, as well, that the fact of discussing this and analyzing it shows members of the public that it’s not just a sur- vey to say we’re doing a survey, we’re actually using this material to help us improve. This is a useful tool and we hope that people understand their input is taken to heart.” “It gives us some leeway to improve and to strive for better. It’s not just a survey to say we’re doing a survey, we’re actually using this material to help us improve. ” - Pierre Leroux

En mai 2016, la Municipalité de Russell avait mis à la disposition de ses membres un sondage quant à la prestation de ses services et son rendement général que tout citoyen était invité à remplir en ligne. Lors de la dernière séance ordinaire de 2016, les résultats du sondage ont été révélés par l’administration qui a présenté le premier bulletin de lamunicipalité au conseil, affichant la note de B +. Ci-dessus, les membres du Conseil, André Brisson, Amanda Simard, Pierre Leroux, Jamie Laurin et Cindy Saucier. —photo fournie

to be reviewed and better advertised. Also somemembers of the community felt more included than others.The survey also revea- led that citizens were satisfied overall with online payment options, maintenance of green spaces, snow removal and high-quality drinking water. This feedback will help the township create a culture of continuous improvement and also help administration and council build concrete strategies and clarify mis- perceptions regarding roads, garbage and

recycling, among others. For example, a way tomake people realize that the township has many parks will be to acquire civic addresses for them, which will result in aiding online maps that will guide visitors more easily find these locations, as well as helping emergency services respond to calls at these sites. Although advertised on posters, paper editions, shared by email, social media and website throughout the period of May-Sep- tember, the survey was completed by 232 individuals, which only represent 1.35 % of

the population of Russell Township. Council expects more participation in the future and may consider alternatives for those whomay not have access to the Internet and wish to complete the survey. In the meantime, administration and council are working on ideas so that ele- ments raised may be addressed in 2017. As for the next annual Report Card, it is pro- posed to be set in the April-May 2017 period, as steps can be done to include strategic planning as part of the 2018 budget.

As this was the first time conducting a citizen-based performance evaluation, part of the lessons learned was that there were services and programs which needed

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