Annual Municipal Report

Part 4 Division 5 of the Community Charter lays out a requirement for municipalities to produce an annual municipal report.
 

What is required

• the municipality's audited annual financial statements for the previous year;
• a list of the permissive tax exemptions provided by council, and for each exemption, the amount of property tax that would have been imposed during the previous year if the exemption had not been granted;
• a report on the municipality's services and operations for the previous year;
• a progress report on the performance of the municipality with respect to established objectives and measures;
• a statement of objectives and measures that will be used as the basis for determining the municipality's performance during the current year and following year; and
• the details of any declarations of disqualification made against individual council members during the previous year.

Click here for detailed information on the required contents of an annual report.
 

Council may include any other information that it deems appropriate for the annual report.
 

Once completed, the annual report must be made available for public inspection. After making the report public, council must wait a minimum of two weeks before holding an annual meeting on the report. This provides citizens with time to review the annual report, ask questions and prepare submissions. Council must give notice of the date, time and place of the annual meeting in accordance with the Community Charter's requirements for public notice.
 

What to consider

Progress Reporting
The annual municipal report enables council and the public to monitor the progress of the municipality against a set of specific objectives established by the municipality. Since the annual report considers previous, current, and future year activities, municipalities may choose to integrate their annual reporting process with other municipal planning and management processes.
 

Annual reporting promotes a greater understanding of municipal responsibilities and priorities and also provides an opportunity to engage citizens in setting municipal objectives. This can be done through surveys, open houses, discussion groups and community meetings. Each municipality can choose how it will measure its progress against the objectives and how it will report on its progress each year.
 

The following link provides materials to help municipalities implement the new progress reporting requirements: A Guide to Municipal Reporting (200 KB).
 

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How to proceed

The municipal services section is the place for council to report on all major changes and developments during the year. This part of the report could include:

• the opening of a new recreation facility;
• changes to bus service;
• the contracting-out of garbage pick-up and recycling;
• a change in water treatment processes;
• changes in water rates;
• the development of a new trail system;
• the purchase of a new fire truck; or
• the total value of building permits processed by the municipality.

The operations section is the place for council to report on developments that help meet the service needs of the community. This part of the report could include:

• the purchase of a new employees' benefit plan; or
• the acquisition of financial systems software.

Other Information
Council may include any other information it considers important, for example:

• information on partnerships (with private and community groups) that the municipality entered into during the previous year, or is contemplating for the current year;
• an overview of external events and challenges that have/may impact the municipality in the future;
• comparisons of the municipality's services, tax rates, finances and quality of life with other communities;
• improvements to standard of living and/or quality of life indicators such as education, employment, per capita income, and economic indicators;
• the status of major debt retirement;
• past or future festivals and community events and the municipality's efforts to prepare for them; or
• awards or recognition that the municipality or its council or staff has received.

Council may consider establishing a feedback form that citizens can use to advise council of the types of information they would like to see included in subsequent reports.
 

Public Inspection
The annual report will be made available for public inspection at the municipal hall and at an annual public meeting. Municipalities may also consider distributing hard copies to individuals, tourist bureaus, recreation centres, libraries, other civic agencies and electronically on the municipality's web site.
 

Council may also choose to distribute a summary of the annual report with annual tax notices.
 

Please direct questions or comments to Advisory Services Branch.