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Communications audit remains undisclosed to public

Recently hired Rocky View County communications manager Grant Kaiser presented a strategy to improve internal and external communications to council April 23.

Recently hired Rocky View County communications manager Grant Kaiser presented a strategy to improve internal and external communications to council April 23.

The strategy was created in place of 19 recommendations made from a Rocky View County communications audit that took place over 2011 and 2012.

The $100,000 audit was conducted by an outside company contracted by the county.

The project included personal interviews with 47 internal and external individuals including county staff, councillors, four employee focus groups and five focus groups with residents, according to an executive summary of the Communications Audit and Strategy final report.

Kaiser’s report is entitled, Communications Services Action Plan.

He said recommendations from the audit would require a 45 per cent increase in the operational budget over the next three years to implement.

“I think it can be accomplished within the existing budget,” Kaiser said, noting exception for a $25,000 citizen survey and a yet to be determined county-wide event.

These budget requests would come forward in the 2014 budget year, he added.

Some of the recommendations included in his strategy include creating a citizen survey to see if the county is meeting residents’ needs; eliminating archival information on the county website; creating new resident welcome package for people moving to the county; creating an overall county brand to increase awareness of the county and its activities; and formalizing media training for new councillors and senior staff.

Kaiser said his strategy is based off his review of the recommendations stemming from the audit.

However, except for the executive summary, the report won’t be released to the public.

In March, the Rocky View Weekly requested the release of the report under the Freedom of Information and Privacy act. The request was denied stating that the report is “incomplete and if released could lead to misleading and inaccurate information.”

Councillor Margaret Bahcheli asked Kaiser during council how the report was “incomplete.”

Kaiser said there are “a number of reasons” why he felt it shouldn’t be revealed to the public. He said it didn’t include feedback from a large enough pool of people from the public, the report focused more on staff needs not managers’ and it may look like a complete report but is really just one “$300,000 solution.”

Bahcheli agreed that there should have been more public engagement in the audit but wasn’t convinced these were good enough reasons not to release the report.

Reeve Rolly Ashdown said he didn’t have a problem releasing the report to the public. Councillor Liz Breakey said in the nature of being transparent, she felt the report should be released.

Councillor Lois Habberfield said councillors and staff were told their information would be kept confidential so it should remain that way.

When asked by council, Kaiser said no names are in the report but he felt people could easily determine who was talking about whom.

“I think those most embarrassed would be certain councilors, in which case I have no problem releasing the report,” said Bahcheli. “We’re supposed to take the hits.”

Councillors Al Sactua and Earl Solberg didn’t share their opinion in the discussion. Deputy reeve Paul McLean and councillors Kim Magnuson and Greg Boehlke were absent.

Councillors agreed releasing the document to the public something they could possibly reconsider later.

They instead accepted Kaiser’s report as information and directed staff to begin implementing action plans as outlined in Kaiser’s report.

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