Town of Taber council briefs from April 28

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Taber Times

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

2024 audited financial statements

At the April 23 audit committee meeting, the auditor from KPMG presented its 2024 audit findings and the draft of financial statements. Council passed resolutions that the audit committee accept the report of the findings for the year ending Dec. 31, 2024 and that council approve those statements.

 The Municipal Government Act (MGA) states: “Each municipality must prepare annual financial statements of the municipality for the immediately preceding year in accordance with the Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for municipal governments.”

 Pursuant to Section 276 of the MGA, the financial statements or a summary of them must be made available to the public by May 1 in the manner council considers appropriate.

 In previous years, an in-house production of the statements was available in booklet form. This year, the administration recommended an in-house production of a PDF booklet and a print copy by request only. The 2024 financial statements will also be posted on the Town’s web site in PDF format.

 In addition, the administration recommended the transfer of $1 million dollars of unrestricted funds to capital reserves. Council unanimously approved the financial statements, the public PDF, and the transfer to capital reserves.

CAO performance evaluation policy

 The Town’s Chief Administrative Officer Performance Evaluation Policy was due for renewal. HR Manager Grace Noble told council that the policy had been reformatted but not revised. The new document, if approved, would stand until its next renewal date in 2028.

 The revised document was signed by the mayor and the CAO and began, “The Town of Taber recognizes the need to evaluate the performance of its Chief Administrative Officer to ensure the ongoing success of the Town. Performance of the Chief Administrative Officer will be monitored at a frequency as outlined in the Municipal Government Act and by a method determined by Council.”

 Notes of interest from the policy include:

-”A key role of council is to evaluate the performance of the CAO, and in order to be effective, this evaluation needs to be carried out on a regular basis and in a planned and thoughtful manner.”

-”The CAO is responsible for their own performance and development within the context of the organization’s business needs.” The CAO is expected to set challenging but achievable performance objectives based upon the strategic direction of the Town. He (in this case), is to evaluate and assess his progress, develop strategies to overcome obstacles, and deliver on his objectives and plans.

 The CAO is the leader of the Town administration, but council is responsible to:

-”Ensure the goals and objectives of the CAO and the organization are aligned with the strategic direction of the Town.”

-Support the CAO and the organization in order to obtain the resources needed to achieve success.

-”Recognize progress and achievements of the CAO through formal discussions, mid-year check-in, and/or performance evaluations.”

 The CAO performance evaluation committee is comprised of the mayor and two members of council who are appointed each council term. The committee is to make recommendations based upon the annual performance goals and performance results of the CAO. Council carried the motion to accept the updated policy.

Sports field surfaces allocation

 Recreation Manager Brian Martin appeared before council to present a draft copy of his department’s proposed sports field surfaces allocation policy for council’s approval. The Town recognized the higher demand for some of its sports fields over the past few years and is striving to allocate to the recreation facilities equally amongst all of its major users. Upon approval, the administration would develop a corresponding procedure.

 The policy is meant to allocate sports field rental times to user groups in an objective, equitable, and timely manner. CAO Derrin Thibault said the procedure for administering the fields policy would be similar to the procedure used for the ice surface in town. Council approved the policy.

TDCALA Building Upgrade

 Town council needed to approve a bylaw that would permit a loan of $150,000 to the Taber District Community Adult Learning Association (TDCALA) for building upgrades. A municipality may only lend money to a non-profit organization if the loan is authorized by bylaw. Council carried the final motion to allow for it.

 The advertisement requirements were met and the petition period passed with no appeals. The ten-year interest-free loan was contingent upon three requirements: First, that funding also be obtained from the Municipal District of Taber; second, that grant funding is also obtained from Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP); and third, that invoices/expenses will be submitted before payments are made. Council approved the loan. TDCALA did not respond to a request for specifics about the upgrades at their facility.