City to remain in benchmarking program
The City of Lethbridge will remain involved with a regional benchmarking program following a decision by city council.
On Monday, council decided to remain part of the Alberta Municipal Benchmarking Initiative.
“We shouldn’t be afraid of comparing our programs and the cost of our programs with other municipalities,” said Mayor Chris Spearman.
“We can learn about efficiencies that others are employing in order to achieve — in some cases — lower costs than ours. Certainly, what we need to do is make sure we work together on a collaborative basis with other municipalities.”
Spearman said extensive work has gone into the benchmarking process and that it would “be a shame” if that work fell by the wayside.
“We need to build on the work that has been done the last few years throughout the city,” he said.
A benchmark is an established point of reference used for comparison. The AMBI provides municipal service delivery metrics over time.
The AMBI is a collaboration of both small and large municipalities and features a framework for a continuous multi-year benchmarking process. The program was started in 2012.
It has set benchmarks for drinking water supply, wastewater collection, treatment and disposal, residential solid waste management, roadway operations and maintenance; snow and ice management, and transit.
Benchmarking will allow City planners to identify trends, establish priorities and make changes in the delivery of roadway services.
Coun. Jeff Coffman asked if there were concerns that there may be more municipalities withdrawing from the process.
Spearman said there was a recent discussion that took place between some mayors involved who were concerned about the value of the process. He said it is important to encourage those municipalities to continue their involvement.
Coffman also suggested an opportunity for council to put forward a resolution at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association to encourage the continued participation of the provincial government.
“We respect the right of every council to make its own decisions,” Spearman said. “But certainly, having this council pass this resolution says, ‘Council considered it, and we would encourage your council to do the same.’”