Municipal Sustainability Assessment
A sustainable municipality is able to:
• Govern and democratically represent the interests of its community with significant community support and involvement
• Satisfy the responsibilities for municipal administration, services and infrastructure in accord with the relevant legislation
• Provide necessary services and infrastructure at a cost residents are willing and able to pay
• Fund services from local resources or partnerships
• Actively contribute to the demographic, social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being of its community
Seven components of municipal sustainability:
1. Governance: elections, council meetings and procedures, committees of council, training, planning
2. Administration: training, policies, procedures, use of available technology
3. Finance and financial management: budgeting, debt, taxation, accounting and financial management
4. Municipal service delivery: fire protection, waste management, water supply, recreation, communication
5. Municipal infrastructure: water, sewage disposal and treatment, parks and recreation, maintenance and replacement
6. Community well-being: demographic, economic, social, environment and resources, health and education, arts and culture
7. Regional cooperation: history and willingness
Will Service Sharing Work For You?
Some things to consider when you are evaluating potential service sharing or other regional cooperation arrangements include:
1. Need
2. Cost
- Monetary
- Non-monetary implications
3. Feasibility
- Legal authority
- Public sentiment/potential opposition
- Type and level of services currently being provided
- Amount budgeted for each service
- Potential for service sharing arrangements
- Impediments to service sharing arrangements
(Source: Municipal Cooperation and Partnership: Role, Pros & Cons, Benefits, Presenter John Robison of John Robison Inc., Municipal Cooperation and Partnerships Seminar at the AMA Fall Conference (2003))