Strathmore to develop ICF with Hussar, Standard, Rockyford
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Town of Strathmore discussed the idea to develop a voluntary intermunicipal collaboration framework (ICF) with the villages of Standard, Hussar, and Rockyford during the March 12 special council meeting.
The recommendation by town administration was that they be directed to develop a Terms of Reference to guide the preparation of the ICF between the communities.
Council members from the Town of Strathmore, Village of Rockyford, Village of Standard, and Village of Hussar recently participated in a regional collaboration workshop where ideas were explored for various opportunities and challenges within the local region.
A Voluntary ICF allows the Town of Strathmore to partner with other municipalities in order to provide cost efficient services where possible.
“For the last couple of years, we have been doing some assistance with street sweeping for one of the villages, so anytime we can do a service like that it can reduce our per capita costs,” said Jamie Dugdale, director of infrastructure, operations and development services with the Town of Strathmore. “Another example is we look at how we can share large facilities and how we can make sure those costs are shared rather than just borne by one municipality.”
Mayor Pat Fule confirmed with Dugdale during the meeting for clarification to the rest of council, this practice took place last spring as well which became a source of revenue for the town overall.
Dugdale estimated town administration would utilize the ICF recently developed with Wheatland County as a template to build off of in order to streamline the process with the other participating municipalities.
“We would craft an initial Terms of Reference with the other administrations, then we would come back and work probably a joint meeting of the councils,” said CAO Kevin Scoble. “The ultimate effort will depend on how much the councils want to populate it. It could be three or four items, it could be 10 or 12, so ultimately it will be the councils that decide how much work goes into it until conclusion.”
The Terms of Reference for the ICF will be developed using recent examples and will receive input from applicable departments within town administration as required.
An ICF may describe services that benefit residents in more than one of the participating municipalities, identify which municipality is responsible for providing which services, outline how services will be funded and delivered, and include a process for resolving disputes while the framework is in effect.
Coun. Jason Montgomery motioned for council to direct staff to begin development of the ICF as recommended by administration in the agenda. The motion was carried unanimously by council.