Woodlands County Council switches things up for their 2022 Strategic Planning Session

At the beginning of the January 19 Regular Meeting of Woodlands County Council, Councillor Peter Kuelken asked to add an item to the agenda concerning the County’s Strategic Planning Session. He wanted to discuss the cost associated with the session happening in Edmonton. Councillor Kuelken said that Council had asked CAO Gordon Frank to put together the pricing information, which was sent through email before the meeting.

“My view is fairly blunt. The fiscal responsibility is ours. My belief is that we can set that up much the same way here in Whitecourt, save ourselves a pile of money, and do the team-building exercise that goes with that. That’s a discussion that I think Council needs to have.” Councillor Devin Williams said he agreed with his colleague across the table. “If it was close (the costs between an Edmonton session and a local one), to me, hosting here or there, as long as everyone’s there, that was what was most important, but there’s quite a difference in money in that. I agree with Councillor Kuelken completely. It’s a noticeable difference, and I think that’s something that we should consider,” he explained.

Next to chat was Councillor Jeremy Wilhelm. “From what I can see, it’s about, essentially, one-tenth of the cost to host it here. If we look at our overall budget, it’s not a large part of that budget, but I think if we are trying to set a precedent that we are trying to be as fiscally responsible as possible, this is a good way that we can show that to people that are watching us when we are making these types of decisions.”

Councillor Wilhelm also felt it allowed them to hold future planning sessions. “I think it allows us to do additional strategic planning and additional team building in the future when we are saving costs on this initial one. We can start creating more times where we are getting together or reviewing the strategic planning. When we are reducing the costs initially, it gives us more flexibility in the future to do more of this and stay under budget. With such a significant cost difference and savings for the future, I think it’s a good idea, in my opinion.”

The conversation surrounding the Strategic Planning Session costs first came up during the November 10 Council meeting and continued in the December 22 meeting. During the December meeting, Councillor Wilhelm stated that residents had asked him what the money would be spent on and why it was being spent outside of the community. “I totally agree with the strategic planning and the aspects of it allowing us to build teamwork at a location away, but I’ve been unable to explain to these specific residents what we are spending that money on,” he said at the time.

Councillor Wilhelm wondered how much of the $25,000 cost was the session and how much was extras such as lodging, meals and space. “Is the majority of the money that we are budgeting for this being spent to be away from our community and putting that money into another community? Or is it being spent towards our actual strategic planning,” he queried. Councillor Wilhelm said he didn’t have a problem budgeting the money for strategic planning but wanted a breakdown of the costs.

During the January meeting, it was mentioned that the cost to hold the session locally was around $2000, which, as Councillor Wilhelm said, is roughly one-tenth of the cost of doing it in Edmonton. Councillor Alan Deane asked if other expenses would be needed to bring the consultants to town. CAO Frank said there would be a cost for mileage.

Mayor John Burrows said it was clear that Council wanted to save money. “I guess what I’m hearing is that Council wants to save some money, which is good. I remain focused on the end product. I think to Councillor Kuelken’s point, as long as we as a Council hold each other accountable for showing up and participating and making sure that we are a hundred percent committed to the process, we should be fine to do it locally.” Council voted unanimously to hold the 2022 Strategic Planning Session locally rather than in Edmonton.