This week, council will look at audits on climate action and Blatchford redevelopment, as well as get an update on civilian recruitment for boards and committees.
There is an audit committee meeting scheduled for April 15. There is a non-regular executive committee meeting and a non-regular urban planning committee meeting scheduled for April 16. There is a non-regular community and public services committee meeting scheduled for April 17, with a continuation on April 19.
Here are key items on the agenda:
- An audit has determined the city's Environment and Climate Resilience Team is not formally tracking its progress on its climate goals, leading to inconsistency in setting targets and monitoring actions. The audit also found council and administration lack the climate information they need when making operational and budget decisions. The Environment and Climate Resilience Team is determining how it can include climate impacts in more council reports, though the audit found there is no clear rule on when climate information must be included. Administration said it accepts the report's recommendations and will include an "environment and climate review" section in standard council reports.
- An audit has revealed that the Blatchford redevelopment office may not meet its expected profits and timelines for redeveloping the 536-acre site because it "does not have an effective system to track whether it is achieving all of its goals." The audit found the redevelopment office did not provide documentation to demonstrate how it changed its profit forecast from $45 million by 2038 to $39 million by 2042, and that sales data has not met projected increases. The audit recommends the redevelopment office improve its tracking, how it measures performance, and its data analysis to enhance transparency and informed decision-making. City council's audit committee will review the report at its April 15 meeting.
- The committee meetings on April 16, 17, and 19 will be in private. Councillors will receive an update on recruitment for boards and committees, like the Naming Committee, Energy Transition Climate Resilience Committee, and the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
An audit has revealed that Blatchford may not meet its expected profits and timelines because it lacks an effective system for tracking whether it is achieving all of its goals. (Supplied)
Here are some other items on the agenda:
- Edmonton's administration has extended its deadline to address the city auditor's recommendations to improve the response to homelessness by a year. The city auditor examined the city's homelessness response in 2022 and recommended the city develop a corporate-wide homelessness plan, assign accountability for the delivery of the plan, and come up with performance measures to determine whether the plan is successful. These actions were supposed to be implemented by the end of 2023, but the deadline has been extended to the end of 2024. The deadlines for six other overdue recommendations were extended, along with the deadlines for four not-yet-due recommendations.
- The audit committee agenda includes the City of Edmonton's audited consolidated financial statements. KPMG said the statements are presented fairly in all material respects.
Meetings stream live on YouTube on the Chamber channel and River Valley Room channel.