Operational Improvements Will Help Elk Point Serve its Residents Better

The Town of Elk Point Council, Mayor and senior administration participated in a series of strategic planning sessions in July and August which have lead to a number of improvements that will see services for the residents of the town better. Councillor Lorne Young says the town is excited to start implementing some of the value added services.

One of the improvements is the website, for which the Town has received six successful bids and is in the process of reviewing the bids and selecting a successful candidate. Team lead, Brooke Yaremchuk, did a fantastic job highlighting the Town’s criteria, putting the bid to tender and preparing Council with options, says Young. The town hopes to have the new website launched in early 2016.

Along with the new site, the Town has upgraded its web server to a fibre optics network. This will help the Town process information, receive/send emails, and work online in a faster and more efficient manner. The Town hopes to be able to bring services such as, online bill payments to the residents in 2016 with the launch of the site.

The Town is installing a debit/credit machine so residents are able to pay bills at the Town Office using a bank or credit card. Keeping up-to-date with services is one of the objectives Town Council identified during the strategic planning sessions, explains Young. “It’s something that’s come up a few times, people just prefer that form of payment.”

We want to modernize our services to the community -Councillor Lorne Young

On an administration side, the Town recently updated all of its employee’s job descriptions. Some employees had been with the town for so long they were never given a job description. Now with the descriptions in place Town employees have a clear idea of what is expected from them and what their job entails. With this understanding employees will be able to better serve the residents of the town.

Elk Point updated employee policies this month, including their working alone and purchasing policies. The Town plans to continue improving and modernizing its services, as well as, organizing the administration.