The Counties, Ontario – Staff at the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) provided updates to County Council today on two of its major priorities for 2014: communication, and continuous improvement.

Monday’s updates from staff outlined a proposal for enhancing SDG’s relationship with local municipalities through increased regional cooperation, as well as for undertaking a review of current service agreements between the County and its local partners. Both were identified as key deliverables by County Council in January.

Earlier this month, SDG CAO Tim Simpson met one-on-one with the mayors and chief administrators of each local municipality to discuss County Council’s 2014 priorities. A major focus of these meetings was shared service agreements, and how they could potentially be enhanced. The feedback received played a central role in crafting staff’s recommendation that an implementation plan for a service study be developed jointly with the six municipalities.

Warden Eric Duncan was pleased with the receptiveness locally to pursue this initiative. “This is an important first step in advancing Council’s Corporate Priorities for this year,” said Warden Duncan. “I think all local municipalities feel that there is strong professionalism across our two tiered system – we work very well together. But I also think it was heard loud and clear that together we are stronger as a region,” Duncan added.

In his presentation to County Council, CAO Simpson noted the consistency in common themes that immerged in his discussions locally. “Overall I am very pleased with the feedback we received. The area CAOs all work very closely together to tackle common challenges; I think looking at some of our key services for opportunities is something we are all looking forward to,” concluded CAO Simpson. The implementation plan for the service study will be presented to County Council for approval in April.

County Council’s Corporate Priorities of Communication; Continuous Improvement; and Technology were approved earlier this year. Each priority has been developed around deliverables that will be completed by 2015. For more information on Council’s Corporate Priorities, please contact edco@sdgcounties.ca