Annual municipal report

Municipalities are required to produce an annual report which states their goals and objectives for the coming year and demonstrates what progress has been made toward the preceding year's goals and objectives.

Annual report requirements

The annual report must include:

• The municipality's audited annual financial statements for the previous year
• A list of the permissive tax exemptions provided by the municipal council, and for each exemption, the amount of property tax that would have been imposed during the previous year if the exemption had not been granted
• A report on the municipality's services and operations for the previous year
• A progress report on the performance of the municipality with respect to established objectives and measures
• A statement of objectives and measures that will be used as the basis for determining the municipality's performance during the current year and following year
• The details of any declarations of disqualification made against individual council members during the previous year

Council may include any other information that it deems appropriate for the annual report.

• Learn more about the required contents of an annual report

Once completed, the annual report must be made available for public inspection. After making the report public, council must wait a minimum of 14 days before holding an annual meeting on the report. This provides citizens with time to review the annual report, ask questions and prepare submissions.

Council must give notice of the date, time and place of the annual meeting.

• Learn more about annual municipal meetings

Progress reporting

The municipal council and the public can use the annual report to monitor the progress of the municipality against a set of specific objectives. Since the annual report considers previous, current and future year activities, municipal councils may choose to integrate their annual reporting process with other municipal planning and management processes.

Annual reporting promotes a greater understanding of municipal responsibilities and priorities and also provides an opportunity for the council to engage citizens in setting municipal objectives. This can be done through surveys, open houses, discussion groups and community meetings.

Each municipality may choose how it will measure its progress against the objectives and how it will report on its progress each year.

• Learn more about municipal progress reporting (PDF)

Municipal services and operations

The annual report must contain a section on the municipality's services and operations for the previous year. The municipal council may wish to include an inventory of municipal services and operations, which can serve as a checklist to ensure that all areas have been covered.

Council can report on all major changes and developments during the year in the municipal services section. For example, this may include information on:

• The opening of a new recreation facility
• Changes to bus service
• The contracting-out of garbage pick-up and recycling
• A change in water treatment processes
• Changes in water rates
• The development of a new trail system
• The purchase of a new fire truck
• The total value of building permits processed by the municipality

Council can report on developments that help meet the service needs of the community in the operations section, such as the:

• Purchase of a new employees' benefit plan
• Acquisition of financial systems software

Additional information

The municipal council may include any other information it considers important, for example:

• Information on partnerships (with private and community groups) that the municipality entered into during the previous year, or is contemplating for the current year
• An overview of external events and challenges that have impacted the municipality or may impact it in the future
• Comparisons of the municipality's services, tax rates, finances and quality of life with other communities
• Improvements to standard of living and/or quality of life indicators such as education, employment, per capita income, and economic indicators
• The status of major debt retirement
• Past or future festivals and community events and the municipality's efforts to prepare for them
• Awards or recognition that the municipality or its council or staff has received

Council may consider establishing a feedback form that citizens can use to advise council of the types of information they would like to see included in subsequent reports.

Public inspection

The annual report must be made available for public inspection at the municipal hall 14 days before the annual public meeting. Municipalities may also consider distributing hard copies to individuals, tourist bureaus, recreation centres, libraries, other civic agencies and electronically on the municipality's website.

The municipal council may also choose to distribute a summary of the annual report with annual tax notices.