Policy and Procedure Development Policy P2024-02

Bathurst, New Brunswick · adopted 2024-03-18

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 568119bd11fa · verified 2026-06-07 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

1 POLICY AND PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT POLICY Policy Number P2024-02 Classification ADM Effective Date March 18, 2024 Approval Authority CAO Supersedes Mandated Review 2027 1. OVERVIEW The City of Bathurst is committed to developing efficient and effective policy management tools that improve the administration and delivery of its services to the community. All City of Bathurst Policies should be clearly stated and managed in accordance with the guidelines of this Policy Framework. 2. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to define and provide a framework for the review and approval of policies, procedures, and guidelines. 3. SCOPE This policy applies to all City of Bathurst departments including agencies, boards, commissions, and committees funded by the City of Bathurst, in whole or in part except for those entities who may have their own policy processes in place. 4. DEFINITIONS CAO means the Chief Administrative Officer of the City's administration appointed for the City of Bathurst. CITY means the City of Bathurst. POLICY means a statement of general intent adopted by the City to indicate a course of action that is permitted or expected. Policy is the formal guidance needed to coordinate and execute activity throughout the City. Policy provides the framework within which the City functions. Policy statements help focus attention and resources on high priority issues. 2 PROCEDURE means a set of actions, generally linked to an organizational or departmental policy that provide a clear and concise sequence of City-approved instructions that are to be followed in undertaking a job, activity, or task. Procedures are the operational process required to implement a City Policy. 5. POLICY STATEMENT Regular review and revision of policies on a defined review cycle helps to ensure that City policies maintain their relevance and accuracy. A consistent approach to policy review and development will help to establish: - The individual or group responsible for reviewing the policy - A standard template for policies - A defined review-period a) Policy Requirements City policies must comply with: - the City's mission, vision, and values - the strategic plan - the defined regulatory objectives - the current legislation b) Responsibility i. Council City Council is responsible for approving policies dealing with matters within Council's authority as directed by Council, or at the initiation of the CAO. ii. CAO The CAO or delegate is responsible for developing, approving, and implementing administrative policies, procedures, and practices. iii. Clerk's Department The Clerk's Department is responsible for facilitating the policy review and ensuring the established policy review process is adhered to, including record keeping and review of all City policies and procedures. The Clerk's Department will assist departments in the development, review, and updating of City policies and procedures. iv. Author The author of a policy, procedure or guideline refers to the division (and department where applicable) with the primary responsibility for the preparation or amendment to that policy instrument. The author is responsible for: - Developing the policy using the established template and process; 3 - Consulting with other relevant stakeholders (internal and external) as appropriate; and - Liaising with the Clerk's Department as required. c) Policy Library All policies, procedures and guidelines will be classified under one of the following five categories: - Administration: Policies related to operational items. This category covers topics such as: communications, general City and strategic policies, information and technology, privacy, and security. - Financial: Policies related to internal financial controls and operations for the City. This category covers topics such as: asset management, budget, financial operations controls, financial planning controls, and purchasing. - Governance: Policies related to Council or means by which the City is governed, and Council remains accountable and transparent. This category covers topics such as: Council and Committees, elections, and records management. - Human Resources: Policies related to employees of the City. This category covers topics such as: development, management, recruitment and health and safety. - Municipal Services: Policies related to the provision of municipal services. This category covers topics such as: general municipal services, accessibility, cemetery services, community development, engineering and construction, facilities, permits, recreation and culture, special requests, and winter services. d) Naming Convention In order to standardize the categorization and numbering of policies, a naming convention has been established based on the identified policy categories. Each policy will have a category code, a policy number, and a policy title. i. Policy Title The naming convention for City policies, is as follows: - Category Code(space)(P)(Year)(hyphen)(Policy Number)(space)(Title) E.g., ADM P2023-01 TITLE Procedures and guidelines associated with a policy are assigned an additional three number sequence which immediately follow the policy number. The naming convention for procedures and guidelines is as follows: - Category Code(space)(P)(year)(hyphen)(Policy Number)(hyphen)(Procedure Number) E.g., ADM P2023-01-001 4 ii. Policy Number The Clerk's department will assign all policies, procedures, and guidelines a policy number prior to or after approval. All policy numbers will be determined according to the category and the next available policy number, and the category code. The following 3-letter category codes will be used: - Administration - ADM - Financial - FIN - Governance - GOV - Human Resources - HUM - Municipal Services - MUN iii. Policy Format To assist staff in writing policies, a template has been developed with all the necessary fields. The purpose of the template is to develop and maintain consistency in how policies are presented and stored, and to ensure that policies considered by Council are consistent and standardized. In addition, the template ensures that staff and the public can easily see which department is involved and responsible for the Policy. The policy format is included in Appendix A of this policy. 6. POLICY COMMUNICATION Policies will be communicated to staff through the CAO, as well as being made available on the City of Bathurst website. 7. POLICY REVIEW Policies must be reviewed at least every three years from the date of approval, unless otherwise stated in the policy. See policy development and review checklist for considerations in Appendix B of this policy. Newly developed and revised policies should undergo any necessary background research and consultation, and a defined implementation and communications plan. Appendix A 5 [NAME] POLICY Policy Number P - Classification Effective Date Approval Authority Supersedes Mandated Review 1. OVERVIEW [Optional. Include background information for Policy Users.] 2. PURPOSE [Mandatory. Identify why the Policy has been written and/or what activities it seeks to regulate in a few sentences.] 3. SCOPE [Mandatory. Indicate who the Policy applies to. Default is "This Policy applies to all City employees." If there are other groups to which the Policy applies to or not, identify specifically.] 4. DEFINITIONS [Define, capitalize, and list words in alphabetical order. The kinds of words that should be defined include unfamiliar words, technical terms, and words used to shorten a term (for example: City: means City of Bathurst).] (1) CAO means the Chief Administrative Officer of the City's administration appointed for the City of Bathurst. (2) CITY means the City of Bathurst (3) COUNCIL means the mayor and councillors of the municipality Appendix A 6 5. POLICY STATEMENT [Mandatory. Write in a clear and concise manner.] The headings below are examples to show the formatting that is required. 1. HEADING a) Sub-heading or text i. If numbering is used, follow the format indicated here [1.; a); i; (a); i)] (a) Enter next item in the sequence. 2. HEADING a) Sub-heading or text i. (a) 6. RELATED POLICIES - List City Policies alphabetically by name. 7. RELATED LEGISLATION - List applicable legislation alphabetically and italicize the names of the laws. 8. RELATED DOCUMENTS - List applicable procedures and other related information, such as forms. 9. REVISION HISTORY Date (mm/dd/yyyy) Description of Change Sections Person who Entered Revision (Position Title) Person who Authorized Revision (Position Title) Appendix B 7 Policy Development and Review Checklist The following questions have been designed to help policy owners with the comprehensive review of existing policies. This does not need to be submitted with final policy revisions. General Elements: 1. Is the policy still valid? Is there still a need for it? Are there any known policy gaps? 2. Are the related procedures relevant and up to date? 3. Does the policy comply with current legislation? 4. How does your policy compare with other municipalities? Is there a need to change the policy to ensure it aligns with external best practices? 5. Is the policy or procedure clear, easy to understand and respectful of diversity? Can someone not familiar with your department or the City understand the policy and follow the steps in your procedures without getting confused? Do you use terms that require explanation for others or short forms/acronyms that should be spelled out? 6. Should the scope (i.e., to whom or what it applies) be modified?