Open Government

Ground work has begun in order to support the development of a Corporate Records & Information Management program for the Township. This multi-year project will commence with a Township wide records inventory assessment which will focus on documenting records holdings and practices. This data will be used to inform the development of a strategy designed to implement a corporate program focused on better securing information assets, making them more accessible and increasing the overall efficiency with which stakeholders create and share information. Full scoping and project planning began in early May 2017, following the implementation of the Records Retention By-law and will continue with an inventory assessment in the fall. The Office of the Clerk is looking for options on the use of an Electronic Document & Records Management System (EDRMS) to evaluate new and existing tools. An EDRMS will ensure that Township records are stored and managed in the most efficient and accessible way. Records Management is new to CAP and there is little to no data available from previous years. The subsequent year, 2018, will serve as a benchmark in relation performance reporting.

Initial work to undertake a comprehensive Privacy Management Program for the Township began in the fall of 2017. Such a program provides an effective way for the Corporation to satisfy Council the public and regulators that the Township is incompliance with legislated requirements. This project will be closely aligned with the RIM Program inventory assessment. Performance reporting will be based on legislated compliance requirements with respect to records retention. Under the Municipal Act and MFIPPA, the Township is required to have and maintain a records program, updated classification system, and to retain and dispose of Township records in a documented manner. The Ontario Municipal Records Management System (TOMRMS) is the municipal standard for records classification and retention which as part of the developing records program will be updated to meet the needs of the Township. Metrics will relate to TOMRMS compliant destruction as defined by the number of destructions carried out in compliance with the most current TOMRMS retention schedule.

• Electronic Mail and Electronic Messaging Policy
• Records Retention By-law

Open government has to do with the relationship between public servants and citizens of a community. It is a critical step in modernizing services with citizens and businesses in mind. Luckily, the modernization of municipal service and information delivery through online content and communications has made this process much easier. The desired objective of open government is "governing with people" rather than "at people." This goal is achieved by building trust and accountability among citizens, elected officials and municipal administration. The four key principles that guide open government initiatives are participation, innovation, transparency, and accountability.