4.3 ERMUSR 03-13-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Troy Adams, P.E. — General Manager John Dietz — Chair Al Nadeau— Vice Chair Daryl Thompson — Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: March 13, 2017 4.3 SUBJECT: Governance Policy Manual BACKGROUND: In 2016 the Commission approved contracting with Collaboration Unlimited to update and develop core governance policy. The decision to implement and the schedule for completion were largely based on two factors. First, the existing policy book and by-laws had not been reviewed or updated on a routine basis. Second, with the March 2017 expansion for the ERMU Commission from three to five members it was determined to be beneficial to develop and update core governance policy to serve as a guide for the expanded Commission. The scope of work for the governance policy project was split into two phases. Phase 1 focuses on the core governance policies and the by-laws. With the exception of the by-laws and legal counsel review, the work associated with Phase 1 has been completed. The policies included in Phase 1 were adopted by the Commission during the February 2017 Commission meeting. The by-laws and legal review have not yet been completed by ERMU legal counsel. These remaining items of work product included with the Phase 1 scope of work are intended to be presented to the Commission in April 2017. DISCUSSION: Phase 2 of the scope of work from Collaboration Unlimited includes development of delegation to management policies. Many of these policies will replace or eliminate the need for policies in the other sections of the existing ERMU Policy Book. Originally the overall governance manual project was split into two phases because the work would fall into two separate budget years and so the Commission would have an opportunity to assess the work product and progress of Phase 1 before making a commitment on Phase 2. The leadership team has evaluated the work associated with Phase 2 and has determined that this is not something that can be completed "in house." First, there has been great value realized by have a third party's perspective throughout the Phase I process. That added insight into industry standards and best practice, have helped to create a better product. Second, with a current vacancy on the leadership team and the forecasted work load and large number of highly significant projects, the leadership team does not have the labor resources to complete this project within the desired timeline at the desired quality. Page 1 of 3 I V/� A UR E El. Pcv:=xeo To SE,o 84