Grande Prairie continues to enjoy the benefits of being located in an ideal portion of Alberta. We continue to solidify our position as the "Hub of the North". Our economy is not only strong but also diversifying. The newest, the commercial and entertainment sectors have forged ahead with strong growth and development. These additions have added to the overall busyness of our community. To our credit, City Council has grappled with many issues and has provided good leadership in setting the tone for a balanced approach to municipal expenditures.
From an organizational perspective, we have continued to explore better ways of doing our business. The magic of empowerment is working and as we look to next year, our administrative theme will be "accountability". The stage has been set to drive our service delivery up and our costs down. A very enviable goal, indeed.
1999 marked the end of an era. The potential of Y2K issues were troublesome globally but our team of employees came through in spades working tirelessly to ensure that any issues were minimized. To their credit, very few items proved problematic. Our people make it very enjoyable to come to work every day. Thank you gang!
As we look back on a very successful 1999, our organization made good gains towards achieving City Council focus areas. These important strategic directions were:
• Strong Leading Northwestern Centre
• Fiscally Responsible Corporation
• Safe Community
• Caring and Active Community
• Fulfilling our responsibilities as
"CyberCity" - an Internationally
Connected Community
This annual report is a report card on our successes. I am very pleased to present the 1999 annual report with thanks to our employees, our Council and most importantly, our citizens. It is with pleasure that we serve your needs.
CITY CLERK
The City Clerk's Department implemented many new initiatives throughout the year to improve access to information and customer service. A new corporate-wide Records and Information Management System was introduced; new processes were developed and put in place October 1, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation, and a partnership with the Grande Prairie Museum was established to investigate the need for a Regional Archives.
The Department continues to address customer information needs through a variety of methods. These now include minutes, bylaws and policies on the City's world-wide web site, voice highlights of meetings which can be accessed by phone and an after hours phone messaging system for the City's general inquiries line.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1999 proved to be a great year for the City of Grande Prairie and for the Region.
City staff updated and improved the information available in the economic development portfolio package, as well as on the City web pages, allowing individuals and companies to "Discover" the region of Grande Prairie globally.
The "Discover" brochure entry in the Marketing Awards Competition held by the Economic Developers of Alberta Association received honourable mention.
Economic Development's primary focus of promoting Grande Prairie as the Regional Centre for the north was achieved in large part by participation and involvement in many parades, trade shows, recruitment fairs, etc., held throughout the year. Grande Prairie was rewarded for its efforts with many "thank you" letters of appreciation, as well as an honourable mention (blue ribbon) given at the Peace River Board of Trade Show.
Planning began on the Economic Developers of Alberta 2000 Spring Conference to be held in Grande Prairie. Hosting this conference will provide the opportunity to showcase the City of Grande Prairie to all Albertans. The theme for the Conference "Explore SMART Growth Ensuring The ALBERTA Advantage" will allow the City to highlight and feature many 1999 community and economic development initiatives, namely:
• The Community Knowledge Campus
• Visitor Centre 2000
• Downtown Redevelopment
As well, the Conference will allow us the opportunity to showcase our local entrepreneurs and key businesses.
The hot economy evident in Grande Prairie during the 90's was just a sampling of what awaits us in the new millennium and we look forward to many years of continued growth and prosperity.
HUMAN RESOURCES 
The Human Resource staff increased their visibility in various City facilities during 1999. A permanent presence was established at the City Service Centre and Water/Wastewater Treatment Plant while maintaining a presence at City Hall.
The HR Team has developed a web page on the City's Intranet in order to provide easily accessible and current information to staff.
The HR Team maintained its strategic focus by working with senior management on projects such as our Customer Service Imperative, Intentional Listening and other corporate initiatives. Throughout 1999 the HR Team continued to provide support for staff to manage in accordance with the City's Guiding Beliefs. Our internal staff surveys have shown a positive working climate and commitment of staff to the City's Guiding Beliefs.