Departments

Agricultural Services is essential to supporting local producers and residents and to promote the prosperity and preservation of agriculture in Brazeau County. Through its work with the Agricultural Service Board (ASB) and a variety of provincial associations, the department is able to highlight and share the County’s successes and innovations in championing agriculture in the municipality. In addition to this, the department offers a variety of services to agriculture producers and members of the public including:

• Provides support to the Agricultural Service Board to develop programs and policies to
  recommend to Council and to advocate for Brazeau County’s agriculture sector.
• Manages Brazeau County’s weed inspection and roadside vegetation programs, including no-spray, and hawkweed spraying programs, as well as a herbicide rebate program.
• Carries out duties and enforcement for a number of acts including: Weed Control Act,
  Agricultural Pests Act and Pest and Nuisance Control Regulation, Soil Conservation Act,
  compliance with the Environmental Enhancement Act and Regulations, Occupational Health and Safety Act and assistance with the Animal Health Act.
• Provides support to the ALUS Partnership Advisory Committee (PAC) and administers the Brazeau County ALUS program.
• Offers a variety of agricultural equipment available to rent for County residents.
• Acts as a resource for producers and members of the public.
• Hosts and partners with other organizations to offer educational seminars and workshops on topics of interest to area producers.

Community Services brings together several services under one umbrella at Brazeau County. Although the services offered may vary, all divisions under Community Services work with the public to promote growth, prosperity, and quality of life in the County in the following areas:

• Communications, which handles all County communication including the Brazeau County News, news releases, website, and all Brazeau County social media accounts.
• Parks and Recreation, including campgrounds, community halls, cemeteries, the Brazeau Sports Park and numerous other parks facilities.
• Protective Services, provided by two Community Peace Officers (CPOs), including traffic enforcement, bylaw enforcement, patrolling of County roads and administration of the animal control contract.
• Agricultural services, provides oversight for services and programs offered through the agricultural division, including ALUS, weed spraying, and vegetation management.
• Planning and Development, provides oversight for land us and development and assists the public through the planning and development process.
• Administration of recreation cost-sharing agreements, library service agreements, Family and
  Community Support Services (FCSS) service agreements and the County’s FIN-7 Community Funding.
• Represents Brazeau County on the partnership between the County, Town of Drayton Valley, Village of Breton, and Wild Rose School Division that supports a Community School Resource Officer in local schools in Drayton Valley and Breton.

The Corporate Services department works with both internal and external customers to oversee many of the ‘behind the scenes’ activities of the municipality that keep its operations running smoothly day-to-day. 
The department provides the following services to Brazeau County:

• Financial advice and budget preparation for internal departments.
• Accounts payable and receivable for external customers and vendors.
• Management of insurance services.
• Monthly utility billing.
• Preparation, mailing and receipt of annual property taxes.
• Coordinates the annual audit and development of Financial Statements.
• Manages day-to-day banking needs and short and long-term investments for the municipality.
• Oversees development and implementation of Brazeau County’s asset
• management program.
• Oversees annual budget process in conjunction with all departments.
• Prepares budget documentation for presentation to Council and the public.
• Manages budget adjustments directed by Council throughout the fiscal year.
• Information Technology (IT) services for internal customers, maintaining all Brazeau County networks, troubleshooting and ensuring the security of data.
• Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) support for internal customers and the provision of mapping for internal and external customers.
• Payroll and benefits administration for staff and Council.
• Collective agreement interpretation and assistance for union members.
• Human resources services for staff.
• Recruitment, retention and succession planning
• Orientation, education and compliance training for staff

Brazeau County, the Town of Drayton Valley and the Village of Breton are served by a
complement of full time and paid on call fire professionals stationed at three locations in the region.

Under the leadership of the Regional Fire Chief, the fire services also has battalion chiefs located at
Station No. 2 in Breton and Station No. 1 in Lodgepole. Day-to-day operations of the fire services is overseen by a fulltime staff of four, based at Station No. 3 in Drayton Valley. The department also supports a half time training officer for all three stations. In the event of an emergency, paid on call firefighters from Brazeau County and Drayton Valley respond.

The duties undertaken by the fire services include:

• Weekly and specialized training offered to ensure a highly trained and professional response to emergencies including fires, motor vehicle collisions, water rescue, technical rescue operations, assistance to other emergency services and miscellaneous calls for service.
• Responsible for performing fire inspections, fire investigations and issuing fire and fireworks permits, which are available online through the Brazeau County website
• Promotes the importance of fire prevention through community engagement and provides education throughout the year in schools and the community. The month of October is also dedicated to widespread programming including open houses, school visits and demonstrations, a community chimney sweep, a community vent cleaning program, and fire detector programs.
• Organize Children’s Firefighting Camps during the summer in Breton and Drayton Valley
• Participates in the Brazeau Emergency Management Agency

The Planning department is responsible for overseeing land use and development in Brazeau County and works with members of the public to assist them through the planning and development process. 
Duties undertaken by staff in the department include:

• Working with customers on the submission, completion and issuance of
  development permits and subdivision applications, and making recommendations to
  Council or the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC).
• Ensuring Brazeau County is ready and poised to assist in business development.
• Preparing materials for the MPC for decision.
• Preparing materials for appeals to the Subdivision Development Appeal Board (SDAB) or Land and Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT), if required, and attending hearings.
• Long range and land use planning that includes the ongoing development and updating of the Intermunicipal Development Plans (IDPs), Municipal Development Plan (MDP), Area Structure Plans (ASPs), Land Use Bylaw (LUB) and other statutory documents for presentation to Council.
• Working with customers on the submission, completion and issuance of special events
  permits, including preparing reports and making recommendations to Council.
• Management of County land such as municipal and environmental reserve.
• Management of oil and gas surface leases on County-owned land in Brazeau County.
• Acting as a resource for members of the public by hosting public information sessions and providing information on planning processes governed by the Province of Alberta, which fall outside County jurisdiction.

Comprised of several divisions, Public Works is one of the most visible departments to residents since much of the work done by the department takes place outside the Brazeau County Administration Office.

The areas overseen by this department include:

• Road infrastructure and maintenance (including in-house and capital)
• Water and wastewater operations, solid waste collection, disposal facilities
• Fleet and building maintenance
• Administrative agreements, procedures, and customer service
• Project management and contract administration