Guide to Service Agreements - FCM

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Unit 3: Table of contents 1. Establishing the foundation for a service agreement ....................................................... 58 1.1 Feasibility studies ............................................................................................... 58 1.2 Environmental assessment .................................................................................. 60 2. Service agreements: Discussing the terms of the agreement ........................................... 61 2.1 Negotiation principles ......................................................................................... 61 2.2 Service agreement provisions ............................................................................... 63 2.2.1 Checklist 1: Essential contract elements of a service agreement .................. 64 2.2.2 Checklist 2: Description of services in a service agreement ......................... 65 2.2.3 Checklist 3: Customary provisions for a service agreement .......................... 68 2.2.4 Checklist 4: Additional recommended provisions ....................................... 70 2.3 Schedules to include in a service agreement ........................................................ 71 2.4 Bylaw compatibility ............................................................................................ 71 3. Guidelines for pricing options in a service agreement ..................................................... 75 3.1 Principles for establishing cost sharing and pricing .............................................. 75 3.2 Pricing considerations ......................................................................................... 75 3.3 Sample pricing models ....................................................................................... 78 4. Service agreement renegotiation: Updating an expired or out-of-date agreement .............. 82 4.1 Evaluating your past relationship and service agreement ....................................... 82 4.2 Principles of Renegotiation ................................................................................. 83 4.3 Challenges of Renegotiation ................................................................................ 83 4.4 Filling in the gaps: Service agreement renegotiation tool ....................................... 84 5. Regulatory challenges .................................................................................................. 87 5.1 Water regulations ............................................................................................... 87 5.2 Wastewater regulations ....................................................................................... 88 5.3 Changes to regulations ....................................................................................... 88 6. Service agreement case studies .................................................................................... 90 6.1 Gitanmaax First Nation and the Town of Hazelton (BC) ......................................... 91 6.2 Muskeg Lake First Nation and the City of Saskatoon (SK) ..................................... 94 6.3 Glooscap First Nation and the Town of Hantsport (NS) .......................................... 98 7. Tools: Service agreement templates ............................................................................101 7.1 Template: Water and Sewer Service Agreement ..................................................102 8. Service agreement and pricing references ...................................................................111 Service Agreement Toolkit – 57
UNIT 3 58 – Service Agreement Toolkit 1. Establishing the foundation for a service agreement This section outlines some of the groundwork that is required when deciding if a service agreement is a feasible option financially and operationally for your community. 1.1 Feasibility studies After communities have established positive working relationships, a feasibility study is the first step in determining if a service agreement is an appropriate method for service provision. A feasibility study will help determine if the areas of cooperation identified by the First Nation and the municipality during their preliminary conversations make sense economically and operationally. The level of sophistication of the feasibility study will vary from region to region depending on population, capacity and type of service provided. In some communities, staff members from the municipality and the First Nation can complete feasibility studies, whereas other communities may need to hire external experts. What does a feasibility study seek to accomplish? A feasibility study examines several issues, which can help identify if a service agreement is an appropriate option. The following actions should be considered in a feasibility study: • Outline how services are currently being provided in each community. • Identify strengths and weaknesses of the status quo in a quantifiable manner. • Assess current costs for both parties to perform the services individually. • Examine how the level and quality of service could improve or costs could be reduced over 5–10 years if communities shared resources and equipment or communities invested jointly in more expensive and sophisticated infrastructure, facilities, or equipment. • Analyze the long-term life cycle of the service agreement. • Identify the cost of a service agreement compared with that of the status quo. • Compare the situation to other cases where First Nations and municipalities have cooperated for similar services. What are the benefits and outcomes of a feasibility study? By providing this information in a feasibility study, both parties and the potential funders of the projects will be able to determine the following: • The extent to which financial savings and economies of scale can be achieved by the service agreement • The possible service level improvements for the municipality or the First Nation • The infrastructure, equipment and financial resources that will be required from both parties
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