Q3 2016
The Official Publication of AMCTO – The Municipal Experts
Municipal Management & Leadership
Reforming the Municipal Elections Act While set to improve future elections, new legislation leaves enforcement, finance issues unresolved ALSO • Growth, Development and the Future of City-County Separation • Hot Topic: Climate Change and Municipal Infrastructure • The Best People in the Best Positions
SPECIAL SECTION: AMCTO’s 2016 Awards and Recognition
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Published four times a year for the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO)
2680 Skymark Ave., Ste. 610 Mississauga, ON L4W 5L6 Phone: 905-602-4294 Fax: 905-602-4295 www.amcto.com Editorial Manager Craig Wellington, Director, Programs & Services, AMCTO
Published by
President & Publisher Jeff Lester
EDITORIAL Editorial Director Jill Harris Managing Editor Kristy Rydz Editorial Assistant Andrew Harris
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Q3 2016
CONTENTS
FEATURES the 22 Reforming Municipal Elections Act While set to improve future elections, new legislation leaves enforcement, finance issues unresolved
Future of 25 The City-County Separation:
Sales Manager,Sharon Komoski Quinn Bogusky, Louise Peterson
Breaking Ontario’s Boundary Bargain
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Understanding the history and current challenges of divided communities
Art Director, Myles O’Reilly John Lyttle, Gayl Punzalan
DISTRIBUTION Nikki Manalo © 2016 Lester Communications Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the authors and/or editorial sources contained in Municipal Monitor are those of the respective parties and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the publisher. Publication Mail Agreement #40606022. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 701 Henry Ave. Winnipeg, MB R3E 1T9
Topic 27 Hot Municipalities are moving
DEPARTMENTS Message 3 President’s Mentoring Tomorrow’s
Municipal Leaders By Stephane Palmateer, AMCT
5 Viewpoint A Soapbox Plea
By Andy Koopmans, CPA, CMO, CMA
7 SPECIAL SECTION AMCTO’s 2016 Awards and Recognition
to address the new realities of climate change as experts call for a more coordinated approach involving all levels of government
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Best People in 30 The the Best Positions Why you should link your succession planning with a Core Services Review
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PRESID ENT’S ME SSAGE
2016–17 AMCTO Board of Directors Stephane Palmateer, AMCT President City of Timmins Christopher Wray, AMCT Immediate Past President Municipality of Wawa Yvonne L. Robert, CMO, AMCT Vice President / Director at Large Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley John Hannam, CMO Director at Large City of Thunder Bay Marsha Paley, CMO Director at Large Municipality of North Middlesex Robert H.A. Tremblay, CMO, Dipl.M.A. Director at Large Municipality of Meaford Michelle M. Casavecchia-Somers, CMO Zone 1 Board Director Township of Malahide Pamela Fettes, CMO, Dipl.M.A. Zone 2 Board Director Township of Clearview Angela Morgan, CMO Zone 3 Board Director City of Burlington Stephen M.A. Huycke Zone 4 Board Director Town of Richmond Hill
Mentoring Tomorrow’s Municipal Leaders
I
am extremely honoured and humbled to have been appointed the President of AMCTO at the 78th Annual General Meeting & Professional Development Institute this past June in Niagara Falls. I look forward to the year ahead and getting to serve you and work on your behalf for the greatest professional municipal association. I also look forward to the opportunity to travel the province and meet many of you and to reconnect with other colleagues and friends.
By Stephane Palmateer, AMCT, President, AMCTO
Over the past few years, AMCTO has undertaken a leading role in collaborating with our sister organizations and building upon our many existing partnerships in common areas. One area of particular importance to our membership is the ONWARD Project, which is a collaboration between a number of our partners working to find tomorrow’s municipal leaders. The potential number of members who will become eligible to retire in the near future is staggering, to say the
“ There is no question that mentoring – whether informal or through a formal program, such as the one recently launched by AMCTO – will have positive impacts for both the mentor and the mentee.”
Elana Arthurs, CMO Zone 5 Board Director Township of Cavan Monaghan Dean Sauriol, CMO, Dipl.M.M. Zone 6 Board Director Township of Laurentian Valley
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Carol O. Trainor, AMCT Zone 7 Board Director Township of St. Joseph Amy Vickery-Menard, CMO Zone 8 Board Director Township of Evanturel Marcella Vallelunga Zone 9 Board Director City of Thunder Bay MUNICIPAL MONITOR
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P R E S I D E N T ’ S M ESSAGE
least. Within AMCTO alone, 28 per cent of our members are 55 years of age or older and 30 per cent of members are eligible to retire in the next two to five years. When considering Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System membership, we discovered that 67,000 members are eligible to retire today, with an additional 51,000 members eligible to leave in the next five years. The opportunities that will present themselves in the coming years are tremendous and with our
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continued collaborative efforts with our sister organizations, I’m quite confident that we’ll persist and our membership, as well as AMCTO, will be as strong as ever. Prior to the annual conference, AMCTO officially launched its formal mentoring program and as I begin my term as President, the program could not have been a more fitting opportunity for me to embrace. Something that has always stayed with me throughout my municipal career was the encouragement and informal mentoring I received from members of AMCTO. I fondly remember attending my first zone meeting many years ago. At that time I was very young, inexperienced and really felt out of place. Many doubts were creeping into my mind as to whether or not I had made the right choice in choosing municipal administration as a profession. Seemingly out of nowhere, three men joined me at my table, who in fact helped shape my career and eventually take me full circle to become the City Clerk for the City of Timmins and now your President. These gentlemen took the time to sit with me, made me feel welcomed and I have never forgotten that. Over time, they became some of my closest friends and with their guidance and mentorship – albeit informal as it was – and encouragement to become involved with AMCTO, they had an unquestionable influence on my career and me. There is no question that mentoring – whether informal or through a formal program, such as the one recently launched by AMCTO – will have positive impacts for both the mentor and the mentee. I would like to encourage all of our members to mentor and support the professional development of the next generation of municipal professionals. As I mentioned previously, many of our members are eligible to and will be retiring in the next two to five years. We will need to encourage and foster the development those who will fill this coming void. We will also require our new and young professionals to rise to the challenge and become involved with AMCTO, both to ensure its future success and to continue to make the association the premier municipal professional association in the province.
VIEW P OI N T
AMCTO Staff Andy Koopmans, CPA, CMA, CMO Executive Director Craig Wellington Director, Programs & Services Rick Johal Director, Member & Sector Relations
Anubha Meta, Ph.D. Manager, Education & PD Program Development Brenda Armstrong Johnston Specialist, Membership Services Michelle Sampson Executive Assistant Kathleen Barrett Coordinator, Communications & Marketing Jeanne Moon Coordinator, Programs & Services Rosita Bourke Coordinator, Programs & Services Manjit Badh Coordinator, Programs & Services Eric Muller Policy Advisor Tawanda Chirenda Coordinator, Accreditation Jane Chevannes Administrative Assistant, Programs & Services Devan Lobo Policy Researcher
A Soapbox Plea
U
nless you’ve been living under a rock, I am sure that you are well aware of the tragic events over the past several weeks and months that have led to the heartbreaking loss of many innocent lives in the United States and elsewhere in the world. While I don’t tend to climb up on my soapbox very often, these recent events have compelled me to make that climb today.
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Roger Ramkissoon, CPA, CGA Manager, Finance & Administration
By Andy Koopmans, CPA, CMA, CMO Executive Director, AMCTO
It saddens and frustrates me that, in so many cases, the focus of the media and others commenting on these events has been on how the tragedy occurred. Whether these violent acts are perpetrated by someone using explosives, weapons or something as mundane as a large vehicle, the comments in the media seem to centre too much, in my opinion, on the “how” rather than on the “why.”
“ As public servants, you don’t get to choose your ‘customers’ and consequently find yourselves interacting often with those who are somehow different from you. And through this interaction, I believe that you have come to understand and appreciate the different perspectives that your customers bring.”
MUNICIPAL MONITOR
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V I E WP O I N T
“ People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
And as a result, all the subsequent talk and action gets focused on what we should do to address the how. I’m not
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disputing that we need to address the methods, but what about addressing the why? It is my firm belief that the reason for most of these tragedies occurring results from the ongoing lack of tolerance in the world for anything that is different. Whether it’s a difference in race, religion, sexual orientation or anything else for that matter, I feel like far too many people can’t or won’t break away from historical biases and prejudices. Instead, we accept and repeat what we have been taught or told by religious or political leaders or even our own families. It becomes far too easy to shrug our shoulders and say, “That’s just the way things are.” We accept the historical status quo because making an effort to change it is just too hard or too unpopular or too controversial. But this complacency needs to stop. So what, you may ask, does this have to do with municipal government and municipal professionals? From atop my soapbox, I’m asking that each and every one of you work, in your own way, to undo this culture of intolerance. As municipal professionals, I think that you are uniquely positioned to make a strong contribution. More so than many other professional groups,
I believe that municipal professionals already demonstrate a higher level of acceptance for diversity and difference. As public servants, you don’t get to choose your “customers” and consequently find yourselves interacting often with those who are somehow different from you. And through this interaction, I believe that you have come to understand and appreciate the different perspectives that your customers bring. My challenge to you is to take that tolerance and sensitivity from the workplace and demonstrate it in your daily interaction with those you encounter outside of work. Be it at home or on the street or in a store, I’m asking you to be a model and spokesperson for tolerance and understanding to your family, to your friends and to anyone else you may meet during your day. I fully understand that this won’t be easy but think about how your actions might contribute to a more tolerant world in the future. I can think of no better outcome for the future than to live in a world where we don’t need to have demonstrations or protests, where violent attacks and assaults no longer occur, and where the media no longer has tragic events, like those from recent weeks and months, to report. Can you?
2016
Awards & Recognition
R E C O G N I Z I N G O U T S TA N D I N G A C H I E V E M E N T
PRESTIGE AWARD • E.A. DANBY AWARDS • E.A. DANBY CERTIFICATES OF MERIT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS • DIPLOMA PROGRAM AWARDS • ZONE AWARDS COMMITTEE CHAIR CERTIFICATES • CMO ACCREDITATIONS • INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
2016
Awards & Recognition
Message From The President
The municipal sector is facing a significant succession planning issue, with over 50 per cent of senior management eligible to retire in the next five years. This tremendous challenge, is also a tremendous opportunity for municipal professionals who are commitment to ongoing career and professional development. AMCTO supports the development of Ontario’s current and future local government managers with the provision of timely information, resources, and education. We encourage our members to commit to a life-long journey of education and professional enhancement. We therefore, proudly acknowledge the academic and professional accomplishments of our members, and their involvement in their local communities. We also encourage and highlight successful municipal innovations in service delivery. Throughout the pages of this annual Awards & Recognition insert, we celebrate these achievements and invite you to do the same. I hope that sharing their accomplishments will inspire you on your own journey of continued excellence.
Steph Palmateer, AMCT AMCTO President
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Prestige Award
Prestige Award, Kristine Fletcher
AMCTO presents the Prestige Award annually to a member in recognition of a career of outstanding commitment to the ideals of the Association and exceptional contributions to the municipal profession. This year’s recipient, Kristine (Kris) Fletcher, AMCT, Clerk for the Region of Waterloo, is a deserving addition to the list of past winners. Kris Fletcher is frequently sought out for her expertise on a range of municipal issues. Kris began her municipal career in 1982 at the Township of Woolwich, rising to the position of CAO in 1997. Kris made the move to the Region of Waterloo first as Deputy Clerk in 2000 and then as Director, Council & Administrative Services/Regional Clerk in 2002, the position she still holds. Throughout her career Kris has been an active member of AMCTO. She sat on the executive for Zone 3, holding all of the various positions and also received the Zone 3 award. She served on the AMCTO Board of Directors in 2008. Kris continues to be a champion for municipal clerks by encouraging and fostering development of staff. Kris Fletcher is a leader and innovator with respect to implementing new legislation and reviewing current practices. She provides thoughtful insight and comments on the many services municipalities provide. Kris has been involved in a wide variety of activities including numerous licensing matters, such as weeds and pesticides; smoking; taxi licensing; Provincial Offences Court; Freedom of Information and records management; municipal elections; citizen service with the launch of the region’s call
centre and the every day dealings with Council. Kris Fletcher is adept at working collaboratively with all stakeholders to facilitate a smooth transition and effective service delivery. Kris’ recent work with the review of the Region of Waterloo’s taxi by-law and the arrival of Uber, has been innovative and proactive. She initiated an extensive public engagement strategy, and conducted comprehensive research to ensure a fair, well thought out process. Kris was asked to present at AMCTO’s 2016 Municipal Clerks’ Forum about her comprehensive public engagement process. Kris was a key driving force behind the Region of Waterloo achieving recognition for innovative service excellence initiatives within her areas of responsibility in the form of an EA Danby Certificate of Merit from AMCTO. Throughout her career, Kris continues to build bridges and seek the best possible collaborative solutions to municipal challenges through her dedication to connections in the broader municipal professional community, as evidenced through her fulsome participation with groups such as: the Regional and Single Tier Clerks group, AMCTO, and IIMC. “Kris Fletcher has provided exceptional service and advice to Regional Council for more than 15 years. Her professionalism, her integrity in carrying out her responsibilities, her collaborative nature
3 AMCTO Awards & Recognition 2016
and her commitment to transparent, accountable and modern government have benefitted all of us who live and work in Waterloo Region,” said Ken Seiling, Regional Chair. “Kris’s work has extended beyond the Region of Waterloo. Through her involvement with AMCTO, she has shared her experiences over the years and has been influential in helping shape new approaches to municipal government in Ontario. We are proud of Kris and congratulate her on her receipt of the AMCTO Prestige Award.” AMCTO is proud to honour Kris Fletcher for her exemplary career in municipal management.
E.A.DanbyAwards The objective of the E.A. Danby Award is to recognize and honour municipalities that have demonstrated outstanding achievement through innovation with respect to municipal management activities or practices implemented for the purpose of delivering improved municipal programs and services. This award is named in recognition of AMCTO’s first President, E.A. Danby who was instrumental in establishing the Association and its commitment to improvements in municipal government through education, training and knowledge sharing. In the category of Municipal Administration (population 20,000 or more)
Town of Newmarket “HollisWealth Story Pod” The HollisWealth Story Pod, a community-supported lending library, is an innovative and interactive public art piece that is invigorating the Town of Newmarket. The pod, placed on the edge of a prominent, recently completed civic square, in Newmarket’s downtown core, continues the municipality’s plan to use contemporary design as a means of creating a lively hub for gathering and community interaction. The HollisWealth Story Pod is an abstract, 8' w by 8' d by 10' h, structure whose walls open like the covers of a book during the day. Visitors can take or leave something to read, or lounge on the builtin seating and read. At night, the pod is closed but remains lit by solar panelling. The concept was initiated by HollisWealth, who donated funds for the purchase of materials, and developed by staff members. AKB undertook the design of the project pro bono. The town’s Public Works Services staff members, none of whom are fulltime professional contractors, dedicated their work days to construct and assemble the project. The HollisWealth Story Pod is an example of innovation and collaboration for municipal administration. It demonstrates successful collaboration between departments and with private partners in the community. Each partner
Mark Agnoletto, Manager, Parks and Property Services of the Town of Newmarket (r) accepting the E.A. Danby Award from outgoing AMCTO President, Chris Wray, AMCT (l)
played a vital role in bringing the HollisWealth Story Pod to the community and in contributing to the betterment of the Town of Newmarket. The concept of the HollisWealth Story Pod was based on the Little Free Library movement in Los Angeles, Calif., where small reconstructed birdhouses were being created by residents, for residents, as a free library. Town of Newmarket employees, together with the project title sponsors, HollisWealth, and architecture firm, AKB, took this concept and developed the pod. The pod holds over 200 books and has been placed in an area of town that was previously seldom frequented by resident. The pod
4 AMCTO Awards & Recognition 2016
is designed to be functional as a lending library as well as aesthetically pleasing as a piece of public art. Through innovation and creativity these objectives were met while remaining ecological, economical and easy to build within a tight timeframe. The HollisWealth Story Pod has changed the way residents use the space and interact with each other. The HollisWealth Story Pod has changed the way municipal administrators view and encourage special projects that are neither mandated by council nor focused on generating new and immediate revenue sources. Since the grand opening of the HollisWealth Story Pod in August, it has garnered media attention from
donated books overflowed the shelves and began piling up on the benches. As a result of this, a resident volunteered herself to municipal staff as the caretaker of the pod – ensuring the integrity of the piece by managing the overflow of the books. These examples demonstrate the impact the HollisWealth Story Pod has had on the Newmarket community. The pod is a new place of joy and discovery for residents to be inspired by architecture, literature and the goodness of humanity. The pod symbolizes and emphasizes the values of caring and trusting that exist within the Newmarket community.
over 35 publications, in 15 different countries, across six continents. This vast media attention has helped in increasing awareness of Newmarket, and branding the town as a progressive, innovative and vibrant community – an image that aligns with and promotes the town’s economic development strategy and brand. Such media success demonstrates how the pod has inspired municipal administrators to think differently, be open to and embrace abstract ideas. The HollisWealth Story Pod has provided Newmarket residents with a place to gather and be inspired. The immediate impact the pod had on the municipality can be measured by the
outpour of local support and pride. Residents immediately expressed their joy, interest, gratitude and pride for their town on social media. The Town of Newmarket Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts all benefitted from an increase in social interactions, followers and social mentions. This positive community reception of the HollisWealth Story Pod has also been demonstrated by the continual turnover of the books. Within one week of the opening, not a single book from the initial opening remained. These books were taken by residents who exchanged one or two of their own books – a sure sign of its success. By the third week of its inception,
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Since the HollisWealth Story Pod’s inception, several municipalities including the City of Mississauga in Ontario and Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski in Quebec, have reached out to the Town of Newmarket to inquire about developing their own pod. Furthermore, the Musee Laurentides, a contemporary art museum in Quebec, has reached out to inquire about the rental of the pod for educational purposes and the Toronto Public Library has expressed interest in replicating the idea. In response to these inquiries, the Town of Newmarket together with the designers, AKB, have decided to freely share the concept so that other municipalities can engage their residents in similar lending library projects. In addition, the Town of Newmarket administrators welcome site visits and are willing to provide insight and assistance in the implementation of other municipalities’ pods.
In the category of Implementation of Legislation (population 20,000 or more)
City of Markham “Automation of Markham’s Backflow Prevention Program” Ontario residents expect that the drinking water supplied by their local municipality is safe. The Walkerton tragedy in 2000, where seven residents died and thousands were sickened, raised awareness of vulnerabilities to public expectations for safe, clean and potable water. Several acts and regulations were enacted as a result of the inquest of the Walkerton tragedy. One of Markham’s actions to safeguard its drinking water system was to pass the Backflow Prevention By-law in 2007 (and subsequently updated in 2012). Markham’s Backflow Prevention Program is intended to prevent drinking water contamination through cross connections and potential backflow incidents. The program is being phased in over an eight-year period from January 2009 to December 2016. This program applies to over 3,000 business and multi-residential properties within Markham. All such property owners must hire qualified persons registered with the city to complete the following backflow prevention activities at their own expense: ■ A Cross Connection Control Survey of
their water systems to determine any backflow device upgrade requirements (i.e. new installations, repairs or replacements) and the survey needs to be updated every five years, or when there is a change in building use; ■ Annual testing and inspection of all
backflow devices installed in their water systems; ■ Implementation of all backflow device
upgrades required by the survey
Innovative Features: Efficiency Enhancement – Transition to Automated Administrative Process
The automation of submissions has been implemented through the development of a “Backflow Prevention Program Online Services” website and associated software. These two products were initially designed,
Daphne Ross, Manager, Business Compliance of the City of Markham (r) accepting the E.A. Danby Award from outgoing AMCTO President, Chris Wray, AMCT (l)
developed and rolled out in 2013 while further enhancements were completed in late 2014.
■ A comprehensive city website was
This automated process has substantially reduced the city’s administrative burden and activities associated with the initial implementation and ongoing maintenance of this program.
■ A Backflow Prevention Program
To achieve the automation, the website and software design followed and mimicked the manual work process, including the transition to automated review to process the following annual submissions: ■ 6,000 Backflow Preventer Test and
Inspection Reports; ■ 600 Cross Connection Control Survey
Reports and 150 Device Upgrade Reports Under the previous manual administrative process, it was found that the reports submitted by the qualified persons contained a significant amount of errors, omissions and incomplete submissions. As a result, staff had to spend large amounts of time on follow-up with the submissions and the program couldn’t move forward as planned.
developed in late 2012 to help educate customers on the program; brochure was developed and distributed to all stakeholders ■ Ten educational videos were developed
and posted on the city website in 2013; ■ A “Backflow Prevention Online
Services” website was launched in 2013 to enable Test Reports to be submitted online. Pre-submission screening of content, completeness and validity improved efficiency; ■ The website was expanded and
enhanced in 2014 to allow all reports (Survey, Test, and Device Upgrade) to be submitted online. The website also provided property owners access to the city records for their property and to check their backflow prevention compliance status; ■ A series of computer-based training
sessions were held in 2015 for end users (qualified persons) to learn, test and provide feedback on the functionalities of the online submission system
Tangible Benefits:
Improved Delivery
Reduced Municipal Operation Expenditures
To provide excellent customer services and efficient program delivery, the following strategic priorities were implemented:
The backflow software generates a notification email to all property owners. Those tools are available to all registered
6 AMCTO Awards & Recognition 2016
qualified persons as well. This greatly decreased our notification letters and mailing costs and also contributes to our paperless work environment. ■ Postage costs
were reduced by over $7,200. Expenses for postage in 2013 ($7,224) and 2014 ($3,138) were reduced to $20 in 2015. ■ These savings are for only 1,500
properties in our Phase 1 and Phase 2 program. Additional saving will be realized when the program is implemented city-wide. Staff Efficiencies
Utilization of the “Online Services” website and new software has automated the Markham administrative process. It has reduced the staff time spent on information validation, such as following up with customers for omissions, corrections, and other items, and has eliminated the office space required for keeping paper records. The website validates five credentials of each qualified person necessary to maintain their registration with the city before allowing their online submission; The website pre-screens the data entry for many potential errors or omissions that would otherwise require significant amount of staff follow-up with the customers. It also
flags any issues in the submission. The website will only accept the submission without issues; once the submission has been received, an email is automatically generated to notify the submitter. All online submissions are kept in the staging database for staff review prior to acceptance and adding to the database. This process eliminates massive manual data entry, and large volumes of paper records. Improved Customer Service
The initiative has resulted in improved customer service to end users by providing automated data population to reduce the data entry requirements for the reports, prompt automated replies after their submission, and transparency to the city’s backflow prevention records: All property owners in the program can log into the “Online Services” website to check the due date for their Survey,
Test and Device Upgrade Report and to arrange their qualified persons for completion of those works. The backflow prevention report forms in the website can auto-populate data from the current city records for the registered qualified persons. They can submit their reports in a secure, fast and easy way on a 24/7 basis. The registered qualified persons receive a prompt response from the city after their online submissions; The “online submission + software processing” approach allows the city to manage those electronic records in an efficient and accurate manner. The website allows the property owners to access the city records securely for their facilities, to check their backflow prevention compliance status anytime and to submit their facility updates or comments if necessary.
AMCTO Vice President Yvonne Robert, CMO, AMCT (centre), presents the E.A. Danby Award to Markham City Council
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Board of Directors Certificates While there are many volunteers involved in AMCTO
Finally, as her term as Immediate Past President and her
activities, the Association believes it is important to
years of service on the AMCTO Board officially come to an
recognize the extra commitment and responsibility taken
end, we express the Association’s special gratitude to:
on by those volunteers who take on a strategic leadership role to guide the Association’s direction. The term of several members of the board has come to a close, so we express our appreciation to these members for their hard work and dedication during their time on the Board. AMCTO wishes to acknowledge the following individuals:
Michelle Smibert, CMO
Lois O’Neill Jackson, CMO
Candace Thwaites, CMO, AMCT
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Academic Achievement Awards Academic Achievement Awards
As an organization committed to life-long learning, AMCTO is proud to recognize the academic achievements of its students. We are very pleased, therefore, to present our annual Awards for Academic Excellence in the areas of Municipal Administration, Municipal Accounting and Finance, Municipal Law and Municipal Human Resources. We are grateful to the following three organizations who are the sponsors for our Academic Excellence Awards: ■ Watson & Associates Economists
■ Thomson, Rogers Barristers and
Ltd. – who are sponsoring the
Solicitors – the Sponsors of our
Award for Excellence in Municipal Accounting and Finance;
Award for Excellence in Municipal Law; and
The winner of the Dr. C. Richard Tindal Award for Excellence in Municipal Administration is:
Melanie Borowicz-Sibenik,
Assistant City Solicitor/Senior Litigation Counsel, City of Sault Ste. Marie
■ Cunningham Swan Carty Little &
Bonham LLP – who have sponsored the Award for Excellence in Municipal Human Resources.
The recipient of the Award for Excellence in Municipal Law is:
The two winners of the Award for Excellence in Municipal Human Resources are:
Kyle Pratt, CMO, Chief Administrative Officer, Municipality of Bluewater
Julie A. Forth, Deputy Clerk, Township of Woolwich
The winner of the Award for Excellence in Municipal Accounting and Finance is:
Kelly L. Lotimer, Assistant To
The Regional Clerk, Regional Municipality of Niagara
9 AMCTO Awards & Recognition 2016
Mrs. Elaine S. Gunnell, Clerk,
Municipality of Temagami
AMCTO Diploma Program Academic Excellence Awards In addition to recognizing academic excellence in each of the AMCTO’s core educational programs, the Association is also pleased to recognize two individuals for their outstanding achievement in completing the Association’s two diploma programs – the Diploma in Municipal Administration program and the Executive Diploma in Municipal Management program.
Outstanding graduate for the Diploma in Municipal Administration is: Mrs. Elaine Gunnell, Clerk,
Municipality of Temagami
Honour Roll Diploma in Municipal Administration Honour Roll Congratulations to the following inductees from April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015: Lisa Chamberlain, Dipl.M.A., Legislative
Liz Oddi, Dipl.M.A., Development
Coordinator, City of Hamilton
Financial Officer, City of Hamilton
Elaine S. Gunnell, Dipl.M.A., Clerk,
Krista L. Royal, Dipl.M.A., Deputy Clerk,
Municipality of Temagami and recipient of the Academic Excellence Award for the Diploma in Municipal Administration
Town of The Blue Mountains
Teri Guthrie, Dipl.M.A., Clerk’s Assistant,
Joanne Tessier, Dipl.M.A., Senior
Accountant CRM Specialist, Vineland Research And Innovation Centre
Township of Muskoka Lakes
Karen D. Vellenga, Dipl.M.A.,
Ritta Nazi, Dipl.M.A., Licence & Lease
Water Division Clerk, PW Dept., County of Brant.
Coordinator, City of Hamilton
Diploma Program Academic Excellence 10 AMCTO Awards & Recognition 2016
Academic Excellence Academic Excellence Award
For the AMCTO Executive Diploma in Municipal Management, the Academic Excellence Award is presented to: Katie Valentin, Deputy Clerk/ Communications Coordinator, Municipality of North Grenville
Honour Roll Executive Diploma in Municipal Management Honour Roll Congratulations to the following inductees from April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015: Shelby A. Verkindt, Dipl.M.M. AODA Compliance Supervisor, Norfolk County Jill Binkley, Dipl.M.M. Senior
Administrative Assistant, Employee & Business Services, Norfolk County Andrew McGinnis, Dipl.M.M. Planner II,
City of Brockville
Catherine Baldelli, Dipl.M.M.
Coordinator, Business Systems, Town of Milton Katie Valentin, Dipl.M.M. Deputy Clerk/Communications Coordinator, Municipality of North Grenville and recipient of the Academic Excellence Award for the Executive Diploma in Municipal Management
11 AMCTO Awards & Recognition 2016
Denyse Landry, Dipl.M.M. Manager, Corporate Services, Otonabee Region Conservation Authority Ryan Cook, Dipl.M.M. Manager of
Public Works, Town of Pelham Cathy Dam, Dipl.M.M. Budget/
Accounting Clerk, City of Sarnia
Certified Municipal Officer Certified Municipal Officer (CMO) Accreditations The Association is extremely pleased to recognize the following individuals who have successfully completed the requirements to attain the Certified Municipal Officer designation since last year’s Conference.
Sheridan Graham, CMO
Annilene McRobb, CMO
Kurt Greaves, CMO
Annette Louis, CMO
Roxana Bauman, CMO
Tanya Thompson, CMO
AMCTO Staff Service Award AMCTO is proud to acknowledge the expertise and dedication of our many staff members who contribute greatly to the development and delivery of our many services and resources for the membership and the broader municipal sector. The Association recognizes our staff members with longstanding service awards, in five-year 5 year increments. This year wewe had thethe honour of of recognizing increments. This year had honour recognizing Executive Director, Director, Andy AndyKoopmans, Koopmans,CPA, CMA,CMA, CMO, for 15 of outstanding CMO, foryears 15 years of outstanding service and dedication to AMCTO. Andy Koopmans, CPA, CMA, CMO
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Zone Awards
AMCTO Zone Awards
The Association recognizes an individual member annually from each AMCTO Regional Zone for their significant
contributions at a local level towards the success of their Zones or to the advancement of the municipal profession.
The following members are the recipients of the 2016 Zone Awards:
Zone 1
Zone 3
Zone 5
Janneke Newitt, AMCT
Troy McHarg, AMCT
Glenn Girven, AMCT
Wendy Whitwell, AMCT
Administrator/Clerk, Municipality of Southwest Middlesex
Clerk, Town of Milton
Clerk, Township of HavelockBelmont-Methuen
Clerk/ Administrator, Clerk/Administrator
Zone 2
Zone 4
Zone 6
Zone 9
Patricia Sinnamon,
Jeffrey Abrams,
Rick O’Connor, CMO
Debra Kincaid,
CAO/Clerk, Township of Mapleton
Clerk, City of Vaughan
Clerk & Solicitor, City of Ottawa
Clerk, City of Dryden
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Zone 7
Township of Armour
Join us in Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville, Ontario for the 2017 AMCTO Conference
WORKSHOPS | KEYNOTE SPEAKERS | ISSUES | NETWORKING
June 11th – 14th , 2017
CA LL FO R SUB M IS S IONS Share your story and contribute to the Municipal Monitor AMCTO is inviting submissions of original, unpublished articles for publication in future editions of the Municipal Monitor. AMCTO’s mandate is to promote excellence in municipal management and administration. We are looking for thought-provoking articles featuring innovative ideas and practical solutions that advance the knowledge and management capacity of Ontario’s municipal sector. Themes we would like to see covered include: • Strategic leadership • Staff and operational management • The staff/council dynamic • Public engagement • Sustainability • Infrastructure • Financial management • Performance management • Public-private partnerships • Service delivery If your municipality has developed an innovative initiative that has resulted in significant improvements in organizational processes or service delivery, and is replicable in other jurisdictions, please let us know so we can share your story. For more information or to submit an article outline, please email cwellington@amcto.com.
www.amcto.com
Reforming the Municipal Elections Act While set to improve future elections, new legislation leaves enforcement, finance issues unresolved
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By Eric Muller, AMCTO
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COVER STORY
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n June of 2015, then Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Ted McMeekin announced that the government would be reviewing the Municipal Elections Act (MEA). Though the government reviews the MEA after every municipal election, it began sending strong signals shortly after the 2014 campaign that the changes would be more substantial than in the past. Months before, Premier Kathleen Wynne had won a strong majority government while running on a platform that included ranked ballots for municipal elections, arguing “I don’t think we can just assume that the systems that have been in place for decades are the systems that necessarily have to stay in place.” Her mandate letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, released in late 2014, solidified that pledge, instructing him to make ranked ballots an option for local elections in 2018, and ensure that the MEA was meeting the needs of communities. Ranked ballots were popular with a range of citizen advocacy groups and enjoyed strong support in certain sections of the media (the Toronto Star Editorial Board endorsed their use). However, their support in the municipal sector was, and continues to be, mixed. Toronto City Council initially backed ranked ballots, only to reverse its decision and then actively lobby against their use. On the administrative side, when AMCTO surveyed clerks in the spring of 2016 only four per cent indicated they were likely to recommend their use and only eight per cent felt prepared to run a ranked ballot election by 2018. Beyond ranked ballots, a reasonable argument could be made that the MEA was not meeting the needs of communities. Throughout the course of the 2014 campaign there was palpable frustration about the role of corporate and union money, the lack of accountability for third-party advertisers and the length of the campaign period itself. Candidates couldn’t submit financial filings electronically – documents still had to be sent by registered mail and required original signatures – and despite the emergence of phone and Internet voting, the MEA still treated elections as an exclusively paper-based exercise. Adding insult to all of these administrative injuries was the voters’ list, which in 2014 continued to be an obstacle for clerks and a frustration for voters. When the MEA review was announced, AMCTO formed an advisory team of clerks from across the province. The group spent the summer reviewing the act and in the end compiled a list of 23 recommendations to strengthen it. The recommendations all fit within the broader themes of modernization and clarity. They ranged from minor technical fixes to high-level normative proposals to improve the nature of local elections. MUNICIPAL MONITOR
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COV E R STO RY
“ The province had spent months conducting consultations across the province. It received over 3,400 written submissions and formed technical working groups on ranked ballots and the voters’ list. The final bill included almost three quarters of AMCTO’s recommendations.”
Consulting Services Include: • Municipal/Education Development Charge Policy and Cost Sharing • Water/Sewer Rate Setting/Water Financial Plans • Building Permit/Planning and Development Fees • Long Range Financial Planning for School Boards and Municipalities • Asset Management/PSAB Compliance • Fiscal and Economic Impact, Service Feasibility and Needs Assessment • Growth Management Strategies/Employment Strategies • Land Needs Studies, Demographics and Fiscal/Economic Impact Analysis • Ward Boundary Reviews Tel: (905) 272-3600 e-mail: info@watson-econ.ca website: www.watson-econ.ca
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campaign period, expands the responsibility of the clerk and clarifies a number of campaign finance provisions. And while work on the voters’ list remains ongoing, several minor changes in Bill 181 give clerks greater authority for removing names from the list. Noticeably absent from Bill 181, however, was any substantive change to the MEA’s general enforcement regime. As a result, punishments in the act will continue to be weakly enforced, administrators will have no authority to investigate or respond to complaints of malfeasance and it will be up to citizens to initiate complaints, often at a personal and financial cost. The current regime leaves it to municipalities to decide if they want to hire lawyers and go to court. But given the courts’ propensity to set aside the penalties in the MEA and dismiss cases, it is rarely an attractive proposition for a municipality. Bill 181 also contains one deeply flawed provision. Section 88.35 requires the clerk to review every candidate’s financial return and look for contributors who have exceed the maximum allowable amount. The government believes that there are donors (primarily developers) who knowingly exceed the contribution limits and do so with impunity. However, placing this responsibility on the clerk jeopardizes their impartiality and potentially places them in conflict with members of council. In a survey conducted by AMCTO shortly after the legislation was tabled, only 21 per cent of respondents indicated that they would be comfortable fulfilling this responsibility. Moreover, of the municipalities surveyed, only three per cent had an electronic filing system for
financial filings, making this requirement logistically arduous, as well as politically sensitive. After Bill 181 passed second reading, AMCTO appeared before the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. Our appearance at the committee was designed to convey three messages: 1. Bill 181 was generally good for municipalities, clerks and elections in general 2. Clerks feel unprepared and ill equipped to implement rankedballots election in the narrow timeframe before 2018 3. The new enforcement provision in the act that would require the clerk to vet campaign contributors would be better placed with the Compliance Audit Committee It remains to be seen how Bill 181 will affect municipal elections in practice. As of writing, the regulations governing the use of ranked ballots have just been released and no municipalities have declared their intention to use ranked ballots in 2018. However, while ranked ballots will be the primary legacy of Bill 181, the bill’s provisions that slowly modernize municipal elections (many of which were suggested by AMCTO) will be just as impactful for campaigns in the future. Eric Muller is a Policy Advisor for AMCTO. AMCTO will be offering workshop training sessions on the changes to the MEA and ranked ballots later this year. For more information, visit the Education & Events section of amcto.com.
MAKSIM KABAKOU/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
When the government introduced the Municipal Elections Modernization Act (Bill 181) in April, it represented the most meaningful change to the MEA in years. The province had spent months conducting consultations across the province. It received over 3,400 written submissions and formed technical working groups on ranked ballots and the voters’ list. The final bill included almost three quarters of AMCTO’s recommendations. While no piece of legislation is ever perfect, Bill 181 is a largely positive development for election administrators. It allows candidates to file forms electronically, removes the requirements for original signatures and registered mail, makes accessibility reporting more effective, shortens the
CITY-COUNTY SEPARAT I ON
The Future of City-County Separation: Breaking Ontario’s Boundary Bargain Understanding the history and current challenges of divided communities By Zachary Spicer, Brock University
with suspicion and a degree of contempt. Urban areas were seen as dirty and dangerous. They were seen as places of vice and invirtue, where anonymity reigned. There were no bonds of community and no sense of common identity. In a city, you were truly alone. In contrast, rural areas were seen as pure, connected to the church and home to hard working, honest individuals living close to the land. From an urban perspective, however, rural areas were backward and stifling. The influence of the church was vast, providing far too much scrutiny over one’s life. Many saw rural areas as dampening ambition and limiting one’s choices in life. Urban areas, however, were seen as exciting, brimming with opportunity and idealism. They were centres of innovation, where individuals could flock for a chance to improve their lot in life. Given how those living in urban and rural areas viewed each other, a formal separation was seen as mutually beneficial. Those in rural areas believed that the urban values they viewed with such suspicion could be contained if there were no formal institutions linking both communities. Those in urban
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unicipal organization has been a long-standing challenge in Ontario. Throughout our history, we have undergone several forms of institutional change in local government. From the county system, to regional government and, most recently, largescale amalgamation, the challenge has always been trying to balance optimal institutional design with population growth. Along the way, the guiding logic from the provincial government shifted from separating rural and urban to linking rural and urban. As such, institutions such as city-county separation gradually gave way to structures like regional government. While we now do our best to draw connections between urban, peri-urban and rural, we still have more than a dozen areas that have institutional distinctions between urban and rural thanks to the continued use of city-county separation. A new book, The Boundary Bargain: Growth, Development and the Future of City-County Separation, examines the history and continued challenge of city-county separation across Ontario. City-county separation is an old institution. This system has its roots in traditional conceptualizations of urban and rural. Those living in rural areas historically viewed cities
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C I T Y- CO UN T Y S EPAR ATIO N
“ Many separated cities are in an unenviable position. They have no institutional connection to the areas around them, the once clear bargain about growth and development is breaking down and it is now much more difficult to annex adjoining urbanizing territory.” areas did not want to be bogged down in the more narrowly focused politics of rural life. A formal separation, therefore, made sense to both communities and was officially codified with the introduction of the Baldwin Act: when an urban area reached a certain population threshold, it would be declared a city and would be formally separated from the county structure. At that point, it would cease to have any sort of formal, institutional connection to the county. Underlying this arrangement was a critical bargain: growth and development would be directed towards the city, allowing the rural county to remain rural. We can refer to this as “the boundary bargain.” For more than a century, the institution of city-county separation carried on, as dozens of cities reached the set population threshold and were separated from their counties. In the 1950s, however, the province began to view urban and rural as connected. Rapid population growth led to many seeing the benefit of having common institutions to manage growth and provide for area-wide servicing. Toronto, therefore, became the first city in Ontario to be part of a two-tier structure with the creation of Metropolitan Toronto. Ten more regional governments – mainly in southern Ontario – followed. Many more separated cities remained, however, all experiencing the same rapid population growth as communities in the Greater Toronto Area. As a result, the province began to examine the county system. However, this process hit a roadblock when it became clear it would be nearly impossible to easily insert many separated cities back into their counties. Over time, many of these cities – such as London, Windsor and Guelph – had grown too large, meaning representatives from these communities would dominate any re-constituted county council. A few separated cities, namely Ingersoll, Owen Sound, Sarnia and Woodstock, were re-introduced to their former counties, but the others presented too steep a challenge. Long thought to be an institution of our past, Ontario is still home to more than a dozen separated cities, some of which are major population centres, such as London, Barrie, Kingston, Guelph, Windsor and Peterborough. None of these areas have any institutional connection to the areas around them, which can lead to persistent governance challenges. Within these areas, the institutional relationship remains in tact, but the cultural values underlying the institution are diminishing. In rural Ontario, growth is viewed much differently than it once was. County officials no longer aspire to solely preserve the rural character of their communities. Increasingly so, these officials are interested in attracting community development. They are enticed by growth, which has put this generations old boundary bargain in jeopardy. 26
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The breakdown of this bargain is causing a host of growth and planning disputes across the province. One of the positive aspects of city-county separation is that it once provided an informal growth consensus, reducing the inevitable tension when growth nears shared borders. This is now gone. Competition is simmering between certain separated cities and their once rural neighbours. Boundary disputes have ensued. One such example is the protracted annexation dispute between Barrie and Innisfil that emerged because both communities held growth ambitions for the same land. So, what can be done? City-county separation is an enduring institution. It is difficult to re-integrate the province’s remaining separated cities back into county structures. Overtime, these cities have been allowed to expand outward and annex adjoining urban territory, enlarging their borders and taking in more urbanized and urbanizing territories. The institution of city-county separation was maintained through this outward expansion, as these annexations adhered to the original logic behind city-county separation and upheld the boundary bargain between separated cities and counties. Amalgamation in the 1990s changed all of this. While most of the attention during amalgamation was on our large cities, such as Hamilton, Ottawa and Toronto, much of the consolidation occurred in rural Ontario. As a result, the municipalities around separated cities are larger and stronger political actors. Annexation is a much more challenging process now than it once was. Many separated cities are in an unenviable position. They have no institutional connection to the areas around them, the once-clear bargain about growth and development is breaking down and it is now much more difficult to annex adjoining urbanizing territory. There is no longer a growth consensus, which establishes development competition as the new norm in many of these areas. City-county separation is an inflexible institution that cannot be changed easily, given the difficulty of re-organizing many counties to include separated cities once again. As such, solutions need to be found. How best to manage this relationship going forward is the purpose of The Boundary Bargain. Using three case studies – London and Middlesex County, Guelph and Wellington County and Barrie and Simcoe County – The Boundary Bargain delves deeper into the historical roots of city-county separation in Ontario, explores the theoretical development of concepts such as urban and rural and provides tools to manage the relationship between separated cities and adjoining county governments. Zachary Spicer is an Assistant Professor at Brock University. He specializes in local government and public administration. He is the author of The Boundary Bargain: Growth, Development and the Future of City-County Separation, which is available through McGill-Queen’s University Press.
CLIMATE CH A N GE
Hot Topic
Municipalities are moving to address the new realities of climate change as experts call for a more coordinated approach involving all levels of government By Lisa Gordon
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loods. Tornados. Wildfires. Drought. Heat warnings. Air quality advisories. Extreme weather events are grabbing headlines across Canada and predictive data shows this trend will almost certainly continue. The evidence of climate change is mounting, just as surely as the Earth’s average annual surface temperature is rising. In Ontario, the mean annual temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius over the last 60 years. The Ontario Centre for Climate Impacts and Adaptation Resources (OCCIAR) says that by 2050, average temperatures could increase by 2.5 to 3.7 degrees Celsius. This warming trend will have a detrimental effect on the economy as well as the environment. Here in Canada, the
leading cause of property damage is flooding. The Insurance Bureau of Canada reports that water damage costs insurers and policy holders at least $1.3 billion every year. While climate change is very much a global issue, its effects are felt on a local scale. Extreme weather damages municipal infrastructure as well as private homes. That’s why an increasing number of cities and municipalities are already taking steps to address the realities of our changing climate. Generally speaking, these steps revolve around the concepts of mitigation and adaptation.
A two-pronged approach According to NASA, mitigation involves reducing the production of greenhouse gases (GHG) that trap heat in the
TOM WANG/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
“ One area that’s an absolute no-brainer is to get things integrated into new development so we’re not making the same mistakes.” – Dan Sandink, Manager, Resilient Communities and Research, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
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C LIMAT E CH AN GE atmosphere. The goal is to stabilize levels enough to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to a changing environment. While mitigation involves the “big picture” and is currently the focus of higher levels of government, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) reports that local governments have influence over about 50 per cent of Canada’s GHG emissions. Many municipalities are now exploring ways of working with provincial and federal governments to encourage building retrofits, clean energy projects and GHG reduction programs. The FCM, too, partnered with the Government of Canada to create the Green Municipal Fund in 2000, which funds community initiatives that minimize environmental costs while maximizing performance. Adaptation, on the other hand, is all about learning how to live in a changing climate, including identifying and addressing weaknesses and opportunities. “The adaptation side is about understanding the vulnerabilities that come from climate change that can be complemented by improving practices around asset management,” explains Devin Causley, the FCM’s Manager of Climate Change Programs. “There is a need to both inventory and understand the different infrastructure in the ground and its vulnerabilities.” While many of Ontario’s largest municipalities have established climate change strategies, some of the smaller ones haven’t yet begun. Causley says that while the process may appear daunting, communities of all sizes have taken action and are usually eager to share their experience. “Look from a high level to see where you are at risk and then prioritize and have some conversations about where you want to go,” he recommends. “Complete a broad-based vulnerability assessment and consider what stakeholders need to be around the table.”
Realigning resources The Region of Peel created its climate change strategy in 2011. Mark Schiller, Director, Real Property Asset Management in Peel’s Corporate Services Division, says most stakeholders are concerned about drought, ice storms, extreme heat and dealing with excessive stormwater runoff. “Most of the storm sewer systems aren’t really adequate to convey the full flows we’ve been seeing,” explains Schiller. “We know the stormwater is somehow making it back into the sanitary sewer systems, generally down through the foundation drains of the homes, and that’s … leading to sewer backups.” He says the Peel Region is “realigning” its resources to implement new green initiatives, including low-impact development where roads, pathways and gardens can absorb more water, green roof architecture and energy-efficient programs. When it comes to flooding, Schiller says Peel is evaluating its current design standards for new sewer systems. “We’re looking at building in additional capacity to storm sewers so if we can’t keep the stormwater out, we can convey it better through the system,” he notes. “On the sanitary side, we’ve started sealing up manholes in low-lying areas; we’re 28
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trying to divert the flow into the larger trunks to get it out of those areas that are flooding.” Some area municipalities have also started disconnecting downspouts from the foundation drains of homes, Schiller reports. To fund these new initiatives, the City of Mississauga implemented a stormwater charge that will help keep its water and wastewater systems in a better state of repair. Meanwhile, Schiller says the focus is on older areas that are more vulnerable to flooding. “We’re systematically focusing on one area at a time,” he says.
Challenging accepted standards Dan Sandink, Manager of Resilient Communities and Research at the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), agrees that building and sewer design standards need to be re-evaluated. “From a municipal perspective, there are challenges in having the motivation to review and change design standards and incorporate climate change impacts in infrastructure,” he says. “There are many sources of information, but a lot of municipalities haven’t operationalized it yet. However, the science is clear: extreme rainfall events are going to increase, so why do we continue to use historical design standards for new developments?” Sandink, who specializes in urban flooding, has completed extensive studies on how to manage the risk of residential flooding, including in new homes. He says there are a number of recommendations in the building code, including a section pertaining to household backwater valve installation. “If a local code official thinks there is a sewer backup risk in the subdivision, he can require the installation of backwater valves in new homes,” says Sandink. “People say you don’t need them in new developments, but we found that isn’t necessarily the case. Sewer backup flooding can occur in separated sewer systems and even new subdivisions have inflow/infiltration problems. Many municipalities and construction code authorities in Canada recognize that all homes are at risk of sewer backup. Also, since it’s so difficult to get homeowners to retrofit these valves, it’s better to do them in the beginning.” Sandink says the losses associated with extreme rainfall have undoubtedly increased over the past few decades. “There are a few ways insurers can respond to high urban flood risk,” he explains. “For example, they can increase the cost of coverage, they can cap any payouts, and they can promote the implementation of lot-level flood risk reduction measures.” He says all levels of government must do what they can to adapt to changing weather patterns, using domestic and international research as the springboard to new policy. “One area that’s an absolute no-brainer is to get things integrated into new development so we’re not making the same mistakes. In a lot of cases, it’s not all that expensive,” he notes.
CLIMATE CH A N GE
Governmental guidance According to Sandink, senior levels of government must provide authoritative guidance when it comes to climate change adaptation. “We don’t want a piecemeal approach with municipalities having to individually develop and interpret climate change information,” he says. “Senior levels of government should be coordinating adaptation strategies.” AMCTO shares that opinion and is working to help governments develop programs and practices that benefit local municipalities. For example, in March 2015 the association submitted a number of recommendations as part of a review examining the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP), which provides assistance to local communities after a disaster. In August 2015, the Ontario government introduced two new programs – one directed at municipalities and one for citizens, small businesses, farms and not-for-profits – that will replace the ODRAP. The provincial government adopted two of AMCTO’s recommendations for the municipalities program, namely extending the amount of time for local governments to assess damage costs from two weeks to four months and eliminating private fundraising and donation matching. A thorough review of the proposed programs is still underway.
While positive changes are being made to address the realities of climate change, there is still much work to do. For those municipalities who have not yet begun, experts say not to reinvent the wheel. Simply take a look at what other municipalities have done and adapt the plan accordingly for your region. The main thing is to take action – and soon. “Almost every year it seems we have the biggest natural disaster losses in the history of the Canadian insurance industry,” says Sandink. “This is not a sustainable path. We need to start thinking about this stuff; it’s only going to get worse in the future.”
Civil / Municipal Land Development Environmental Solid Waste Management OTTAWA KINGSTON SUDBURY TIMMINS NORTH BAY HAWKESBURY GUELPH
Urban & Regional Planning Geographic Information Systems Mechanical Electrical Structural Architecture
www.jlricha rds.ca MUNICIPAL MONITOR
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ICLR
More homes, like this one in Burlington, Ont. in 2014, have experienced the effects of flooding in recent years
The Best People in the Best Positions Why you should link your succession planning with a Core Services Review By Sarah B. Hood
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nce upon a time, Ontario municipalities needed people who could stable horses, transmit telegraph messages and maintain gaslight. Those needs, of course, were eliminated through technological change. Now, municipalities are undergoing a less tangible but no less profound shift in the way they do things. At the same time, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario finds that 51 per cent of senior municipal managers are eligible to retire within three to five years and AMCTO’s recent membership survey reinforces this statistic. Clearly, succession planning must be a top priority; what is less clear is how a Core Services Review can help turn this challenge into an opportunity. “A lot of the issues that Canadian municipalities are facing right now and into the future are quite similar,” says Kevin Travers, Partner with KPMG LLP and National Leader of KPMG’s Cities Practice. “Municipalities have aging infrastructures and declining revenue bases, development charges are drying up and they have to deliver services differently.” When municipalities perform a Core Services Review, Travers says, “very often you find that the response to [the question as to] why a municipality does what they do is that it’s how they’ve always done it.” When it’s tied to a strong understanding of core services, good succession planning is a means to developing the next generation of staff and leaders to match organizational strategy. “If you don’t have that ability to develop folks, the fall-back position will always be ‘How did we do this before?’ But it’s not sustainable.” he warns. “A Core Services Review entails looking at every service that a municipality delivers and then mapping to see why they do that service – because it’s required by legislation, because it’s demanded by ratepayers or because they always have done it – and how well they’re performing that service,” Travers says. “You may be providing something that’s also being done by the private sector [such as a golf course or banquet facility]. It’s one thing to make use of a space that’s available, but if it’s losing money as a service, there’s no need to provide it at a loss.” Several Ontario municipalities are currently engaged in projects that address core services and succession planning. 30
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Core Service Review in Kawartha Lakes The City of Kawartha Lakes is currently implementing a Core Services Review. “As we do succession planning, there are areas where we might want to enhance some of our services and set standard defined levels in other areas. We no longer want to deploy our workforce without aligning efforts to services required to deliver this defined service and looking for where we need to embellish or enhance some skillsets so employees can deliver the new, enhanced or defined services,” says Sara Beukeboom, Manager, Budget & Financial Planning and Core Services Review Lead in the Office of Strategy Management for Kawartha Lakes. “We’ve engaged teams across the organization, so no one person is bringing forward recommendations,” she says. “We have done a lot of collaboration and sought input from staff; the CAO sends out communications updating staff on core services and inviting them to participate in the process. We really are looking for solution-driven input.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER MOORE
SUCCESSION PLA N N IN G
“ When we bring staff together, it gives them a new level of understanding of the whole organization and they get a better idea of the different ways we can work together.”
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– Jennifer Moore, CAO, Northumberland County
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“ If you don’t have that ability to develop folks, the fall-back position will always be ‘How did we do this before?’ But it’s not sustainable.” – Kevin Travers, Partner and National Leader, Cities Practice, KPMG LLP
People First in Niagara For the past two years, the Niagara Region has been undergoing a human capital planning process called People First, which is intended to achieve an 80 per cent employee engagement target by 2019, develop enhanced bench strength across all roles and support council’s strategic priorities of achieving results and building economic prosperity. “We’ve recognized that people are our competitive advantage,” says Fiona Peacefull, CHRL, Niagara’s Director of People Services and Organizational Development. “There is a direct correlation between employee engagement and positive outcomes for our residents and for our communities.” The process began by looking at industry best practice and carrying out consultation with employee groups before developing six “pillars,” including “developing leaders and talent” and “fostering a healthy and well organization.” “Each pillar has a work plan,” says Peacefull. Currently, succession planning has begun; future steps include reporting and revising priorities, building a succession planning model, engaging leaders and “high potentials” and further workforce planning. A pilot will be carried out in a number of operating departments before more evaluation and further implementation is carried out.
Succession planning in Northumberland In Northumberland County, says CAO Jennifer Moore, “We have created a [succession] program with a number of components: core training by a third-party trainer, a mentoring component and a project component that allows [chosen candidates] to work with other departments. It gives us staff with much broader knowledge, backup between jobs [and] some financial benefits if we’re growing people within the organization [rather than recruiting from outside]. She adds that, “succession plans are a great way to attract people. It’s also very motivating for staff if they think that there’s an opportunity and they feel they may have a chance to move into more senior positions.”
Keys to succession planning success Effective succession planning arises from a combination of programs and techniques, which need not be costly. One such technique says Travers, “is the opportunity to do special projects within an organization, to allow someone to lead or have a significant role in cross-functional projects. Those are good ways to build significant networks within a department.” “The other one,” says Peacefull, “is using a very positive coaching and performance management process. That 32
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gives you an opportunity to coach employees and align [the training] to your competencies. We’ve said that every leader should coach their employees. In some cases, we have coaches brought in to work with individuals.” However, measuring results along the way is an important component of success. “Many of the metrics that have been used in the past may be less useful now,” says Travers. “Instead of costing, I think you need to start looking at what defines quality; too-high quality might not be the optimal result – would you need to have a golf course that rivals one of the top private clubs? Even in the health care area, what are we trying to do and what are the impacts we’re having?” Employee engagement is one measurable result of healthy succession planning, but it’s also important to track progress on a range of human resources goals. “To measure employee engagement, you do the formal survey to determine your overall engagement score. We also measure key performance indicators under each of the six pillars. You may ask, ‘Are we retaining our top talent?’ ‘Are we measuring retention of learning?’” says Peacefull, who also conducts 360-degree assessments of senior leaders and 270-degree assessments for strong contributors who do not manage staff. Some benefits are less tangible. “The teamwork and the broader knowledge and the backup coverage are more difficult to measure, but in some cases, we are seeing that happen as we break down silos,” says Moore. “When we bring staff together, it gives them a new level of understanding of the whole organization and they get a better idea of the different ways we can work together.” As with any organizational change, buy-in from the most senior levels is critical. “The whole process really requires people at every level to be very open-minded; there’s a natural tendency for people in senior positions not to want to share,” cautions Travers. “A number of smaller municipalities fall back to the position of ‘We’re going to do what we’ve always done’ [but] it’s even more critical [ for them] to have a forward-looking approach to developing a succession plan, because they don’t have a very deep bench, so it’s even more important to have a lot of talent on it.” Because of the short cycles of the election process, it is all too easy for municipalities to ignore “those tough questions about long-term financial capital and human resources planning,” says Travers. “To encourage broader, longer-term thinking, municipalities need to take a longer-term outlook. Those that don’t, do it at their peril.”
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