All the Best in 2011

2010 was my first full year as the CAO for the City of Williams Lake and it was a very gratifying year in my career. What really stands out for me is the people I have the privilege of working with. The City of Williams Lake has a very dedicated and committed staff, whether it be the Works Yard, Complex, City Hall, Airport, RCMP or Fire hall. From my experience, our staff fulfill their roles with pride and do a great job for City residents. When I take stock of all it takes to keep our City operating, it always comes down to the people. They keep our Airport runway clear, watch our children as they swim and skate, fight fires, keep our water running, plow the streets, enforce our bylaws and handle the public's inquiries to name just a few.

In addition to leading a great group of staff, I have the opportunity of working with an equally committed City Council. It isn't my place as a CAO to offer my opinions or assessment of the decisions made by Council. However, I can speak to the respect and confidence that all of Council has shown our staff throughout the year and their collective fostering of a productive working relationship between Council and Administration. Due to the 'hands-on' nature of local government, it is not uncommon for the roles of the elected body and administration to become blurred. I believe the success of this past year has been a dedicated effort of all concerned to respect and support the respective roles of Council and staff.

I am very much looking forward to 2011 and all of the opportunities that are ahead of us. As with any year, the budget is a critical and delicate process for both staff and Council. At the end of the day, staff must present Council with the best information possible to allow them to make their financial decisions for the upcoming year.

Some key areas where I and my staff will be focusing in 2011 include the implementation of a service delivery review and resident household survey. Economic development will continue to be a high priority as we identify and pursue opportunities to diversify our tax base and support existing businesses and industry. Community Forest, District Heating, Airport land development and development of the mountain biking industry are some examples of initiatives we will pursue. Some changes people will see in 2011 include a much improved City web site and improved communication with residents. We will also be working to improve options for the public to pay their bills and taxes.

As 2011 marks the end of this current Council's term, City administration will be busy preparing for the municipal election in November. This is a major undertaking every three years and diligence in planning and preparation ensures a smooth process for the candidates and the electorate.

I very much enjoy my role as the CAO for the City of Williams Lake and I look forward to serving and supporting Council, staff and the community in the coming year.

Happy New Year to all!

Use of Social Media

A report to Committee of the Whole last week regarding the proposed use of social media by the City has sparked a few comments from citizens. Although the number of comments aren't significant, it does indicate that some members of the community have reservations about the City moving in this 'electronic' direction. Ironically, some of the comments were received by 'electronic' mail.



It is important to note that the City is not abandoning the traditional methods of communicating with constituents such as newspaper ads/articles, public meetings, newsletters, radio, etc. These are all important tools to reach various segments of our population. However, various levels of government, including municipalities are recognizing the importance of social media in reaching a segment of the population that we may not normally engage. And unlike many of our conventional methods of communication, social media provides an opportunity for timely feedback from citizens.



Personally, I am not a regular user of Facebook, Twitter or other electronic networking sites and have my own opinions with respect to the overall benefits of social media to society. With that said, I do understand that social media has become an integral part of our culture and we need to keep pace with our citizens and their communication preferences, thus my CAO blog.



The creation of a social media policy for the City ensures that as we embrace these relatively new forms of communication, that they are used effectively and appropriately.

CFIB Report - Municipal Spending Out Of Control

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business released a report this week that slams local governments for out of control spending. The CFIB uses a very simplistic formula that compares the increase in municipal spending between 2000 and 2008 with population and inflation growth over the same period and suggests that municipal spending increases should not exceed the population/inflationary increase.

The report ranks the City of Williams Lake as having the 4th highest per capita spending of the 25 BC municipalities with populations between 10,000 and 15,000 with $1656/capita. The report also shows an increase in operating expenditures of 43% in the 8 previous eight years compared to an 11% increase in population and inflation, concluding that there was excess spending in 2008 of $4.1 million.

The obvious problem with the CFIB report is that it only considers expenditures and does not factor in new or increased revenues that off-set increased expenditures. Some examples of new or increased revenues during this 8 year period include Gaming revenue, traffic fine revenue and Provincial grants for non-capital programs to name a few.

In addition, the report does not acknowledge the fact that many increases in operating expenditures are beyond the control of the municipal government. Some examples include policing costs (RCMP), regional solid waste (CRD) or the costs of complying with new or enhanced regulations.

The CFIB report suggests that if the City of Williams Lake had maintained operational expenditures in line with population and inflationary increases, expenditures in 2008 should have been $4.1 million less than they actually were. There is no disputing that operating expenses have increased substantially in the past eight years. However, to reduce the municipality's operating expenses by $4.1 million would result in profound impacts to services provided by the municipality. The City provides cores municipal services to its residents, very few of which are discretionary. For example, RCMP and fire protection alone cost a total of $4 million annually. Water and sewer services are essential, roads must be maintained, garbage must be picked up, our airport and transit provide mobility and parks, recreation and culture add to quality of life. To reduce or eliminate any of these, or other services the City provides I would argue would not bve acceptable to our residents.

The CFIB report does bring to light the fact that municipal spending has increased over the past eight years. However, far more analysis of revenues, local priorities, service demands and historic spending decisions are required in order to determine that a particular municipality's spending is "excessive".