Re: source : the newsletter of the Municipal Excellence Network

6 Pages·2003·2.6 MB·English

by  Alberta. Alberta Municipal Affairs

The Newsletter of the Municipal Excellence Network
ISSUE #9
2007 Minister's Awards for Municipal Excellence
SPRING 2008
that submitted an award application.
In This Issue
(Please see a complete list of members under
“Awards Selection Committee”, p2.)
2007 Minister’s Awards for
Municipal Excellence Congratulations to this year’s award
recipients. Go to www.menet.ab.ca to
view the award recipients in more detail.
Municipally Excellent Folks
New for 2008: Outstanding Achievement Award:
L-R: Inspector Wade Blalce (Spruce Grove-
bylaw collection! Stony Plain RCMP): Hon. Ray Danyluk. Minister TOWNS OF BANFF AND CANMORE,
of Municipal Affairs: Donald Johnson, AND THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
president. AAMDC
MEnet refresher PUBLIC SCHOOL DIVISION
In November 2007, the Honourable Ray Their Community Busing Program provides
Danyluk, Minister for Municipal Affairs,
transportation for seniors and low-income
presented the sixth annual Minister’s residents using off-duty school buses to
Awards for Municipal Excellence. In shuttle passengers between the two towns.
his remarks. Minister Danyluk praised It’s a cost effective, environmentally
the wealth of knowledge, creativity and friendly solution.
experience in Alberta’s dedicated municipal
sector. “The submissions demonstrate Innovation Award:
what can be achieved at the local level CITY OF CALGARY
by implementing great ideas,” he said, A f irst in Canada, the City’s warm mix asphalt
“ultimately leading... to more liveable, technology lowers temperatures needed to
sustainable communities.” make and apply asphalt, reducing emissions
and fuel consumption. As an added benefit,
it also extends the construction season.
Of course, the awards couldn’t happen
without the devoted efforts of the awards
selection committee. Like the Municipal Honourable Mention:
Excellence program itself, the awards TOWN OF SEXSMITH,
are peer-driven. Committee members — CITY OF GRANDE PRAIRIE,
representing municipalities and local AND THE COUNTY OF GRANDE PRAIRIE
government associations — contribute their These partners formed Aquatera Utility
time to review and evaluate submissions.
Municipal Corporation to provide a safe, reliable
Excellence Each year this task is more challenging; this water source for their communities.
year, the 10-member panel reviewed over 30 Through Aquatera they are able to
network submissions. Our thanks to them for their enhance service and provide more
Municipalities sharing knowledge to excel support and dedication, and to everybody cost-effective utilities to taxpayers.
www.menet.ab.ca Liberia Affairs'331
Partnership Award: Smaller Municipalities Award: Thank you to all the municipalities
TRI-MUNICIPAL DRUG UNIT TOWN OF ATHABASCA who have shared practices. Your
The Town of Stony Plain, City of The Town’s Municipal Heritage commitment to ongoing improvement
Spruce Grove, Parkland County, Management Program balances the of municipal service delivery benefits
Enoch Cree Nation and the RCMP benefits of economic development all municipalities.
joined forces to develop a b roader,
with the preservation of the Town’s
regional response to drug crime. history. The program enables them to AWARDS SELECTION COMMITTEE:
identify, evaluate, designate and fund Councillor Carolyn Kolebaba (AAMDC)
Honourable Mention: maintenance for historic sites. Councillor Ken Hoppins (AAMDC)
CITY OF CALGARY, AND THE Michael Minchin (GFOA)
CALGARY REGIONAL HOME Honourable Mention: Darcy Ferguson (GFOA)
BUILDERS ASSOCIATION TOWN OF BLACK DIAMOND Tony Martens (SLGM)
Mayor Diana McQueen (AUMA)
The City’s “Building Expectations” The first annual “Slaying the
program engages industry Dragon” conference captured Dorothy Moore (AUMA)
stakeholders in promoting quality regional attention and spread drug Terry Hurlbut (LGAA)
construction standards. Together, awareness. Speakers included Catherine Dunn (LGAA)
they reviewed and recommended former addicts, police task force Case Van Herk (ARMAA)
changes to local bylaws and members, AADAC representatives,
permitting processes, and and leading policy coordinators
and advocates.
published a h omebuyers’ reference.
w W 'rmfcrfjfifi fy [ vrcefi fan': Fnffcs
Mike: What were some of your broad range of wellness opportunities.
priorities for Strathcona County, and It has been copied in many other
some of your professional highlights? places since. Heartland Hall is a similar
Bill: Developing a strategic planning situation: it met a b roader community
focus for the County — understanding and need. It is more than just an emergency
knowing how to do it, and using it in a services facility, it also serves the public.
way that makes sense for the community. Centre in the Park is a sustainable,
There is now a 2 0-year vision, resulting green built area (to LEED standards)
from the most extensive public for Sherwood Park and the county, with
After 1 0 y ears as Chief Commissioner
of Strathcona County, Bill Sutherland consultation ever in the county. I also an innovative district energy system
retired on June 19. 2007. Previously, he
had a h and in embedding a sustainable and a $ 95-million community centre.
had a d istinguished 28-year career in the
Canadian Forces. He was considering a community development ethic within the It has received international acclaim,
promotion to Ottawa when the opportunity
community, and how the County does with delegations from around the world
arose at Strathcona County. “My family
wanted to stay here, and I fe lt that serv- business: for example, innovative projects
now visiting it. Then there’s Emerald Hill
says in g othfe p huibsl i cch o iwcoeu.l d H e be m aad eg o o dh is J i tm.a "r kh e with like Millennium Place or Heartland Hall. Urban Village — a l arge-scale, sustainable
long-term vision and sustainability plan- urban centre with five 14-storey towers
ning. including a h ost of major projects
and developments. MEnet Advisor Mike At the time there was no other facility and other buildings. It will be unique in
Sandford talked with Bill to capture some quite like Millennium Place. It offers a North America. Also the Legacy Lands
of his insights, experience and advice from
his time in municipal administration.
...continued from page two.
policy where important lands [eg. historic internal capacity. The overall impact on other parts of the country — are not the
or natural habitats] are purchased on the community is a concern with the pace way to go. They cause other problems,
which we can learn from as lessons.
behalf of the community to leave a l egacy. of growth, but in other ways, it completes
the range of services. People like the self-
With Strathcona County, you sufficient community, the convenience What about employment and
were involved in many innovative factor of shopping, services, and other succession issues?
initiatives and you were always a attractions. We had a h olistic view that Increasingly, we’re seeing a g eneration
strong supporter of sharing practices worked. My advice is to look to the long of experienced staff leaving the
through MEnet (itself an innovative term, a strategic approach, and holistic municipal field and it is hard to retain
project where you had an important view; and build internal capacity to do it. all that knowledge. Many municipalities
underestimate the difficulty in replacing
influence). Why is knowledge sharing
so important to you? What do municipal governments need this expertise. They need to look at
We have a responsibility to do so, to do to deal with the issues of the innovations including job sharing, flex
time, use of retirement-age people,
particularly where it avoids ‘reinventing day, and how do you see the role of
and others. The problem is to challenge
the wheel’. We should consider ourselves the provincial government evolving
as one big brain, or a computer system as it relates to municipalities? the younger work force to remain.
that allows us to share what we do well. The municipal internship program
This isn’t easy to answer, but I think
The biggest challenge is allocating time we need a b etter partnership between is excellent, and the quality of the
and resources to make that sharing a all levels of government. And if candidates is tops. We had three
reality. Strathcona County supported the municipalities want to be considered a interns and kept two, with one leaving
MEnet concept from its conception, to legitimate order of government, they need for personal reasons. This type of
allow this sharing to occur. to take responsibility to resolve issues program is needed.
locally, before seeking assistance from
What were some of the challenges other levels of government. Municipalities Any words of wisdom for new
you faced? need to develop internal capacity to municipal employees or those
The politics. For example, a single deal with issues. Many municipalities — considering a career in the field?
phone call can cause you to change Municipal service allows you to make
especially smaller ones — don’t understand
direction on a d ime. Because local
how to do that. It isn’t always a need for a real difference in people’s lives,
politics are so close to people, it also has more resources, but can often be doing a very worthwhile calling. You can have
some disadvantages — such as a t hree- things another way. Municipalities need a d irect hand in improving their quality
year time horizon [between municipal to have Municipal Affairs and Housing of life. You can’t put a value on this
elections]. Also, municipalities must be be successful as a ministry, to represent satisfaction. I h ave had the opportunity
very innovative in resource allocation their views in government. It needs to do interesting things in interesting
because they only receive seven per cent to be a k ey ministry and advocate for parts of the world with interesting people,
of the total revenue pie with federal and municipal success. and I r ecommend it to anybody.
provincial tax dollars amounting to 93
per cent. Another challenge is to establish Regional cooperation and growth Bill and his family plan to stay in
a b etter partnership arrangement management are hot topics these days. Strathcona County. Bill intends to continue
between municipalities and higher What’s your take? contributing his knowledge and experience
levels of government. There is a h igh degree of cooperation now to help other municipalities, the provincial
across the province. The solution is to government, or university, particularly
You worked during a period of high recognize municipal autonomy, finding with such areas as strategic planning,
growth in the region. What words of a way to allow people to see benefit sustainable communities and building
advice would you give to anyone through cooperation and partnerships. organizational capacity. MEnet thanks
facing a similar situation? Cooperation is respectful and is Bill for his contributions to the municipal
We were very busy but we had policies, developed as an evolutionary process — world — p articularly his strong support of
procedures and people in place to bi-lateral, multi-lateral or regional. MEnet — and wishes him and his family
manage growth. We had good plans and Forced solutions — like some imposed in a h appy and successful retirement.
3
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Based on your input. MEnet is In past, both associations spent simply haven’t had the time to create
working with AUMA and AAMDC considerable time and effort a p ractice submission, this makes it a
to provide a new bylaw collection maintaining their own bylaw libraries little easier to share your experiences.
resource on the website, www.men By combining their efforts with Coming soon!
ab.ca. It will allow users to rese; MEnet. we plan to offer a more
bylaws and exchange ideas with complete, up-to-date catalogue with
other local government staff. easier access. And for those who
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With recent administrative turnover,
For first-time users, all you have to do to access these tools is register using the link
the October 2007 municipal elections
from the home page. You’ll be sent to a sign-in to enter some basic information and
and new additions to the site, it’s a then you’ll be on your way.
good time to refresh your knowledge
about MEnet.
There’s plenty more to discover once you get there, so check it out
at www.menet.ab.ca.
First off, here’s the home page,
www.menet.ab.ca.
MunEixcceinpeancle \I ME xUcefllleniceC iNpetSwolr k »> sceoanct£acht us
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