2015 CAMA E-Brief Partner:

  

The CAMA Board of Directors with special guests Brock Carlton, CEO of FCM;
Daniel Muzyka, President & CEO of the Conference Board of Canada; and
Alan Arcand, Associate Director, Centre for Municipal Studies, Conference Board of Canada

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) held their quarterly meeting in Ottawa Ottawa, on November 26^th and 27^th, 2015.  Noted below is a summary of the discussions.
 
Presentation by the Conference Board of Canada
Mr. Daniel Muzyka, President and CEO of the Conference Board of Canada, made a presentation to the Board.  His presentation was titled “Major Issues for Canada and How they Relate to Cities”.  Having Mr. Muzyka make the presentation was both informative and valuable in terms of building strategic partnerships for CAMA.  The Board intends on following up by making a request to make a similar presentation to the Conference Board with respect to CAMA.
 
Presentation by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Mr. Brock Carlton, CEO of the FCM, made a presentation to the Board on their organization's activities.  Topics included the 2015 Federal election campaign, the Liberal commitments, Ministerial meetings and an overview of FCM’s transition document entitled “Cities and Communities:  Partners in Canada’s Development”.  Mr. Carlton then proceeded to provide the Board with a long list of FCM projects and initiatives that were presented as information.
 
Dinner for Federal Representatives from Infrastructure Canada
In the evening, the Board invited a number of senior Federal staff members to join them for a networking dinner.  A number of topics were discussed at dinner including: asset management, financial policies for projects, federal program review, the project application process, and the challenges of small communities.
 
Communications
The Board considered a report from Mr. Glen Davies, Chair on work that the Communications Sub-Committee has undertaken over the past several months.  This included information on the Refer a Member Campaign e-blast and presentations to affiliate associations.  As a result of these efforts, a total of 30 new members have joined the organization.
 
Update on CAMA and Provincial/Territorial Association Partnership
The Working Group of the Provincial and Territorial Communications Partnership had a total of three conference calls since the last quarterly board meeting.  The Group is working on a National Survey aimed at developing communication tools that seek to encourage young people to consider a career in local government administration.  The final report of the survey is expected to be received from Insights West by mid-March of 2016.
 
CAO Performance Management and Evaluation Committee
Ms. Janice Baker, Chair of the CAO Performance Evaluation Committee, updated the Board on the Committee’s progress.  Two conference calls have been held by the Committee since the last quarterly Board meeting.  As part of the development of the toolkit, a pilot project is being conducted whereby communities from across the country will test the kit.  So far, 13 communities have volunteered to participate, however we welcome others to sign up if interested.  If all goes to schedule, members should expect to see the completed project launched at the 2016 CAMA National Conference in Winnipeg.
 
Annual Conferences
 
2016 Winnipeg Conference
The Conference Program Sub-Committee is making significant progress on the program for next year’s CAMA Conference.  Details should be available early in the New Year, but all indications are that the 2016 Conference will be full of great speakers and plenty of opportunities for networking.
 
Upcoming Conferences will be held in the following communities:
2017    Gatineau, PQ
2018    Fredericton, NB
2019    Quebec City, PQ
 
CAMA Code of Conduct Review Committee
Mr. Jack Benzaquen, Chair of the Committee, advised the Board that the Committee will be seeking a legal opinion on a number of outstanding questions.  These included whether CAMA has any legal authority to discipline members, what are the pros and cons of having a Code of Conduct (from a legal perspective) and thirdly if CAMA has disciplinary powers, what form could they take.  More information on this subject will follow once legal opinions have been considered.
 
Members Services/National Office Update
Ms. Jennifer Goodine, Executive Director updated the Board on various subjects.  Of note were the following:

Various Topics
The Board also had updates on a host of other topics including:
·               Finances of the organization
·               International affiliate agreements
·               ICMA update
·               Awards program
·               Social media statistics
·               External relations
·               Canadian Infrastructure Report Card
 
Strategic Plan
The Board spent considerable time and effort reviewing CAMA’s new Five Year Strategic Plan.  The draft of this new Plan will be sent to the membership for your feedback prior to presenting it at the 2016 Annual Conference.

In Canada, an average city has around 75% of its workforce engaged in field activities. Canadian field or maintenance workers are often referred to as ‘blue collar workers’. Our observation is that they do not use technology as part of their day-to-day jobs.  In many instances, that’s because our cities have been reluctant to equip them with technology.
 

Cities, hospitals, and educational institutions have many different assets that are maintained by fieldworkers. These assets are core to the running of their business and include things such as heaters, buildings, roads, lighting and water systems.   Find out more at:  http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/web/cama/using-the-internet-of-things-to-save-money-and-boost-productivity.aspx 

 

Join us for the  45^th Annual CAMA Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Delta Winnipeg and Winnipeg Convention Centre from Monday, May 30th to Wednesday, June 1^st, 2016.   The Golf Tournament and other Pre-Conference activities will begin on Monday morning with the Conference Program ending after the President’s Dinner on Wednesday evening.
 
The Full Conference Program and on-line registration will be available at the end of February 2016.
 
Keep up-to-date with Conference news by following us on Twitter, @camalink, and by using the hashtag #CAMA2016.

Following up on the success of the Taking Action to Manage Energy (TAME) Buildings Initiative*, the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre has launched a new TAME+ program.  TAME+ will help municipalities understand their energy use, identify key savings opportunities, and offset the costs of energy efficiency retrofit projects. Up to $100,000 in funding is available to Alberta communities to retrofit their municipal buildings.

New features of the TAME+ program include:

TAME+ is now accepting applications. Visit the MCCAC website for more information.

*The TAME Buildings Initiative was an incentive program delivered by the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre that provided rebates to Alberta municipalities to implement energy efficiency building retrofits. 

 

Dear ICMA International Members, Affiliates, and Friends:

I am writing to request your help in broadening the international content of ICMA’s 102nd Annual Conference, which will take place September 25-28, 2016, in Kansas City, Missouri. We invite you to participate in the Call for Ideas for educational sessions that fit into the tracks selected by the 2016 Conference Planning Committee.

To see descriptions of the tracks and instructions on how to submit your idea by the January 4, 2016 deadline, please visit the conference website.

In the early Spring, once the conference’s educational program is finalized, we will be reaching out to you again as part of a Call for Speakers. At that time, we will be looking for your suggestions of individuals from outside the United States who plan to attend the conference and would be interested and able to contribute to the content of the sessions.

Thank you very much for your help.
Best regards,

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