e-Brief December 9, 2020
CAMA Cancels 2021 Annual Conference in Mont Tremblant
The CAMA Board has made the difficult decision to cancel the in-person Annual Conference scheduled for June 1-3, 2021 in Mont Tremblant. The health and safety of our members and the communities we serve remains the priority of CAMA.  With the on-going concerns about COVID-19 and group gatherings, we felt that our usual Conference format would not be possible.

The Board is working on a virtual program that will provide you and your staff with professional development opportunities for the 2021 year. In a recent survey, you told us that having a virtual Conference for two to three full days would be difficult.  To accommodate you and you staff, we are going to be offering webinars/networking opportunities for one-two hour segments throughout the year.  Watch for more details in the future as we start to roll out the program.

As you are aware, it has been CAMA’s practice to host our Conference in the same community (or a community close by) to the FCM Conference.  This schedule will be determined in the next few months. 

We all know that 2021 will continue to be a very different year, however, we do hope to connect again in-person in 2022.

Thank you for your understanding,

Jake Rudolph
CAMA President
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L’ACAM annule sa Conférence annuelle 2021 à Mont-Tremblant

Le conseil d’administration de l’ACAM a dû prendre la difficile décision d’annuler la Conférence annuelle en personne qui devait avoir lieu du 1er au 3 juin 2021 à Mont-Tremblant. La santé et la sécurité de nos adhérents et des collectivités que nous servons restent les priorités de l’ACAM. À cause des préoccupations que soulèvent les rassemblements collectifs pendant la crise sanitaire, nous avons décidé que notre Conférence ne pourrait pas se tenir dans son format habituel.

Le conseil d’administration planche actuellement sur une plateforme virtuelle qui servirait d’espace de perfectionnement professionnel pour vous et votre personnel pour l’année 2021. Par ailleurs, dans un sondage récent, vous nous avez indiqué que suivre une conférence virtuelle sur deux ou trois journées pleines serait quelque chose de difficile. Pour prendre en compte vos besoins et ceux de votre personnel, nous allons proposer des webinaires et des événements de réseautage en segments d’une ou deux heures pendant l’année. Nous vous communiquerons des précisions à ce sujet prochainement.

Comme vous le savez, l’ACAM a pour coutume d’organiser sa conférence et celle de la Fédération canadienne des municipalités (FCM) dans la même ville ou dans une ville avoisinante. Le calendrier sera fixé dans quelques mois.

Nous savons toutes et tous que 2021 sera elle aussi une année atypique. Mais espérons que nous pourrons nous revoir en chair et en os en 2022.

Merci pour votre compréhension.

Le président de l’ACAM,

Jake Rudolph
Call for Expression of Interest for 2021 CAMA Awards of Excellence Sub-Committee
CAMA’s Awards of Excellence Program encourages the improvement of the art of municipal management to recognize the specific contributions achieved by members of the Association, and to publicize these to other members as well as to the general public.

The 2021 CAMA Awards Committee is Chaired by Board member Marc Melanson and we are seeking five additional members. The time commitment is as follows:
  • There are usually between 30-40 award submissions to review which are a maximum of 2,000 words in length (approximate time 6-8 hours). These submissions are evaluated based on set criteria and are forwarded to the Committee electronically.
  • The submission deadline for the awards is February 19th, 2021 with the Committee reviewing the submissions between February 24th and March 10th, 2021.
  • A Zoom meeting will be held with the Committee the week of March 15th, 2021 to review the submissions and make a decision on the winners.
The following criteria will be used when selecting CAMA members to sit on this Committee:
  • interest and expertise of the applicant in the subject matter
  • a balanced geographic representation
  • a balanced municipal size representation
  • a gender, language and ethnic diversity that is representative of the membership
If you are interested in serving, please send an e-mail to Jennifer Goodine, CAMA Executive Director ([email protected]) outlining the reasons why this Committee is of interest to you.

The deadline for applications is Friday, December 11th, 2020.



Jake Rudolph
CAMA President
How's Your Political Acumen?
 
The IPSL: Political Acumen Master Class is a live, online program designed to explore unwritten protocols and grey areas that public service leaders today need to navigate in an environment of increasingly complex decision making and stakeholder expectations, integrity challenges, global pandemics, social media and 24/7 news. Our mentor faculty are top former Municipal, Provincial & Federal  politicians and bureaucrats, sharing stories and lived experiences in audience-interactive, panel conversations. The next program begins January 6, 2021.  Learn how to foster greater collaboration between politicians and bureaucrats, fine tune succession planning and knowledge transfer, increase situational awareness and gain clarity and confidence in your political acumen competency.
For additional information:  https://www.publicsectorleadership.ca/homecama
COUNCIL & STAFF RELATIONSHIPS
 
Recognizing the importance of political understanding in the role of senior municipal administrators, also referred to as political acumen, the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) launched a Political Acumen Toolkit.   This resource can be found at politicalacumen.camacam.ca  Today’s featured category is Council and Staff Relationships.

Interaction amongst Council and Staff is a subject matter that requires clear direction and lines of communication from the CAO. This is often more challenging in smaller municipalities than it is in larger municipalities with more complex organizational structures. Without clear lines of communication and leadership, staff communication with Council can become a challenge for the CAO. In some cases, it can even lead to the CAO being undermined by having a “mole” in the organization.

This section of the toolkit will provide you with information on the following topics:
  • Clarifying Roles & Responsibilities
  • Managing Staff-Council Relationships
  • Staff-CAO Challenges
Sometimes it helps to find a mentor to talk to about the best course of action in addressing issues with a CAO. If you do not already have a mentor, please visit our Mentorship Forum to connect to someone who may be able to offer some guidance in this area.

Case Studies
·        Council Allegations Against Mayor
·        Council-Staff Relations
·        Persuasion from Ratepayers
·        Unethical Dismissal

Downloadable Resources:
·        West Lincoln Council-Staff Relations Policy
·        Kingsville Council-Staff Protocol

Do you have questions? Want more information?  Contact Jennifer Goodine, Executive Director, CAMA National Office, 1-866-771-2262, [email protected].
Request from The Village of Tinely Park for a Sister City in Canada
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