2016 CAMA E-Brief Partner:

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) held their quarterly meeting in Moncton, New Brunswick on September 15^th, 2016.   A special thanks to our host Don MacLellan, CAMA Past President and Acting CAO for the City of Moncton.
 
The Board dealt with a number of issues, but what follows are the highlights of those discussions:
 
Strategic Plan
 
CAMA was pleased to launch our new Strategic Plan (2016-2021) at the CAMA Conference in Winnipeg.  The Board reviewed the workplan for the 2016-2017 fiscal year which includes important initiatives such as the communication of the CAO Performance Toolkit, the Membership Development Campaign, and a partnership with the Provincial and Territorial Associations to recruit the next generation of municipal leaders.  The Board also approved a Financial Plan for the next five years.
 
Update on Communications/Marketing Plan
 
Communications Chair, Louis Coutinho updated the Board on his Committee’s recent activities of the Communications/Marketing Plan.  The Membership Campaign continues to make gains with the next phase of the project being to focus more attention on the direct reports including some LinkedIn advertisements.  We encourage all our members to be a cheerleader for CAMA to your colleagues!  Our campaign video has been updated to include some direct reports:  http://www.camacampaign.ca/
 
Also, watch for CAMA’s new website which is scheduled to be launched in November 2016!
 
Recruiting the Next Generation of Leaders
 
One of CAMA’s goals is to ensure that we are providing new and existing municipal administrators with information and a network that assists them in their role; encourages the next generation of leaders; and, promotes the importance of the Professional Municipal Administrator.
 
CAMA has been working on two particular projects outlined below related to recruiting the next generation of leaders in municipal government.
 
A Toolkit to Attract The Next Generation.  CAMA is pleased to have completed the first year of a two year Communications partnership with six of our Provincial/Territorial Associations:  LGMA (British Columbia), AMCTO (Ontario), OMAA (Ontario), LGAA (Alberta), ARMAA (Alberta), and AMANB (New Brunswick).  One of the goals is to increase awareness of municipal administration as a career choice for students among academia/leadership in institutions which offer Public Administration and recruiting the next generation of municipal leaders. 
 
A toolkit is currently being prepared that can be used to attract new employees to the local government profession as a great place to start to build a career with the main audience being the “soon to be post secondary graduates”. 

Also, don’t forget about the Insights West research (executive summary) that was conducted for this project.  The full report can be found in the Member’s Section of the CAMA website.  This report has some interesting insights which you may wish to pass along to your Human Resources Department’s when recruiting your own employees.

CAMA’s Next Generation Project.  CAMA was also pleased to launch its  “Cultivating Leadership: A Guide for the Next Generation in Local Government” project in July 2016.
There is a demographic shift happening in CAMA’s membership which will likely also result in different expectations.  Given the impending retirement of a significant number of municipal administrators, municipalities have an opportunity to promote the positive rewards of having a career in local government. 

This project was designed in recognition of the importance of providing useful career advice to the next generation of local government leaders, and to provide an opportunity for our more experienced CAMA members to give back to the profession.  It is our hope that it will help CAMA members at different stages of their career, students considering a career in local government, and potential future CAMA members.  This is also a great resource to share with direct reports and managers throughout your organization.

A special thank you to some of our experienced CAMA members from across the country who provided their guidance on what it takes to make it in this profession.  We asked them to share their accomplishments, challenges faced, some of the most important lessons learned, and the key competencies and skill sets required now and in the future to be great leaders. 
It is our hope that this wealth of information will assist all of us to create stronger municipalities and communities.  We want the next generation of leaders to be ready!
 
Here are some short video clips of some of our mentors offering their advice:
 
Glen Davies:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCMjavvFPZw
Jim Toye:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIvkMmB9OZ8
Chris MacPherson:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh7IryutteM
Robert Cotterill:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9qXxaZaCG4
 
2016 CAMA Conference and Beyond
 
Jennifer Goodine, CAMA Executive Director presented a report on the successful 2016 Winnipeg Conference.  The CAMA Board debriefed on how the event went and any improvements noted will be incorporated into the 2017 Gatineau Conference.
 
The next Conference will be held at the Hilton Lac Leamy from May 29-31, 2017.  The CAMA Conference Program Sub-Committee Chaired by President Lajoie (and members Jean-Marc Nadeau, Sallie Ann Burnett, Bernie Morton, Jeff Renaud, Mike Dolter, Jake Rudolph, Christy Arseneau and Rodney Cumby) are working on a great speaker program along with some fun social activities.  You will hear more in the coming months but I can tell you that the entire Conference will be a fun atmosphere with lots of professional development opportunities!  You won’t want to miss it.  The hotel room block is now open.  If you haven’t already made your hotel reservations, please visit our website at http://www.camacam.ca/en/conference/2016Conference.asp
 
Looking ahead, our 2018 Conference will be held at the Fredericton Convention Centre, and Québec City (the Hilton and Convention Centre) has been chosen as the location for the 2019 Conference. 
 
Watch for the launch of the Scholarship Program for 2017 in the near future providing six scholarships (two for young professionals, two from communities North of the 60^th Parallel, and two for small communities).
 
New this year, the Board approved a Members in Transition Conference Registration Program which will be implemented for the 2017 Conference wherein a Member in Transition can receive a complimentary registration.
 
CAO Performance Management and Evaluation Committee
 
The CAO Performance Management and Evaluation Toolkit was launched at the 2016 CAMA Conference held in Winnipeg through a presentation made by Janice Baker, Chair of the Committee.
 
Where Can You Find the Toolkit?  This is just a reminder that the toolkit can be found in the Member’s Section of the CAMA website for the first year.  This will provide you with an opportunity to use the toolkit for your own annual review and provide any further feedback.  The toolkit will then be updated as part of the second cycle of the pilot project and made available as a public document in June 2017 with a formal communications plan to all CAOs and elected officials across the country.    It is our hope that this toolkit will assist all of us to achieve our local vision, and create stronger municipalities and communities and will shift Canadian CAO Performance Evaluation practice to a higher level of professionalism.
 
We look forward to receiving your feedback over the next year as you begin to use the toolkit in your own community.
 
ICMA
 
Marc Landry, CAMA External Relations Chair and Third International Vice-President of ICMA, provided an update on the activities of ICMA. 
 
Congratulations to the new ICMA Executive Director Marc Ott, former City Manager of Austin, Texas.  A special thanks to Bob O’Neill who has been a wonderful CAMA supporter over the years.  Congratulations to Bob and his wife Karen on their retirement!
 
CAMA is pleased to have become an International Outreach Partner for the ICMA Coaching Program.  Watch for more details in the future as we help to promote diversity and inclusion in the profession, personal and professional development, and a deeper commitment to public service.
 
Affiliate Partnerships
 
CAMA is pleased to partner with its affiliate organizations from Australia (Local Government Professionals), New Zealand (Society of Local Government Managers) and the United Kingdom (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives) to present a broad range of local government issues in our respective countries.  Across the world and beyond we all share the same victories and challenges.  The Discussion Papers can be found on the CAMA website outlining each country’s reaction to the relationship of local governments with senior levels of government, how local governments are funded, and the key pressures that local governments have been experiencing over the last five years, along with those that they are likely to experience in the future.
 
CAMA is pleased to have participated in each affiliate’s Annual Conference to make this presentation on Canada’s experience in local government.  Past President Don MacLellan represented CAMA in Australia in May and also at the CAMA Conference.  Jeff Renaud, CAMA Treasurer/Director-At-Large attended the SOLGM Conference in September 2016 and Janice Baker, First Vice-President/Representative for Ontario is presenting at the SOLACE Conference this week.
 
Treasurer’s Report
Jeff Renaud, CAMA Treasurer, updated the Board on the Association’s finances.  CAMA continues to be in a healthy financial position. 
 
2017 Awards of Excellence Program
The Awards Jury, under Jean-Marc Nadeau’s chairmanship has been established for the 2017 CAMA Awards of Excellence Program.  the guidelines and on-line application forms will be available in January 2017.
 

 The Grade Crossings Regulations define roles and responsibilities for both municipalities and railways, and establish enforceable safety standards for new and existing federally-regulated grade crossings. The introduction of the grade crossings regulations has been a long-standing recommendation of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

 
While the Grade Crossings Regulations came into force immediately, and apply in full to new or modified grade crossings, municipalities and railways have until November 28, 2016 to share critical safety information regarding existing crossings, and until November 28, 2021 to ensure existing crossings meet basic safety requirements. More details on the November 2016 deadline are included at the end of this letter.
 
Municipalities are encouraged to review Transport Canada’s website on the grade crossing regulations to better understand how these regulations may impact existing and proposed grade crossings in your community. Since the Grade Crossings Regulations came into force in November 2014, Transport Canada has also provided more detailed guidance on several implementation issues, including an at-a-glance summary of the regulations, procedures for eliminating train whistling at public grade crossings,  and a guide for determining minimum sightlines at grade crossings.
 
FCM is inviting municipalities to submit detailed cost-estimates for grade crossing improvements in their communities. If your municipality is interested in participating, or for any questions regarding the regulations, please contact Marc LeBlanc, FCM Policy Advisor, at 613-907-6368.   
 
Should you have any questions, please contact Transport Canada at [email protected].

   

 

Ravenhill Group Inc. proudly presented the CAMA Awards of Excellence at the 44th Annual Conference held in Jasper, Alberta. Ravenhill Group is Canada’s municipal search specialists, meeting the growing demand for excellent Chief Administrative Officers and other municipal leaders through ethical head-hunting™. Ravenhill does this by bringing the very best men and women face to face with the opportunity in a municipality … an opportunity that they were unaware of because - simply put - they weren't thinking of a job change. Please visit: www.ravenhillgroup.com for more information.

 
Left to Right:  Bruce Malcolm, President, Ravenhill Group Inc.; Jacqueline Hamilton, Commissioner of Growth & Community Development Services; Phil Ouellette,  Deputy Commissioner, Growth & Community Development Services; Don MacLellan, CAMA Past President; Marc Landry, CAMA Representative for Alberta and NWT/2016 Awards Chair

The City of Saint John, NB has received national recognition for its One-Stop Development Shop from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA).  The City was presented with the 2016 CAMA Willis Award for Innovation, in the 20,001 to 100,000 population category, during CAMA’s national conference in Winnipeg, MB.  
 
Three years in the making, the One-Stop Development Shop came together through an inclusive engagement program, building on the standards set by the City’s award winning Municipal Plan (PlanSJ), recipient of the 2012 CAMA Willis Award for Innovation.
 
Boasting more than sixty service improvements, the project involved a total process improvement to redesign the City’s development service and modernize all City development processes and bylaws, while creating new tools such as an urban development incentive program to seed sustainable urban growth.
 
The project was guided by a set of principles informed by stakeholders and Council, which included:
·         Innovation and continuous improvement
·         Predictability and clarity
·         Facilitated and streamlined
·         Customer and community-focussed
 
Saint John is leading the way in re-imagining and transforming planning, development and growth related services to not only vastly improve the customer experience, but also to perform a vital economic development service in reducing risk to investors and optimizing the potential for sustainable urban growth.
 
Envisioning the future legacy of PlanSJ, Saint John is proud to lead the way in showcasing how a collaborative and focussed urban development approach together with innovative private sector investment will be a competitive advantage in driving an urban renaissance in the city.

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CAMA e-Brief is published every two weeks. Watch for the next issue on: The Week of October 24th, 2016 To view the last CAMA e-Brief, visit: http://www.camacam.ca/en/ebrief.asp	Job Scene is distributed every week. The Next issue will appear on: Tuesday, October 18th, 2016 To view the latest Jobs go to: http://www.camacam.ca/en/jobpostings.asp
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