During our recent election process for the 2021-2022 CAMA Board of Directors there was one position available for British Columbia, and the Board of Directors is pleased to announce that we had one nomination for British Columbia. Thus, by acclamation, we would like to congratulate Vincent Lalonde, City Manager for the City of Surrey, BC.  Vincent will take on his new role as the Board member for British Columbia after the CAMA Annual General Meeting being held virtually on Tuesday, June 1^st, 2021.   

In his role as City Manager for the City of Surrey, Vincent leads an innovative and dynamic Senior Management Team to help shape and guide the City’s strategic and corporate goals. Through value-based leadership, a commitment to continuous improvement, and a focus on inspiring and empowering his team to deliver high quality services to Surrey residents, Vincent is committed to working with Mayor and Council to deliver a thriving, green, inclusive city.  Vincent leads and inspires a staff of over 4,000 employees in a civic government with revenues of $1.2 Billion and ensures financial management of this budget through monitoring and reviewing City’s financial performance throughout the year.

The City of Surrey is a fast growing, culturally diverse community of over 540,000 residents and is on pace to become the largest city in the Province. Within the Metro Vancouver area of the Province, Surrey is the largest city in land area comprising urban areas as well as significant agricultural and rural areas.  The City is a forward thinking, globally recognized leader in building vibrant, sustainable communities through technology and innovation with a combination of an entrepreneurial approach, with big city resources and remarkable growth.

As Chair of the Metro Vancouver Regional Administrators Advisory Committee (“RAAC”) Vincent strives to ensure alignment of Metro Vancouver and member municipality issues and foster collaborations. Additionally, at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic the RAAC COVID-19 Committee was formed which Vincent is also the Chair; this committee leads discussion in order to share information and coordinate regionals responses to the Pandemic.

Vincent is a Professional Engineer with his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from McGill University, along with recently receiving his ICD.D designation which is committed to ongoing director education and development. Vincent is bilingual in both French and English and resides with his family in Surrey.

“I have always benefited from the outstanding learning opportunities and networking that CAMA provides. I am excited to contribute to this great organization and broaden the collaboration between municipal administrators across this great country of ours.  I am a firm believer that city government is very responsive to the needs of its citizens.  I have always found that cities large and small all have at their core a can-do attitude which drives innovation.  In order to be all we can be, we need to learn from each other in areas of excellence.  I am honoured to have been chosen to represent British Columbia on CAMA and to further help CAMA deliver on its great mandate.”

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Félicitations au membre du conseil de l’ACAM élu pour représenter la Colombie-Britannique

Le récent processus d’élection des membres du conseil d’administration de 2021-2022 a permis de désigner le représentant de la Colombie-Britannique. Le conseil d'administration est heureux d'annoncer qu’il a reçu une seule candidature pour la Colombie-Britannique et qu’il félicite donc Vincent Lalonde, gestionnaire municipal de Surrey, élu par acclamation représentant de la Colombie-Britannique. Vincent entreprendra son mandat après l’assemblée générale annuelle de l’ACAM qui se tiendra virtuellement le mardi 1^er juin 2021.

Dans son rôle de gestionnaire municipal de Surrey, Vincent dirige une équipe de cadres supérieurs innovatrice et dynamique qui contribue à en façonner et orienter les objectifs stratégiques et généraux. Grâce à un leadership fondé sur de réelles valeurs, à un engagement envers l'amélioration continue et à la volonté d'inspirer et d'habiliter son équipe à assurer des services de haute qualité aux résidents de Surrey, Vincent est engagé à travailler avec le maire et les conseillers municipaux pour créer une ville prospère, écologique et inclusive. Vincent dirige et inspire des effectifs totalisant plus de 4000 personnes dans une administration municipale dont les revenus sont de l’ordre de 1,2 milliard de dollars. Il assure la gestion financière de ce budget en surveillant tout au long de l'année les résultats financiers de la municipalité.

Communauté à la croissance rapide et diversifiée sur le plan culturel, Surrey, dont la population actuelle dépasse les 540 000 résidents, est bien placée pour devenir la ville la plus populeuse de la province. Dans la région métropolitaine de Vancouver, la superficie de Surrey en fait la plus grande ville, un territoire largement urbain environné d'importantes zones agricoles et rurales. Cette municipalité avant-gardiste est mondialement reconnue comme un chef de file pour ce qui est de bâtir des communautés dynamiques et durables misant sur la technologie et l'innovation et de combiner une approche entrepreneuriale avec des ressources de grande ville lui valant une croissance remarquable.

En tant que président du comité consultatif des administrateurs régionaux (RAAC) du Grand Vancouver, Vincent veille à l'harmonisation des questions de la métropole et des municipalités membres dans un esprit axé sur la collaboration. Au début de la pandémie, un comité COVID-19 du RAAC a été formé et Vincent en a assumé la présidence. Ce rapprochement favorise la discussion, l’échange de renseignements et la coordination des réactions régionales à la pandémie.

En tant qu’ingénieur, Vincent a obtenu un baccalauréat et une maîtrise en sciences de l'Université McGill et, récemment, la désignation ICD.D qui l'engage envers la formation et le perfectionnement continus. Vincent maîtrise le français et l’anglais et habite à Surrey avec sa famille.

« J'ai toujours profité des possibilités d'apprentissage et de réseautage exceptionnelles qu'offre l'ACAM. Je suis très heureux de contribuer à cette formidable organisation et d'élargir la collaboration entre les administrateurs municipaux de merveilleux pays. Je crois fermement que nos administrateurs municipaux sont très sensibles aux besoins de leurs citoyens et citoyennes. J'ai toujours trouvé que les villes, grandes et petites, sont animées d’une attitude positive fondée sur la détermination qui favorise l'innovation. Pour accomplir tout ce qui est en notre pouvoir, nous devons apprendre les uns des autres dans les domaines d'excellence. Je suis honoré d'avoir été choisi pour représenter la Colombie-Britannique au sein de l'ACAM et lui apporter mon soutien dans la poursuite de son important mandat. »

The three-day virtual event Intelligent Public Sector Showcase (taking place from May 26-28, 2021) has been designed as an all-encompassing event to deliberate over creating and maintaining the public sector of tomorrow. Bringing together thought leaders from across the globe, the showcase will include four summits: Intelligent Cities Summit, IoT Big Data Healthcare Summit, IoT Code Orange Summit, and IoT People First Summit.  Offering a holistic view of Intelligent Public Services, the summits will talk about building intelligent cities, creating a stronger healthcare system, enhancing efficiency of emergency services, and ensuring a diverse, inclusive, and equitable public sector, and understand the role that technology can play in this process. Get access to interactive workshops, exhibitions, and lots of networking opportunities with just one ticket.   CAMA members can use the code CAMA15 at checkout to get 15% off on their tickets: https://intelligentcities.ca/#register

Join the conversation along with Gary Kent,  CAMA Board Member-At-Large (For Municipalities with a Population Over 100,00) and Commissioner of Corporate Services & Chief Financial Officer, City of Mississauga, ON 

This is Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the members of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators taking place on Tuesday, June 1^st, 2021 from 11:30 a.m. EST to 12:30 p.m. EST using a Zoom Webinar Platform.   Due to the cancellation of this year’s Annual Conference at Mont Tremblant, we will be hosting our Annual General Meeting virtually.  Please note the following details:

Logistics for Participating in the Annual General Meeting:
Only Regular Voting CAMA Members in good standing (with membership fees paid to March 31^st, 2021) will be sent a link to pre-register for the meeting and will be able to attend the meeting.
With the Zoom Webinar software we will be able to provide the motions and polling instantaneously the day of the meeting.
President Jake Rudolph will be pre-recording his Annual Report Presentation and the link will be sent out prior to the meeting.

The following presentations will be made during the livestream Annual General Meeting:
CAMA’s Year-At-Glance by President Rudolph
Presentation of the Audited Financial Statements and Appointment of Auditors for the 2021-2022 Year by Treasurer Beverly Hendry
Presentation of the 2021-2022 Board of Directors by Past President/Nominating Chair Jeff Renaud
Message from Incoming President-Elect Jack BenzaquenReports and background information will be forwarded to you prior to the meeting.
The meeting will be recorded and made available to all members following June 1, 2021.

Letters of congratulations and recognition pins were recently mailed to a total of 79 municipal administrators having completed 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of municipal service by December 31, 2020.
 
In addition, Chris Fulsher, CAO for the Rural Municipality of Headingley, MB, Garth Mitchell, CAO, Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth, MB and Harry Riva Cambrin, Municipal Manager of Municipal District of Foothills #31, AB will receive special recognition for their 40 years of service during CAMA’s virtual Awards Ceremony to be held on May 11, 2021.
 
“For more than a decade, CAMA has been pleased to recognize the long service of our members to the field of municipal government administration,” said Jake Rudolph, outgoing President of CAMA and Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Nanaimo, BC. “On behalf of our Board of Directors, thank you to all the recipients for their dedication to the politicians and residents they serve.”
 
The breakdown of 2021 Long Services Awards is as follows: Ten Years of Service – 26 awards; Fifteen Years of Service – 22 awards; Twenty Years of Service – 11 awards; Twenty-Five Years of Service – eight awards; Thirty Years of Service – seven awards; Thirty-Five Years of Service – two awards; and, Forty Years of Service – three awards. For a complete list of the recipients, visit the CAMA website.
 
CAMA’s Long Service Recognition Awards program, which was implemented in January 2011, is based on the number of years of full-time, paid employment in a local government in a management capacity, either as a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) or reporting directly to a CAO.
 
The Long Service Recognition Awards are granted after ten years of service and are then given in five-year increments.

As part of our ongoing commitment to our members we are pleased to present the CAMA 50th Anniversary Professional Development Series for 2021. This program is comprised of various webinars that are coordinated FREE of chargefor the CAO/City Manager, senior managers and employees.  Along with our own webinar series, CAMA Partner companies will be providing educational and informative learning opportunities that showcase innovative services and products relevant to municipal management.  Have any topics you would like to see presented in the series?  Contact the CAMA National Office at 1-866-771-2262 and please also forward all opportunities to your staff members.
 

So you have an Asset Management Plan. What Next?
As a result of Public Sector Accounting Board rule changes for municipalities, many municipalities went through an accounting exercise for PSAB 3150 compliance. But what do you do next? How do you use the data to make better decisions? Hear the story of the City of Fredericton’s asset management journey, accomplishments, partnerships, and the road to sustainable infrastructure.

Speaker:  Alicia Keating, Assistant Director, Corporate Services/Acting City Treasurer, City of Fredericton, NB
Date: Thursday, May 6th, 2021
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
Who Can Attend This Webinar?  CAMA Members and Their Employees. Non-Members are also welcome to attend.
Who Will Benefit from This Webinar?  CAOs, Chief Financial Officers, City Treasurers, Finance Staff, Engineers, Senior Management
Registration Cost:  FREE but registration is required using the link below.
Link to Register

 

Are you working towards a more modern city? Getting lost in the details? You’re not alone—many municipalities are facing the same struggles. To effectively move to more efficient systems and processes there is a lot to consider including availability and quality of data, staffing requirements, and technical readiness. This requires strategy and planning but figuring out where to start can be an intimidating obstacle.  Join PSD Citywide’s John Murray and Matthew Dawe to see a complete, actionable modernization checklist in Roadmap to Municipal Modernization: Funding, Tools, and Strategies for Success.  Join us Thursday May 13th, 1pm-2:30pm ET.  Click to register

We are pleased to feature the 2020 Awards of Excellence Submissions over the next few editions of e-Brief.  These are valuable sources of information and can also be found in the Members Section.

Comprehensive Risk Assessment
Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services (MFES) have taken a risk based approach to analyzing community needs. We have developed a Comprehensive Risk Assessment that identifies current and future community risk from a fire and emergency service perspective. We have been unable to locate a study that contains the same risk methodology and/or level of detail with regards to data capture as found in this study. MFES have been asked to present its model and findings to other local fire departments as well as abroad at the Chief Officers Association Annual Conference in Monaghan Ireland.  Using guidelines that had been developed as part of an appendix to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 1730-which discusses fire prevention and life safety operations), MFES developed a methodology for the collection and use of risk based data. The work also got the attention of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) who subsequently requested staff from MFES to present the model to their team and co-present with NFPA to other North American Fire Departments.

The 2019 to 2023 Strategic Plan: From Vision to Results (“the Strategic Plan”) is York Region’s third Council-approved corporate strategic plan. The Strategic Plan timeframe is aligned with Regional Council terms and developed based on a strategic planning process consisting of five phases. Strategic Plan in February 2019. Implementation of the Strategic Plan began March 2019, and will continue until June 2023. Strategic planning sets priorities to ensure staff are working toward common goals. Vision 2051 is Council’s vision for our community outlining goals to guide decisions. To achieve Council’s Vision, the Region sets priorities over each four-year term of Council through the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan guides York Region in making progress towards Vision and demonstrating the organizations’ mission of “Working together to serve our thriving communities – today and tomorrow.” Key Activities in the Strategic Plan involve collaborative efforts between departments and partners. Developing and implementing the Strategic Plan in alignment with the Region’s mission ensures that the actions taken by staff will benefit our communities. The Strategic Plan and the Multi-Year Budget were developed in alignment to ensure required resources were available to execute the Strategic Plan. To measure progress, 31 credible and verifiable performance measures are reported to Council annually.

The City of Dieppe innovated their summer by offering a brand new tactical urban planning space in its downtown area. The ConneXion Zone, a fully pedestrian area, provided entertainment for the whole family, every day of the week, from morning to evening, for the months of July and August. Located on Gauvin Road, part of which was closed for the occasion, it had the function, among other things, of connecting the public market and the city center with street furniture and giant games. There were spaces to relax such as chairs, picnic tables and shaded areas.  Many street games were on site such as chess, pockets, tic-tac-toe, checkers and several others, all in their giant version.  Many activities also took place there, organized by the municipality and partner organizations. Merchants have settled there to sell food and drinks and thus enhance the user experience. The objective of the ConneXion Zone was to offer a gathering place stimulating exchanges between members of the community and across generations while energizing the city center. A second edition was planned for the summer of 2020.