Lake Country Phase 2 of Business Systems Review Underway

In May of this year, Council passed a resolution that, as the Administrator, I look further into the Business Systems Review recommendations and suggest further implementation of those that are going to affect the budget in coming years, beginning in 2013. As a result, I submitted a number of suggestions to Council which were approved as action items to be implemented as the second phase of this project.

Just as a brief reminder, the first phase of the reorganization dealt mainly with two areas: the organization itself and the development permit process. The first one was a response to a clear mandate to find operational savings in view of economic difficulties and alleviate the tax burden to the community. I would also add that the savings gained through the reorganization will also be allocated to much needed infrastructure works. As you may know, Lake Country, and the rest of the municipalities in Canada, are struggling to find sufficient funds to maintain old and failing infrastructure and improving basic needs such as water quality, proper sewer systems, and safe roads and transportation. The second one was a much overdue streamlining of the land development process, by many characterized as long, cumbersome, and difficult for both the individual applicants – typical property owners that wish to improve their home – and professional developers, which we wish to have investing in the community with the aim to increase our tax base for the same reasons I just explained with respect to the organizational changes.

As a result, the District has had to reduce its staff complement by eliminating four management positions and six union positions. We also added three positions to meet the strategic priorities of Council and balance our current capacity issues, which have not gone away but, to some extent, have increased. The net annualized savings are just below $700,000, which will be useful to funding a number of much needed capital projects (this is the equivalent of about 8% tax increase).

Also, Council approved the amendments to the Development Permit Application process. We have made significant changes to applicable Bylaws to streamline the process and timelines to make it easier for people to work with the District of Lake Country and move forward on their projects.  As I mentioned in a blog in July, processes and procedures are reviewed with the intent of cutting red tape and making things easier for the taxpayers, residents, businesses and potential investors – that is a key area of focus and a mandate given to us by Council. Fees are also part of the change and they have been reviewed and new ones will be approved by Council at the beginning of September.

I have been approached by many taxpayers and received a number of e-mails thanking the District and Council for the direction we have taken on this. I always tell them, and staff at the District, that this is an ongoing process and that change is an important leadership tool for the community. More change will come and will continue to come in future years.

Phase 2 deals again with some organizational matters but also with contracted services and regional functions. With respect to the organization, Council approved my recommendation to review all management salaries to see if they are aligned with other municipalities, comparable public sector organizations, and comparable private sector organizations. It is important for Council to know if their managers are paid fairly, are overpaid, or are underpaid. Some think that salaries are too high and certainly higher than in the private sector. Our recent experience in hiring from the private sector has shown us otherwise with difficulty filling positions because we pay much less than the private sector. This will shed a light on comparability and will introduce a more balanced approach to pay, where not all managers are paid the same but based on their responsibilities, including budget administered, staff managed, and complexity of decision-making.

As for contracts, some current arrangements seem to be costly and operationally cumbersome. In particular, the current Sewage System Operational contract, the Road Maintenance contract, and the regional contract for Mapping Services with the Regional District (called GIS – Geographic Information Services). With respect to the Sewage System Operational contract, the District is working on securing a grant to double our Treatment Plant capacity. The issue of operational control, also in view of the proposed Liquid Waste Management Plan envisioning the current plant to provide waste management to the whole community, is becoming more front and centre for our operations and needs to be addressed. The Roads Maintenance contract has lost its competitive edge and needs to be revamped in order to maximize its value-for-money. Finally, Council decided not to renew its GIS contract with the Regional District whose cost has almost doubled since West Kelowna abandoned the function. Feasibility and practicality are going to be a factor of whether the District can continue to be serviced by the Regional District in this area.

One more issue is the Regional Rescue Services. The Central Okanagan Regional District has initiated a review last year. The report generated by the consultant was not satisfactory to the District and the rest of the municipalities utilizing the function. There are 12 different services and administration fees – both from the City of Kelowna and the Regional District – are escalating leaving the partnering municipalities with higher bills. The delivery of these services is also under review. As some of them are contracted out and paid only upon usage, the question that lingers in the minds of all partners is why we receive an annual bill even if the service is not utilized.

Finally, a review needs to be done of our development cost charges (DCC's), which are paid to build critical infrastructure. In fairness, our DCC's are the lowest in the region but the review will also be undertaken with the assistance of the development community. The Urban Development Institute has created a liaison committee which meets on a regular basis and is composed of developers and municipal staff from the District. This is a huge asset for us and I feel that it will take us to a new, much more modern approach to doing business.

I also acknowledge that change spurs negative reactions and I also know that this is the nature of the business I am in. This is part and parcel of a growth process: growth cannot come without some pain. But Council is showing strong leadership in focussing on its vision and its goals rather than been passive spectator to the future of the community. So, kudos to our community leaders that have chosen the less walked road.

adf

Here we Go Again! Time to Get some Action from our Provincial Government

In about a month the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Convention will be held in Victoria. The convention has three main purposes. The first and foremost is for individual councils to meet with provincial ministers and lobby them for important issues to be resolved, projects to be approved, and funds to be granted. The second is to form a ‘local government’ united front in dealing with provincial policy affecting local governments, such as, for instance, use of Crown land or how water is protected and distributed to users. The third is networking opportunities and learning best practices through a series of workshops on momentous issues that are affecting municipalities and regional districts throughout the province.

Council is preparing to attend and has requested a number of meetings with a few ministers. Usually, not all of them are approved by provincial officials but we try to get as many as we can.

In the past, the District has been effective in dealing with these meetings and much has been accomplished. We hope to do the same this year but the political atmosphere and the economic difficulties we are living in may be somewhat limiting. Notwithstanding this, our new Council (for a few of them this will be their first UBCM convention) is determined to make a difference for their community.

The District has requested meetings with Minister Chong (Community Development – formerly Municipal Affairs), Minister Lekstrom (Transportation and Infratsructure), Minister Thomson (Forest and Land), and Minister Polak (Aboriginal Reconciliation). The topics range from the current construction of the new Highway 97 stretch from Winfield to Oyama, to funds for an expansion of our current Sewer System Plant. Let me just review a few of these topics of discussion.

Sewage Treatment Plant. We have known for the last two years that the District’s Sewage Treatment Plant is almost at capacity and needs to be expanded sooner rather than later. The cost of the expansion, which will double the current capacity, is in the order of $6 million. Last year, the District applied for a grant to the Provincial and Federal governments for two thirds of the total cost, but it was unsuccessful. We thought it was going to be a no-brainer but the money went to the City of Cranbrook instead. We know that money is limited and the funds are oversubscribed and so, although we were disappointed, we also understood that provincial priorities, when it comes to these grants, takes into account a much larger picture. So this year we have applied again. The Regional District is also contributing to the project and has allocated at least $750,000 for the septage facility component. But we definitely need the $4 million from the province and the feds. Minister Chong’s department handles these applications and we have had numerous meetings with her in the past to show her our leading edge long term infrastructure plan, one of the first and best in the province. We hope this year is the year. Failing that, we will really need to think hard at options that we do not really want to go to, such as, for instance, borrowing. We’ll keep positive and be confident that, this time, the grant will be approved.

The new 8km stretch of Highway 97 will be soon completed and with that the current portion of highway along Wood Lake will be given to the District. We have been asking for assistance in planning for the transition from the province to the District of this beautiful piece of asset. The questions are: will the old section of highway be given to the District in a decent shape (in other words, will the province do some repair and safety work before it gives the stretch to us)? Will they help with the maintenance initially (the cost to the District could be between $100,000 and $150,000)? Will they want the road to continue to be such or are we allowed to do something with it as well? This is a beautiful piece of infrastructure with a huge potential and Council will begin public consultation on the vision and use of the soon to be acquired asset. But in the meantime, those questions need to be answered. We asked before but we have not received any real answers. Let’s hope we do this time.

Finally, the concern of water protection continues to be an issue when Crown Land rights are shared with private individuals for recreational purposes. The concerns are many: water is used (often without specific protection mechanisms) by private lease owners to the possible detriment of expanding reservoirs for public uses, and with that, the rights of the Okanagan Indian Band to a protocol on surety of structures and protection of natural resources, mainly water, in the same area.

These are all complex issues that take time to unbundle and be solved. The work that is done at UBCM is not quick but it is a patient labour of puzzle piece fitting. We just hope that, for some of these, the picture is almost complete.

adf