“Is Your Municipality Viable?”Keynote Address – November 22, 2010

Mary Gibson CA, CMC

Achieving Sustainability

Is ‘sustainability’ the new black?

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Or a paradigm shift?

Copernican Astronomy

Mobile Entertainment

& Communication

eCommerce

Pay Equity

Environmentalism

Governance Rules &

Standards

Board Governance

of IT

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Sustainability

• “Operating in a way that meets the needs

of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their

needs.”

» Source: Bruntland Commission, 1987

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Or put another way....

• A call to action

• A task in progress

• A journey...

Sustainability requires.... COMMITMENT

to a new way of looking at municipal governance

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Sustainability Principles• Guiding vision and goals

• Take a holistic view

• Consider equity & disparity within the current population and between present & future generations

• Adopt a long-enough time horizon to respond to short-term decision-making needs as well as those of future generations

• Measure progress using a limited number of indicators

• Institutional capacity & access to reliable information

• Openness & broad participation

• Collaboration

• Ongoing assessment

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Why is sustainability important?• Role of municipalities is to provide

services/infrastructure to their residents, at a cost they can afford & are willing to pay

• If services cannot be reasonably provided, maintained & funded according to legislated standards.....municipal viability is at risk

• Sustainability Strategy empowers municipalities & offers the potential for more effective municipal governance

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Who’s responsible?

• Municipal councillors have ultimate responsibility for the sustainability of their municipalities

• Sustainability ‘mindset’ must permeate all levels of the organization

“Set the tone at the top, carry the tune in the middle, drive the beat of the feet at the bottom.” Dr. Mervyn KingKing Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa

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How does sustainability fit?

Governance

Strategy

Sustainability

Risk Manage-

ment

Dimensions of Sustainability

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Municipal

SustainabilityGovernance

Operational & Administrative

Capacity

Financial Stability

Service Delivery

Regional Cooperation

Infrastructure

Community Well-being

Risk Management

Council practices, strategic planning, citizen

engagement

Capacity to maintain operations & support Council

decisions

Ability to generate & manage revenues to

meet municipal needs

Capacity to provide essential services

Approach to working with neighbours to

benefit local & regional residents

Effective & efficient management of

public infrastructure

Characteristics that contribute to vitality

& viability

Capacity to identify & manage key risks

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Sustainability Cycle

Assess

Prioritize

Plan

CommunicateImplement

Monitor

Document Lessons Learned

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Common Objections

• No time (we have other, more urgent issues to deal with)

• Don’t know how/don’t have the required expertise on Council

• This is the administration’s job

• Can’t afford to

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“Knowledge is power.”

- Sir Francis Bacon, 1597

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Self-Assessment Toolkit• Components

– Checklists• Indicators of trends, progress, areas requiring

attention– Key measures

• Financial• Non-financial

– Inventory of capacity-building tools

• Purpose: enable municipalities to evaluate their current situation– Areas of strength– Areas where improvement desirable or

necessary

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Building capacity

• Municipal Services Branch (MA)– Information– General advisory and services related to

each dimension of sustainability

• AUMA & AAMDC– Advocacy– Initiatives– Shared services– Capacity building tools

• Federation of Canadian Municipalities– Publications

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Stronger. United.

• Business & business associations

• Community support services

• Educational institutions (K-12 & post-secondary)

• Community organizations

• Neighbouring municipalities

• Local citizens, including youth and seniors’ groups

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So....what if we don’t address sustainability?• Risk always exists,

whether it is detected or recognized by the municipality. It is important to identify and manage potentially significant issues.

Assessment of sustainability is a prerequisite to informed decision making and implementation

of effective strategies.

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Final Thoughts• Sustainability is not something you do

once and then you’re done....it’s a new way of thinking about municipal governance

• Keep it simple to start with and evolve over time

• The process is as important as the result

• Any progress is good progress

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“We cannot look at the future as a continuation of the past....the things that got you where you are , are seldom the things that keep you there.”

- Charles Hardy, British business philosopher