CAMA PROVIDES INPUT TO CANADA'S FEDERAL FUNDING PROGRAMS FOR MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE
The Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) provided a Position Paper and a series of administrative recommendations as input on Federal Funding Programs for Municipal Infrastructure.
The Association’s formal position paper was presented to Kelly Gillis, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure & Communities on January 28th, 2022 by Jack Benzaquen, President of CAMA and the City Manager for the City of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC; Vincent Lalonde, CAMA Board Representative for British Columbia and City Manager for the City of Surrey, BC; and Mike Dolter, CAMA Board Representative for Nova Scotia & PEI and Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Truro, NS.
CAMA presented eighteen priorities and several recommendations, which were identified by the Association’s members as having a high importance from an administrative standpoint. These priorities included such things as providing clear names and criteria for programs, involving municipalities in the development and design, no extraneous application criteria, the removal of “stacking” provisions, improved cash flows, flexibility, and long-term funding for some projects – just to name a few.
To learn more visit CAMA's website.
|
Do you have a smart city project coming up but don’t know where to start and how to pay for it? FuseForward will host a webinar on funding and financing smart city projects. We will be exploring innovative financing strategies, identifying funding sources and showing you how to access support to get started on your next smart project.
Register here for the "Funding Your Smart Infrastructure Project" taking place on Thursday, February 17 at 11:00 a.m. PST.
|
CAMA LAUNCHES NEW BUSINESS PARTNER PROGRAM | CAMA's Business Partner Program allows companies to showcase their products and services to CAMA members and their employees. | | | REMINDER: FEBRUARY 18TH - DEADLINE FOR CAMA 2022 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE | |
The deadline for nominations for the 2022 CAMA Awards of Excellence is on Friday, February 18, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. PST.
CAMA is pleased to offer a full on-line application package for this year’s nomination process.
New Award Category: In addition to the Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Award, Willis Award for Innovation, and Professional Development Award, there is a new award category called the “CAMA Collaboration Award of Excellence” to recognize partnerships and collaboration with other municipalities and external organizations.
| |
ICMA'S COACHING PROGRAM & FREE WEBINARS
The Career Compass advice columns are a service provided by the ICMA Coaching Program. See the article below on ""Does Your Executive Group Have a First-Team Mindset?" ". Previous columns on leadership and career development topics are also available at www.icma.org/coaching.
Complimentary ICMA Coaching Program webinars give local government professionals of all career stages the opportunity to bolster skills and learn about new and leading practices, strategies, tactics, developing issues, and trends in the profession of local government management. For more information and to view the schedule for 2022 visit this link.
| |
2021 CAMA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SUBMISSIONS Town of Devon and Town of Okotoks | |
|
Environment Award Nomination
Population Under 20,000
Multi-Year Solar Pathway Lighting
The Town of Devon Solar Pathway Program was a 3 year capital project to light sections of pathway considered a priority by Council, Administration and residents. To start the program a map was developed to show all paved pathways in Town and provide an estimate for the cost to light each section. From this, Council and Administration developed three (3) areas for lighting that would fit within budget and that were a priority. Once the budget and area were established notification letters were sent to residents in proximity of the work to notify them of the upcoming lighting to ensure no issues.
A specification was developed for the Solar lighting and was posted on APC for procurement. Once the submissions were received references were contacted to verify product quality. As Solar is relatively new to Pathway lighting in this region it was vital to ensure they would operate in our climate. In the areas where the lighting was installed in each year there were utility conflicts, be it pipelines for the 2018-2019 installs, or overhead power for the 2020 install. The install of Solar Lighting with no need for trenching allowed for these projects to proceed, trenching over and within pipeline ROW's would not have been approved.
To view the entire award submission, visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence Best Practices (and search "Multi-Year Solar").
| |
|
Environment Award Nomination
Population Between 20,001 and 100,000
Natural Asset Inventory
In 2020, driven by a commitment to protect natural assets, a cross-functional project was initiated in May 2019 to compile an Inventory of natural assets within the Town boundaries. Following input from Engineering, Water Services, Parks, Planning and Sustainability departments, the Town entered into a collaboration with Fiera Biological Consultants to develop an integrated inventory and valuation of Natural and Semi-Natural Assets; the first of its kind in Alberta. The inventory provided a baseline inventory and valuation of the ecosystem services provided by natural assets in the town, with the intent to incorporate this data into planning and future development.
This ground-breaking data will be used to preserve natural systems in two ways. Firstly, the assets have all been integrated into the Town’s asset management system, in order to track and plan for maintenance, such as managing for invasive species, water flow, and erosion. Secondly, references to NNA are being made in planning and development processes to identify, prioritize and preserve natural assets in areas slated for development. The results of the inventory have been shared with numerous municipalities throughout Alberta as well as some from out of province.
To view the entire award submission, visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence Best Practices (and search "Natural Asset Inventory")
| |
John Traves, Municipal Solicitor, Halifax Regional Municipality, NS
Doug Sweet, Chief Administrative Officer, The Corporation of the Town of Essex, ON
Michelle Hunt, General General of Finance, Lands & Police, City of Coquitlam, BC
Valerie Schlosser, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Dundurn, SK
Pamela Holliday, Administrator, Resort Village of Island View, SK
Sara DeGrace, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, City of Fredericton, NB
Denise Schofield, Chief Administrative Officer - Citizen Services, Regional Municipality of Halifax, NS
| | | | |