CAMA believes that one of the key benefits of belonging to our Association is the networking opportunities, and a big part of that is sharing our knowledge with one another in dealing with difficult issues or problems.  In the past we offered a Mentorship Forum and now we would like to take it one step further and replace the Mentorship Forum with a new initiative called the CAMA Member Discussion Forum.  This initiative is in partnership with CivicInfo BC.  This forum offers a personalized platform for CAMA members to privately join exclusive conversations across the country and message colleagues on different topics. It’s a forum for municipal senior managers to talk about local government, whether its to get updates about the latest news and innovations, network with other members and perhaps even express your greatest concerns facing our communities today.  On this Forum, you can post messages that others can view and reply to.

To register for the CAMA Member Discussion Forum visit the CAMA Member’s Section (on the right hand column at the bottom) which includes the instructions.

A NEW CAMA RESOURCE: TOOLKIT FOR EFFECTIVE CAOS: THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK

BEST PRACTICES FOR COUNCIL ORIENTATIONS

With a number of municipal elections happening this Fall, don't forget about CAMA's Council Orientation Toolkit.

Prior to the election in Alberta, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta Board Members produced some short videos for those considering running for Council.

These videos (listed below) cover a lot of topics on the demands of the positions, the roles between governance and administration (referring to the CAO role), engaging with the media, etc.

These are great tools for new and current Councils to be shown during their Orientations or at any time throughout the year.

· The Joy of Community-Building: Why You Should Run for Office       

· One Vote, Many Voices: Skills Councillors Need

· Decisions, Decisions!: What I Wish I Knew Before I was Elected? 

· Timing is Everything: Time Commitment of Being a Councillor 

· The Learning Never Ends: Tips for Getting up to Speed as a Councillor  

· Knowing your Role: Governance versus Administration 

· Mayors and Reeves: What's Their Role? 

· Media Relations: Tips for Engaging with Media 

· Communication is Key: Communicating with Residents and Balancing Priorities  

CAMA MEMBERS RECEIVE SPECIAL RATES

FOR JOB POSTINGS

Did you know that you can post your municipal employment opportunities on CAMA's website for a low rate of $250.00 for CAMA members?

Our Jobscene service provides exceptional value, and it is simply one of the best ways available to find the right person for your organization. When you post with CAMA:

• Your job is posted on the CAMA website.
• Your job is distributed to all CAMA members via our Jobscene e-mail Broadcast.
• Your job is cross-posted immediately on the CivicJobs.ca website. CivicJobs is a co-operative job board with a public audience.  It will also appear on other popular job boards including:  Indeed.ca, workbc.ca, bcjobs.ca
• Your job is seen by job seekers who subscribe to the weekly CivicJobs.ca e-mail bulletin.
• Your job will also be made available through, Twitter (www.twitter.com/civicjobs), RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, and other channels.

Through the CAMA Jobscene service, your posting reaches our members in every Province and Territory. And through CivicJobs.ca, your posting also reaches a broad, public audience. CivicJobs.ca is Canada's largest online source for municipal postings. An initiative of CivicInfo BC in Victoria, British Columbia, CivicJobs.ca is made possible through a partnership between Canadian local government professional organizations, including CAMA.

Willis Award for Innovation Nomination

Population Between 20,001 and 100,000

The Redeployment Program

District of Squamish

On March 16th 2020, in response to COVID-19 directives and recommendations from the federal and provincial governments, the District closed facilities and offered a number of municipal services online or by phone. As a result of the closures, many staff members in Recreation were unable to perform their regular work duties. However, the District remained committed to maintaining its staff levels and quickly assessed available staff skills within the department and identified opportunities for staff redeployment both internally and externally to community organizations in need.

The District officially implemented the Redeployment Program during the week of March 23, and it continued successfully until October 2020. Redeployed staff met the critical needs that arose in the community during the pandemic, and also found new ways to perform District functions. There was almost full redeployment of permanent recreation staff resources; approx. 30 staff redeployed across four community not-for-profit organizations and over six internal District departments. Better at Home, Sea to Sky Community Services, Squamish Food Bank, and Squamish Helping Hands Society all responded gratefully to the opportunity to welcome redeployed District staff.

To view the entire award submission (in French), visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence Best Practices (Search for Squamish.)

Willis Award for Innovation Nomination

Population Between 20,001 and 100,000

On Demand Transit

Town of Okotoks

Okotoks Transit was officially launched on December 2nd, 2019. Okotoks Transit was the first municipality in Canada to launch a formal curb-to-curb On-Demand public transit service. To date it has completed over 34,000 passenger trips at a consistently high service rating of over 96%. It has received admiration from municipalities across Canada, and in return has been able to provide invaluable guidance and insight to towns and cities who are at different stages of the On-Demand transit journey.

On-Demand transit is an innovative solution for municipalities of all sizes. Smaller towns are faced with the challenge of providing public transit within small budgets and unknown demand patterns. Large towns and cities are faced with the challenge of current fixed route legs with low usage, and new communities that have insufficient demand to justify new fixed route services. Covid-19 has crippled public transit globally and placed pressure on all operators to come up with solutions to contain costs while still providing services.

It is within this context that Okotoks Transit can provide valuable insight to Canadian towns and cities who are looking for innovative solutions to the problems facing public transit today.

To view the entire award submission, visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence & Best Practices. (Search for Okotoks.)

WELCOME NEW CAMA MEMBERS

• Paul Desbarats, Director of Sports Recreation and Culture, City of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC
• Jennifer Thompson, Chief Administrative Officer, District of Tumbler Ridge, BC