CAMA LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS

The CAMA Board is pleased to launch three new professional development and networking opportunities. See below the opportunities for CAMA members (CAOs and direct reports) and Executive Assistants and watch your inbox this week for further details.

The new Executive Leadership Program is specifically designed for Chief Administrative Officers and senior managers working in local government in Canada to provide a professional development and networking opportunity for CAMA members across the country to collaborate and learn from experienced CAOs and their peers. Chris MacPherson, CAMA Past President and Honourary Member for Life will be leading these sessions along with three other experienced local government leaders (to be announced).

This four day program will have educational sessions with exercises and case studies on six different topics (Leadership, Strategic Planning, Human Resources Management, Governance, Political Acumen, and Resilience) and will be held from January 23-26, 2024 at the Kingbridge Centre in Toronto, ON.

A maximum of 15 delegates will be accepted for this program and registration will open on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 12:00 Noon EST. Watch for more details in your inbox tomorrow.

Having appreciation for the role of the Executive Assistant in local government, the CAMA Board developed a “Toolkit for the Effective Executive Assistant to the Chief Administrative Officer”.  

As a next step to assisting our members and their administrative staff, a National Conference for Executive Assistants in Local Government will be held in Fredericton, NB from November 3-5, 2024. Watch for more details this week as you and your staff prepare budgets for next year.

An Executive Assistant's role in local government is unique and demanding. CAMA's EA Master Class Series, comprised of four 90-minute sessions, facilitated by award-winning speaker Tracey Lorenson, will focus on the following topics that Executive Assistants have determined are essential to their roles:  Communication Excellence, Navigating Roles & Rules in Local Government, Customer Service Excellence, and Political Acumen. 

The dates of the master class webinars are October 19, 2023; January 25, 2024; April 24, 2024 (Administrative Professionals Day); and September 18, 2024.

While we use the title "Executive Assistant" this program is for any administrative professional working in local government.

More information will be emailed directly to you (and your EA if we have their e-mail in our database) this week.

2024 CAMA CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The 50th Annual CAMA Conference will be held from Monday, June 3, 2024 to Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta. The Golf Tournament and other Pre-Conference activities will begin on Monday morning and the Conference Program will end after the President's Dinner on Wednesday evening.

In recognition of the importance of promoting professional development opportunities for members, CAMA established the Scholarship Program. Through the Scholarship Program, CAMA provides eight scholarships for the registration fee (in the amount of $775.00) for the Annual Conference (two to young professionals pursuing a career in local government; two to members working in municipalities located north of the 60th parallel; two to members from smaller municipalities, and two to new Chief Administrative Officers).  Individuals are only eligible to receive a scholarship once to provide an opportunity to others to access this scholarship. The scholarship is not transferable and must be used in the same year that it was awarded.

All recipients of this Scholarship Program are responsible for their own hotel and travel arrangements and any other related costs to and from the CAMA Conference. The average cost of the hotel room is $299.00/night. 

For further details and an application form please visit the CAMA website.  The deadline is September 13^th, 2023 and all successful recipients will be notified by e-mail by September 22^nd, 2023.  The hotel room block will be released on September 26^th, 2023 and the booking of your hotel is your responsibility.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Jennifer Goodine, CAMA Executive Director at 1-866-771-2262 or admin@camacam.ca if you have any questions.

CAMA is excited to include a new section in e-Brief highlighting one of our members in each edition. If you would like to be featured, please contact the CAMA National Office at admin@camacam.ca

ANN MITCHELL, CITY MANAGER

CITY OF MEDICINE HAT, AB

How long have you been a CAMA member? Six years (since 2017).

What do you like most about being a member? Being a member of CAMA gives you access to cross country colleagues. In previous municipalities and in my current, CAMA has been so beneficial to compare and contrast the programs and services we are providing to our stakeholders.

What career advice do you live by?  Who gave it to you? I have always had this quote on my wall “That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.” William J. H. Boetcker. This has served me so well in local government. I also have a great respect for George Cuff and other local government trailblazers.

What is the favourite place you’ve travelled? Ironically, my husband and I decided that 2020 would be our year to start seriously travelling (LOL).  We are heading to Ireland in September, however, so far it would have to be Naples, Italy. The best decision we made on that trip was to not attempt to hit every spot in Italy but rather concentrate on Naples and the surrounding area. This made the trip so much more enjoyable, and we were able to soak up more by doing less.

What would be the theme song of your life right now?  As we are still searching for our final place to retire to I would have to say, “Blood Brothers by Bruce Springsteen”.

What advice would you give to someone considering a career as a CAO or senior manager in local government?  Talk to CAOs or Senior Managers and make sure this is a fit.  It is an amazing job, BUT only if you are suited for it.

What experiences and past roles have led you to where you are today?  Both my grandfather and father were CAOs and I think this led me to my current position. Also, I love the fact that you can affect change at the local level.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?  Why? One of the best things about this job is that we collaborate with such a diverse group of people everyday (elected officials, our team and stakeholders). This makes collective decision making and leadership rewarding.

Describe what a perfect day outside of work would look like for you? Swimming in a lake and reading beside a lake. 

THE CITY MANAGER'S JOURNEY - 40 YEARS WITH JIM PUFFALT

Join the Local Gov Cafe as we celebrate Jim Puffalt's 40-year milestone in city management. In this special episode recorded at the 2023 CAMA conference, Jim shares the triumphs and challenges of his journey in public service. Don't miss this chance to learn from a seasoned leader in the municipal field!

David Henderson, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Dawson, NWT

Matt Smith, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, Municipality of Meaford, ON

Lovely Jane Magnaye, Assistant Administrator, Town of Wynyard, SK

Karen Elrick, Chief Administrative Officer, Village of Anmore, BC

Maxime Boissonneault, Directeur général, Ville de Rigaud, QC

2023 CAMA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE NOMINATIONS

WILLIS AWARD FOR INNOVATION

Cityof Waterloo, ON

Over 100,000 Population

Larch Street Reconstruction as Woonerf

Over a decade ago, the Northdale Neighbourhood, in the City of Waterloo, was the subject of much debate and negative publicity. A ‘student ghetto,’ the area was degrading in liveability, rental properties were becoming unsafe and unmaintained, and public concerns and complaints were rising. Through a targeted approach to meet urban planning and engineering objectives, the City began to address the issues and improve the neighbourhood. By updating by-laws, modifying zoning, and creating a community improvement plan and streetscape master plan, the area has been transformed into a medium density neighbourhood, with new parks and public open spaces improvements to property maintenance and a reduction in complaints from permanent residents of the area, now a key route for students travelling between secondary/post secondary campuses.

The construction of the Larch Street woonerf represents the evolution of public road design in the City of Waterloo. The woonerf blurs the lines between a typical street and a public open space, such as a park or plaza. Larch Street exemplifies the City’s commitment to improving its active transportation networks through innovation, context-sensitive engineering design and robust public consultation.

To view the entire awards submission visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence Best Practices (Search for "Larch Street").

City of Markham

Over 100,000 Population

Modernizing of Parking Enforcement - A Catalyst for Transformation and Future Expansion of the Administrative Monetary Penalty System

The City of Markham has transformed its parking enforcement processes through implantation of an innovative and versatile solution. Partnering with GTechna, a corporate leader in parking systems, the City leveraged the newest and best industry-leading platform available.

This is a giant leap forward for Markham’s parking processes. The City replaced a legacy manual/paper-based parking system with a fully integrated system that consolidates information automatically and immediately. Field officers use the latest mobile technology to issue tickets easily using smartphones. Ticket details are uploaded in real time, permit lists are current so tickets aren’t issued in error. Processes are streamlined, reducing manual effort as well as paper record storage and management. Service delivery is improved, as is data trending and reporting. This allows agility to address evolving business needs quickly, such as expansion of the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) to enforce bylaws across the City.

Implementation of this solution brings innovations that vastly improve customer service, streamline processes, facilitate job functionality, and position Markham for its 2023 expansion of AMPS across the full range of City bylaws.

To view the entire awards submission visit the CAMA Member's Section/Awards of Excellence Best Practices (Search for "Penalty System").