Unapproved Minutes

The Unapproved Minutes is the unofficial blog of the North Central Local Government Management Association (NCLGMA). Look for updates on NCLGMA events, news and gossip from around the region, as well as the occasional joke.

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2014 NCLGMA Conference

http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2014/NCLGMA_Spring.asp

Register Now!  Renew Membership at the same time as you register for the Conference - April 8 to 10, 2014, Prince George

Register for Elections Workshop or GFOA Workshop being held in conjunction with Conference on Tuesday April 8th !

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@civicinfo @LGMABC - Prince George will play host to the 2012 NCLGMA Spring Conference and AGM!

The conference will be held April 17 - 19 at the Prince George Civic Centre in Prince George and rooms have been blocked at the Coast Inn of the North.

We are very pleased to provide you with information on the April 17th pre-conference session that will be facilitated by LGMA. 

Knowing What You Need to Know – A Primer on the Legislative Requirements for Local Governments

You are the new CAO or corporate officer of a small municipality or are a recent import to BC local government. As a senior local government official do you know what you need to know in order to ensure you are meeting your legislative requirements? With limited resources and an overabundance of input, direction and demands from council, the public and possibly your own staff what are the key legislative considerations you must take into account when providing administrative leadership? Whether it is protecting democratic rights of citizens to information and due process, assisting elected officials with an understanding of respective authorities or protecting the municipality from legal challenge, a strong understanding of the foundation of local government requirements is critical. Join us for a one day workshop where experts in local government legislation will provide an overview of those key considerations followed by storytelling from practitioners of their real life experiences that highlight the significance of understanding your requirements and responsibilities. Participants will leave the workshop with take away resources and pointers to further information.

Program updates will be posted on the LGMA website as they come available.  Registration will be available soon.  Watch for details.

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an election is no time to discuss serious issues

The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, 19th Prime Minister of Canada

In light of those wise words, the Unapproved Minutes will be taking a break from blogging and restart post local government elections.  At this time we'd recommend that you update your calender with some NCLGMA and LGMA events happening in the new year:

February 1-3, 2012 - CAO's Forum in Kelowna

April 17-19, 2012 - NCLGMA Spring Conference and AGM in Prince George

May 15-17, 2012 - LGMA Annual Conference and AGM in Victoria

Thanks and have a good local government election! @nclgma

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Our Top Five Rcpt’s & Hspty Suites of UBCM 2011

#BCPoli #Vancouver #UBCM – This year featured about 10 hospitality suites or receptions depending on who was counting…Here’s one opinion on the top 5:

5.  Enbridge Presidents Reception at the Fairmont Water

-  Good Crowd, Served Lamp Chops amongst other goodies, but had a long bar line

4.  Stantec & Epcor Reception at the Vancouver Club

-  Another big crowd, cheese cake buffet was very popular, good coverage on the bar

3.  Port Edward Hospitality Suite hosted by Mayor Dave MacDonald at the Sutton Place

-  No better people on earth than the Port Edward Crew!  Lots of Port Ed’s finest seafood and the hourly draws for canned Salmon was a big hit!

2.  Fortis Reception at Canada Place

-  Having a couple Canucks on hand was a big hit, and the presentation by Van Canucks Assistant GM Laurence Gilman was very interesting and appreciated in the packed ballroom.  The only thing that held Fortis out of top spot was closing the bar at 7pm!

1.  Cupe Reception at the Hyatt Regency

-  The brothers and sisters at Cupe threw one outstanding reception, it was very well attended!  There was plenty of food and a very wide assortment of it!  But the key was a fully stocked bar that was open until midnight (Fortis take note :P)

That concludes the UBCM 2011 recap, with hopes that Victoria in 2012 will prove to be as interesting and exciting!

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Tomorrow the top 5 #UBCM Receptions/Hospitality Suites of 2011

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The Number One Surprise Story of #UBCM and #bcpoli – Smart Meter Moratorium

The week started with UBCM delegates overwhelmingly voting to use wireless handheld voting devices to cast their votes during resolution debates (for standing votes).  The week ended with UBCM delegates voting in favour of a moratorium on smart meters until all their “major” problems could be addressed.

Perhaps a little ironic or hypocritical, depending on how pessimistic one is, because the “major” problems seem to centre around cost and exposure to wireless waves.

According to UBCM staff, the cost of each wireless voting device was approximately $50/per unit, which on a per unit basis costs more than the cost of each smart meter installed.  The only difference being smart meters will be used all year, instead of one week a year by UBCM.

And this concern about wireless waves?  Well according to BC Hydro, assuming one arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday and left on Friday, their exposure to wireless in hotels and the convention centre would be about 4,590 minutes. That means UBCM delegates have been exposed to more radio frequency than smart meters would transmit over 1,147 years – and that’s assuming you are standing next to your smart meter the entire time.

Further, the resolution was moved by the City of Colwood, which has Free WiFi available at its city hall!

Frankly, most observers didn’t think the resolution had a chance of passing, nor did it deserve much attention, but early on a small group of protesters pushed the issue into the limelight and with the passing of the resolution against, the story became our number one surprise story of the week.

The lesson to be learned is courtesy of Les Leyne of the Victoria Times Columnist:  “The vote is a lesson in how a small group of passionately worried people can influence a larger group of politicians whose job is to try and accommodate all interests.  Most people probably think smart meters are a good idea. But they're passive. The "No" side is a lot more active, and won the day.”

Tomorrow, a second opinion on UBCM and Thursday our Top 5 Receptions/Hospitality Suites of UBCM.

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The Top 5 Stories From #UBCM and #BCPoli that you may not have read about last week:

5.  Surprise Cabinet Shuffle – Without Shuffling “The General”

-  Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George – Valemount remained both the Solicitor and Attorney General after a cabinet shuffle in advance of the house sitting again.  Most assumed the only reason to have a shuffle would be to take one of those major portfolios off Minister Bond’s plate.

4.  No Mention of Enbridge Northern Gateway

-  Perhaps there were too many other issues or the anti Gateway group was tied up protesting against Dick Cheney being in town or the smart meters.  Either way it didn’t make the water cooler at the convention centre

3.  Premier Christy Clark and Opposition Leader Adrian Dix Both Very Well Received

-  Both had many more people listening to their speeches and received fair more applause...although both gave much better addresses than their predecessors did last year.

2.  Provincial vs Federal Tiff over RCMP

-   Although Ottawa bashing used to be a provincial sport in the 90’s there hasn’t been a good donnybrook in some years.  It was very interesting (perhaps timely) to have it all play out in the one week where 1,500 local government politicians were hand to get front row seats

1.  You’ll have to wait until tomorrow, but it was a case of small but vocal minority influencing once thought very rational people...

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#UBCM and #BCPoli Wrap Up - will start Monday and will end on Thursday with a ranking of the top 5 receptions at #ubcm - see you tomorrow at 8:00am

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#UBCM Convention Resolutions

#bcpoli #ubcm2011 #resolutions of interest:

Resolution A2 - Online Voting in 2014 Local Gov't Elections (will be interesting to see the debate, but likely to pass)

B1 - Duty to Respect Confidential Information by PG (interesting as per the happenings with one of their councillors in particular, likely to pass)

B29 - Rural Dividend by Barriere (Rural BC wants to get paid :))

B30 - Revenue Sharing from Mining Royalties by RDKS (same as above)

B106 - Elimination of MSP Premiums For Seniors {including wealthy seniors} (will pass, but interesting if someone speaks against the resolution, perhaps notes the major whole in the provincial budget and the program in place to help all low income British Columbians)

B120 - Increasing the Interest Rate on Arrears and Delinquent Taxes (should pass in a land slide, current rate is just 5%, which is lower than many mortgage rates, but no recommendation from the resolution committee)

B125 - Breach of Oath by Elected Official by Prince George again.  (Definitely worth googleing the story)

Feel free to follow our twitter feed for quick updates using our handle @nclgma

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Find the #ubcm2011 program in the link #bcpoli

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#UBCM2011 Convention Hashtag

#bcpoli @BCHeadlines @CBCSmart @tomfletcherbc @LGMABC @VancouverSun @CivicInfo tag your convention tweets #ubcm2011

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#ubcm2011 #bcpoli - Waiting for the 1st municipal candidate to use this as a campaign song!

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#bcpoli , click the link to view UBCM's Policy Paper on the proposed Municipal Auditor General.

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