Maintaining Perspective

One of the trickiest things to do as a councillor is maintaining one's perspective.  As the saying goes, all politics is local, and part of representing a ward, and the people who elected you, is to respond to these local complaints.  At the same time, we have to think of the city as a whole, and sometimes that means putting specific issues in your own ward at a lower priority.

It can be a tricky balancing act.  When someone is calling, demanding that their street be plowed after a heavy snowstorm, it's tempting to think that your neighbourhood should get priority.  That's one of the reasons why truly high priority streets have been identified to see the first action of the plows, and residential neighbourhoods are dealt with later, and according to a schedule that varies so that each neighbourhood has a turn at being first.  This is an issue that I'm quite comfortable leaving with city staff to deal with, rather than suggesting to them why Ward 3 streets should be at the top of the list.

Street sweeping, on the other hand, is more of a situation where certain neighbourhoods should be dealt with before others, on a consistent basis.  This is one of those "what's best for the city as a whole" situations.  Older neighbourhoods, with more trees, and areas with more pedestrian traffic, are likely to have a greater need for sweeping, and should be higher on the priority list than newer neighbourhoods.  This puts the whole city on a more level playing field.

I'm not talking about not bringing up emergency situations - if I see a tree limb that looks at though the next wind will bring it down, I'll call administration right away to let them know, to help prevent a possible accident that could cause serious property damage or worse.  But for things that are just annoying, or in situations where city crews can't be everywhere at once, I'm quite comfortable with letting administration follow the procedures that they have established, and tell people that sometimes, we just have to be patient.

Details are important, and we can't forget to consider them - heaven knows I've spent enough time poring over detailed budget and spending reports to understand that.  But when it comes to keeping the city going, it's important to remember that the job of directing those details is outside the scope of council - it's operational, and our job is setting direction, and trusting staff to figure out how to follow that direction.

Demanding instant action with every phone call - well, that's a recipe for not getting anything done, for riding madly off in all directions, as Stephen Leacock would say.  Progress is our goal, not instant gratification.

"The big picture shows it's the little things that keep everything together." - Gee Linder

New Year - A Time for Change

It seems traditional that the new year is a time for changes - wishes for a better year than the last, new calendars, resolutions to break bad habits or develop new ones - all precipitated by the arbitrary ending of one year and the start of the next.

Once again, I didn't manage to stay awake to welcome the new year.  I've never been one for New Year's Eve festivities, and as I get older, it gets less and less likely that I will actually see the new year in.  But that doesn't stop it from coming, or me from enjoying our family's version of Hogmanay celebrations the next day - a holdover from the Scottish half of Andrea's upbringing - cinnamon rolls, gifts, baked ham and butter tart pie are all involved.

The start of the new year is also the traditional time for looking over the last year.  On a personal level, we enjoyed a couple of good holidays, and I replaced the roof on the house, realizing when my back rebelled in a major way that I'm not as young as I'd like to be.  But the job got done, and I'm already looking around the house, discussing what the next project should be.  That's the good thing about living in a century plus house - never a shortage of projects to keep one out of mischief.

On the council front, I think that the highlight of the past year for me was the growing realization by council as a whole that the status quo approach to our jobs just isn't good enough.  We always have to be looking for ways to do things better.  And it's not just council that has to adopt this approach - we need to have administration on side, doing thorough assessments of what needs doing, what it's going to cost, and how more can be done with less.

Change, while inevitable for making progress, also involves risk.  The great temptation is to minimize the risk by minimizing the change, but this short-changes the possibilities.  What we need to do is an honest determination of what the risks might be, using facts and actual practices, rather than myth and rumour, and take action which minimizes the risk as much as possible.  Our open discussions and detailed review of current expenditures have illustrated the excellent change in the way we develop budgets, and I'm looking forward to similar detailed discussions when the proposed budget is presented.

One of our biggest operational changes will happen when Jim Toye, the new city manager, formally starts his work with us on Monday, although he's already been in City Hall gathering information and getting his bearings.  With this change, I'm looking forward to a high level of co-operation between administration and council as we begin the task of setting priorities for the budget, easily the most important job of city council in any year.

I thought that last year was a very good first year for this council.  I hope that this year is even better.

In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first." - Jimi Hendrix

Creating New Traditions

Christmas is a time of traditions - I'm sure that every family has some traditions that go back generations.  Of course, times change, or perhaps some of the traditions of your youth weren't your favourites, or didn't fit with your spouse's traditions when you got married, so you adopt new traditions.  My personal favourite tradition is to spend the day in pyjamas and bathrobe, drinking coffee and enjoying Andrea's cinnamon rolls, watching the family open stockings and gifts, watching old movies (bring on Alistair Sim and Scrooge), and having a wonderful turkey dinner with a special bottle of wine.

One of Andrea's family traditions, from the Scandinavian side, involved having rice pudding for dessert on Christmas Eve - a huge bowl of rice pudding, with a single almond, was passed around the table until the pudding was gone.  Whoever found the almond was supposed to have good luck for the year, and part of the fun was keeping your good luck a secret for as long as possible.  Apparently Andrea's father was a master at hiding the almond in his cheek until the end of the meal - it probably helped that he was also quite fond of rice pudding.  Andrea, on the other hand, doesn't like rice pudding, so while we lived in Ontario, if we were spending Christmas in North Bay, we had rice pudding, but once we moved out here, no more rice pudding.  The tradition that we've developed over the years is to have ice cream cake for Christmas Eve dessert - something that we all like, despite its lack of connection to our past.

On the other hand, I don't like plum pudding or mince pie for Christmas dinner dessert.  While Andrea does, instead she makes a chocolate cheesecake for dessert, and I appreciate her adjusting the tradition.  That's what we need to remember about traditions - they only work while people are willing to continue to follow them.  If they don't fit, for whatever reason, it's a mistake to just keep hanging on to doing things are certain way because that's how it's always been done.

One tradition my family had when I was a kid was to take a trip into Toronto at Christmas time.  Fergus is a little over an hour from Toronto, and while I'm sure the main purpose of the trip was so that my parents could do some shopping in the big city, the highlight for me was looking in Simpson's windows.  The Simpson's store downtown (since taken over by the Bay) had elaborately decorated windows in the four corners of their building, usually around a similar Christmas theme - not with the purpose of displaying what was for sale, but purely for the entertainment, and there was always a crowd around the windows.  After we were married, Andrea and I would always make a point of going down on a December evening to join the crowds and marvel at the creativeness of the window decorators.

That's why I was happy to hear of the Downtown Business Improvement District's idea this year to have various downtown stores and businesses reveal a specially decorated window, one a day over the first 24 days of December.  While the extreme cold weather of the last week or so hasn't helped, it's something a little different to bring people downtown, and perhaps visit a store that they wouldn't normally think to drop into.  Hopefully the next ten days will be milder, and more people will get out to appreciate the extra efforts these businesses have put in.

The reason that many people give for not spending more time downtown is that they don't feel safe there.  While increased foot patrols are a help, the real key, I think, is to give more reasons for people to go downtown - more people makes a place feel safer.  I'm not saying that one single action will change the atmosphere overnight, but change is accomplished through baby steps, and these specially decorated windows are an excellent baby step, developed by the businesses themselves, and accomplished without any additional tax payers' dollars.

So if you're looking to establish a new Christmas tradition, why not spend a half hour or so in the next ten days walking up and down Central Avenue, admiring the windows.  You even have the opportunity to vote for your favourite.  We need to spend more time at Christmas slowing down to enjoy the season, and this is a perfect opportunity.

And whatever your favourite Christmas traditions, enjoy the season.

"At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year." - Thomas Tusser

You Can Either Be a Good Example, or a Horrible Warning

Over the last few weeks, I think that the topic most frequently raised with me is the situation that Toronto City Council now finds itself in, thanks to the behaviour of its mayor, Rob Ford.  I was appalled last week when I watched the news coverage of Monday's council meeting, as councillors took what action they could to limit the mayor's influence and control over council meetings and agendas.  The sight of the mayor (and his brother), walking around council chambers, yelling at other members of council and the public gallery, was shocking and disgraceful.  The result, of course, is that Ford now is mayor in name only, while control of meetings and agendas now rests with the deputy mayor.  I'm sure that it must be a relief to both councillors and city hall staff that they can now refocus on city business, rather than responding to media questions about the mayor's faux pas of the day.

The question that seems to come most often is "why can't they just remove him from being mayor?"  The answer to that is, of course, because council did not elect him, so they can't remove him from office.  Lack of control in one's personal life, and the subsequent refusal to take time to regain that control, no matter what the issue, is not grounds under provincial legislation to remove a mayor (or any other elected official) from office.  And that's how it should be.  Just as in Saskatchewan, removal requires more than just not being popular with your colleagues, and has to come from outside of council, either through being convicted of a criminal offence, or through a judge determining that conflict of interest occurs - which, interestingly enough, happened to Mr. Ford not that long ago, although a subsequent appeal determined that the size of his offence was out of proportion to the penalty of removing him from office.

From all accounts, Rob Ford was an extremely popular councillor for ten years, largely because he was very responsive to  his constituents.  He also wasn't afraid to stand alone in votes against the rest of council.  When he was elected mayor three years ago, it was largely through a single promise - to cut the waste at City Hall.  Unfortunately, like many campaigns based on a single slogan, things turned out to be more complex than he thought, and his success in that direction since being elected has been mixed at best.  He also seemed to have difficulty realizing that the job of mayor is different that being councillor - you have to be someone who can bring a team together, by articulating a vision that the majority of councillors can support.  And while he was able to bring enough councillors on side for some issues, that support was not solid enough to withstand the scandals of the last six months.

In May, shortly after the stories broke about the crack cocaine video, we were at FCM in Vancouver.  Several members of Toronto city council were there (not the mayor, who has never attended one of those meetings, apparently not interested in exchanging information with his counterparts across Canada), and when I spoke with them, they were universally just relieved to be away from the circus that Toronto City Hall had become.

I find it sad to watch Rob Ford.  His excuses - "I've been under a lot of stress"; "Everybody does it" - are those of an adolescent, not a man in his forties.  He seems to feel that a position of continual denial, followed by apologies when the truth comes out, is sufficient.  Sadly, he doesn't seem to realize that his job is to lead city council, not stand apart from them.  And when people refuse to follow you, you can no longer be considered the leader.  I think that he would have a great deal more credibility, and public sympathy, if he just admitted that he needs to take some time off to deal with whatever personal problems have led him to this point.

He also needs to realize that being mayor is not a nine-to-five job - it's what you are, twenty-four hours a day.  Even in a small city like Prince Albert, the expectation is that you are available to the people you represent, no matter where you are or what you're doing.  I can expect to be asked questions whenever I'm buying groceries or at the mall, and phone calls come every day of the week.  I don't complain, because that comes with the job.

People expect their elected officials to behave with integrity - that means that they expect you to tell the truth, and that your actions should match your words.  When this is lost - and it doesn't take much - it's going to be a lot harder to regain that trust.  Hopefully Rob Ford spends the next months, not in waging war against everyone on council, as he threatened at the council meeting, but in dealing with his personal issues, and working to rebuild his trust with the people of Toronto.

I'm not worried about something similar happening in Prince Albert - we seem to have a better understanding of appropriate behaviour, and of how to handle our differences while remaining civil.  It's just another reason why I'm happy with our decision to move from Toronto to Prince Albert, more than thirty years ago.

"When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself a public property." - Thomas Jefferson

Strategic Planning - A Key Step in Budgeting

Over the last month, between council meetings, council has been meeting with each individual department for strategic planning sessions.  We've had three of these meetings so far, and have met with the staff of Corporate Services, Community Services, Financial Services and the Fire Department.  Still to come is our largest department, Public Works.

At these meetings we're looking closely in two areas - each department's base budget, and its organizational structure.  We're looking for efficiencies - efficiencies in spending, processes and personnel.  As I've mentioned before, the status quo in how we do things can no longer be an assumption, and there are no sacred cows.

These sessions will provide direction to the budgeting process, allowing us to start at the real beginning of the process, rather than just tweaking proposed new expenditures to fit some predetermined target for increasing taxes, while assuming that we're going to keep on doing what we're doing whether there are better ways of doing things or not.  It may have been easier and faster, but that's not why we were elected.

This is the first time in several years that we've looked at things so closely, and it's been an eye-opener for all of us on council.  I've also noticed that the approach by staff is starting to change as well - they are seeing the positive implications of working more openly with council, and of the opportunities that will benefit everyone - staff and city residents - by improving the way we do things, and by improving our focus on what really is in everyone's best interests - a city where priorities are set, and work and spending follows those priorities.

Meetings have been focused, with everyone feeling free to ask questions and offer possible options.  Through the process, I think that everyone on council, both the long-term veterans and the relative newcomers, have become more comfortable with the realization that while nobody has all the answers, by asking questions and thinking of alternatives, we're going to come up with a budget that will be better understood by everyone involved, because we'll have a better understanding of how it was developed, and our reasons for whatever the final decisions turn out to be.

We'll also be better equipped to answer the inevitable questions that will come from the public on our decisions.  And as one of our goals is to be more open and accountable to the people who have put us in charge, we'll be better at reaching that goal as well.

"A goal without a plan is just a wish." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Moving Ahead

I was very happy with the announcement that, starting in the new year, Jim Toye will be our new city manager.  I've known Jim for several years, having met him through various municipal government circles, and I believe that he has the right mix of strengths and experience to lead city administration in working well with council.

His resume is impressive, but even more impressive are the positive comments about him that we've heard from both his employers and co-workers.  He's known for being a hard worker, a good team builder, and able to work with a wide variety of people, bringing their skills and abilities together so that the sum of the whole is greater than the individual parts.

That attitude is exactly what we were hoping for when we started looking for a new city manager.  We wanted someone who would be able to take direction from council, then motivate the rest of the city staff to carry out this direction, in ways that leave everyone involved feeling appreciated, and part of the solution.  Of course, one guy can't be a miracle maker, but having someone with the goal of building a strong team, and who understands that council sets the direction to be carried out by staff, is a good place to start.

A new city manager is also an effective way of signalling to both staff and Prince Albert residents, that the status quo is no longer in place.  This council has said repeatedly that we want to be seen to be open to new ideas, and willing to try to do things differently, rather than being stuck in the same old patterns, and I believe that Jim will help us as we continue to move in that direction.  I think that he understands that all members of council have good ideas to bring to the table, and that we can be most effective if all viewpoints are considered respectfully before decisions are made.

At the level of city manager, the most important responsibility is being able to motivate staff to work to the best of their abilities, not to micromanage every detail of every project - that's what the individual experts should be allowed to do.  From what I know of Jim,  his people skills are his greatest strength, and I'm looking forward to the new energy and ideas that he'll bring to the city in the new year.

"When I meet successful people, I ask what they attribute their success to.  It's usually the same: persistence, hard work, and hiring good people."  Kiana Tom

One Year In

This past week marked one year since this council was elected - a good time to look back and see what has changed.  Major change in any organization, of course, is best achieved through small steps, incremental changes that over time add up.  And I think that we're approaching change in this way - making small changes that, over time, will result in a more cohesive, sensible approach to how the city is managed, which is council's main responsibility.

A large part of the mayor's campaign focused on the need for council to operate more as a team, and less as a one-man show.  That was one of the first changes made, and I think the results are seen as quite positive   The team approach can be seen in several ways.  For example, committee appointments were made by council as a whole voting on each appointment, rather than decisions being made unilaterally, and appointments being seen as plums handed out from the mayor's office.  Not everyone got to be on all the committees that they wanted, but no-one can complain that the process was unfair.

Communication within council has improved.  We're now all informed when there's an event going on that council has been invited to, which is nice.  Previously, I would often be asked why I wasn't at this or that event, and that would be the first that I would have heard of it.  Obviously, not everybody can be at every event, but having more than one member of council show up is one way of showing broad council support.

All members of council take turns doing the radio and TV updates every week, which is a big change.  It gives each of us a chance to talk about what is going on, and the opportunity to talk about the perspective from each ward, which provides a more complete picture to the public.

Council meetings, both public and in camera, are much more positive.  Discussion is open and respectful, and new ideas are tossed around, added to, and amended.  Votes are not predictable, which is as it should be.  For new councillors, who might have thought that the pattern that had been established over the previous six years was the council norm, it must be a relief to realize that offering up a different opinion or idea is welcomed rather than openly discouraged.

I think that a very positive sign is the open understanding that the budget for next year is going to be an even more detailed exercise than last year, and that the status quo is no longer an acceptable option.  That's the only way manage how to do all the work required, particularly infrastructure repair and maintenance, without unduly burdening the tax payer.  And the good news is that everybody on council now recognizes this need, and is looking forward to it.

The messages that I've been getting from the public over the past year have been mostly positive as well.  People are happy to see all the work being done on streets and sidewalks, and have noticed the reduction in bickering,and the increase in positive discussion, around the council table.

I've always enjoyed my work as a councillor, and felt appreciated for my efforts by the residents of Ward 3.  But this past year working with my colleagues on council has been much more fun - I only hope that we continue to look to improve our processes over the remaining three-quarters of our mandate.

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.  You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." - Babe Ruth