In April 2010, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Ramsay presented to District of Squamish council a document that he said reinvented the municipality's governing system.
The Squamish Service Initiative (SSI) was meant to usher in a new era of streamlined processes, accountability and communication and during Tuesday's (Jan. 4) council meeting, Ramsay presented council members with the 2010 third-quarter report.
"I'm so pleased to see something like this come forward," said Coun. Corinne Lonsdale. "I've never seen something so valuable during my time on council, and that's a long time.
"We spend around $30 million of taxpayers' money annually on district operations so it should be analyzed."
The report breaks down all money spent - DOS legal fees, bylaw enforcement complaints, animal control officer call-outs, fuel consumption, RCMP incidents and more.
It specifically addresses spending at Municipal Hall and in the past year, "significant changes have been made," according to Ramsay.
Ramsay said the key SSI successes were reductions in overtime costs and management and supervisor salaries, purchasing and contracting efficiencies, and the fact that it was a light year for snow and ice control.
"Overall, we saved a total of $1.2 to $1.7 million," Ramsay said. "This is a conservative five to eight per cent surplus for 2010."
Mayor Greg Gardner said the new direction Municipal Hall is taking in inspirational and needed. He said when he was first elected mayor and he asked to review all senior employees, he was met with resistance whereas now, it is being undertaken by the CAO.
"In my point of view it's the most beneficial organizational project that the community has seen for a very long time," he said. "And I'm ecstatic with the progress to date."
Squamish embraces literacy
Approximately nine million Canadian adults between age 16 and 64 are challenged by low literacy.
To help address this issue, the third week in January will be dedicated to family literacy after Squamish Literacy Committee representative Michelle Lebeau presented to District of Squamish council on Tuesday.
"National Family Literacy Day is Jan. 27," she said. "And in recognition of this day, the community, through various committed organizations, hosts a number of literacy events and activities to raise awareness of and encourage support for literacy programs in the community."
Lebeau said low literacy does not mean a person can't read. The vast majority of people with literacy issues can read to a certain degree, but not at a level required for full engagement at work, home and in the community.
"Literacy skills can deteriorate over time if habits do not support literacy development and maintenance," she said. "Literacy skills are like muscles - they are maintained and strengthened through regular use."
To promote literacy in Squamish several events will occur during Family Literacy Week - a Squamish Reads Literacy Fundraiser on Jan. 21, Friends of the Library's eighth annual Scrabble for Literacy tournament on Jan. 25, and the Breakfast of Literacy Champions on Jan. 27.
