On behalf of council I would like to wish everyone a happy and productive 2011. We are already well into this year's work. Tuesday (Jan. 4) was a full afternoon and evening of committee and council meetings.
Those of you who watch the bi-weekly council meetings on television are getting a glimpse of some of the work that the District of Squamish is doing. Council meetings generally deal with high-level policy decisions and regulatory functions such as land use matters. Council spends much more time in committee meetings, which are not televised. However, the functions carried out by our staff on a daily basis are more important and time consuming than the work of council.
This is why 2010 was such a pivotal year for the District of Squamish. Last year, senior management implemented a fundamental change in how we manage our organization. This comprehensive process, named the Service Squamish Initiative (SSI), was rolled out last spring in a detailed document dealing with everything from our management structure and core values to individual projects. Key to this initiative is the action plan that details how our local government is being transformed into a high-performing organization and a leader in the province. Fundamental to this plan are the principles of accountability and transparency. The SSI was publicly endorsed by council last spring and is available on our website (www.squamish.ca - type "service squamish initiative" into the search bar).
On Tuesday (Jan. 4), council received an exciting update on the progress of the SSI. This report outlined where the District is at on all seven primary elements and the benchmarks that we are using to measure progress. I was very pleased to learn that our staff anticipates that our 2010 financial performance will result in a $1.2 million to $1.7 million operational budget surplus! This level of efficiency is, to my knowledge, unprecedented. And it is most certainly a far cry from my first budget process as a councillor in 2007. That was a year when staff recommended that a 29 per cent tax increase be imposed in order to maintain service levels. Many of the other key indicators, such as those dealing with service levels, are equally impressive.
The Service Squamish Initiative is a road map for transforming our entire municipal organization and its relationship with the community. It appropriately sets the standards for Squamish at very high levels and then measures our successes and challenges. Staff estimates that the SSI is 60 per cent "complete." In fact, even when we meet those goals, good governance is an ongoing process that will require continued support from councils, senior management, employees and the community.
To be clear, the SSI was a staff - not a council - initiative. But for me as mayor, even in a year when a new Official Community Plan, a multitude of capital projects, a successful Olympics and much more were achieved, the SSI was the most important internal accomplishment of 2010. If good municipal governance is the goal, Squamish is now moving forward on very solid ground. So here's looking forward to a great 2011.
