Putting Down Roots:Collaboration for Change

Mayor Graham Letto, PresidentPresentation to Ministers of Local

GovernmentJuly 8, 2009, St. John’s, NL

Overview of Presentation

• Common Issues & Shared Solutions

• MNL Organizational Overview

• Provincial Context & Current Situation

• Building Capacity - Strengthening the Roots– Community Cooperation Resource Centre– Sustainability Self-Assessment– Rural-Urban Interaction Research– Local Action for Developing Regions– Economic Crisis Response Toolkit

Common Issues &Shared Solutions

• Duty to Consult with Aboriginal Communities

• Adaptation to Climate Change

• Rural Municipal Sustainability

• Working Relationship with Provincial/Territorial Governments

–C-SPO

Organizational Overview

• Established in 1951• 276 paid memberships (98%)• 2009 budget: $1,215,050• Headquarters building, 460 Torbay Road• Seven regional Directors, two caucus

Directors, Vice President, President• Seven staff• www.municipalitiesnl.com

Ongoing Activities

• Advocacy• Membership

Services• Events• Research• Facilitation• Communications• Consultation

Provincial Context

• First municipal government in 1888

• Next in 1941

• Majority occurred in early 1960s

• Little grassroots push for democracy– Means of accessing/influencing spending from

St. John’s/Ottawa

• Single tier system

• Basic services outside urban areas

Current Situation

• 633 communities, 281 municipalities

– 519,000 population

• 75% of municipalities have population under 1,000

– 50% under 500

• 74% of municipalities have 1 staff or fewer

• 50% of councils did NOT have an election in 2005

• Service expectations expanding

• Service requirements increasing

Current Situation

• Current revenue tools are limited

• Tax base– Assessments increasing, but fewer tax payers

– Concentration of commercial/industrial tax base

• Pressure for “competitive” taxes

• Enforcement and collection difficulties

• Lack of professional advice– Planning, engineering, administration

Community Cooperation Resource Centre

• President’s Task Force on Municipal Sustainability• Support through the provision of:

– information and awareness;– research; and,– facilitation and advisory services

• Dedicated staff• Participation increase: 53% (2003) to 74% (2007)• Joint councils increased from 8 to 16• Most annual milestones exceeded within 9 months• Regional cooperation “on the agenda”

Sustainability Self-Assessment

• Begin to address planning gap• First step in broader ICSP process• Facilitated process• Broad definition

– Governance, environment, finances, service delivery, infrastructure, economy, regional cooperation

• Five staff, 20 weeks, 255 municipalities

• Public reports

Rural-Urban Interaction: Understanding and Managing Functional Regions

• MNL, Memorial University, University of Kentucky, and Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation

• Better understand the linkages between and within regions

• Identify and map (GIS) “functional” regions, create Economic Capacity Index

• Assess governance mechanisms, identify gaps, investigate alternatives

Local Action for Developing Regions• 10 years• 91% satisfaction• Highlighted by OECD• Workshops• Study Tours• Ascent newsletter• Website• Development Guides

Development Guides

• Practical tools integrated into existing work

• Focus on economic development and:– Municipal Taxation– Infrastructure– Shared Municipal Services– Land-use planning– Major projects

• Each guide will have:– Background and

rationale– Step-by-step planning

tools– Templates and sample

documents– Funding source

suggestions– Partner suggestions

Economic Crisis Response

• A program of support to help municipalities manage crisis

• Toolkit– Before crisis– Immediate response– Short-term response– Continual response

• Workshops• Examples

Discussion Points

• Fundamental change is necessary and possible

• Enhanced planning capacity at a regional level is a prerequisite

• Structural change is needed to build on fiscal reform

• Informed public debate is required– Improved, systematic public policy research is required