I don’t understand City Hall –and apparently neither do its operators
Ron Bolin: Nov. 6,2012
At the Nov. 5 meeting of Council dressed up as COW (Committee of the Whole), the COW approved by a 6-3 vote, an expenditure estimated to be between $9,000 and $50,000 for a consultant to study governance in the City of Nanaimo. What is governance? Questioned on this, Staff responded: “Council has defined governance through its policies, practices and structures in addition to the parameters of the Community Charter.”
Now you may ask why, when Council and Staff exercise the powers which they were given by the Community Charter or have taken unto themselves with their “policies, practices and structures” every day, that we should need to hire a consultant to tell us what those are rather than having it defined by the well paid Staff that exercise them routinely and the Council which routinely makes decisions about them? Clearly, if we have a misunderstanding on these points then such a document is required, not only for a consultant, but for Council, Staff and Citizens as well. With such a defining document completed in-house, then external experts can critique our “governance” and make suggestions for improvement.
Not long ago some Councillors suggested that the City hire an external consultant to undertake a “Core Review” of our services, a much broader and more inclusive undertaking than this. Staff immediately responded that they could effectively and efficiently perform such a task themselves. Yet concerning this much reduced question, really just a part of a core review, Staff argues that it is necessary to hire someone to prepare the report which they can then proceed to critique. Why?
If Council feels that it does not know its “policies, practices and structures in addition to the parameters of the Community Charter.”, nor either does Staff, then it is of small wonder that so many lament the manner in which Council too often conducts our business.
Ron Bolin
3165 King Richard Drive
Nanaimo, BC V9T 4A1
250-758-3973
Posts and Comments on Nanaimo Governance 
The Government of BC have announced the appointment of a Ms Ruta as it’s first Municipal Auditor General.
Her appointment was welcomed by some Muncipalities but not others!
I wonder just who the “others are”
Could her services be applied to our,Nanaimo’s, benefit as we are definately not going to have a core review?
Great idea, Trailblazer. Ms. Ruta will begin her work in January.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-appoints-municipal-auditor-general/article5069238/
The terms of her mandate under the Auditor General for Local Government Act:
http://www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/1st_read/gov20-1.htm
includes the following:
3 (1) The purpose of the auditor general is to conduct performance audits of the operations of local governments in order to provide local governments with objective information and relevant advice that will assist them in their accountability to their communities for the stewardship of public assets and the achievement of value for money in their operations.
(2) A performance audit conducted under this Act by the auditor general consists of
(a) a review of the operations of a local government, as the operations relate to a matter or subject specified by the auditor general, to evaluate the extent to which
(i) the operations are undertaken economically, efficiently and effectively,
(ii) financial, human and other resources are used in relation to the operations with due regard to economy and efficiency,
(iii) the operations are effective in achieving their intended results, or
(iv) procedures established by the local government are sufficient for the local government to monitor the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of those operations, and
(b) recommendations to the local government arising from the review referred to in paragraph (a).
(3) The auditor general may identify and develop and publish or otherwise provide information about recommended practices, arising from a performance audit, that the auditor general considers may be applicable or useful to other local governments.
(4) The auditor general, if permitted by regulation, may, on request of a local government and in accordance with the regulations, enter into an agreement to conduct a performance audit of the operations of the local government that relate to a matter or subject that is specified in the agreement.
(5) In carrying out the powers and duties under this Act, the auditor general must not call into question the merits of policy decisions or objectives of a local government.
I agree with you that the City of Nanaimo should request the services offered soonest as we are in process of expenditures that will parallel those available which canbe covered through our provincial taxes and do not need to repeat same using our municipal taxes. Nanaimo should provide an excellent first case for this new office as it is one of the larger cities needing an audit, but is doubtless not the worst, i.e. a good place to start.
(5) In carrying out the powers and duties under this Act, the auditor general must not call into question the merits of policy decisions or objectives of a local government
This could be a stumbling block
Just who can authorize her services?
http://www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/1st_read/gov20-1.htm
Selection of audits and limit on audits
4 (1) Subject to the annual service plan and within the limits established under this section, the auditor general, in his or her sole discretion, may select the performance audits to be conducted.
Ron;
I received the bid notification for this study;
Category: Consultant
Opportunity Ref: 1389: Governance Policy, Structure & Processes Review & Audit
It doesn’t really matter where the idea for this study came from…………..
If it is the policy of the City of Nanaimo to accept the lowest bid, then this would seem to be a golden opportunity for you to articulate the fundamental issues of Governance Policy in the City of Nanaimo to both Council, it’s committees, administration staff, and citizens alike.
You raise an interesting possibility; not for me personally, but for a group of individuals who may have skills and experience in the areas of the Request. Folks should take a look and see if it might be worth considering putting a proposal together.
See: http://www.nanaimo.ca/UploadedFilesPath/pdf/bid_ops/1389%20Governance%20Review%20Consultant%20RFP.pdf
PS: It may also be reasonable to send the RFP to the Office of the Auditor General for Municipalities. It could make a good first case for the office. How much trouble do you have to be in to seek someone to tell you what you are doing?
Whats hard to understand?
City Staff basically would like to have another report/study they can point to which will show what a bang up job they are doing. They will set the terms of the RFP, the scope of the audit, review the draft, suggest revisions to the draft, and present the ‘city staff approved’ document for all to see and wonder at.
They will present it to council, who for the most part will once again smile and not and say what a wonderful staff we have, ‘now let’s see how we can spend some more tax dollars’.
Bet you didn’t know how many things were getting the green light during the Strategic Planning Sessions …… it even supports the banning of bottled water, don’t you know!
In capsule form: city staff, not your elected officials decide policy to govern the city, they will do whatever it takes to minimize the meddling influences by those who think councillors jobs are to direct staff.
You can bet this governance survey will be used to suit that purpose quite nicely, and a few of us will notice, bitch and complain for a moment, then move on. While the rest of the community simply continues to doze.
should read smile and ‘nod’ not not…………… :^) proof before posting is a good idea.
Is anyone interested in forming a group to ask for a meeting with Ms Ruta to discus our mutual concerns?
Does anyone think it an idea that could produce results we can live with?
As I frequently shoot from the hip ! I suggest that Ron,Jim or Gord contact the office of the new Auditor of Municipalities to request a meeting.
Considering it is a new position I think first come first serve could prove fruitfull !!
I have put in a call to find out how the auditor chooses the municipality and how they decide what to audit. No answer as yet, but if this is typical it will likely be as much about ‘appearing’ to do something as actually doing something.
That is what governments do best.
It is possible that Nanaimo could become a one time show case for the new position.
If so ; good.
Ms Ruta does not officially take the position until January.
First come , first servive.
If you don’t want to compete for the RFP, then it is important to know how this idea got started. Trailblazer has a general theory, the standard model so to speak, but we really need to detect the dark matter as the physicists say. Who initiated this idea; a concerned citizen, was it a consultant pitch from the outside, did it come from the city solicitors, did it come from a counsellor, did the City Manager think it up, perhaps someone in legislative services spoke out of turn, perhaps someone in community planning????????????? Who needs to confess.
Joe: You have asked a question. But who are you asking? Is it purely rhetorical or would you like an answer? If the latter, then it seems to me that the first source to which you might wish to go is to one or more of our elected representative (City Council). What is really needed in the current environment is civic discourse. It won’t happen on a one to one basis though it might start there. It won’t happen by performing a plebiscite of ignorance.
I fail to understand why we should have rushed into an RFP on governance when the Auditor General for Local Government is on the way. I have asked. When I receive a response I will let you know. At the same time, the pressure of the question will be increased each time it is asked by another citizen. It is easy to avoid an individual, it is much more difficult to deal with a larger public.