Putting Down Roots: Collaboration for Change Mayor Graham Letto, President Presentation to Ministers of Local Government July 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 paid memberships (98%) 2009 budget: $1,215,050 Headquarters building, 460 Torbay Road Seven regional Directors, two caucus Directors, Vice President, President Seven staff

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 % 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

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