2018-2022 Financial Plan

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) is the liaison between Council and staff and provides overall leadership and direction for the administration. The primary role of the CAO is to provide policy options and recommendations to Council and to ensure that Council’s priorities are implemented. A summary of some of our 2017 accomplishments in the division is shown below, followed by efficiency and effectiveness initiatives which were undertaken by all areas and the business challenges relevant to the 2018-2022 planning period. The subsequent pages in the CAO section provide information on the departments reporting to this division, including staffing, 2017 workplan highlights, performance measurements and budgets. Departments within this division are Administration, Communications, Economic Development, Emergency Program, Human Resources and Sustainability & Corporate Planning. Select 2017 Division Accomplishments • Developed marketing materials and a web presence for the Open Government Portal. • Produced videos and aerial footage to promote amenities in Maple Ridge. • Assisted in the development of software that allows citizens to explore development applications online and at the curbside. • Prepared presentations and briefs for the proposed parks and recreation projects. • Developed a geographically based application to identify Maple Ridge businesses. • Conducted two tourism fora on the subjects of Adventure Tourism and Cultural Tourism. • Joint presentation with Fire: Fall & Burn Prevention and Emergency Preparedness for Seniors and People with Disabilities. • Developed an implementation plan for refreshed Leadership Development/Emerging Leaders Program. • Enhanced the City's performance management program designed to optimize individual and organizational performance. • Negotiated a CUPE renewal agreement. • In the area of public transparency and accessibility we developed the Business Plan Inquiry Tool, pages/flowchart for the Open Government Portal. • Held a forum in partnership with Katzie and Kwantlen First Nations, to strengthen relations and identify shared goals and partnership opportunities. • Developed project profiles, in collaboration with Parks, Recreation & Culture, for the Alternative Approval Process recreational facilities to engage senior levels of government in grant contributions. Continuous Improvement • Continued partnership with BC Hydro to identify projects, and apply for incentive programs, to reduce energy use by the City and support staff

resources to work on policy and programs to support corporate goals around environmental sustainability. • Internally produced video and photography projects to enhance corporate communications. • Brought the tourism marketing initiatives in house. • Undertook an efficiency review of the filming process including fees and charges. Business Perspective/Environmental Scan • We continue to manage expectations around engagement levels on social media. • Increasingly, the public is able to provide feedback on a number of important community issues. This has increased the demand to deliver open, transparent and timely communications. • Maple Ridge does not have an available inventory of industrial zoned lands, which are in high demand in Metro Vancouver. • As a result of being one of the fastest growing communities in Metro Vancouver, the City has seen an unprecedented level of growth in residential construction. Looking forward, this growth is expected to continue with a number of significant residential and commercial developments proposed for the Town Centre. • Two-thirds of our labour force work outside the community. There is pressure from citizens to address the need for employment opportunities to keep residents working in the community. • Many lessons learned from the flood/fire responses in BC this year will result in recommendations from Emergency Management BC for changes to our plans and processes. • Continued focus on strategic human resources initiatives (e.g. talent management, leadership development, managing performance) to ensure that people resources are prepared to meet our changing business needs. • Improving economy means that we must be attentive to ensuring our culture and terms and conditions of employment contribute to retaining and attracting the right people. • We must maintain focus on succession planning and development of talent pipelines for key roles as our workforce continues to age. • City's infrastructure exceeds $1 billion, creating a significant cost burden. We need an integrated approach to effectively manage infrastructure to maximize value, reduce risks and maintain service levels for community users in a socially, environ- mentally and economically sustainable manner. • As our population grows the demand for enhanced services co-exists with pressure for low property taxes. • Opportunities to build a more sustainable community are often lost due to limitations in our legislated authority to set requirements.

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