A Local Government That Works for You

Just as our community has experienced growing pains, so too has the expectations of what services local governments should provide, and how. With eight years on council and a broad network of colleagues from communities throughout BC, I have seen first-hand where our systems work well and where improvements can be made.

Residents want a local government that is responsive, easy to navigate, and keeps their interests at the centre of every decision. In partnership with staff, I believe we can improve our municipal systems and service delivery. This means residents will get faster answers, staff has the tools and trust to do their jobs well, and Council spends its time on the decisions that actually need us.

How We Might Do This:

A Public Permit Tracker — Develop an online permit and development tracker to provide residents and applicants a public, real-time view of where their permit or development application actually stands — not just submitted and approved, but every step in-between (modelled from the District of Saanich). 

Clear and Transparent Service Standards — While the public permit tracker is being developed, we can work towards publishing permit processing times for the most common permit types (building permits, demolition, business licensing) similar to how Fernie does.

Track & Report on Our Own Follow-Through — This isn’t about building brand new arduous systems, but rather refining existing reporting structures to ensure these are measuring tangible outcomes not just process outcomes. Examples include:

✓ Strengthening our Strategic Plan quarterly reports, quarterly financial variance reports, and annual reports with more tangible outcome measurements. 

✓ Investing and updating our Official Community Plan dashboard so that these key metrics continue to be used as progress measures. 

✓ Conducting a citizen satisfaction survey every two years (more details under the “Earning your Trust” priority).