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What is effective municipal corporate management?

In the consultations, municipal managers shared some of the standards of excellence they have set for their respective organizations. Following is a summary of what we learned about their vision of effective municipal corporate management.

Leadership

• Management has an open dialogue with council, based on mutual trust and clear roles, and the staff lead has a good relationship with his/her respective committee chair.
• Management provides council with meaningful information to assist their decision-making (including the costs and benefits and the short and long-term community impacts), their monitoring and their communication about the implementation of their decisions.
• The municipality clearly communicates its goals and decisions to staff and the public.
• Issues are effectively managed and communicated.
• The core values of the municipal administration are developed, communicated, and demonstrated in a way that encourages understanding, acceptance, and commitment across the whole organization.
• Leadership is encouraged and promoted at all levels of the organization; senior management demonstrates leadership by example.
• Municipal administrators apply an entrepreneurial mind-set and broad community perspective to municipal management: they look at what the community needs and find creative ways to respond. Strategic alliances are built with all sections of the community, other public agencies and levels of government, and the private and voluntary sectors.
• Senior managers work together to discuss issues, share ideas, learn from each other, and develop consistent approaches to dealing with common problems.
• Municipal administrators network with peers to support each other by sharing tips, advice, and good practices.
• A work environment is nurtured where staff wants to make a strong, positive contribution, innovation and creativity is promoted, and staff is encouraged to be involved in professional/peer associations for networking opportunities.

Managing Organizational Performance

Planning business

• The municipality has a long-term plan that establishes a common understanding of current and future goals and objectives.
• Service levels and outcomes are deliberately chosen and there is a clear understanding of the short and long term impacts of these choices.
• The vision, resources, skills, incentives, and action plans are in place to successfully achieve the municipality’s goals and objectives. 
• People, their skills, and the municipality’s finances are clearly aligned with the goals.
• Goals and objectives are coordinated, communicated, and integrated across organizational lines.
• Staff at all levels of the organization understand their role in achieving the municipality’s goals and objectives.
• Operational, financial, and individual performance is measured and evaluated against the municipality’s goals and objectives.
• Managers have the appropriate level of authority to effectively achieve their commitments and address issues.

Monitoring, reviewing and improving services 

• There is a clear understanding and demonstration by staff at all levels that the municipality is “in the service business.”
• Needs are anticipated and acted on.
• The performance of programs and services is monitored and targets are achieved and communicated. Where performance is not being achieved, it is investigated and remedied.
• Programs and services are periodically reviewed, and work processes are regularly reviewed, to find opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.
• The municipality has a clear process in place to evaluate service delivery options to determine when it is appropriate to change service providers or to implement improvements to the existing delivery method.
• The municipality has a solid capacity to develop performance measures and use performance data to proactively manage and improve services.
• Staff conduct research and network with colleagues in peer municipalities in order to share information on how to improve services.
• Staff have developed a solid understanding of their work processes and their input into improvements is sought; recognition is provided for staff contributions

Managing relationships with the public and their satisfaction with services

• The public is informed about municipal issues, and has opportunities to provide input into decision-making.
• The municipality is able to obtain good information about citizen satisfaction with services, and their preferences about how programs and services are delivered.
• The municipality uses citizen input to help establish priorities, develop performance measures, and make decisions about how to improve service efficiency and effectiveness.
• The municipality is able to respond to requests or complaints from ratepayers in a helpful and timely manner.

Managing Information and Technology

• The municipality has evaluated and identified its information needs to ensure that council, staff, and the public have access to information they need when they need it.
• The municipality is able to select, procure, install, and integrate information technology hardware and software in a timely manner.
• Appropriate technology training is available to end-users to ensure the most effective use of technology and information management.

Managing Risk

• Risks to public health and safety are identified.
• The municipality has plans to mitigate financial, environmental and catastrophic risk. Emergency plans are reviewed annually.
• Council and staff understand roles and responsibilities in the case of an emergency, and there are clear lines of accountability. Staff members are trained on emergency policies and procedures.
• In undertaking projects, risks are assessed and mitigated.

Managing People

• The municipality regularly evaluates its current and future workforce needs, and has a long-term plan in place to identify the staffing, skills, and competencies that are required to achieve its goals and priorities.
• A dedicated portion of the annual operating budget is set aside specifically for staff development activities to ensure the workforce can achieve the municipality’s goals.
• The municipality has adopted clear human resources policies and has established fair and competitive compensation practices; policies and practices are applied consistently across the organization.
• The municipality is aware of where its key attraction and retention issues are, and can attract and retain qualified, skilled staff in a timely and efficient manner to achieve its goals and  priorities.  It seeks to be an “employer of choice.”
• Staff have access to meaningful opportunities for development and advancement. The municipality supports staff participation in a mix of learning opportunities, with an aim to groom leaders, build management competencies, instill an organization-wide perspective and expand or upgrade technical skills. Staff with supervisory responsibilities have training on human resources issues and are expected to coach and mentor. Staff new to local government have access to training, mentoring, and resource materials that provide an orientation to municipal operations.  
• The municipality links corporate, financial, operational and employee performance goals, and has an incentive system in place to recognize and reward good performance.
• The municipality regularly obtains and uses employee feedback, and provides opportunities for staff to be involved in establishing their performance goals and learning plans.

Managing and Controlling Finances

• The budget process is clear and transparent, and provides opportunities for the public to provide significant and informed input.
• The municipality uses a long-term perspective to make budget decisions.  Preserving and maximizing return on its assets is a priority.
• The municipality focuses on the results it is trying to achieve. Proposals to council clearly link resource allocations to outcomes, show benefits and risks, and outline the long and short-term impacts of financial decisions.  Across the organization, there is a consistent level of rigour expected in the analysis of the financial implications of proposals.
• The municipality uses meaningful and timely financial information to make decisions – e.g., detailed financial reports; accurate data on the costs of delivering services and on the performance achieved; an inventory of all fixed assets; full life-cycle costs for infrastructure.
• The municipality uses indicators that a third party considers valid and reliable to describe its fiscal health, and regularly monitors, assesses, and reports its performance to the public against these indicators.
• There is an entrepreneurial approach to financial management – e.g., examining revenue generation opportunities, initiating strategic partnerships, negotiating favourable service contracts, and appropriately managing debt. 
• The municipality has appropriate financial controls in place and places suitable fiscal responsibility on managers.
• The municipality regularly assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations to find opportunities to save costs and better manage expenditures.

** Extracted from Municipal Management Needs Assessment – Summary Report – June 2006