1. Reduce Municipal Costs and Rationalize the Business of Local government- This will be an ongoing, staged and methodical review of services, wages, organisational structure and fiscal management. Immediately following the successful completion of the games, I led the implementation of actions to transition municipal operations to become more lean and efficient. In 2010 staff levels were reduced by 13.5 FTE’s, and this year down another 14 FTE’s, bringing staffing levels down to the previous 2007 levels. As part of the first phase of the service review the municipal operating budget has been reduced by $1.2 million, and other budget reducing measures have been identified and will be delivered. I have reviewed all our Capital projects with a focus on infrastructure maintenance vs new projects.
2. Renew Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) agreement- originally known as the “financial tools Olympic legacy” the current 5 year agreement ends in March 2012. I worked closely with Council to ensure a vision and strategy was in place which resulted in securing this provincial funding agreement in 2007, and I have continued to maintain my strong relationships with a variety of Ministers responsible for this initiative as well as other Cabinet members to secure the 5 year renewal of the agreement. To date the RMI has brought $35 million in critical investment in the resort’s tourism economy. Ongoing, I have committed to greater input from the community partners into the allocation of the funds, fully respecting our accountability to the provincial interest and oversight.
3. Resort Business Plan- I will convene a process to engage the community in a fresh look at where the resort needs to focus economic development initiatives. The outcome will be a clear direction and alignment on priority actions. The Long Term Financial Plan is an iterative document and needs further review; it was developed prior to the 2008 downturn and the world has changed. There is a need to clearly understand how the various opportunities already being explored will find their interplay, such as; The Cultural Spaces Thorne Report; the Academia Group’s Post Secondary Education Opportunities Study; Festivals Event and Animation/Whistler Presents; Sports Tourism; Health and Wellness; Welcome Strategy, and others.
4. Orientation for new council- Planning for the timely and effective orientation of my new council has begun. There is a steep learning curve and my experience is that this is one of the most important investments in the effective working of the new Team. Getting off to a strong start, with a CAO new to municipal government is imperative.
5. Alpine Paving asphalt plant- The plant will move. The current situation has occurred on my watch and I take action for finding a solution. Council has committed to seeking a remedy through the courts and it will fall to me and the new council to decide the next steps after the trial in November.
6. Parking Strategy evolution- I will ensure that users of this service know that they are welcome and valued customers. The resort will monitor the impacts of the new parking strategy and optimise the use of the nearly 2000 privately owned stalls conveniently located under village business core. I will start a new dialogue with the business community and the owners and operators of the parking in the village. There is an enormous opportunity to connect customers to business. I will find options which address the needs of the volunteers who dedicate their time selflessly in service to the community. I will initiate a review of the strategy after a year of operation under the current regime.
7. New Home for Waldorf School- the independent alternative school has been given notice to vacate their temporary location on June 30. I will extend the lease to allow the school time to complete its move.
8. Regional Collaboration- Recently elected vice chair of the Squamish Lillooet Regional District, I will work with the board to strengthen regional collaboration, complete the Sea to Sky Trail, undertake a regional economic development strategy and create a regional transit service. I instigated a review resulting in a 14% decrease in Whistler’s contributions and will continue to reduce costs on Whistler taxpayers.