The following is a quote from Christine Comaford regarding the situation at Blackberry maker Research in Motion.The District of Tofino is in the same position in that confidence in the organization is rapidly dwindling .
“Drastic change is totally needed. Management is out of touch. It has low emotional equity with customers, with the market and with internal staff. There's no marketing evangelism and there's no innovation. Its turn-around plan is vague and ambiguous.”
“The key is to establish a vibrant set of outsiders who ask tough questions. People on company boards tend to ‘go native' after 90 days. They want to be part of the tribe. They drink the Kool-Aid and keep asking for more. We need people who want water instead.”
The new Mayor and Council have to be asking the tough questions.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Ken Gibson Editorial
I’d like to take a “shot “ at how I feel this could be solved .. With consultants &” green sticky fingers” we the ‘public ‘
don’t always’ s hear the truth –seeing it is a “rarity “
Nearly 50 years ago, Chestermans got going .. For a long time residents, had decide which side of their property
to put the “water well “ on...And it was often heard “I'm not drinking his sewer water”,, When the Chamber of Commerce pointed out the ratio of visitors coming to the west coast to the ‘House owner or resident ‘ It was , ,,say ”fifty to one “
And here again I don’t have the amount –But I recall 11,ooo,ooo grant dollars for the area being offered.
Tofino Village boundary’s only went to “Industrial rd. “,, We” North of that line” had John Motherwell as our
engineer and under “tight fisted rule “ of Don McGinnis & Hugo Peterson not many pennies escaped.. It was totally inconceivable that we could afford a water system for the( well to do) ‘son’s & daughter ‘s “ coming to
live on the beach in the summer at ‘Chesterman's ,”,, A group of “locals “ had formed a water board & had stated to formulate plan’s under a engineer named “Bullock” sp?,,, If my memory has this
“ right” these “plans “ were under way when the “wind-fall of grant money ‘ arrived ,, The million gallon low pressure tank at Industial rd was part of that plan & water was to come from Tofino to fill it ( Until ‘Ginnard creek “ could be realized) About this time the Governments stepped in & said “make love –not war “ –one district –one council- (south of Industrial Way became part of the Village)7 instead of 5- or” FORE GO” the grant . The vote was accepted, Projects in progress were allowed to continue & ..Mr. Bullock’s supply tank lost it’s bottom & a court case lasting seven years started -costing more than it was worth & fellow residents are still dealing with this “Creation “ useless as it was with no bottom ,,Unless we look at it as ” low pressure FIRE RESERVE” ,, & introduce Hi pressure to the South our problems are just beginning –We are no longer dealing with the low land that surrounds the beaches- but high land throughout the
the district-Rosie Bay –Industrial way –Hansen development & Higher peaks that now require ‘Pressure Pump’s”
I'm really surprised “Fire Underwriters “ have not introduced new rates,,, “Secrecy”.. Grant money & those that
“money mean’s every thing in design ‘ have “compounded” the problem with’ a lure for water at Tofino airport’,
with a gesture of more to be made at Kennedy lake, Part of that low pressure “Era”is the undisclosed amounts
& ever continuing expenses at the Six Mile , placing ‘band aid on band aid’ is not the answer ,, I’m not sure
where modern CAO’s have us ...I know there is 350,000 gallon mistake in elevation at the six mile & I now hear
its really low pressure (not Barr’s mt pressure that ‘Warren Bernard “had fought for ,) If this is the case “perhaps
our neighbours near Long Beach would like it . Its doesn’t suit ‘water treatment standards ‘ any –way as the
water sits idle should be moving on. These folk’s.. is what “administration – college degree’s & money can do
you. Lets welcome back “Old fashioned” John Motherwell & take our “Lump’s”
Ken Gibson –Water since 1949
don’t always’ s hear the truth –seeing it is a “rarity “
Nearly 50 years ago, Chestermans got going .. For a long time residents, had decide which side of their property
to put the “water well “ on...And it was often heard “I'm not drinking his sewer water”,, When the Chamber of Commerce pointed out the ratio of visitors coming to the west coast to the ‘House owner or resident ‘ It was , ,,say ”fifty to one “
And here again I don’t have the amount –But I recall 11,ooo,ooo grant dollars for the area being offered.
Tofino Village boundary’s only went to “Industrial rd. “,, We” North of that line” had John Motherwell as our
engineer and under “tight fisted rule “ of Don McGinnis & Hugo Peterson not many pennies escaped.. It was totally inconceivable that we could afford a water system for the( well to do) ‘son’s & daughter ‘s “ coming to
live on the beach in the summer at ‘Chesterman's ,”,, A group of “locals “ had formed a water board & had stated to formulate plan’s under a engineer named “Bullock” sp?,,, If my memory has this
“ right” these “plans “ were under way when the “wind-fall of grant money ‘ arrived ,, The million gallon low pressure tank at Industial rd was part of that plan & water was to come from Tofino to fill it ( Until ‘Ginnard creek “ could be realized) About this time the Governments stepped in & said “make love –not war “ –one district –one council- (south of Industrial Way became part of the Village)7 instead of 5- or” FORE GO” the grant . The vote was accepted, Projects in progress were allowed to continue & ..Mr. Bullock’s supply tank lost it’s bottom & a court case lasting seven years started -costing more than it was worth & fellow residents are still dealing with this “Creation “ useless as it was with no bottom ,,Unless we look at it as ” low pressure FIRE RESERVE” ,, & introduce Hi pressure to the South our problems are just beginning –We are no longer dealing with the low land that surrounds the beaches- but high land throughout the
the district-Rosie Bay –Industrial way –Hansen development & Higher peaks that now require ‘Pressure Pump’s”
I'm really surprised “Fire Underwriters “ have not introduced new rates,,, “Secrecy”.. Grant money & those that
“money mean’s every thing in design ‘ have “compounded” the problem with’ a lure for water at Tofino airport’,
with a gesture of more to be made at Kennedy lake, Part of that low pressure “Era”is the undisclosed amounts
& ever continuing expenses at the Six Mile , placing ‘band aid on band aid’ is not the answer ,, I’m not sure
where modern CAO’s have us ...I know there is 350,000 gallon mistake in elevation at the six mile & I now hear
its really low pressure (not Barr’s mt pressure that ‘Warren Bernard “had fought for ,) If this is the case “perhaps
our neighbours near Long Beach would like it . Its doesn’t suit ‘water treatment standards ‘ any –way as the
water sits idle should be moving on. These folk’s.. is what “administration – college degree’s & money can do
you. Lets welcome back “Old fashioned” John Motherwell & take our “Lump’s”
Ken Gibson –Water since 1949
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
More Close Creek Photos
More photos from TOFINONEWS AIR ONE of the Close Creek slide on Meares Island.
Close Creek Update ! More Pics
Some people called to ask about the significance of the slide.In short, the slide is directly above the gathering point for the Close Creek component of our water system.It works in combination with Number One Creek and Sharp Creek to provide water suppy to the Bay St. pump station.With Close Creek offline our water supply depends on the other two sources.The slide is much more severe than I had imagined and it will be some time before Close Creek will be back in operation.Fortunately the AHKMAHKSIS water system is completely independent of the other three sources and can provide suitable water to the town south of Industrial Way...feel free to write in with questions or comments
Close Creek Slide !!
This just in !! TOFINONEWS AIR ONE just sent in these dramatic aerial photos of the Close Creek Slide !!! No rumors here at Tofinonews , just the truth !! Check back later for slide analysis and updates !! more pics to come !!
The Leadership Role of the Municipal Chief Administrative Officer
From David Siegel's report in Canadian Public Administration.Note the reference to the "Hourglass" This explains a lot about what is wrong in Tofino.The CAO prefers that employees of a municipality speak only to their supervisor who speaks only to the CAO or in some cases ,Council.All communication between employees and Council goes through the "Hourglass" of the CAO and is subject to spin and editing.Let's scrap this system and bring back "Freedom of Speech" ! Let's stop the "Tail Wagging The Dog" !
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Officials must also sometimes exercise a leadership role with regard to people who are the official's nominal superiors. In Canadian local governments, we take pride in the role of part-time amateur politicians. The phrase "part-time amateur" is not meant to be demeaning but rather just the opposite. A part-time amateur politician is someone whose full-time occupation keeps her or him in close contact with the community, which allows the politician to ensure that the community perspective is reflected in any decision. However, part-time amateurs usually do not have the same level of technical expertise about how to build a bridge or handle a planning application as do full-time officials.
The public servant has no real power over superiors; he or she must rely heavily on influence. External stakeholders or politicians will frequently listen carefully and easily accept the advice of nominal subordinates if they have confidence in the ability of that subordinate. In his seminal book, Leadership, James MacGregor Burns focuses on the mutuality of goals and the range of resources available to a leader: "Leadership over human beings is exercised when persons with certain motives and purposes mobilize ... institutional, political, psychological, and other resources so as to arouse, engage, and satisfy the motives of followers. This is done in order to realize goals mutually held by both leaders and followers" (1978: 18, emphasis in original).
The CAO will frequently have to take the role of mediator. Sometimes an impasse will develop on council. The mayor and councillors may be hopelessly divided on an issue. At law, the mayor and councillors are all equal. The mayor has a higher profile than councillors, but under the law in most Canadian municipalities, the mayor is not even primus inter pares like the first minister in a parliamentary system. In the event of deadlock, there is no one among the mayor and councillors to step forward to find a resolution. With no political axe to grind, the CAO is sometimes in the best position to mediate among these equals to try to breach the impasse.
In some cases, the CAO might want to act proactively before an impasse develops. In these situations, the CAO could seize on a policy that he or she feels is important for the municipality ("the politics of governing society") and try to find a coalition to support the policy. This is clearly not within the "politics of securing office," which would be a violation of political neutrality, but a CAO must proceed very carefully whenever he or she is working with some councillors to the exclusion of others (Masson and LeSage Jr. 1994: 233). The strategy could produce excellent results, but it could also put the CAO in an awkward position with some councillors.
The politicians and the CAO must recognize that they each have different contributions to make in the policy-making process. But, what are those contributions and how do those contributions fit together? Frequently, the distinction is seen as the separation of politics and administration, where the politicians make policy decisions and administrators implement them. Peter Self suggests that an
alternative distinction between politics and administration is in terms of process. We can envisage an arch with the left arc representing the political process and the right arc the administrative process. The junction at the top represents the critical point at which political will flows into and energizes the administrative system: and it is also the point at which influences that have been generated within the administrative process flow back into the higher levels of the political process. There is thus, at the apex of the arch, a fusion of political and administrative influences which have been generated lower down the two arcs (Self 1972: 150-51, emphasis in original).
Thus, Self sees a separation between politicians and administrators but a separation, which is quite permeable at the junction where the two meet, based on distinct processes.
This fluidity makes it very difficult to specify precisely the role of the CAO with regard to the mayor and councilor, in spite of attempts at great precision in bylaws or employment contracts.
Most organization charts are pyramids, with one senior person at the pinnacle. The organization chart of a municipality looks more like an hourglass, with a group of councillors at the top frequently pulling in different directions and a group of departments at the bottom each with a different mandate, and some horizontal task forces thrown in for good measure. The pinch-point in the hourglass, the place through which everything must flow, is the CAO. The role of each separate department head is to manage his or her department, including making sure that the department's interests are properly represented to council and the CAO. The role of the CAO is to meld these disparate interests represented by the various department heads into one corporate perspective.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials must also sometimes exercise a leadership role with regard to people who are the official's nominal superiors. In Canadian local governments, we take pride in the role of part-time amateur politicians. The phrase "part-time amateur" is not meant to be demeaning but rather just the opposite. A part-time amateur politician is someone whose full-time occupation keeps her or him in close contact with the community, which allows the politician to ensure that the community perspective is reflected in any decision. However, part-time amateurs usually do not have the same level of technical expertise about how to build a bridge or handle a planning application as do full-time officials.
The public servant has no real power over superiors; he or she must rely heavily on influence. External stakeholders or politicians will frequently listen carefully and easily accept the advice of nominal subordinates if they have confidence in the ability of that subordinate. In his seminal book, Leadership, James MacGregor Burns focuses on the mutuality of goals and the range of resources available to a leader: "Leadership over human beings is exercised when persons with certain motives and purposes mobilize ... institutional, political, psychological, and other resources so as to arouse, engage, and satisfy the motives of followers. This is done in order to realize goals mutually held by both leaders and followers" (1978: 18, emphasis in original).
The CAO will frequently have to take the role of mediator. Sometimes an impasse will develop on council. The mayor and councillors may be hopelessly divided on an issue. At law, the mayor and councillors are all equal. The mayor has a higher profile than councillors, but under the law in most Canadian municipalities, the mayor is not even primus inter pares like the first minister in a parliamentary system. In the event of deadlock, there is no one among the mayor and councillors to step forward to find a resolution. With no political axe to grind, the CAO is sometimes in the best position to mediate among these equals to try to breach the impasse.
In some cases, the CAO might want to act proactively before an impasse develops. In these situations, the CAO could seize on a policy that he or she feels is important for the municipality ("the politics of governing society") and try to find a coalition to support the policy. This is clearly not within the "politics of securing office," which would be a violation of political neutrality, but a CAO must proceed very carefully whenever he or she is working with some councillors to the exclusion of others (Masson and LeSage Jr. 1994: 233). The strategy could produce excellent results, but it could also put the CAO in an awkward position with some councillors.
The politicians and the CAO must recognize that they each have different contributions to make in the policy-making process. But, what are those contributions and how do those contributions fit together? Frequently, the distinction is seen as the separation of politics and administration, where the politicians make policy decisions and administrators implement them. Peter Self suggests that an
alternative distinction between politics and administration is in terms of process. We can envisage an arch with the left arc representing the political process and the right arc the administrative process. The junction at the top represents the critical point at which political will flows into and energizes the administrative system: and it is also the point at which influences that have been generated within the administrative process flow back into the higher levels of the political process. There is thus, at the apex of the arch, a fusion of political and administrative influences which have been generated lower down the two arcs (Self 1972: 150-51, emphasis in original).
Thus, Self sees a separation between politicians and administrators but a separation, which is quite permeable at the junction where the two meet, based on distinct processes.
This fluidity makes it very difficult to specify precisely the role of the CAO with regard to the mayor and councilor, in spite of attempts at great precision in bylaws or employment contracts.
Most organization charts are pyramids, with one senior person at the pinnacle. The organization chart of a municipality looks more like an hourglass, with a group of councillors at the top frequently pulling in different directions and a group of departments at the bottom each with a different mandate, and some horizontal task forces thrown in for good measure. The pinch-point in the hourglass, the place through which everything must flow, is the CAO. The role of each separate department head is to manage his or her department, including making sure that the department's interests are properly represented to council and the CAO. The role of the CAO is to meld these disparate interests represented by the various department heads into one corporate perspective.
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