What are going to be the main issues, opportunities, and challenges in Kamloops this year? What follows are some of my thoughts, from my own biased perspective. There may be subsequent posts, with more thoughts.
There is always a danger that such posts come across like pontification. Remember, I didn't get re-elected. I have still have a whole lot to learn from my fellow citizens.
Hopefully these may spark some thinking among others. Even better, thinking that people are willing to share:
Wrestling with Sustainability
We've come a long way, in the past few years, in our community understanding and application of solid sustainability principles. But, it seems to me, we still wrestle with sustainability.The last update of our official guiding document for development, Kamplan, was conducted before climate change became a top of mind issue. City hall's new sustainable Kamloops committee has a gargantuan scope of work - really smart, piece by piece, community focused implementation will be a key success factor in the work.
Helping Create a Strong Economy
I don't think government generally fare wells when it tries to pick economic winners and losers. But, there is some fertile ground on which to help nurture significant, long term economic success. Targeting green businesses, technology businesses, tourism businesses, global businesses, value added businesses makes a great deal of sense. I think we need to be choosy with limited resources, and keep the long term viability of our tax base top of mind. Especially, in the face of the huge global economic restructuring we will see in 2009.
Taking Real Leadership on Ending Homelessness
I have been amazed by what the new Vancouver Mayor and Council have been able to do to help homeless people in such a short time. Yes, Vancouver has different governing legislation than the rest of the municipalities in BC, but they still have to look to the provincial government for much of the funds. But, the power of taking a strong stance, of taking on the facilitation and coordination on this issue, is pretty evident.
Police / Social Agency Interaction in Summer 2009
It's hard to imagine this now, when we are still in sub zero temperatures. But, as the weather warms, a lot of unhappy, undesirable activity will again appear on our streets. I am hopeful that the Kamloops RCMP and the various social service agencies will find a way to communicate consistently and to work together. One cannot work well without the other. The RCMP spends a lot of time dealing with low level stuff, essentially stealing resources from the big time crimes where they can be most effective. The social service agencies need to understand the pressure put on the RCMP by the community to "do something" when neighbourhood undesirable activity ramps up.
I recently spoke to a RCMP officer who told me about the new downtown team. Great, I said, and then tried to gently broach the topic of this new team's liason with social service outreach workers. That will come later, he said. I don't see why that liason was not happening right up front. Social agencies need to work more closely together so that the RCMP can be confident that they are talking to that community in the most effective, efficient way possible.
The city has tried to facilitate communication, but I think its still at a very beginning stage. One possible city staff resource: newly created position of social development coordinator.
Summer 2009 might be an initial, but this communication should continue as a standing protocol.
Community Buy-In
Trust. That should be the key concept at any level of government. If big difficult decisions are needed, perhaps many of them, those who represent the people need to have the people's deep trust. And citizens should be asking their representatives to make sure that consultation and engagement is always improving. City hall is more trusted than most levels of government, when you examine the issue in the abstract. However, the real test is when a difficult issue arises - whether it be backyard burning, or putting new transit stops in front of houses without notification. These are difficult issues - dealing with them in way that inspires trust, rather than fosters doubt, should be top of mind going forward.
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