Agenda Package - City of Vernon

THE CORPORATION OF THE C]TY OF VERNON
2008 Annual Report
CAO's REPORT
The Chief Administrative Office/s office is responsible for overall direction and
supervision of City operations, and implementation of Council objectives. This office
additionally provides support to Council by providing information and resources to
assist them in determining the overall direction of City and regional initiatives.
The fall saw elections for Council with three new Councilors stepp¡ng ¡n to serve the
community. A facilitated session was held to acquaint the new Council and Senior
Managers and to discuss the direction and preferences of the new Council.
The year was also notable in a constant senior management team, in contrast to the previous year which
saw turnover in several key positions. I believe the City will remain under constant pressure to attract and
reta¡n qualified professionals. These pressures extend to skilled positions throughout the organization.
Growth and a demand for higher levels of service continue to apply upward pressure on our recruitment
efforts and expenses.
One of the challenges of a growing organization is keeping up with the provision of suitable work space for
all staff. Proposed new office space to meet our needs for the 20-year horizon as part of a Civic Center
upgrade that would have included a new library and art gallery failed at referendum during 2008.
Consequently some City divisions are housed in two temporary locations downtown and we cont¡nue to
seek solutions to meet the medium- and long-term space needs of the City and RCMP.
The City successfully concluded negot¡ations with our Firefighter's union, the IAFF. We also implemented
our 2OO7 to 2011 settlement with the Vernon Civic Employees union. Generally, we continue to enjoy
positive working relationships with our two bargaining units'
During the first half of 2008 the City formed a partnership with the cities of Kelowna, West Kelowna and
Penticton. This inter-municipal partnership was created under provisions of the Community Charter and
provides the largest cities in the Okanagan the opportunity to cooperate on valley-wide issues such as
affordable housing, climate action, susta¡nable development, transit and harmonization of key bylaws. The
four cities represent about 80% of the population of the Okanagan; so the inter-munic¡pal partnersh¡p
represents a strong vo¡ce to the Province when providing input on valley-wide governance issues.
Leon Gous
Ch ief Adm inistrative Officer
6lPage
20