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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-09-019 - 2009-2010 Ontario Municipal Internship ProgramKIT(~NER - - • - Ch i e f Ad m i n is rra ror "s Office Report To: Councillor B. Vrbanovic Chair and Members Finance and Corporate Services Committee Date of Meeting: Monday, March 30, 2009 Submitted By: Shelley Adams, Director, Community and Corporate Planning, Ext: 2476 Prepared By: Shelley Adams, ,Director, Community and Corporate Planning, Ext: 2476 Ward(s) Involved: All Date of Report: Monday, March 16, 2009 Report No.: CAO-09-019 Subject: 2009-2010 Ontario Municipal Internship Program RECOMMENDATION: That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute the Ontario Municipal Internship Grant Agreement with the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario representing 50% of the cost of hosting an AMCTO Municipal Intern for the period July 2, 2009 to June 30, 2010. BACKGROUND: The Ontario Municipal Internship Program was developed 3 years ago by AMCTO (The Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario) in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAH) Ontario in order to address the critical need to attract and train the next generation of competent well- rounded municipal leaders. Upon successful completion of this program, interns will be prepared to enter and positively contribute to the administration and management of local government, and ultimately rise to leadership positions within Ontario municipal corporations. The program provides funding to selected Ontario municipalities in support of their hiring and training of an intern fora 12-month term. During the program year, the interns gain hands-on experience in the key functions involved in managing a municipality. The Host Municipality will designate either the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) or a senior member of the management team to supervise and mentor the intern during the course of the placement. The program also provides orientation and networking sessions for participants, as well as professional development opportunities provided through MAH and AMCTO. As part of their internship placement, participants will spend one month at a MAH Municipal Services Office in order to grasp the complexities of the relationship between the provincial government and local governments. The Municipal Internship Program is designed to expose each intern to a variety of key municipal business areas through work assignments proposed by the municipality based on a structured Program curriculum. REPORT: On December 12, 2008, with the support of Mayor Carl Zehr, an application was submitted to the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario to retain a municipal intern for a one year period. A copy of the detailed application is attached as Appendix "A" On March 2nd the City of Kitchener was informed that it has been selected to participate in the 2009-2010 edition of the Ontario Municipal Internship Program. Applications have been received and a shortlist of potential candidates will be interviewed over the next week with the successful candidate being notified by March 31St. The proposed term of employment is July 2, 2009 to June 30, 2010. With recruiting, training and retaining the leaders of the future being a key focus for Council and the organization, as identified in the People Plan along with the desire to achieve the vision set out in the Plan for a Healthy Kitchener, 2007-2027 (P4HK) and the City of Kitchener Strategic Plan, the opportunities for learning and leadership within this organization are endless. Numerous activities have been set out in function areas of General Governance, Financial Services and Systems, Corporate Services, Community Services, Communications and Marketing, People Services and Organizational Development and Development and Technical Services to provide a rich and varied placement experience for the intern. Overall supervisory responsibilities will be handled by Shelley Adams, Director, Community and Corporate Planning (as designated by Carla Ladd, CAO). The Intern will have opportunity to work with the CAO and, as currently designated, Pauline Houston, General Manager, Community Services, Dan Chapman, General Manager, Financial Services and other members of the City's senior management, as the intern's educational and experiential priorities dictate. Evaluations will be a combined effort between the intern and all involved supervisors. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The Ontario Municipal Internship Program will provide up to 50% of the cost (up to a maximum of $20,000 based on a recommended intern salary of $40,000 per annum) in funding to selected municipalities in Ontario to hire and support the training of the successful intern fora 12 month period. The Program will also provide up to an additional $5,000 in funding to cover the cost of other intern expenses (including travel and accommodation related to additional training, specific equipment, etc.). The total contribution from AMCTO is $25,000. The City's total contribution to the program will be $31,200. This includes $20,000 (salary) and $11,200 (payroll expenses & benefits). These costs will be funded from the City's General Training Reserve. COMMUNICATIONS: Introductory communications and a full orientation will coincide with the Intern's commencement with the City of Kitchener. Shelley Adams, Director Community and Corporate Planning l December 12, 2008 CARLA LADD CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR City Hall, PO Box 1118 200 King Street West Kitchener, Ontario Canada, N2G 4G7 .Telephone 519 -741-2350 Fax 519 -741-2705 TTY 519 -742-2385 Email: carla.ladd@kitchener.ca Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario 2680 Skymark Avenue, Suite 910 Mississauga ON L4W 5L6 Craig Wellington Manager, Communications & Marketing Municipal Internship Program Re: Ontario Municipal Internship Program Please accept this letter as a clear expression of the City of Kitchener's strong and enthusiastic support for the Ontario Municipal Internship Program. The application was brought forward to our Corporate Management Team (CMT) and Department Heads and Divisional Directors fully supported the program and agreed that the CAO's office should move forward with the application process. Each Department identified program areas in accordance with the guidelines to ensure the maximum exposure and opportunity for development for a potential intern. The application before you is the result of our combined interest and efforts. Indeed, the robust learning opportunities listed herein represent meaningful professional experiences that will be carefully and thoughtfully supervised by municipal administrators who are fully engaged leaders in this organization. In addition, our application has the full support of our Mayor, Carl Zehr. City of Kitchener Mayor and Council are committed to developing and maintaining an organizational culture of leadership to advance their goal of achieving a `different future for city government and public service'. Recruiting, training and retaining the leaders of the future is a key focus for Council and the organization. By participating in the Internship program, we are able to assist in developing the public service leaders of tomorrow. We hope that our application is met with support. If you have any questions or require .clarification, please call me. Regaxds 4 ~, ~ to i ~. Carla Ladd Chief Administrator o~t~ ri'~ M,unici'ga~J 1nt~enishi'~ PrograJ 2009 - 20.10 Host Municipality Application Ontario ~ ~ AMCTO THE MUNICIPAL EXPERTS Appendix A: Application Checklist 1. Complete parts 2; 3 and 4 of the grant application form. You may print off the form and complete it manually, then submit it to AMCTO. Please add additional pages if more space is needed to fully answer the questions. 2. Ensure the application form is signed by both the Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Council 3. If the application is a joint submission, attach copies of council resolutions from each of the participating municipalities, including the managing partner, indicating which municipality will be the managing partner for the internship. 4. Submit the application by December 15t", 2008 to: Municipal Internship Program Craig Wellington AMCTO 2680 Skymark Avenue Suite 910 Mississauga, ON L4W 5L6 Fax: (905) 602-4295 2 Ontario Municipal Internship Program Grant Application 2009-2010 Each section must be completely filled in by all applicants and signed by the Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Council to be considered. NAME AND MAILING ADRESS OF MUNICIPALITY CITY OF KITCHENER 200 King Street West PO Box 1118 Kitchener ON N2G 4G7 CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER (or equivalent position) Name Carla Ladd Title Chief Administrator Telephone- 519-741-2350 a-mail carla.ladd@kitchener.ca PART 1 -GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Amount of Grant: $20,000 Purpose and Use of Grant: The Ontario Municipal Internship Program will provide up to 50% of the cost (up to a maximum of $20,000 based on a recommended intern salary of $40,000 per annum) in funding to selected municipalities in Ontario to hire and support the training of an intern fora 12 month period. The intern will be an employee of the municipality for the term of the internship and participating municipalities will be expected to provide additional financial resources to cover the cost of salary and employment expenses. During the course of the 12-month Internship Program, the intern will be required to complete the necessities of the Internship Program Curriculum Guidebook. Ancillary Expenses The Program will provide up to an additional $5,000 in funding to cover the cost of other intern expenses (including travel and accommodation related to additional training, specific equipment, etc.). The host municipality is required to submit receipts and/or expense claims to AMCTO to be reimbursed for intern expenditures up to the allocated expense amount of $5,000. 3 Eligible Expenses for 2008-09 Internship Grant Notes. Benefits may not be paid out of the $20,000 salary portion n nnn of the grant. Expenses Each host municipality is provided up to $5,000 to be used :Maximum: $5 000 t to cover expenses incurred by its intern specific to fulfilling , the expectations of the program during the year. Allocation of these expenses is to be determined by the host municipality in consultation with its intern. No part of the $5,000 expense portion can be allocated to salary or benefits. Host municipalities and/or interns must submit receipts to AMCTO in order to be reimbursed for expenses. Required: Attendance at prescribed AMCTO and .Ministry Workshops AMCTO and Ministry are a required part of the Program for the interns. All expenses associated with having the interns attend these Workshops workshops (e.g. accommodation, parking expenses, mileage) can be allocated to this component of the grant. Expenses for the intern's supervisor to attend meetings are not eligible to be covered by the grant. Required: Interns are to be permitted to attend at least one AMCTO conference during the year, as well as one MAH regional Attendance at conference Conferences. All expenses associated with having-the interns attend these workshops (e.g. accommodation,~pai-king expenses, mileage) can be allocated to this component of the grant. Expenses for the intern's supervisor to attend conferences are not eli ible to be covered b the rant. Optional: The host municipality may choose whether it will cover any Relocation Costs of its intern's relocation costs. 4 Project Timeline: The project timeline will be for a period of one year, commencing the date the intern starts his or her placement. (By June 30th, 2009) PART 2 -ELIGIBILITY Please answer the following questions. If your response is no to any of the following basic criteria, your municipality will be ineligible for participation in the program. i. The CAO or a senior manager acting as his/her designate has agreed to serve as the intern supervisor for the duration of the program. ®Yes ^ No ii. There are comprehensive workplace harassment and discrimination policies in place in the municipality. ® Yes ^ No iii. There is an up-to-date Health & Safety Policy in place in the municipality, including a training program in this area. ® Yes ^ No iv. There is an Accessibility Plan in place in the municipal offices ® Yes ^ No Please indicate the date of your most recent formal review of your Accessibility Plan February 4, 2008 5 PART 3 -PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS W hat will your municipality be contributing towards salary and expenses? (The suggested guideline for an intern's salary is a minimum of $40,000 per year.) The intern's salary is exclusive of any benefits to which the intern is entitled as part of the municipality's standard benefit package for employees. Program Grant Municipal Contribution Total Salary $20,000 $ 20,000 $ 40,000 Payroll Expenses & Benefits $Ni $ 11,200 $ 11,200 Expenses $5,000 $Nil $ 5,000 Totals $25,000 $31,200 $ 56,200 2. Why is your municipality interested in hosting an intern? The City of Kitchener is extremely interested in hosting an AMCTO Municipal Intern, for a number of reasons. First, we hold innovation, change and growth as values central to our corporate culture. The newly developed People Plan for the City of Kitchener identifies "creating a culture of learning" as one of 5 priority areas of focus with an end .goal of creating an ideal workplace; a workplace that attracts and retains the best staff, ensures meaningful, positive and safe work environments, and provides many opportunities for life-long learning and development. Student internships are highly regarded as one expression of this goal Secondly, the City of Kitchener continues to move forward on achieving the vision articulated in "Plan fora Healthy Kitchener, 2007-202T' (P4HK) - notwithstanding the challenging economic context. The entrepreneurial spirit born out of our cultural history underpins the continued advancement we are achieving in strategic areas. As such., the community continues to enjoy lower unemployment, higher median housing .prices and housing starts than the provincial averages, as well as continued job creation in non-traditional sectors (technology, bio-medical, pharmaceutical and digital media). Simply, the City is growing, we endeavour to do it well, and there remains much to do to achieve that vision. 6 Finally, and not at all discreet from the above, we are in the final stages of compiling our first ever "Strategic Plan for a Sustainable Kitchener, 2009-2029", due for release 01/30/09. This document -and the processes undertaken to develop it -aligns our citizen's vision and priorities (P4HK, 2007), the Corporation's mandate, business systems and processes (Corporate Plan, 2004), and the organization's cultural values and human resource supports (People Plan, 2008). Vision, values, policies, programs, projects and people. Operationally, we are now in a position to bring these fundamental component pieces into line with planning, evaluation, performance measurement and budget cycles; a single comprehensive strategy. The work, however, has just begun; the opportunities for learning and leadership within this organization -within this Municipality -are endless. Under the umbrella of each of the Strategic Plan for a Sustainable Kitchener" are innumerable actions -planned or to be planned -that provide a rich and. varied placement experience. The intern will have a wide range of options in choosing projects, including day-to-day administrative functions through meetings with internal and community partners, through to opportunities for strategic visioning and consultation with the community. 3. Based on the key function areas outlined in the program outline, what activities would/might you have an intern involved in if your municipality were selected as a host? General Governance: ^ Participant (intern) at Corporate Management Team and Senior Leadership Team ^ Job shadow opportunities with CAO and other members of Corporate Management Team as per Intern's learning objectives/projects. ^ Develop an evaluation process for Community Engagement Policy and Framework Implementation (including diversity components) ^ Facilitate the development of an "access, equity and inclusion" policy and toots for City of Kitchener Advisory Committees and Boards. ^ Develop a framework for monitoring progress on "A Strategic Plan for a Sustainable Kitchener, 2009-2029" (release date 01/30/09) ^ Annual Status Report; Administrative support to produce annual report to Council and citizens which tracks the City's progress against the goals and objectives set out in the Plan fora ,Healthy Kitchener. ^ Assist with development and coordination of a "end of term" citizen survey for Compass Kitchener (an advisory committee to Council regarding citizen priorities and perceptions of success thereof) Financial Services and Systems: ^ Complete a reserve fund policy review. ^ Literature/background review and research for long-term financial plan. ^ Assist with development of new interim financial reporting standards/process. ^ Develop new capital project submission criteria, forms, process. Corporate Services: Review of Corporate policies (to separate Council Policies from Administrative Policies). Assist with development of a new City Council member orientation program, in anticipation on the 2010 election and 57% increase in size of Council Community Services: ^ Development of a Volunteer Strategy ^ Community investment Strategy -policy development for a number of our smaller grant programs (i.e. program specific ones such as special events, community gardens, etc.) Communications and Marketing: ^ Assist in the development of an internal communications policy for the corporation. ^ Develop an implementation strategy to respond to the Ontario government's new communications regulations contained in the Ontarians with Disabilities Act. People Services and Organizational Development: ^ Action planning and accountability-tracking related to organization-wide employee survey. ^ Needs analysis and business case development related to implementation of online candidate management system (CMS) ^ Assist in development of a sustainable dashboard of relevant data relating to human resources and related demographics, e.g. retention, workforce composition. etc. ^ Assist in process mapping and gap analysis of intra-divisional operations and workflows with efficiency/automation recommendations (and related implementation of improvement strategies.) ^ Assist in development of a Request for Proposal related to corporate health benefits and post RFP submission review, analysis and selection. - Assist in development of a sustainable Corporate-wide learning and development model .Development and Technical Services: ^ Develop a road renaming. policy and begin the implementation to address a number of disconnects in our street network. ^ Develop municipal criteria#or Traffic Impact Studies. ^ Identify issues and develop strategies to address the traffic and parking impacts of greater residential intensification. ^ Develop transportation standards for new subdivision design to address issues such as arterial road access, collector road lengths and traffic calming. ^ Update and revise the sidewalk infill policy and program. ^ Assist in the implementation of the corporate records management system. 9 ~'~ AM CTO _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-_ _ _ _ _ _ _Internship_Work_Plan_ _ _ _ _ _ _~~~ THE MUNICIPAL EXPERTS Month: - - ... - Department: This work plan will be completed in partnership with the intern based. on .core program requirements, intern's interests, areas of expertise and corporate priorities. Focus Area: 10 4. Indicate how your municipality will provide the intern with experience (in terms of learning opportunities, training resources, etc.) in the prescribed .municipal operation areas. (You may choose to include key function area/s specifically related to your municipality's specific needs. As noted above, the Intern will participate at both the Corporate Management and Senior Leadership teams. The Corporate Management team consists of the Chief Adminis#rative Officer, General Managers of all departments, City Solicitor, Executive Director of People Services and Organizational Development, Director of Corporate Communications & Marketing, Performance Measurement and Internal Auditor, Director of Community and Corporate Planning and Executive Director, Economic Development. The Corporate Management team is responsible for: financial direction and strategy, administrative. policy direction, organizational leadership and development, communications and information dissemination throughout the organization, issue management strategies, and strategic management of Council agendas. The Senior Leadership Team consists of the Chief Administrative Officer, General Managers of all departments and Directors of all divisions. The Senior Leadership team continues to move the City's leadership culture forward through key corporate initiatives and assists in the development of corporate strategy. The Intern will develop a workplan in partnership with appropriate corporate players that satisfies the requirements of the Ontario Municipal Internship Program, meets the learning needs of the student and advances the priorities of the corporation. Potential programs and projects currently on the City of Kitchener's table are listed above -that list is not exhaustive. We are open, also, to considering special programs or projects suggested by the Intern, given their "fit" with corporate priorities. Every effort will be made to ensure'assignments provide for the full spectrum of municipal professional experience based upon the Intern's prior learning and current goals, and will include (but not limited to) meeting planning and support, group facilitation, research and data analysis, report writing (varied audiences), program planning, design, implementation and/or evaluation, partnership development, policy review and revision, and so on. As well, the City of Kitchener is committed to providing and promoting a learning environment for all. City interns have access to numerous opportunities, including the Leadership and Management Training., TED programs (professional skills and personal development courses), a mentoring program, health and safety training and the City's "corporate wellness" programs. 11 5. Who is your proposed intern supervisor and what position does your proposed intern supervisor hold? The Intern will be accountable to the CAO as the primary supervisor, however, he or she will be supervised by appropriate members of the Corporate Management Team, depending on the project(s) accountabilities. Evaluations. will be a combined effort between the Intern and all "supervisors". At this point in the application process, and given the priority learning areas of the program vise a vie the priorities of the City of Kitchener, we can confirm at least the following as direct supervisors: Carla Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer, and, as designated: • Pauline Houston, General Manager, Community Services • Dan Chapman, General Manager, Financial Services • Shelley Adams, Director, Community and Corporate Planning 6. Please state the actual date that your intern will start his/her. internship with your municipality (Flexible between June 30t" 2009 and July 31St,'2009) as well as the date for completion of the program. Proposed starting date: July 2, 2009 Proposed completion date: June 30, 2010 12 PART 4 -AUTHORIZATION We are prepared to enter into a conditional grant agreement with AMCTO (The Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario) governing the use of the grant as per the terms and conditions outlined in the Ontario Municipal Internship Program grant application guidelines if this application is approved. Council Approval: ,. -~ Carl Zehr, Mayor Signature of H ' d ` f Council Name of Head of Council (Please PRINT) Date .Chief Administrative Officer (or equivalent position)`Approval: ;~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ 3 ~. ~. ,`; _,. t ~ Carla Ladd, Chief Administrator S~g~ature of Chief Administrative Officer Name of CAO (Please PRINT) ~~ ~, .. ... '~ ,'T r' i~ ,{ "Date Please return two copies of this application by December 15t", 2008 to: Municipal Internship Program Craig Wellington AMCTO 2680 Skymark Avenue Suite 910 Mississauga, ON L4W 5L6 Fax: (905) 602-4295 13