There were participants from all sectors of our community and of special note, Minister John Wilkinson,  the Minister of Research and Innovation attended and was very well received. 

I found the day to be an incredible experience and sat in on many discussions.  I also had opportunities to network with people who came from all over Ontario and who are very interested and intrigued by our city-the theme of the day was: 

Waterloo’s Innovation Economy

As Ontario’s industrial sector comes apart at the seams, what can a province built on the sweat of its brow learn from a city built on the strength of its brains?

During an Open Space forum, participants create the topics.  Everyone is invited to come forward with a question they would like to discuss and also have to lead in the discussion.  These questions were posted and participants then get to pick and choose which topic is of interest to them. You can move from discussion group to others,  you are totally independant and free to participate in any forum you wish.  Great concept.

I attended several – the first one was on Quality of Life-How can the common elements convert to economic innovation.

Others I participated in:  Toronto, Is it good for Waterloo and vice versa; New Canadians and the innovative economy; The three T’s of economic development for KW;  What is a new economy.

You can access the discussion results on the TVO website:  www.tvo.org and then click ointo the Agenda site.  The producers of the show were highly impressed with the fact that everyone in the audience had heard of Twitter and that many people brought their laptops.  They kept remarking on what a tech savvy group it was!  It was an absolutely incredible day.

Tonight they are here in Waterloo and will be airing the show live at 8:00 pm from the CIGI building-with a very exciting panel – Jim Balsillie,  Richard Florida, Minister John Wilkinson and Sheila Block.  I hope you will be able to watch the show and hear what they have to say about Waterloo’s Innovation Economy.

Last year my family turned off the TV and all the lights, lit some candles and did something fantastic – we talked and it lasted for more than an hour.  I know that sounds pretty strange, but we are so busy and when we are together, we tend to watch movies and interact with the TV.  We all commented on how quiet the house was – you forget how much noise is created by TV’s and sound systems-we are so used to background noise.  It was great seeing all the dark houses on the street  as well.

I have received comments that this is a pretty useless thing to do – but I disagree.  Building awareness of our energy consumption and our own impact on the environment is extremely important.  I am a strong believer in the power of one – multiplied by hundreds of millions of people around the world.  It is very significant and I think it can change the way we think about energy consumption.  One hour is not a huge inconvenience and I hope that this community will step up again and participate.

The City of Waterloo also will participate by powering down all non-essential lighting in City facilities, with the exception of lighting left on for safety reasons.

I would love to hear from you about how you are planning on participating during Earth Hour.

The good news is that I am in the process of having a very new Mayor’s Community Blog being created and am expecting that it will be up and running by the end of March.  I am very excited with the design and it’s interactive capability – and – we will be showcasing some very innovative postings.

If you could just be patient for a little while longer, I would sincerely appreciate it.  It will be worth the wait!

BNN speaks to Brenda Halloran, Mayor, City of Waterloo

I had the great honour of sharing this momentous experience with a large group of excited Obama fans at the Tri City Multicultural Centre.  It truly was memorable for us all as we watched history unfold.  People were cheering and clapping and some were crying.  The joy in that gathering was truly wonderful. 

Will President Obama be able to accomplish what the world is expecting of him?  Will he be able to continue to inspire and bring hope and a sense of pride to the American people?  Only time will tell.  But for now, I will always remember spending this moment in time with everyone at the Centre.  I will never forget the sharing of togetherness, of hope, of feeling inspired and wanting change to come to a tired world.  We need to have hope and I thank this man for bringing it to all of us.

Yes we can – together!

So, I thought I would list a few of the agencies who are needing assistance  in our community and where the needs are – for me, it is always  a time to really reflect on my good fortune and how important it is to reach out and help others.

Salvation Army:  They are operating the fill a kettle campaign and they have their red kettles at Conestoga Mall and Fairview Mall.  They require volunteers to stand at the kettles.  But what they really require is your financial donations – so if you can, please make a donation and say hello to the volunteer standing there.  The Salvation Army uses these donations to provide food and toys during Christmas time, as well as running all their programs throughout the year.     For more information: www.salvationarmy.ca

Toy Drive:  Waterloo and Kitchener Firefighters, along with the Waterloo Knights of Columbus are collecting new, unwrapped toys until December 20th.  Toys can be dropped off at any Waterloo fire hall or Waterloo Regional Police Detachment as well as the Knights of Columbus on 145 Dearborn Place.

House of Friendship Food Hampers:  Financial donations towards their Food Hamper program can be mailed or dropped off at the Erb and Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo, On N2J 1P.  Food can be donated at the House of Friendship, 63 Charles St., Kitchener or by calling 519-743-8327.  You can also sponsor a family for $75.00

Annual Tree of Angels Campaign:  The tree is in front of the Zellers Store at Conestoga Mall and is a partnership of The City of Waterloo, The Salvation Army, May Court Club, Waterloo Grand River Kin Family, Optimist International, Waterloo Chronicle, Conestoga Mall and 105.3 KOOL FM. They are looking for donations of new, unwrapped toys for children and teenagers.  They would also appreciate financial donations. 

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region:  The need is very great this year and the Food Bank requires our support.  You can make a financial donation by visiting their website and you can also make food donations at many locations around the Region – please visit their website for more information at : www.thefoodbank.ca

These are just some of the many worthy agencies in our community requiring our help.  Please make giving to others a part of your holiday tradition.  We can make such a difference in the lives of others.

Please take a few minutes to read this information – the salary adjustments are not pay hikes for senior management or for the Mayor and Council.  There has been a market survey and job evaluation process that began in early 2006 to review salary and job classifications for 280 positions and the final results were presented to Council in January 2008.  This review was done by an independant consultant hired by the city.

Media Release:

November 24, 2008 –  Waterloo City Council opted to take more time to look at options to fund a $1.8 million shortfall in the three year budget.

During Monday’s Council meeting, a number of options were included in a report that outlined proposed budget adjustments. In referring the decision to December 8, Council expressed a desire to more fully understand the recommendations before them and to create an opportunity to consider the proposed recommendations for budget adjustments in the context of the broader budget. Council voted unanimously to refer the decision on budget adjustments that were proposed for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 budgets to the December 8 budget day.

The target $1.8 million for these adjustments is based on previously approved expenditures related to job evaluation and market salary work that was conducted over the past three years and approved this past July. 

Many of the recommended changes to the budget that were put before Council would have subsequent impacts on the organization and on the community.  These include impacts on service such as reducing leaf collection, reducing terrestrial monitoring and eliminating expansion dollars allocated to economic development, as well as a delay in operating funding for the West Side district library branch from the fall of 2010 to the winter of 2011. Staffing impacts included in the recommendations would amount to a net reduction of 3.5 full time equivalents. Opportunities for efficiencies include more effective use of advertising dollars, implementation of the food services review, and in house water and waste water billing services. In referring the decision, Council asked staff to include the potential budget adjustments and subsequent impacts as part of the broader budget discussions that are scheduled for December 8.

The following provides background information related to the budget adjustment recommendations that Council was asked to consider. 

Background Information – Budget Adjustment Recommendations

Overview:

The report that was presented asks Council to consider options to adjust the existing budget in order to identify $1.8 million required to fund the job evaluation and market salary survey work that began in 2006. Council approved the implementation of this work on July 14.

The report presents options to adjust the existing budget, not to approve the outcomes or salary increases that resulted from the work.

 
Background on Job Evaluation:  

A  job  evaluation  process  was  initiated  to  establish  internal  equity  within  non-union  positions. Job  evaluation  measures  four  factors  common  to  all  positions:  skill,  responsibility,  effort,  and working  conditions.   At  the  end  of  the  process, close to 280  jobs  were  evaluated and a new banding structure was  introduced,  defining the  relative  positions  of  the  jobs  evaluated to  achieve internal  equity.  This process was focused on staff association roles. The staff association is the negotiating body for staff at the City who are not associated with CUPE or the fire union, and includes employees at all levels of the organization.
 
Background on Market Salary:  
Towards  the  conclusion  of  the  job  evaluation  process,  a  market  salary  survey  was  initiated.  An external consultant, Watson-Wyatt  conducted  the  initial  survey,  looking  at  a  total  of  35 positions  and  considered comparators  with  comparable  size  of  the  organization  in  terms  of budgets,  number  of  employees,  municipal  sector  and  job  content  (not  job  titles). Data was collected from the following municipalities:

City of Guelph            Regional Municipality of Waterloo
City of Burlington       Regional Municipality of Niagara
City of Cambridge       Regional Municipality of Durham
City of Oshawa           Regional Municipality of Halton
City of Kitchener         City of Barrie
City of London            City of Kingston

In addition, the  Mercer  Municipal  survey  and  AON  Municipal  Survey  were reviewed for further information, which was provided  to  CMT  and  to  Council.  The  final  stage  of this process was a third party review   conducted  by  representatives  of  the  Audit  Committee,  members  of  Council, along  with  representation  from  CMT  and  from  Staff  Association.  The  outcomes  of  that  market salary review were  presented  and  approved  by  Council  on  July  14.  

 
Timeline: 
- The last full  job evaluation was completed in 1995, with the maintenance of that program continuing to the end of 2004
- A consultant was selected in the spring of 2006, which marked the beginning of the process. 
- Over the course of the initiative, the job evaluation committee evaluated a total of 280 jobs 
- The results were announced in January 2008
- An independent consultant reviewed the results in April 2008
The market salary data was reviewed by the Audit Committee in May 2008
- Council approved the implementation of the job evaluation and market salary survey results in July 2008
- Staff reported back with recommendations to address the unfunded portion of the cost in September. At that time, Council directed staff to make adjustments within the existing budget in order to address the $1.8 shortfall. 
- The recommendations for adjustments brought forward to Council today allow for a balanced budget in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Budget Adjustments Recommendations: 
The adjustments being proposed relate to the 2008, 2009 and 2010 budget. The target for these adjustments is $1.8 million based on previously approved expenditures that are related to job evaluation and market salary. The recommendations being put forward would achieve a balanced budget for these years, as was approved by Council in December 2007.

Impacts and Outcomes:   
Many of the recommended changes to the budget have subsequent impacts on the organization. They are as follows:

Potential service impacts:

• reduction in leaf collection
• elimination of the cul de sac turf renovation program
• reduction in terrestrial monitoring
• elimination of expansion dollars that were previously directed towards Economic Development
• a delay in operating funding for the West Side district library from the fall of 2010 to the winter of 2011
• reduction in transfers to the Uptown Reserve Fund.

Potential staffing Impacts:
The recommended budget adjustments call for a net reduction of 3.5 full time equivalents, which could also have the potential to impact service as these

Opportunities for efficiencies:
Recommendations for efficiencies include more effective use of advertising, implementing the food services recommendations and bringing water and waste water billing in house.

These recommendations will now be considered during the December 8 budget day deliberations. Full details can be found in CAO-08-11 – Budget Adjustment Recommendations, found on page 42 in the Council Agenda Package www.waterloo.ca

We have a number of projects currently underway that illustrate our commitment to being an “Environment First” community.  In January 2008 we launched our Energy Management Plan and set the goal of reducing our energy use and greenhouse emission intensity by 30% from our 2004 levels by the year 2010.  We have a Green Procurement Policy that places an emphasis for all staff on the importance of buying green.  A current hot topic is the use of Wind Turbines.  We have a Wind Energy Pilot Project in place to study the feasibility of using wind turbines and will be installing two towers for a year to measure the wind regime in Waterloo.  The results of this study will help the City determine if future wind energy projects should be explored.

We haven’t yet finished the review of the City’s Environmental Strategic Plan or the City’s Official Plan but we are striving to make sure that these new plans encompass environmental strategies that will work for today and for tomorrow. 

Their story is truly inspirational – some of the students walk up to two hours each way to study in a six room school house and there is only one instrument for four students.   I would like to help them out and am looking for donated musical instruments.  If you have a musical instrument that you would be interested in donating, please send an email to:  bhalloran@city.waterloo.on.ca.  It would be wonderful to be able to assist these students and enable them to have their own instruments to use.   They need brass instruments (horns, trumpets, saxophones etc) and also guitars.