As local government professionals, we have always prided ourselves on our capacity for continuous learning, adaptation and responsiveness, but the events of 2020 and the global pandemic forced us to be more agile, more creative and more inventive than perhaps ever before. I want to acknowledge the incredible efforts of each and every one of you over 2020. Local governments consistently demonstrated leadership across the province as they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects in their communities. Each of you has demonstrated the absolute best of the local government profession by modeling strength in adversity, working collaboratively with others, and finding solutions to guide recovery efforts for your citizens, no matter your job title, role or responsibilities. We salute your strength, resilience, and the innovative solutions and quick actions taken to respond to the pandemic.

The LGMA was no different - the LGMA staff also had to very quickly adjust operations to work remotely at the onset of the pandemic, but perhaps more critically, the Association has had to totally rethink its business model and way of working. For 100 years, the LGMA has provided peer to peer, in person education and professional development, and the pandemic prohibited the delivery of that traditional model. Staff undertook training to better understand virtual training options, learner requirements, technical demands, and training methodologies and began delivering a new set of virtual training options in May. As you will see in this year’s Annual Report, those virtual training sessions and the free webinars and townhalls that were offered throughout the year were highly successful, with participants providing very positive feedback on both the content and networking provided through online formats. 

Many lessons were learned from the redesign of our training models, lessons that will no doubt shape future training and educational options beyond the pandemic.

2020 also marked the first year of a new five-year strategic plan cycle, which focuses on greater accessibility and regional training opportunities – now informed by our experiences delivering online training – more foundational skills training at both technical and leadership levels, and more emphasis on member and volunteer engagement. We are pleased to highlight the successes of this first year under the new strategic plan, and grateful  for the support of our members, volunteers,  sponsors and local government partners across B.C. who all made it possible for us to achieve our training and financial targets.

This report provides an overview of the LGMA’s work over the past year and progress against key strategic metrics. It has been my privilege to serve the Association. On behalf of the staff and your Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to present the 2020 Annual Report to the membership.

As I reflect on 2020, I am so grateful to be part of the local government profession, where colleagues support one another, provide their knowledge and resources freely to ensure others can succeed, and where there is a deep and abiding commitment to helping communities grow and prosper. That spirit of collective service while standing strong together was also felt by our team at the LGMA – thank you to everyone for your messages of support and encouragement and your feedback on our efforts last year. They boosted and energized us and helped spur us on during difficult days. 

Despite the challenges, this past year was very successful, and the performance metrics in this year’s Annual Report highlight how well the team was able to adapt and redesign our training and educational programs. I am exceptionally proud of the efforts of the LGMA staff – they were superb throughout the initial move to remote work, taking care of and providing support to one another, learning new technologies and training methodologies, and all the while coping with family and other pressures and changes in roles and workplan assignments as a result of retrenchment. Through it all, the team rose to every challenge and remained responsive to the needs of our members. 

I know you will join me in recognizing the outstanding work of the LGMA team: Senior Program Manager Candace Witkowskyj, Program Manager Ana Fuller, Communications and Program Coordinator Shannon Gustafsson, Finance Officer Randee Platz, Membership and Outreach Coordinator Adrian Paradis, and our expert contractors Peter Smith, Sonia Santarossa and Allison Habkirk. I want to especially acknowledge our incredible volunteers, partners and sponsors – we simply could not have managed to make it through the year without you. 

Thank you also to the Board of Directors for their leadership, guidance and support throughout the year.

Four categories of certification are available – Certificate in Local Government Service Delivery, Certificate in Local Government Administration, Certificate in Local Government Statutory Administration, Certificate in Local Government Executive Management – each requiring a level of competency in local government administration and management, services, finance, law, policy, and economics, as well as relevant work experience. A Professional Development Endorsement, to encourage a commitment to ongoing learning of CAOs and Deputy CAOs, is also offered to holders of the Certificate in Local Government Executive Management.

GRANT LOYER, various positions, BC local governments

DYRAENE PRIDHAM, Senior Executive Assistant, City of Prince George

CURTIS SLINGERLAND, Director of Corporate Administration, City of Revelstoke

CAITLIN WESTON, Assistant Manager of Bylaw Enforcement, City of Chilliwack

JENNIFER BRUNS, Director of Corporate Services, District of Houston

PAMELA MARTIN, Council Secretary, City of Victoria

ALISA THOMPSON, Corporate Administrator / Deputy CAO, City of Terrace

JESSICA BAGNALL, Corporate Officer, North Coast Regional District

ALLISON BOYD, Corporate Services Coordinator/Deputy Corporate Officer, City of Duncan

CAMILLE DALLAMORE, Engineering Services Department Clerk, City of Courtenay

LESLIE JACKSON, Legislative Coordinator, City of Prince George

ANDREA HAINRICH, Administrative Assistant, Town of Ladysmith

One of the consistent reasons why local government professionals look to the LGMA to provide training and education is not just the quality of the courses but the efforts made to help participants make connections and build strong, long-lasting professional networks and mentor contacts for personal and professional success. 

The LGMA team strove to ensure frequent and meaningful networking opportunities throughout the year despite the virtual learning formats, and evaluations demonstrated those efforts were appreciated with suggestions for improvements.