Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008 - (Page 7)

such appointments have been made. wardrop.com Instead, every municipal council is weighing the pros and cons of the various appointment alternatives and making a decision based on what they believe is best for their community. No single approach is going to work for every municipality across the province. And there’s nothing wrong with that. T h e m a t t e r of c h a r g i ng a n administrative fee for processing an investigation request is a stickier subject. Nothing in the Municipal MAKING THE WORLD A Act prohibits such fees from being BETTER PLACE TO LIVE, established, but public perception of ONE PROJECT AT A TIME. the purpose for the fee should also On six continents, in more than 50 countries worldwide, be considered. I have not heard of Wardrop is at work providing comprehensive, any municipality setting a fee for this expertise-based services on infrastructure projects, purpose that would be viewed as a maximizing the social and economic value of these deterrent to individuals wishing to investments. We never lose sight of the fact that the quality of people’s lives is in the balance, which request an investigation, but there is why nothing less than excellence will do. have def in itely been r umbl ings that this is precisely the purpose. Again, I would take you back to Infrastructure the “responsible and accountable” People, Passion, Performance. Trusted Globally. argument. If municipalities have h ist or ic a l ly b e en i n t h e h a bit of cha rging reasonable fees for 360542_Wardrop.indd 1 12/22/07 1:31:41 PM municipal goods and services, why would they deviate from that practice in this instance? Once again, it is a matter of municipal choice based on local circumstances. In the end, I wonder if this might prove to be much ado about nothing. I have no doubt that some municipalities, particularly those with a history of citizen suspicion about closed meetings, will face an initial flurry of investigation requests. But on the other hand, I expect that there will be many, Manufacturers and Machine Builders in Canada and many others that receive no requests around the world look to SEW-Eurodrive for integrated at all. Even in those municipalities drive solutions and round-the-clock service and support. that do receive that initial flurry, I With three Canadian assembly plants and more believe that the volume will decline significantly once residents have inventory than all our competitors combined – we are learned that, in fact, closed meetings the nation’s leading supplier of Geared Motors, speed are - in almost every instance - called reducers and electronic controllers. and conducted properly. And, if For the complete solution, call SEW-Eurodrive. an investigation reveals a problem, the “responsible and accountable” municipal government involved will move to correct the problem so that DRIVING THE WORLD it doesn’t reoccur. After all, isn’t that the ultimate outcome that we want? ◆ Two thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by water. The rest is covered by SEW-Eurodrive. March/April 2008 364771_SEWEurodrive.indd 1 municipal MONITOR 4:19:32 PM 1/22/08 • 7 MF10553-1207 http://www.wardrop.com http://www.sew-eurodrive.ca

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008

Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008 Contents President's Message: Stress and Change Viewpoint: Much Ado About Nothing? Covering the Cost: Tapping into Safe, Sustainable Water and Sewage Services Closed Session Investigations: What Do They Mean for Your Municipality? Subtle Sabotage: Female Bullying Trends in the Workplace Water Under the Bridge Municipal Memos Index to Advertisers

Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008

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