• How should Council express its relationship with the Community (taxpayers) and City Hall (city employees)?
• How should Council be accountable for its leadership role and deliver results to the Community?
• How should Council execute its oversight role of City Hall? 

I know.  Many people find this type of work so very, very boring – especially the media.  No catchy headlines here.  Yet, this is foundational to Council doing its job and doing it well. 

Leadership and stewardship

• Ensuring strategic direction and planning
• Planning for succession and renewal
• Overseeing risk management

Empowerment and accountability

• Delegating authority
• Allocating responsibilities
• Establishing effective accountability mechanisms

Communication and Transparency

• Determining information flows
• Communicating with all community stakeholders
• Reporting to the community (taxpayers) and others

 Service and Fairness

• Setting an example in corporate social responsibility
• Providing ethical leadership
• Promoting environmental sustainability

 Accomplishment and Measurement

• Monitoring and overseeing City Hall (city employees)
• Selecting performance measures
• Evaluating Council and the CAO

 Continuous learning and growth

• Promoting a culture of innovation and change
• Developing executives and employees
• Training members of Council

Fantastic!

Their amazing spirit was recognized by AVIVA and they were chosen to host Canada AM for the announcement of the awards.

Parents, teachers and students were at school before 6:30 am to get ready for the live television show.  They did Guelph proud.

There are three parts to our local government:

• Our taxpayers – Community
• Our elected officials – Council
• Our city employees – City Hall

Our democratic institutions are founded on the understanding that we can achieve more working together to improve quality of life than we can as individuals. This is “why” we do it.

The Community elects members of Council to provide leadership. They expect results, that is to say an improved quality of life.

The Community provides taxes to City Hall to deliver services. They expect value in return for their investment.

Council provides oversight of City Hall on behalf of the Community ensuring City Hall has the right leadership, direction and control to effectively and efficiently manage the organization. Council expects performance excellence from City Hall.

At a very high level, and in very simple terms, this is “what” we do together.

The conversation we are currently having – “doing business differently” – is focussed on “how” we should express these relationships. How should Council provide leadership and demonstrate results? How should City Hall manage and demonstrate performance? How should City Hall provide services and demonstrate value? What are the principles that should guide how we execute these roles? How do we need to interact with each other?

This says it all!

Five consultations will be held with one in Guelph. Details, dates and locations, along with an rsvp form are available at this link.

Guelph, February 6, 2012 – 2:30 - 4:30 P.M. Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre, 50 Stone Road West, Guelph, ON N1G 0A9

The Guelph Wellington Food Round Table is active in promoting the local food movement.  Guelph City Council has endorsed their Food Charter. 

We continue to grow our community gardens to meet local interest.

The 31st annual Guelph Organic Conference is coming up this month.  There is always a local food element to this conference and this year, in recognition of the International Year of Co-ops, a particular co-operative theme.

Tonight, MP Frank Valeriote is hosting a discussion on food.

This video showcases some of the great local work:

Guelph is thrilled to be joining 13 communities across Canada – representing all 10 provinces and 2 territories – in launching the International Year of Co-operatives.

We are honoured to be hosting the Ontario launch, and proud to be flying the Co-operative flag at our City Hall.

I want to thank Barry (board chair) and everyone at the Ontario Co-operative Association for organizing this event today.

Guelph is a co-op town.

Our co-op roots stretch back to 1904, when the Guelph Co-operative Bakery began.

Established by the local trade and labour union, the co-op had 80 members at its inception, buying in at $2/share. Within 16 years, it had expanded to include a grocery store, butcher, shoe store and coal store, and had increased its sales 25 times over.

In 1909, Guelphite Samuel Carter became the first president of the Co-operative Union of Canada. He would also go on to serve as Guelph’s Mayor and MPP.

In 1913, the Guelph Campus Co-op was established at the University of Guelph – the first co-operative registered under provincial co-op legislation.

Several credit unions were also established during the first half of the last century.

Today, Guelph maintains its credentials as a co-op town.

We have housing co-ops, child-care co-ops, solar energy co-ops, and worker co-ops like Planet Bean (who is providing the hot chocolate today).

We are home to dairy co-ops like Gay Lea and Organic Meadow.

The Co-operators, one of Canada’s largest insurance companies and a Canadian-owned co-operative, is headquartered in Guelph.

And, of course, we’re home to the Ontario Co-op Association.

So, why does it matter that Guelph is home to so many co-ops?

The Ontario Co-op Association is running a billboard campaign that says “Guelph’s 45 co-operatives build a better community.”

As mayor of this community, I have seen the truth of that statement in many different ways.

First, co-operatives are good at creating jobs and investment.

In Ontario, co-ops employ more than 15,500 people, and have more than $30 billion in assets.

Research has shown that co-ops are more durable and resilient than other types of business enterprise.

In this era of economic uncertainty and crisis, co-operatives have shown themselves to be a model that works.

Second, one of co-operatives’ core values is concern for community.

Co-operatives care about more than just the financial bottom line. They care about the well-being of their communities. We see this time and time again in Guelph, as co-operatives show themselves to be some of our best corporate citizens.

Third, co-operatives are community-builders by their very nature.

Across the world, we are seeing a growing number of people who feel excluded, disempowered, and dissatisfied with an economic system dominated by profit-driven enterprises.

Co-operatives provide an alternative to that – an alternative that is participatory, inclusive, equitable, and empowering.

It is always good news for a community when its citizens feel engaged and empowered.

For these reasons, I believe that co-operatives and their values are as relevant today as they were in 1904 when Guelph’s first co-op was founded. Indeed, in these times of economic uncertainty and social change, they may be more important than ever.

I hope this year, people in Guelph and across the country will learn more about co-operatives and how they build better communities.

Guelph is proud to be a co-op town – never more so than this year, as we join others around the world to celebrate the International Year of Co-operatives.

The Board of Directors has approved the Chamber moving to the Downtown, to create a Chamber Business Centre.  A site has been selected in the Walker Building at 111 Farquhar Street, across the tracks from the new transit terminal on the 2nd and 3rd floor of Guelph’s oldest industrial building dating back to 1858.

The Guelph Chamber of Commerce welcomes the opportunity to co-locate with Innovation Guelph, a member of the Ontario Network of Excellence, who can be found on the 3rd floor starting January 9th.  There will be space there for business presentations that can accommodate up to 70 guests.

8 business offices are currently available for lease on the 2nd floor sharing reception with the new Guelph Chamber office, as well as 5 business incubator spaces within the Business Centre.  Preliminary details are listed below.  Contact the Guelph Chamber of Commerce for further details.

The Chamber’s move onto the second floor will follow after renovations have been completed within the Chamber Business Centre, at the end of the first quarter.

The Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce sees this as a pivotal move to support Guelph businesses, provide access to member-to-member educational opportunities, and to connect with the core of Guelph’s community in the downtown.   The Chamber Business Centre will be key in contributing to Guelph’s economic growth, profitability, competitiveness, and community involvement for all types of businesses and business people in Guelph.
 

Chamber Business Centre
111 Farquhar Street

Prestigious address in an Historic Building in Downtown Guelph, with the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and Innovation Guelph in the same building.  April 1st, 2012 occupancy.