Shaw TV - The Rush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1bVsvrsgMg&feature=youtu.be&t=6s

Mussatto hates amalgamation because the District is not left wing and dense enough.

He informs us that talks are ongoing about different models of North Shore policing.

Update

The City has a paper hidden in secret on some kind of joint North Shore Fire Services.

Letter NSN Dorothy Chala

Let's keep pushing for a vote on amalgamation

BY DOROTHY CHALA, NORTH SHORE NEWS JANUARY 30, 2013

Dear Editor:

I was happy to see the "A word" on the front page of the North Shore News.

Mayor Darrell Mussatto's comments on why it wouldn't be a good idea seem pretty lame. 

Surely operating just one municipal hall, and all the salaries that go along with it, would save money to start with. Obviously the mayors do not want to lose their jobs, but the taxpayers are tired of paying such huge taxes each year, and usually always with an increase.

Let's keep some pressure on the governments in North and West Vancouver to at least put it to a vote. I'm sure the residents of the North Shore would welcome it.

Dorothy Chala North Vancouver

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http://www.nsnews.com/business/keep+pushing+vote+amalgamation/7892435/story.html#ixzz2VTfoplQA

Biz community quizzes NV mayors

Amalgamation remains a hot topic

BY BRENT RICHTER, NORTH SHORE NEWS JANUARY 27, 2013

MAYORS Richard Walton and Darrell Mussatto listen to questions from the business community at a North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce luncheon meeting moderated by Mike Watson on Thursday.

Photograph by: NEWS photo , Mike Wakefield

IT was a fine luncheon until someone had to go and utter the "A-word."

The perennial amalgamation question came up for a captivated crowd of North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce members who leaned forward in their seats as the two North Vancouver mayors explained why the municipalities ought, or ought never, become one.

City Mayor Darrell Mussatto and district Mayor Richard Walton were guests of a chamber luncheon Thursday, to take questions from the business community.

The larger, yet less cash-flush district is perceived to have the most to gain from a hypothetical union, from the perspective of district council and taxpayers, Walton said.

 "I think, in the last 50 years, it's almost automatic with the district," Walton said. "I've never worked with a councilor who didn't support amalgamation."

The assertion drew laughs from the crowd when it was suggested city Coun. Don Bell, formerly the mayor of DNV, was a sleeper agent sent to bring about amalgamation from within the city.

But, Mussatto cautioned, while the thought of amalgamations of like-municipalities may "feel good," they rarely, if ever, result in the cost savings the local governments were hoping to see.

"The evidence is pretty clear if you do any research that if you do it for financial reasons, you're not going to save any money," he said.

Mussatto pointed to the 1996 amalgamation of Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford as an example. Post-amalgamation, the city piled on millions more in debt in the ensuing years.

The reason, he stated, is that amalgamations come with nasty growing pains, as taxpayers in neither municipality are eager to see their services go down to match their neighbours' service levels, so servicing and costs go up for both former neighbours.

Differences in delivery of services between private sector and unionized city staff that have evolved in two local governments are also notoriously difficult to marry together, he added, citing garbage collection for multi-family residences and business as an example.

Instead, Mussatto suggested regional governance and financing for services like water, sewer and land use planning, exactly as Metro Vancouver operates, as a much better model.

Roughly half of those in attendance applauded. As for the notion of regional policing, it would likely come at the expense of local priority setting, Mussatto said, but added it would be West Vancouver that would stand to benefit most as its policing infrastructure and costs could be absorbed by a single North Shore police force, but would not lose any noticeable level of service.

While there appears to be no sign of a budge on the amalgamation issue, the two mayors were "joined at the hip" according to moderator Mike Watson on some other broader issues including philosophy on development and attraction of business to their respective jurisdictions.

In his opening remarks, Walton quoted from an American urban studies academic who found that cities that prosper today are ones that can attract the 20 to 40 demographic, which sadly, the district has been failing to do.

But hopefully, Walton said, the seeds of a more prosperous district lie in its new official community plan, which calls for denser, walkable urban centres, which tend to be more attractive and affordable for that demographic.

The city meanwhile is also trying to make itself equally desirable for businesses and a mix of younger residents, Mussatto said. While the development proposal for the Safeway site has been stalled and sent back to another public hearing, it is the type of development he would like to see in the city's core.

brichter@nsnews.com

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http://www.nsnews.com/news/community+quizzes+mayors/7878882/story.html#ixzz2VTZTnI9g

NSN Editorial

Dead in the water

 

 

NORTH SHORE NEWS DECEMBER 16, 2012

 

 

IF there was ever hard evidence that the North Shore suffers from an excess of North Vancouvers, it came to light this week when the district decided not to go in with the city on a new Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The City of North Vancouver, in its ongoing struggle to redesign Harry Jerome Recreation Centre, has concluded that installing the North Shore's first 50-metre pool would be an important improvement. 

Indeed, a full-sized facility could be transformative, creating a training facility for budding athletes and a draw for major events. But the plan isn't one the city can afford on its own.

With the district planning to rebuild its 25-metre pool at William Griffin, roughly two kilometers away, the solution seemed obvious: Why not go in on the project together, and create one great facility in place of two mediocre ones?

The move would have been a no-brainer had it been under the purview of a single council. But it wasn't. Because Harry Jerome lies on the other side of the municipal boundary - roughly five blocks past it - the district balked. No way was it going to help with a project on the far side of that arbitrary line.

Instead, it will go ahead with its half-sized pool a four-minute drive from Harry Jerome, leaving both municipalities with inferior facilities. The decision denies the community a valuable asset and likely saves taxpayers nothing.

In the face of this outcome, one wonders if our pools are the only thing that should be amalgamated.

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

http://www.nsnews.com/news/Dead+water/7706284/story.html#ixzz2VTVmzR9Z

Amalgamate North Shore fire services to save millions: report

District of North Vancouver in-camera report suggests savings of $3.6M a year

BY JAMES WELDON, NORTH SHORE NEWS FEBRUARY 13, 2012

 STORY

Overlapping administration among North Shore fire services could be streamlined to save approximately $3.6 million a year according to an unreleased report commissioned by the District of North Vancouver.

Photograph by: North Shore News , file

NORTH Shore taxpayers could save $3.6 million a year if the community's three fire departments merged, according to a report commissioned recently by the District of North Vancouver.

The study, completed within the past two years, according to the district, concluded that the savings would come "primarily from reductions in management positions, overtime, capital costs for trucks and consolidation of specialty or support services." 

Right now, West Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver each has its own independent service, complete with fire chief, administrative staff and so on. The apparent redundancies have long been a contentious issue in all three municipalities but, until now, none of the three has studied the potential savings in detail.

Last year, the district spent $16 million running its fire department, or about 14 per cent of its overall operating budget. The city spent $7.8 million, or about 14 per cent, and West Vancouver spent $12.5 million, or about 16 per cent.

Given the significant differences in population and land area, it's extremely unlikely the financial benefits of a merger - if any - would be split evenly three ways. Rather, "any savings would have to be shared based on an agreed-upon formula," said district spokeswoman Jeanine Bratina, in a statement.

How the report's authors reached the $3.6-million figure is unclear; the document has not been made public, and the district has refused to release a copy to media. It would only confirm the findings, and claimed that the document had been reviewed by the chief administrative officers of all three communities. Even the report's title, authorship and cost - and even page count -remain under wraps. Pressed, Bratina refused to say why the municipality was not divulging that information.

It doesn't appear that much is going to change as a result of the report's contents, however, according to the district.

"A preliminary review suggests that many of the recommendations need to be tested and considered from a governance, labour relations and implementation cost perspective," said Bratina. "At this point, there is not unanimous consent amongst the three North Shore municipalities to consider fire services consolidation."

The district commissioned the report in the wake of a 2010 fire services review by Dugal Smith and Associates that evaluated collaboration among the departments. That earlier report, sponsored by all three municipalities, concluded that the services were already co-operating in some ways, but that there were major barriers to significant change.

West Vancouver's chief administrative officer Grant McRadu, in a report to council last year, concluded that the predicted annual cost savings from that co-operation - about $513,000 - were "likely a long-term rather than a short-term possibility."

In her comments this week, Bratina suggested the financial benefit has been limited so far. "It has been recognized that the cost savings are marginal in the context of the over $35 million dollars, or approximately $205 per resident, that is spent annually on the North Shore for fire services," she said.

Nonetheless, without agreement on amalgamation among the municipalities, "the focus remains on achieving improvements in service and cost reductions through increased co-operation and coordination between the three fire departments," said Bratina.

Reached for comment Friday, City of North Vancouver Fire Chief Barrie Penman, questioned the value of a report commissioned by just one municipality. He had not seen the document, he said, but nor had his department been consulted in any way in its creation.

"A single municipality doing an amalgamation report to me is bit different," he said. "You need a partner to dance."

The North Shore's three fire services were already working well together on an number of fronts, he said. "We train together, we recruit together ,we respond together. . . . It's working."

No one at the District of West Vancouver could be reached for comment Friday, according to a spokeswoman. The idea of amalgamation has not been without its supporters there in the past.

Coun. Michael Smith, now mayor of West Vancouver, said at the time of McRadu's 2011 report that: "If we had one central command, one chief and one bureaucracy for the North Shore, all the firefighters would be trained under the same training department. It makes so much sense that nobody can speak against it."

jweldon@nsnews.com

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http://www.nsnews.com/news/Amalgamate+North+Shore+fire+services+save+millions+report/6140857/story.html#ixzz2VTMVxLLp

Letter NSN Joan Peters

Do the report on amalgamation

BY JOAN PETERS, NORTH SHORE NEWS FEBRUARY 10, 2012

Dear Editor:

There is growing interest in the possible amalgamation of the City and District of North Vancouver. 

City Mayor Darrell Mussatto has said he will not discuss it. An elected official has a responsibility far beyond self interest. In my opinion, the moment Mussatto refused to discuss amalgamation he put himself in serious conflict of interest.

As mayor it is his duty to address this legitimate public concern with an honest, unbiased, all-encompassing public report on all the pros and cons of such a move from the standpoint of both municipalities. 

Only then can we the citizens/taxpayers decide what we believe to be best for our way of life and expectations for our area. 

With open discussions, clear information, publicity, hundreds of questions and answers and much thinking we could be ready by the next civic election, 2014, to put this issue to rest by referendum.

Joan Peters

North Vancouver

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

http://www.nsnews.com/news/report+amalgamation/6131707/story.html#ixzz2VTTGmbOv

http://www.nsnews.com/North+Shore+candidates+from+word/5653874/story.html

North Shore candidates shy from A-word

BY TESSA HOLLOWAY, NORTH SHORE NEWS NOVEMBER 7, 2011

While civic candidates on the North Shore aren't too keen to discuss amalgamation, many are talking about integrating fire services between the three municipalities.

Photograph by: North Shore News , file photo

Amalgamation is once again a hot-button issue in this year's municipal election campaign, but the A-word is still a touchy subject for many politicians.

Instead, better integration between the North Shore's three fire departments seems to be the topic candidates actually want to talk about. With the city and district of North Vancouver already sharing recreation services, policing and other big-ticket items, many council candidates say a single fire department is the next logical step.

Several councillors and hopefuls in the two North Vancouvers say they plan to move this forward in the next term, and the newly mayor-acclaimed of West Vancouver is also taking the issue seriously.

"As mayor, I intend to move it forward aggressively. I hope that the two North Vans pick up on it," said Michael Smith, who got the job as mayor of West Vancouver when nobody challenged him.

The appetite is there at the District of North Vancouver as well, according Coun. Michael Little. He said councils have done all they can to cut costs without cutting services in-house, and joining forces is the best option left.

"The next place we need to look is more serious efforts to share services with other groups, particularly, hopefully, with the City of North Vancouver," he said.

At the city, several council hopefuls, including Guy Heywood, said much the same thing, noting the two fire chiefs are even related.

"We now have a brother act in charge of the two fire departments, so what better time?" he said.

The city and district already move their crews around the North Shore to cover for each other when one fire station is emptied due to a call, as well as coordinating on other aspects, but supporters say major savings could be achieved through combining training, procurement and management structures, which would include fewer top-level staff.

Still, Kevin Macauley, a former district of North Vancouver fire captain who's now running for council in the district, said the savings would likely be minimal.

He said there could be long-term benefit, though, in terms of efficiency and less frequent cost increases.

"You don't save a lot of money in the initial part, but over time you would be more efficient in what you have, and you would have a cost saving in how you spend the money," he said, drawing from studies he was a part of as captain. Still, he said it will be a tough process, and one that needs to be undertaken carefully and with the support of the firefighters themselves.

Candidates pointed to numerous other services that might be combined as well, from horticulture departments to snow plows.

On the topic of amalgamating municipalities, however, City of North Vancouver politicians were quick to douse that fire. Former district mayor Don Bell, who is running for council in the city this time, was among them.

There is "a fear of loss of identity, community identity, and also the fear of the potential for increased taxes," he said. 

"Where there has been amalgamations with other major Canadian cities - I'm thinking Winnipeg, Toronto, Halifax - the material I've read (says) the planned savings . . . didn't actually occur."

In the case of Montreal, several former municipalities have gone through de-amalgamation, reviving their old towns from the dead.

George Pringle, however, a candidate for North Vancouver city mayor, is pushing the issue. "We're not getting savings until we address amalgamation," he said, adding would hold a referendum on the subject.

In the district, however, amalgamation has long been the desire of council and that hasn't changed this year.

Incumbent councillor Lisa Muri is one in favour of full amalgamation, arguing the issue needed to be jointly studied.

"You would reduce two municipal managers. You're probably saving there $250,000. Then you do directors of planning, directors of engineering; all your senior management team is basically cut in half," she said, but even she acknowledged that it's a difficult sell.

Macauley was even less optimistic.

"If it hasn't happened in the last 30 years it's not going to happen now, unless there's a mandate from the province or all a sudden two municipalities wake up."

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