Emergency Management
Expect Responsible & Respectful Government
Part of me is a bit saddened by the fact that we need to have clearly-defined policies about what constitutes good conduct for elected officials. The other part of me thinks “It’s about time!” with a touch of amazement that it has taken so long.
And then we get hit with a pandemic, and there’s a whole new level of focus on elected officials and how they show leadership and good conduct in a crisis.
In BC, new standards and guides are being created to support codes of conduct for elected officials in local government, and a code of ethics for local government professionals. In the spring edition of Exchange, there is overview of the Model Code of Conduct and Companion Guide developed by a Working Group on Responsible Conduct that involved staff from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), the LGMA and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. There are also two excellent examples of how local governments have successfully adopted a code of conduct for their elected officials, along with some tips and resources on how to establish these types of policies.
At the same time, it’s equally important to look toward the local government profession to see how we can elevate the bar for ethical standards. Towards this goal, the LGMA has developed a Code
of Ethics for local government professionals. In Keeping the Public Trust, we learn more about the context for why signing the Code of Ethics is now a requirement for LGMA members and how it will be implemented, including training and enforcement.
Policy decisions aside, this is really all about supporting good governance through responsible leadership and professional conduct. So when we suddenly found ourselves dealing with COVID-19 and a pandemic impacting countries around the globe, I began watching everything through this governance and leadership lens.
As well, as someone who specializes in crisis communication, I find myself assessing how elected officials and various subject matter experts comport themselves, and how their messaging and communication reflects on their leadership, authority and ability to instill trust.
The results out there are mixed, but I’m happy to note that in B.C., I think things have been handled quite well. In fact, in most of Canada, elected officials have been stepping aside to allow the health experts to deliver messages, and I have not seen many instances of politics interfering with communication. I have also, for the most part, noticed that local governments and businesses are being careful in their messaging and actions to flag that they are taking direction from health officials.
Flip to our neighbours in the south and we see a very different approach, where the most senior politician undermines health authorities based on a “hunch” and jumps randomly to multiple, conflicting messages leaving an escalated level of fear and an underlying lack of trust. The elected officials are out in front of cameras most of the time, rather than the health experts. While there have been some good examples, too much of the communication shows a lack of leadership and a serious breakdown in terms of local, state and national cooperation. It’s fascinating…for me anyway.
Overall, I think these crazy days we’re experiencing point to how important it is to have leaders who can be trusted, who demonstrate responsible conduct and who adhere to high standards of good governance. All of those attributes need to be established well before the crisis strikes, and then they become essential for guiding communities through to recovery.
My thanks and sincere appreciation go to all of the people who are working long days to keep our communities safe and our core services in place.
With the pandemic, there’s a whole new level of focus on elected officials and how they show leadership and good conduct in a crisis.
It’s not armageddon…but it could look like it.
Bridges and overpasses collapse. Water and sewer pipes burst. Roads crack and crumble. Buildings become uninhabitable. It’s not Armageddon. It’s not even a natural disaster (though that poses its own risks). It’s the worst-case scenario when aging infrastructure fails, and it leads to serious life safety and health issues. Clearly, failure is not an option. And asset management is the first step towards successful solutions.
It’s funny how we view things differently when working in the world of local government. For most people, I’m guessing they see landscaped boulevards and appreciate the beauty of the trees and flowers. For me, I appreciate the beauty, but I also see the challenges of ongoing maintenance, and I wonder if they have to close lanes to do the work or if they needed to add sprinkling systems to the area. Most people use roads, water and sewer without a thought of the work behind the scenes. I use those services with an appreciation of value for tax dollar. And never again will I buy a house without first checking on the community plan for the area.
It’s a bit of a skewed vision, but it comes from the extra awareness of the complexity and demands of local government operations. In the Fall edition of Exchange, my vision was even more focused than usual as I was hyper aware of asset management and aging infrastructure challenges. My trip to Montreal this summer included shopping and gazing with alarm at multiple overpasses that seemed to be stitched together with patching and metal straps. As we moved along to Winnipeg, I flinched at the extensive damage the winter does to roads and wondered about how the City manages to maintain – let alone replace – an extensive network of roads pitted by potholes.
My vacation became an amateur condition assessment exercise, and my sympathies were with the various communities I visited. It’s tough to grapple with the reality of the challenge to address aging infrastructure, but in Asset Management: From Awareness to Action, we learn from three communities who are taking steps to address the needs in their community. It quickly became evident that even small steps forward are essential and valuable. In Stepping Forward. Stepping Back., we learn that there is progress towards new funding resources, greater awareness of aging infrastructure as a critical risk area, and more collaboration and integration of asset management into regular operations. At the same time, new risks in the area of natural disasters and unfunded liabilities are adding new challenges to the mix. It’s a quagmire for sure.
Recognizing the challenges – and the frustration of being the generation tasked with dealing with such a monumental task – I believe the situation becomes more alarming as we move into election mode. Those who truly understand the funding gap and critical risks of failing infrastructure likely share my shudder when candidates campaign on a “zero tax increase” platform. Even worse are those who say they’ll cut taxes. It shows a blatant lack of understanding of what is truly needed to ensure that the infrastructure we enjoy today is maintained and replaced to provide safe and reliable services. It also tells me the work around communication is not done. There may be growing awareness of the challenges at a Council and staff level, but I look forward to the day when discussion at the local coffee shops is about how we need to look for ways to support financing for replacing infrastructure and build sustainable funding models for all new assets. Maybe I’m tilting at windmills.
Disaster Alert: We’re not ready…yet
It seems like there’s daily news about natural disasters, major emergencies and other crisis situations around the world. It’s hard to measure whether the number of disasters has increased, or if we’re just more aware about what’s going on thanks to communication technology connecting us faster and more personally through social networks. The result is a growing awareness of the impacts and recovery challenges that stem from catastrophic events. This increased awareness leads to opportunities to focus on what the risks are in our communities, how well we are prepared to manage if disaster strikes, and what the role is for local government.
No one can be fully prepared for a catastrophic event, but as we learn in the summer edition of Exchange, there are measures that can help move us towards an increasingly improved position to respond effectively and support recovery. Part of this is through better planning and enhanced preparedness. In Catastrophic Events: We’re not ready…yet, recent studies show that there’s work to be done to improve preparedness strategies. In response, Emergency Management British Columbia (EMBC) is leading a number of initiatives to work with local and regional governments and First Nations to identify gaps and develop practical solutions. Their approach recognizes the importance of working together – there are multiple agencies and governments involved in emergencies, and individual citizens share a responsibility for personal preparedness. It’s also alarming to realize that the financial impact of a major catastrophe would be devastating due to a current lack of sufficient insurance coverage, and the need to ensure citizens understand that they need their own insurance as the government won’t be paying for everything.
The stories shared in Response Readiness for Small Communities demonstrate that practical solutions are possible, even in small communities with limited resources. The work being done in the District of Sparwood and at the Village of Queen Charlotte showcase how leveraging experience and the resources available through EMBC and the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) can provide staff with the training and assistance they need to be successful when in emergency response mode. I was also moved and impressed by the incredible work being done in High River to recover from the devastation of last year’s flood that involved evacuating the entire town and flood damage to 70% of the community. The power of people working together, sharing expertise and focusing on a shared goal to recover as a community and support each other individually is inspiring.
All of the shared stories also reinforce the importance of effective communication. With my background in crisis communications, in my role teaching the JIBC Information Officer, and in the work I do to develop crisis communications strategies and training, I have witnessed both the success of effective communication in a crisis and the damage wrought by poor communication. With the advent of social media and the increase in community expectations to be kept informed and engaged in any crisis situation, the demands and requirements on local governments will continue to grow. A crisis communication plan along with trained Information Officers and communication teams have become an imperative. It’s equally important to emphasize that this communication starts at the preparedness stage, becomes intense in the midst of the crisis event, and continues throughout the recovery process.
It’s enlightening and reassuring to hear how communities are taking the initiative to keep emergency management and personal preparedness on everyone’s radar – including Councils and Boards, staff and community members. Learning from each other and leveraging the resources available are key to creating the tools needed to assist and support communities when dealing with an emergency, or worse, a catastrophic event. Many thanks to everyone for sharing their stories and highlighting the resources available to support emergency management.