Elected municipal officials are facing many pressures. This includes: provincial interventions in municipal matters, a lack of Council cohesion, concerns about ethical behaviour, the challenges of municipal stewardship, relations with municipal staff, the demands placed upon you by constituents...and of course your unique experiences arising from local matters. The pressure is real and we are here to support you.
Over the past year, you, our members, have asked for additional support to help guide you in your difficult role. AMO is pleased to announce, its new, 3 part Councillor Training Series- Under Pressure, Making it All Work.
Through outreach to our membership, we have developed this training to address the areas most frequently identified as the biggest concern for AMO members. These sessions dig into some of the more challenging aspects of local leadership.
Session 1
This training focuses on the ABCD of governance and leadership including:
A – Foundational Governance
B – Ethical Responsibility
C – Council-Staff Relations
D – Code of Conduct
You will explore each of these elements, your roles and responsibilities within and effective, healthy and productive approaches to each.
Session 2
As an elected official, your understanding and approach to planning and leadership will be one of your lasting legacies on your organization and community. This session will look into various elements of leadership and actions you should be undertaking.
This session will explore:
• Stewardship
• Strategic Planning
• Fiscal Sustainability
Session 3
- The elected official and Community Engagement
- Communications
- The Fine Points of Leadership
Session 3 is really important. It helps you demystify a number of key municipal responsibilities. Budget and strategic planning are a great internal exercise but if your constituents and community members don’t really understand what you are doing, why you are doing it and how priorities are identified and planned for, well, we all understand what the fallout can look like. This session explores the importance of and options to community engagement and how leadership is the key ingredient to meaningful and impactful local engagement.