INTERNAL REVIEW LIKELY FOR REGIONAL DISTRICT

OSOYOOS TIMES-April 21, 2010 By Paul Everest - Osoyoos Times

How the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) does business might be put under the microscope in the weeks to come. At its April 15 meeting, the RDOS board gave RDOS chief administrative officer Bill Newell the go-ahead to look into what would be needed to carry out an internal review of the organization. Newell said the board asked him to get “terms of reference” for such a review including an action plan and timelines for carrying it out. The review would consist of an internal audit, Newell said, adding that he’ll be looking for “operational deficiencies” within the regional district’s various departments. The RDOS employs roughly 60 people and its 2010 budget was $28.2 million. Newell can also bring in experts to help with the review. He said he could look for retired municipal managers who have performed such reviews in the past who would be able to provide recommendations on what might need to change within the RDOS.

The idea that a review of the RDOS’s operations and structure for providing services might be needed came up during budget deliberations in the past six months when the board stated it wanted to make the organization more efficient, Newell said. He added that “significant increases” in some budget requisition rates for some RDOS areas, including a nearly 11 per cent increase for the City of Penticton, also prompted discussions about a review. Earlier this year, Penticton carried out its own review of its services and operations. That review cost roughly $70,000 and Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton, who is also the RDOS board chair, said there will be additional costs to implement recommendations that came out of the review. But Newell said the RDOS is looking at a cost of less than $10,000 for an internal review. Board members debated the merits of a review at their April 1 meeting, including whether to proceed with a core services review or an operational review.

Newell said a core services review centers around an inventory of the services a government provides. Some are required services and others are discretionary or volunteer services. A review would focus on whether the costs of delivering non-compulsory services impede a government’s ability to deliver required services. Newell said the RDOS does not need a core services review since all of the 129 separate service functions the regional district carries out come from provincial legislation or are bylaws.

An organizational review, on the other hand, looks at a government’s decision-making process, including the management hierarchy, to determine if there are too many layers of government. Both would differ from the internal review concept the RDOS is considering since an outside consulting firm would need to be brought in. Some board members said at the April 1 meeting that they felt it would be a good idea to carry out some kind of a review to pinpoint any inefficiencies in the way the RDOS does business, while others thought a review was not needed. Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells said he wanted to see a core services review for all RDOS services the Town of Osoyoos pays for, adding that the Town carries “a lot of freight” when it comes to paying for RDOS services. Tom Chapman, director for rural Naramata, said the public questions why the RDOS exists and taxpayers want to know what services they are getting for their money. “We owe the public to tell them what value they are getting for their money.” However, Michael Brydon, rural director for Area F (Summerland) said he felt it was unnecessary to bring in an outside consulting firm. If the board can’t do such a review itself, he said, it’s in trouble. “Unless we know what we want, we’re just going to be stimulating the consulting industry.” Princeton Mayor Randy McLean said RDOS board members have enough combined experience that they could carry out a review without having to spend money on bringing in a private consulting firm.He added that he was not in favour of a review without input from Newell. Director George Hanson (rural Cawston) echoed McLean’s statement and said he had faith in Newell to judge how efficiently the regional district operates.

Penticton councillor Andrew Jakubeit agreed that there was a great detail of expertise around the board table in many fields, but sometimes board members only know what RDOS staff members tell them about how the organization operates. “We’re not here day to day,” he said. Dan Albas, another Penticton councillor, said any review should focus on areas of concern such as general government services provided by the RDOS. Newell said he does not need board approval to begin an internal review, but he hopes to have a clarification of what kind of review the board wants by its next meeting on May 6.