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Peel's cities drop $100K to schmooze
Mayors defend bid for awards, but councillors question value of sending 14 people to London
Dec 07, 2007 04:30 AM
Michele Henry
Phinjo Gombu
Staff Reporters
Brampton and Mississauga together spent nearly $100,000 to send 14 people to London, England, this week in hopes of collecting awards they believed would put them on the international map.
That includes two 15-minute videos, which cost more than $20,000 each, to present to judges at the World Leadership Forum event.
Founded by a former journalist and judged by a panel of British urban leaders in the fields of architecture, transportation, planning and the arts, the awards honour cities in 15 categories related to municipal leadership. The GTA cities joined 100 others around the world in paying a $6,500 registration fee.
Both mayors vigorously defended the trips as an opportunity to network with potential investors and bolster their city's reputation.
But back home, two Peel councillors were questioning the net benefit. Mississauga's Pat Saito and Brampton's Elaine Moore said they weren't aware of the cost of the trip before the delegations left. Moore believes her city council should have had a chance to debate it.
"It's that councillors didn't have a chance to pre-approve the budget," she said. "I deserve an opportunity to understand the value added if we're selected."
She said councillors were inappropriately sent a memo asking if they'd like to attend the ceremonies. The city of 330,000 sent nine people for a week to attend the three-day event, including Mayor Susan Fennell, her assistant, two councillors and five city managers.
"Was it money well spent to have nine people go?" Moore wondered. "I'm not so sure."
"This is good for Brampton and important for us to be here, and for anyone to characterize it differently is excruciatingly unfair," Fennell said before last night's black-tie gala. Brampton was up against Ahmedabad, India, and Amman, Jordan, in the Town Planning category, shortlisted from 16 nominees. Fennell said the city's nomination for its work focusing on green space and heritage preservation was worth recognizing and celebrating.
Being on hand personally not only helps the city's chances of winning, Fennell said, but is also a matter of civic pride and leadership. "I have never travelled internationally in 21 years on council, and I'm here because I know this is important."
Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion said part of the appeal of the World Leadership Forum is that it gives cities like hers an opportunity to stand out. "We have worked hard to establish Mississauga internationally and I think we've been very successful. It's not easy; we are overshadowed by Toronto."
Her delegation also included a communications department employee, the city manager's assistant and director of parks and recreation. The city competed with Lima, Peru, in the Education and Development of the Young category, nominated for a program called Swim to Survive. "It's such a unique program that we wanted to share it with the world," McCallion said. "It's not about making everybody into a lifeguard, just about teaching survival, and it saves lives."
Last year, McCallion was also present when the city won an award in the health category. She said expenses were kept to a minimum, with her entourage staying in a modest hotel.
The $50,000 cost of Mississauga's trip, including a $22,000 video, came out of a nondepartmental contingency fund that doesn't require council approval.
Saito said that although it was an honour to be shortlisted for the "prestigious" award, "it should not cost the city that much to earn it."
Brampton officials said the $20,000 video was paid for out of an "other expenses" budget in the planning department, and individual costs from other accounts. The delegation stayed at the InterContinental, where the cheapest rate listed this week was about $390 Canadian.
Award organizers said the elaborate presentations weren't really necessary to sway the judges.
"We try to encourage everything to be live," said Stephen Balchin, operations manager. "Someone speaking about their project is more interesting than everyone sitting around and watching a video for half an hour."
Peel's cities drop $100K to schmooze
Mayors defend bid for awards, but councillors question value of sending 14 people to London
Dec 07, 2007 04:30 AM
Michele Henry
Phinjo Gombu
Staff Reporters
Brampton and Mississauga together spent nearly $100,000 to send 14 people to London, England, this week in hopes of collecting awards they believed would put them on the international map.
That includes two 15-minute videos, which cost more than $20,000 each, to present to judges at the World Leadership Forum event.
Founded by a former journalist and judged by a panel of British urban leaders in the fields of architecture, transportation, planning and the arts, the awards honour cities in 15 categories related to municipal leadership. The GTA cities joined 100 others around the world in paying a $6,500 registration fee.
Both mayors vigorously defended the trips as an opportunity to network with potential investors and bolster their city's reputation.
But back home, two Peel councillors were questioning the net benefit. Mississauga's Pat Saito and Brampton's Elaine Moore said they weren't aware of the cost of the trip before the delegations left. Moore believes her city council should have had a chance to debate it.
"It's that councillors didn't have a chance to pre-approve the budget," she said. "I deserve an opportunity to understand the value added if we're selected."
She said councillors were inappropriately sent a memo asking if they'd like to attend the ceremonies. The city of 330,000 sent nine people for a week to attend the three-day event, including Mayor Susan Fennell, her assistant, two councillors and five city managers.
"Was it money well spent to have nine people go?" Moore wondered. "I'm not so sure."
"This is good for Brampton and important for us to be here, and for anyone to characterize it differently is excruciatingly unfair," Fennell said before last night's black-tie gala. Brampton was up against Ahmedabad, India, and Amman, Jordan, in the Town Planning category, shortlisted from 16 nominees. Fennell said the city's nomination for its work focusing on green space and heritage preservation was worth recognizing and celebrating.
Being on hand personally not only helps the city's chances of winning, Fennell said, but is also a matter of civic pride and leadership. "I have never travelled internationally in 21 years on council, and I'm here because I know this is important."
Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion said part of the appeal of the World Leadership Forum is that it gives cities like hers an opportunity to stand out. "We have worked hard to establish Mississauga internationally and I think we've been very successful. It's not easy; we are overshadowed by Toronto."
Her delegation also included a communications department employee, the city manager's assistant and director of parks and recreation. The city competed with Lima, Peru, in the Education and Development of the Young category, nominated for a program called Swim to Survive. "It's such a unique program that we wanted to share it with the world," McCallion said. "It's not about making everybody into a lifeguard, just about teaching survival, and it saves lives."
Last year, McCallion was also present when the city won an award in the health category. She said expenses were kept to a minimum, with her entourage staying in a modest hotel.
The $50,000 cost of Mississauga's trip, including a $22,000 video, came out of a nondepartmental contingency fund that doesn't require council approval.
Saito said that although it was an honour to be shortlisted for the "prestigious" award, "it should not cost the city that much to earn it."
Brampton officials said the $20,000 video was paid for out of an "other expenses" budget in the planning department, and individual costs from other accounts. The delegation stayed at the InterContinental, where the cheapest rate listed this week was about $390 Canadian.
Award organizers said the elaborate presentations weren't really necessary to sway the judges.
"We try to encourage everything to be live," said Stephen Balchin, operations manager. "Someone speaking about their project is more interesting than everyone sitting around and watching a video for half an hour."
