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New mentoring program for municipal leaders

Jul 4, 2018 | 2:00 PM

new mentoring program for municipal leaders aims to connect those with questions to mentors who can provide answers.

The new Saskatchewan Municipal Peer Network was announced this week, offering local administrators and elected officials the chance to connect with others in their field. The network includes experienced municipal leaders who volunteer their time to mentor others with questions about issues such as municipal policy, hiring of staff or bylaws. The network is modelled after a similar program in Alberta, and includes the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Urban Municipal Administrators Association of Saskatchewan, the Rural Municipal Administrators’ Association of Saskatchewan and the Government of Saskatchewan.

The peer support network has nine volunteer mentors currently, including reeves, mayors, councillors and administrators from across the province.

Randy Donauer is a Saskatoon city councillor and sits on the board with SUMA. Donauer is a volunteer mentor with the peer support network and said the network is meant to assist both new and current municipal representatives.

“It’s always helpful for us to bounce ideas off one another and just find out how other people are solving problems because a lot of us have very similar problems,” Donauer told paNOW. “Really, mostly what we find is we’re trying to reinvent the wheel and there’s probably somebody that’s been there and has experienced this as well.”

Donauer said the peer network is a cost-effective way for municipal leaders to share advice and information.

“For the cost of picking up a phone, you can reach out to somebody,” he added.

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities said the new peer network will provide much-needed support to rural councillors and administrators.

“Municipal leaders are facing increasingly complex and controversial issues,” SARM President Ray Orb said in a release. “Decision making and governance will benefit from the mentors’ years of experience and wisdom.”

 

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt