The Municipal Dispute Resolution Initiative Five years of resolving disputes together alberta MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS Manager of Mediation Services Alberta Municipal Affairs Commerce Place 10155-102 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4L4 780-427-2225 © 2 005 Alberta Municipal Affairs Let's Resolve : T he Municipal Dispute Resolution Initiative ISBN 0-7785-4191-6 CONTENTS Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Component Activities of Let's Resolve 3 Intermunicipal Dispute Resolution 4 Local Dispute Resolution 7 Dispute Resolution Education 10 Administration and Marketing Support 10 Appendix A: Background 12 Appendix B: Program Philosophy 13 Vision 13 Service Motto 13 Values of the Mediation Service Team 1 3 List of Figures Figure 1: Municipal Dispute Resolution Initiative Components 3 Figure 2: Mediation Activity by Year 5 Figure 3: Mediation Activity by Average Cost 5 Figure 4: Municipal Costs for Tribunal Hearings 6 Figure 5: Level of Satisfaction with Mediation or Dispute Resolution Services 7 Figure 6: Scope of Local Projects 8 Figure 7: Types of Disputes Experienced 8 Figure 8a: Time Spent on an Intermunicipal Dispute 9 Figure 8b: Cost of Intermunicipal Dispute 9 in 2016 https://archive.org/details/municipaldispute00albe_0 Executive Summary In 1999, the Municipal Services Branch of Alberta Municipal Affairs introduced a p rogram to facilitate intermunicipal cooperation and self-directed dispute resolution. The program came to be called Let's Resolve. This five-year overview describes the program's component activities and identifies current trends in municipal dispute resolution. Let's Resolve : T he Municipal Dispute Resolution Initiative has been involved in 30 mediations over the past five years. With a s uccess rate of over 90 percent — and the resulting major cost savings for municipalities — the initiative is a k ey contributor to Alberta Municipal Affairs' vision of creating viable, responsive and well-managed local governments. The first of its kind in Canada, the initiative was awarded Premier's Awards of Excellence in 2000 and 2002, in recognition of its benefits and its business model. Highlights of the past five years include: • Intermunicipal mediations - C ollaboration with 74 municipalities and two regional authorities in 30 mediations. Mediation topics included annexation, regional cooperation, shared services and land use planning. • Ongoing education initiatives - P artnership with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development to conduct over 25 workshops ("Finding Agreement on Difficult Issues") at locations throughout Alberta. • Mentoring partnerships - W orking with representatives of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, the Local Government Administration Association and the Alberta Rural Municipal Administrators Association to introduce the Peer Mentoring project. • Local dispute resolution - D eveloping the Local Dispute Resolution Initiative in partnership with the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. • Presentations - N umerous program presentations to groups as diverse as a v isiting delegation from the Harbin (China) Conciliation Centre, the Municipal Law Subsection of the Canadian Bar Association's Northern Alberta chapter, a d elegation from Ukraine and the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Institute of Planners; presentation to the 2nd Vienna Conference on Mediation held in 2001; regular presentations to the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. ' Introduction Disputes are a f act of municipal life, in g ood times and bad. Even in a t hriving and increasingly diversified local economy, local government decision-makers must balance increasing demands for services with demands for lower taxes. When the local economy struggles, local governments must balance the need to maintain existing services with the reality of decreasing revenues. Finding and maintaining this delicate balance can create stress within the municipality and lead to conflict among stakeholder groups. Municipal leaders may also have to consider the interests of municipalities and stakeholders from outside their municipal boundaries. Intermunicipal disputes can often reflect a v ery real, underlying conflict between values and philosophies. Whereas a t own might value diversity of p rograms and services, a rural area might give priority to self-sufficiency, for example. Broad and unacknowledged differences can remain a d ivisive influence even long after a s pecific issue itself has been resolved by adversarial means. Conflicts and their consequences make it e ssential for local government officials to reach decisions in a c ollaborative and cooperative manner. A c lear, collaborative dispute resolution process can help municipalities and stakeholders develop unique solutions to address the unique needs of the community. It c an also reduce the level of uncertainty and frustration associated with the decision-making process. In 1999, the Municipal Services Branch of Alberta Municipal Affairs introduced the Municipal Dispute Resolution Initiative. This program facilitates intermunicipal cooperation and self- directed dispute resolution. See Appendix A: Background for more information about how this program came into being. In its first five years, the program has grown to include three service components as well as administrative, marketing and mentoring support. Most significantly, it h as introduced a model of dispute resolution by which municipalities throughout the province can come to solutions that meet their unique interests. ■ s