Orientation 2004 for Newly Elected Municipal Councillors was held on November 19th and 20th at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This orientation was a joint venture with the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, the Association of Municipal Administrators and Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

Although orientation sessions for councillors has been held after every municipal election for the last 25 years, Orientation 2004 was unique in that this one was limited to only newly elected municipal councillors. This had been suggested by a number of elected officials as well as municipal administrators. Also, a number of incumbent wardens, mayors and councillors indicated that they did not want to go over all the basics again so Orientation 2004 was planned to be a “Municipal Boot Camp” so to speak. A second, more detailed session is in the planning stages and is scheduled to be held in the spring of 2005. This second session will be open to all elected municipal officials.

Another key area in which Orientation 2004 differed from previous orientation sessions was in how topics were chosen. In the spring of 2004, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations sent out surveys to both elected municipal officials and municipal administrators asking them what they felt would be the most relevant topics to cover in both this preliminary orientation and in the upcoming spring session.

The following are all the presentations at Orientation 2004 for Newly Elected Municipal Councillors:

Jack Novack Handout

Jack Novack Roles of Elected Officials

Linda Parker Local Government 101

Jamie Campbell Municipal Law Elected Officials

Dale MacLennan Finance

Greg Herrett Municipal Finance

Lawrence Mawhinney Effective Council Meetings

George MacLellan AMA Who We Are