Local Government News:

Province Helps Fund Safe Water – Another 23 B.C. communities will see improvements to their drinking water and waste water management systems as a result of almost $18 million in funding from the B.C. Community Water Improvement Program it was recently announced. The announcement marks the final installment of project funding awarded under the $80-million program which will ensure British Columbians benefit from safe, reliable and accessible drinking water and improved waste water systems. Under the program, the Province provides two-thirds of the cost of infrastructure projects, with local governments picking up the remainder, for a total value of $120 million in new projects. All funds awarded under the program will be expended as projects are constructed over the next five years. Project criteria include health and environmental benefits, improvements to the community’s infrastructure and sustainability, and the fiscal position of the local government.

Rural B.C. Homes and Businesses Getting Connected – The Province and TELUS will be partnering to provide access to high-speed Internet service from local Internet service providers (ISP) to 31 rural B.C. communities. More than 60 organizations expressed interest in partnering with TELUS as service providers, and 20 of these organizations - including First Nations groups, community-based interests and existing ISPs - were chosen. The Province and TELUS announced last spring that they would connect a total of 119 rural communities to high-speed Internet under the Connecting Communities Agreement; they continue to engage with organizations interested in ISP status for the remaining communities.

Employees Certification – The Local Government Employees Certification Regulation (BC Reg. 324/2005) is scheduled to come into effect on December 31, 2005. The Regulation modernizes the certification program and places greater emphasis on making the certificates grounded in a competency basis. There are four new certificates that will replace the existing four certificates: the Certificate in Local Government Service Delivery; the Certificate in Local Government Administration; the Certificate in Local Government Statutory Administration; the Certificate in Local Government Executive Management. As of December 31, 2005 a two-year transition period will take effect in order to allow sufficient time to accommodate in-stream applicants.