cityplanner.ca
Discussing big picture urban/city planning and design issues.
Aug 03, 2009
Municipalities typically draw their operating expense dollars from tax revenues. Few people actually enjoy paying taxes, and even fewer want to see their tax rates increase, yet they keep increasing.
Inflation, cost overruns, emergency projects, population growth and the growth of associated services are often blamed, but this represents poor planning...
Most Canadians are in debt and spend more than they earn, and most new business fold within the first few years of operation.
By the law of averages, most municipal government employees, which are drawn from the same pool of Canadians, will also have poor spending habits and have a tendency toward debt.
Nevertheless, municipalities need to set an example for their citizens. Per capita revenues need to cover per capita costs, and if they don't, then the municipality needs to spend less, and also work to develop creative sources of income, which is what this article is about.
We all come up with great ideas now and again, but few of us act on them on a regular basis. Companies and municipalities which recognize that their employees are their strongest asset, and which take steps to foster and encourage their great ideas are the ones who find themselves at the leading edge. Companies and municipalities which do not do this may pay dearly to cover consultants' fees to come up with the ideas. They may also cause their employees to become disengaged and leave, or worse, hang around in a disengaged state for decades waiting for their big retirement date.
A colleague recently shared a book with me about the best walking and running trails in the city. It was written decades ago by a citizen (i.e., not a municipal employee), and the information was quite good. I'm not sure how many copies would have made their way into circulation, but had the maps and graphics been of higher quality and more pictures had been included, perhaps even more copies could have been sold.
It was at that moment that I thought: why couldn't the City open its own publishing house and print these sort of books itself? There is a Communications Branch which helps produce brochures, pamphlets, posters, news releases, websites, and other promotional items, but little if any money is made on any of these products. The City has maps available for sale, and copies of various reports are occasionally sold, but full books would be a stretch. Basic brochures, maps and websites about trails in the city are produced, but book production for income is left to the private entrepreneur.
There are all sorts of different books that could be published by a municipality to supplement its free brochures and other materials, and there would be a real benefit to both the municipality and the general public for doing this. Many citizens would be interested in books about their city's architecture and history (e.g., past mayors/politicians, community leaders, significant events). Citizens looking to buy a house or start a new business would want to read books about a city's different neighbourhoods, to get an idea of which they might like best. Citizens would also be interested in full-colour books on walking tours, or with high-quality images of the skyline, that they could keep or give to a friend.
In that sense, the cost of publishing some books could potentially be taken from existing advertising and communications budgets, since the increased presence of municipal logos and products on store shelves and coffee tables could reduce the need for certain types of advertising, such as for recruitment. High quality, full-colour books may actually make more citizens interested in working for the municipal government.
Even before a new staffer were to join a Parks Branch, had they read multiple books produced by a City's Parks Branch, that could shorten the training process and help give interested candidates a leg up in the interview process. Similarly, one of the hopes of published material is that the references would have been checked out and the information is as accurate as possible. When municipal staff leave for another job unexpectedly, or change departments, or approach retirement, their knowledge can be retained in this format as a permanent record.
Having a publishing house with full printing capacity would lower need to outsource the printing of business cards, letterhead, and other office print goods. It could also make the printing of maps and posters less expensive.
A publishing house could help generate ongoing revenues for a municipality, and offset increasing costs. If managed properly, it may in time bring in enough revenue to ward off tax increases, and potentially even result in decreased taxes.
Inflation, cost overruns, emergency projects, population growth and the growth of associated services are often blamed, but this represents poor planning...
Most Canadians are in debt and spend more than they earn, and most new business fold within the first few years of operation.
By the law of averages, most municipal government employees, which are drawn from the same pool of Canadians, will also have poor spending habits and have a tendency toward debt.
Nevertheless, municipalities need to set an example for their citizens. Per capita revenues need to cover per capita costs, and if they don't, then the municipality needs to spend less, and also work to develop creative sources of income, which is what this article is about.
We all come up with great ideas now and again, but few of us act on them on a regular basis. Companies and municipalities which recognize that their employees are their strongest asset, and which take steps to foster and encourage their great ideas are the ones who find themselves at the leading edge. Companies and municipalities which do not do this may pay dearly to cover consultants' fees to come up with the ideas. They may also cause their employees to become disengaged and leave, or worse, hang around in a disengaged state for decades waiting for their big retirement date.
A colleague recently shared a book with me about the best walking and running trails in the city. It was written decades ago by a citizen (i.e., not a municipal employee), and the information was quite good. I'm not sure how many copies would have made their way into circulation, but had the maps and graphics been of higher quality and more pictures had been included, perhaps even more copies could have been sold.
It was at that moment that I thought: why couldn't the City open its own publishing house and print these sort of books itself? There is a Communications Branch which helps produce brochures, pamphlets, posters, news releases, websites, and other promotional items, but little if any money is made on any of these products. The City has maps available for sale, and copies of various reports are occasionally sold, but full books would be a stretch. Basic brochures, maps and websites about trails in the city are produced, but book production for income is left to the private entrepreneur.
There are all sorts of different books that could be published by a municipality to supplement its free brochures and other materials, and there would be a real benefit to both the municipality and the general public for doing this. Many citizens would be interested in books about their city's architecture and history (e.g., past mayors/politicians, community leaders, significant events). Citizens looking to buy a house or start a new business would want to read books about a city's different neighbourhoods, to get an idea of which they might like best. Citizens would also be interested in full-colour books on walking tours, or with high-quality images of the skyline, that they could keep or give to a friend.
In that sense, the cost of publishing some books could potentially be taken from existing advertising and communications budgets, since the increased presence of municipal logos and products on store shelves and coffee tables could reduce the need for certain types of advertising, such as for recruitment. High quality, full-colour books may actually make more citizens interested in working for the municipal government.
Even before a new staffer were to join a Parks Branch, had they read multiple books produced by a City's Parks Branch, that could shorten the training process and help give interested candidates a leg up in the interview process. Similarly, one of the hopes of published material is that the references would have been checked out and the information is as accurate as possible. When municipal staff leave for another job unexpectedly, or change departments, or approach retirement, their knowledge can be retained in this format as a permanent record.
Having a publishing house with full printing capacity would lower need to outsource the printing of business cards, letterhead, and other office print goods. It could also make the printing of maps and posters less expensive.
A publishing house could help generate ongoing revenues for a municipality, and offset increasing costs. If managed properly, it may in time bring in enough revenue to ward off tax increases, and potentially even result in decreased taxes.
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Contact Myron Belej, MCIP, AICP at myron@cityplanner.ca to:
- invite Myron to speak at a conference or event
- feature a version of this article in another publication
- inquire about Myron's consulting or coaching services
- request more information
Learn more about 'How to Hire Myron'.
Contact Myron Belej, MCIP, AICP at myron@cityplanner.ca to:
- invite Myron to speak at a conference or event
- feature a version of this article in another publication
- inquire about Myron's consulting or coaching services
- request more information
Learn more about 'How to Hire Myron'.