NEWMARKET, ON, May 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Ontario Municipal Administrators' Association (OMAA) announced the launch of an online database with hundreds of reports and reviews of key municipal services and programs that were published as part of the Ontario government's Municipal Modernization Program.

This online resource is available to everyone, not just OMAA members, and provides local governments, academics, and practitioners more than 250 reports from municipalities across the province.

"OMAA is pleased to provide this great resource to anyone working in or interested in municipal governance and best practices in service delivery," said OMAA President Peter Neufeld. "Municipalities provide most of the public services that people use every day. It's important for all of us to continue the pursuit of service delivery excellence."

The database provides a wealth of valuable insights for local governments, with best practices and findings that can be readily applied by municipalities. 

"There's no need to reinvent the wheel," said OMAA Executive Director Scott Vokey. "The data and recommendations contained within these reports is directly relevant to the challenges faced by many local governments today."

The Municipal Modernization Program was a four-year provincial initiative that provided funding to help small and medium-sized municipalities find efficiencies and solutions to help lower costs and improve services for residents and businesses over the long term. This included things like digitizing, streamlining and/or integrating programs and services with neighbouring communities. Eligible projects included: service delivery reviews, software modernization, operational and performance reviews, shared service assessments, and strategic and master plan creation.

Under the Municipal Modernization Program, OMAA worked with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and municipal staff from across Ontario to complete hundreds of municipal service delivery reviews under both the Municipal Modernization Program and the Audit and Accountability Fund.

The Audit and Accountability Fund helped large municipalities find efficiencies via service delivery reviews, modernization reviews, digital transformation studies, streamlined development approval process reviews, and service integration reviews.

OMAA represents Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and Aspiring CAOs in municipalities of all tiers and sizes across Ontario. It fosters excellence in CAO leadership, know-how and professional management of municipalities. OMAA promotes and supports good governance by encouraging excellence in CAO leadership, know-how, and professional management of municipalities.

SOURCE Ontario Municipal Administrators' Association