Steve Rant - City of Williams Lake Community Profile

In most communities, a community profile, or a snapshot of what a community has to offer to potential investors, is a document created to showcase the very best that a community has to offer potential investors or those who want to move to a community from another location

See the City of Williams Lake Community Profile (updated February of 2010) here

However, it is generally noted that such a community profile has useful information and does not contain any errors (or as few as possible to ensure its' accuracy)

The City of Williams Lake recently updated its' community profile, as of February 2010 and like in 2009, it still contains several errors including:

i) Board Chair of the Cariboo Regional District - the City has Jon Wolbers listed as Board Chair, however it has been known since December of 2008 that Al Richmond (Area 'G' Director) has been and continues to be the CRD Board of Directors' Chair

ii) City Election - the City's community profile lists the next election as November of 2012, however the next election is November 19th, 2011. A simple call to Corporate Services staff would have prevented this error from being published

iii) Year of City Council Election - the City's community profile has it listed as 2009 when the elections' were last held on November 15th, 2008

iv) City Staff Listing and Staff Organization Chart is inaccurate - as my blog readers' know, the CAO is now Brian Carruthers not Alberto DeFeo, the City no longer has a "General Manager of Community Services", "Director of Corporate Services", "General Manager of Corporate Services", "General Manager of Development & Business Services". The City now has a "Manager of Legislative Services", "Director of Community Services and Financial Services" and a "General Manager of Planning & Operations"

Had the City taken the time to do these minor edits, by way of peer review, the City would have (and should have) a professionally-created document for use by potential investors and those who wish to relocate to the City

I should finally note that I have contacted Councillor Geoff Bourdon and asked him to work on this document to ensure that the next re-write of the City's Community Profile contains no errors. On October 12th, I contacted Councillor Bourdon with regard to the updated Community Profile as of September of 2009 and got nowhere with him (note - Geoff Bourdon chairs the Economic Development Portfolio at City Hall)

UPDATE - A blog reader has brought some additional errors in the City's Community Profile to my attention that I missed including:

* Incorrect Williams Lake Timberwolves website
* No website for the "Rush" radio station
* Tax Rates (Page 16 of Community Profile) is current of 2007 and the tax rate info is avaialbe for publication as of the 2009 taxation year
* Leading Employers (Page 16 of Community Profile) - Jackpine Forest Products no longer in operation as it declared bankruptcy just over a year ago