The Mountain View Regional Waste Management Commission is not waiting for recommendations from a report to improve its processes and customer service going forward.
That is the message that new chief administrative officer Al Graham is putting out following his appointment July 8.
“We have some very strong (staff). We will be making some moves so that we can become very efficient and doing our job very well for the people of Mountain View County,” said Graham.
“We need to get back to what our core competencies are and through that I honestly believe that once we reach our core competencies we will give no other option but for (municipalities) to come back to us for price, for service.”
Graham said the withdrawal of Didsbury and Carstairs from using the commission for their waste collection is an unfortunate consequence that he plans to address.
He said municipalities within the commission have supported it in the past and he hopes to gain back that support.
“I look at that situation as a real negative one towards the commission. It's a shame, and I realize that it's been the positioning and the behaviour of the commission in the past that's caused these, but I personally, as the new CAO, look at that as a real black eye for us,” he said.
Graham, who hails from Dogpound, spent 23 years in the transportation industry, including the last 15 years in senior management.
“My learning curve right now is heavy in regards to (waste management). But I'm supported by some very strong people,” he said.
The commission agreed to a review of its operations in December 2012 as part of a broader review by all member municipalities of all regional boards and commissions.
The MVRWMC board ordered a review of its operations in December.
The report is being written by former interim CAO Terry Hurlbut, and should come before the commission's board in the fall, possibly by September.
"We will be making some moves so that we can become very efficient."-Al Graham, CAO
