Less red tape – less red ink

WINNIPEG - September 9, 2004 - Committed to changing the way the city does business, Winnipeg’s Mayor Sam Katz today announced plans to strike a Red Tape Commission that will pave the way for a reform of city operations and create a smoother, more efficient civic government.

“Whether you are a citizen or a business, red tape just gets in the way,” said Katz. “The city has made some efforts to speed up existing processes. That’s positive, but we can do a lot more. The next steps begin with gathering the necessary information, and that’s where the Red Tape Commission will come in.”

The Commission members will be named in the fall, and the review will begin in 2005. The Commission will be chaired by a city councillor, and feature input from several experts on governance and efficiency from the private sector.

The Commission will operate under the following mandate guidelines:

• Barriers to innovation, growth and job creation must be identified and removed;
• No program, service or department will be exempt from review;
• Value for the taxpayer will the utmost priority – the costs of a process should not outweigh the benefits;
• Wherever possible, opportunities to free city employees to make quicker decisions and innovate processes should be identified;

The information will be used to enact reforms that will make the City of Winnipeg’s interactions with citizens, businesses and stakeholders as fast and efficient as possible.

“What processes can we change? Which are working well? Which can we cancel all together? Those are the questions I want to answer. We need to work the kinks out of our systems,” said Katz. “We have a great workforce at the city. With their input, and the support of Council, we can really transform how the city operates. This Commission will provide the information we need to make that transformation.”