Committee identifies ten most significant issues facing municipal officers in Canada.

• Position: News & Numbers - Brief article

The Committee on Canadian Issues updates its listing of the top ten issues facing municipal officers each year. The list was established last year as a way to help identify the most significant best practices in Canada. When the committee voted at its 2010 meeting in Toronto, Ontario--hosted by Len Brittain, director of corporate finance for the City of Toronto and GFOA president--each of the 20 members had 20 points to allocate among the significant issues identified. The updated list is below, including the total number of points given to each item.

1. Long-term financial planning/fiscal sustainability (78 points)

2. Citizen expectations and emerging service demands versus tax and user fee levels (46 points)

3. Infrastructure deficit (42 points)

4. Economic situation and effect on budgets (33 points)

5. Senior government intervention (including regulatory) (31 points)

6. Senior government downloading (when what had been a responsibility of a provincial government becomes the responsibility of a city, e.g., social issues and...