If the point hasn’t been made yet, the award to city manager certainly does: – excellence please, nothing but excellence. .

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  November 5, 2012  With less than a year under his belt as city manager, Jeff Fielding gets a call from his old stomping ground and is told he is the recipient of the first ever award given by the  Local Government Alumni Society at Western University to a civil servant for excellence in his field.

The award was  announced at the annual conference held at Museum London.  Fielding, served as City Manager for the City of London from 2004-2012, was honoured for his 30 years of significant contributions to municipal administration.

City Manager Jeff Fielding has been at his desk for close to a year now and has figured out who the performers are and who isn’t pulling their weight. He recently admitted to council that he is understaffed at the top levels but has yet to find the person he is looking for to fill the third General Manager position that is waiting to be filled. Fielding would rather go with too few people than find himself with people are aren’t going to deliver. Refreshing.

The Local Government Program Alumni Society Award of Excellence was established to honour and recognize an individual who inspires others and demonstrates public service excellence. The award is presented each fall at the Local Government Program Alumni Society conference.

In presenting the award, Jody Johnson, Local Government Program Alumni Society President said: ” Jeff is a leader who has consistently demonstrated public service excellence through his longstanding commitment to improve the quality of life for all citizens,”

Fielding said the usual obligatory remarks in his response when he was given the award: “I am honoured to be the first recipient of the Award of Excellence from Western University’s Local Government Program Alumni Society. I consider being a public servant a privilege, and I thank the alumni society for this recognition”.

But behind those words is a tightly focused manager who expects nothing but excellence from those he leads.  When he arrived in Burlington he took up the vacant city manager office on the eighth floor of city hall but soon moved down to the sixth floor where the two city managers and other members of their team work.  Being around the corner from the Mayor on the eighth floor was not the way Fielding was going to lead his team – he was going to be right in the thick of it with them.

City Manager Jeff Fielding on the lift with General Managers Kim Phillips and Scott Stewart. Fielding moved from the floor he used to share with the Mayor to the floor in city hall where his General Managers keep the city running.

Being with them isn’t enough for him though; he leads by example; he expects to make mistakes and when he does (and he has made a few) he apologizes and learns from his mistakes.  He expects the same of his staff.

Fielding managed to squirrel away $80,000 for staff training that will be delivered through a curriculum being prepared by the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University on the south Service Road in Burlington.   The classes are for staff from Supervisor level up – and they are mandatory – and don’t fail the course.

“The Local Government Program Alumni Society is one of Western’s most influential and active alumni groups. The establishment of an award of excellence for both alumni and non-alumni is another example of their leadership in recognizing and honouring great public service throughout Canada”, said Josh Morgan, Recruitment and Development Officer, Western University.

Mayor Goldring said: “We are fortunate at the City of Burlington to have someone like Jeff Fielding who is wholly committed to excellence in public service. Western University’s Local Government Program Alumni Society clearly recognizes Jeff’s contributions to inspiring those around him and creating an environment of innovation”.  That demand for excellence applies not just to the staff Fielding leads but the council that serves as his board.

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