ROB PANASIUK

MAKING TINY BETTER ONE DECISION AT A TIME

THE DEPUTY MAYOR OFFER

CREDENTIALS

MBA (Master of Business Administration) Rotman School of Management
JD (Juris Doctor) Osgoode Hall Law School
LLM (Master of Laws) Osgoode Hall Law School
MTax (Master of Taxation) University of Waterloo
MFin (Master of Finance) Queens University
CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts
CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association
CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Financial Planners Standards Council of Canada
CMC (Certified Management Consultant) Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario

SOMETHING ABOUT ROB

I'm Rob Panasiuk, former member of Tiny Council (2003-2006). By way of brief background I have owned my home in Tiny Township for 28 years. Over that time I have been both a dual resident and a full-time resident (as of 2017). Accordingly, I understand both perspectives. I currently reside in the Copeland Creek area.

The fact that my Francophone ancestors, the Lefaives and Belcourts, arrived in Tiny in the 1880s to join the farming community in Perkinsfield in no way qualifies or entitles me to serve on council, nor should it. One does not secure a seat on council riding on the coattails of ancestors. One must earn such an honour on his or her own merits.

As a voter, I have two preliminary questions of candidates:

1. What brings you to the council table?

2. What do you bring to the council table?

As a candidate, let me answer both in turn.

I believe that to truly be part of a community, you must contribute to that community, what you can, when you can. For some of us that means coaching little league, sitting on a council committee, driving seniors to medical appointments, helping fundraise for the hospital or volunteering to help organize the annual Terry Fox Run. All great contributions by a very giving community in which we live.

WHAT BRINGS ME TO THE COUNCIL TABLE?

In my particular case my expertise and experience is best utilized serving on council. For me, that's the 'what'. As a retiree, I now have some time available, so the 'when' is now.

That takes us to the second question.

WHAT DO I BRING TO THE COUNCIL TABLE?

I have spent 35 years in advisory services providing sophisticated advice to individual and corporate clients in connection with matters of significant complexity. My whole career is based upon walking into brand new situations, assessing them, and providing expert advice and counsel. My skill set includes: media and communications strategy, corporate and securities legal advice, corporate finance and private equity, business strategy, financial planning, and tax and estate matters. In essence I am a problem solver. When clients arrive with issues that need to be addressed, my usual process in any particular area is to: accurately identify and describe the problem to be solved; determine what data is required and how to obtain it; analyze the data and turn it into actionable information; generate possible courses of action; recommend the preferred course of action; and assist the client with its implementation as necessary.

Of course the preceding information is a completely self serving claim. I may as well have said I’m great. Trust me. Such are the empty claims of most candidates. Calculated innuendo. All bun and no beef. So, what third party objective evidence can I provide to support these claims?

Here’s the beef.

My specific credentials may give you some comfort as to my claimed expertise.

Degrees

MBA (Master of Business Administration) Rotman School of Management

JD (Juris Doctor) Osgoode Hall Law School

LLM (Master of Laws) Osgoode Hall Law School

MTax (Master of Taxation) University of Waterloo

MFin (Master of Finance) Queens University

Previously Awarded Professional Designations

CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association

CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Financial Planners Standards Council of Canada CMC (Certified Management Consultant) Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario

So that’s what brings me to offer to serve at the council table, and what I bring to the council table. I should point out that my subject matter expertise doesn’t necessarily provide me with the right answers, it provides me with the right questions. I believe that’s a good place to start.

I SEE MY ROLE ON ANY COUNCIL THAT I MAY BE PRIVILEGED TO SERVE ON AS A SUPPORT ONE, WHEREBY I CAN GUIDE COUNCIL TO MAKE HIGHER-QUALITY BETTER-THOUGHT-OUT DECISIONS THAT ARE DATA-DRIVEN, OUTCOME-BASED, READILY EXPLAINED, EASILY UNDERSTOOD, AND RATIONALLY JUSTIFIED.

SITUATION REPORT

Imagine a victim gets dropped off at Emerge at GBGH. He has a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. The Emerge team works frantically to stabilize the victim so they don't 'code out'. They prep the victim for emergency surgery, remove the bullet, repair any peripheral damage, stop the bleeding, treat the wound and close up. Then everyone waits, hopeful that the victim will survive. If it's a happy outcome, then the road to recovery and a long arduous rehabilitation begins.

In my view, Tiny is that victim. The victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

So, what to do?

THE PROMISES

WHAT I CAN’T DO — WHAT I WON’T DO — WHAT I WILL DO

WHAT I CAN'T DO

- Determine ownership, boundaries, or access rights to specific properties

- Solve the Housing Affordability problem

- Solve the Health Care Accessibility crisis

- Keep Tax Increases to or below Inflation (the cost drivers of Municipal Service delivery aren't connected to the price of groceries)

- The Administration's Job (Run the Township)

WHAT I WON'T DO

- Sell Public Beaches (Other than the Axler Property to offset the $4.5 million short term loan, in the event that the current plan of sale is unlikely)

- Borrow Additional Money Without Consulting The Electorate (beyond any usual short term cash flow requirements to manage timing issues)

- Put the Environment Above All Else (It's important but not superordinate)

- Implicate the Township in Matters Outside its Jurisdiction (not every problem is a Municipal Government problem)

- Create unnecessary Bylaws that trigger expensive lawsuits

WHAT I WILL DO

I will strongly advocate for:

- Immediate implementation of standard operating procedure for a "change of control" situation, specifically, a review of all:

- major capital projects and determination of optionality;

- outstanding litigation;

- senior staff employment agreements;

- major contracts and financing arrangements;

- major supplier agreements; and

- Repeal of the STR Bylaw while budgeting for increased enforcement around existing related bylaws and criminal code offences (suggest STR association to self-regulate and police its members)

- of the main bylaws (particularly the Procedural Bylaw)

- Repeal the Shoreline By-law and introduce a stewardship, education and volunteer/committee approach to environmental protection of the shoreline (community working together on the issue, all hands on deck)

- Repeal of the Citizens' Code of Conduct (we already have one "Play Nice")

- The Creation of a Citizens' Bill Of Rights

- Implementation of Service metrics/deliverables (dashboard)

- The answer of phone calls to the Administration Office by a live human onsite voice (within 5 rings; no voicemail to hide behind)

- The elimination of Deputations (they don't work for anybody; they leave council and residents frustrated; don't solve problems; and are often performative in nature (I know, I'm guilty)). They need to be replaced with something better, perhaps: Coffee with a Councillor, Walk'nTalk, Office Hours (both by appointment and walk-in) etc.

- Community Input on matters of Materiality

- Annual Budget Surveys

- Introduction of an AI overlay on the Township website and database (for easier AI-Chat-oriented search functionality that actually works)

- A determination of how AI might be integrated into in each department to reduce cost and improve service delivery

- Implementing clear pathways to constituent problem resolution, i.e. a roadmap for who to contact to resolve your issue with the quickest response and the least amount of effort on the constituent's part, with a way to escalate your issue as necessary. The entry point should not be council members.

PRINCIPLES AND APPROACHES

Government with a Light Touch

As few rules as possible; as many as necessary.

Fairness

The lens through which all decisions must be viewed.

Collaborative Discussion over Divisive Debate

Discussions are engaged in; debates are win-lose.

Questioning and Curious Mindset

My natural tendency is to question everything.

Solution Seeking

By beginning with the words: How might we…