Presidents Message

  February 2^nd, 2010

Welcome to the website of OAPSO, the Ontario Association of Property Standards Officers. As the leading resource for municipal property standards enforcement within the Province of Ontario, I hope you will find this website helpful in viewing both the affairs of the Association and discovering more about property standards enforcement in Ontario.

My name is Garry J. Anderson and I am proud to serve as OAPSO President.  I am also currently employed as Manager of Property Standards and Bylaws for the Corporation of the City of Brantford.

Property standards enforcement is a challenging yet rewarding field of municipal administration that I encourage you to become more familiar with.  Our primary mandate at OAPSO is to offer certification training towards the prestigious CPSO designation.  Municipalities are demanding such training excellence in their candidates and we welcome the opportunity to provide you with this knowledge and background.

In 2009, OAPSO Education Co-Chair and Vice President Warwick Perrin successfully steered our Education Committee through a re-evaluation of our training material, the primary goal of which was to review and expand on our certification-training program.  As one of the program instructors, I am confident that all delegates/students will appreciate our new and improved program.

I encourage you to consider attending our 2010 Annual Conference and Training Session being held May 30th through to June 4th, 2010 at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario.  OAPSO enjoyed a fabulous conference in 2004 when we last attended Windsor, and we are all looking forward to a similar experience later this year.  We are also planning a fun evening of entertainment at Colasanti’s, outside Windsor, where those in attendance can enjoy a Hawaiian themed BBQ, games, shopping and getting close to some of the exotic animals on site.  More details to follow on other activities planned for this busy week.  Director Craig Calder is currently researching options and locations for the 2011 Conference in Eastern Ontario.

At the Board level, we continue to foster positive working relationships with other municipal organizations like OBOA (Ontario Building Officials Association), OMMI (Ontario Municipal Management Institute), PAG (Provincial Advisory Group) and AMCTO (Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers).  We also continue to advocate with the Provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on effective changes to the Ontario Building Code Act that will enhance property standards enforcement.  OAPSO has also been asked to review, prepare and deliver an updated 1-day Property Standards training program on behalf of the Ministry.

We at OAPSO are also thrilled to announce the inception of area OAPSO Chapters.  The primary goals of Chapters are to provide a forum for the delivery of information relative to timely and applicable topics.  Chapters have been created in the Waterloo Wellington area, as well as throughout York Region.  Chapters in both the Thunder Bay and Ottawa areas will be formalized shortly.  I would like to extend my personal thanks to Director Shayne Turner for his leadership in establishing OAPSO Chapters in Ontario.

Further, we continue to work on a re-formatted Newsletter through the guidance of Director Kim Bimm.  Membership Chair Bill Chatwell is remitting membership invoices to 177 municipalities in Ontario.  Please ensure that your membership is renewed to maintain you revered CPSO designation.  We have also undertaken a review of our OAPSO Model Bylaw that you will now find posted on our website for your reference.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the dedicated members of the Board, without whose spirit the above-noted tasks would not be possible.  A recent review of our strategic plan makes me feel confident in our ability to continue to serve our members with professionalism and also continue to be the leading organization relative to property standards enforcement here in the Province of Ontario.

Again, thank you for surfing our website and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact either myself or any other member of the Board.

Respectfully,

Garry J. Anderson

Garry J. Anderson CPSO, CMM III

Property Standards Professional

OAPSO President