Relationship Building While Navigating the Challenges of Election Years: My Advice for Municipalities
Election years are some of the most turbulent times for municipalities. Leadership transitions, budget pressures, and shifting priorities create a unique challenge for Councils and Administrations alike. Yet, with the right mindset and strategies, this period can also be a time of opportunity to recalibrate and strengthen the foundations of good governance.
As a Facilitator and Consultant, I’ve worked with municipalities across Alberta to help them navigate these complexities. Here’s what I’ve learned about fostering teamwork, aligning strategies, and managing resources effectively during these pivotal years.
Teamwork: The Foundation of Success
Election years are often referred to as "silly season" because of the uncertainty they bring—who’s running, who’s stepping down, and how leadership will change. This can easily fracture teams. But running a municipality is about collaboration, not individual achievement. No one—Councillor, Mayor, or Administrator—can advance priorities alone.
The priority for any Council, especially during an election year, is to maintain a strong team. Even in the last few months before an election, Councillors should strive to respect each other’s perspectives, communicate openly, and focus on the shared goal: serving the community.
Healthy collaboration doesn’t just make for better decisions; it ensures that the foundation you lay today will support the next Council, regardless of election outcomes.
Aligning Vision and Action
One of the most common challenges municipalities face is aligning the long-term vision set by Council with the day-to-day operations managed by Administration. This dynamic is often described as "two ends of an hourglass." Council’s role is to set direction at the top while Administration implements those goals at the operational level. The connection point—the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)—is where alignment must happen.
The hardest part isn’t coming up with ideas; it’s prioritizing them. Many ideas are really good, but not every good idea can be implemented at the same time. Councils must ask themselves: What does the community need most right now? Where can resources make the greatest impact over the long-term?
Answering these questions requires honest dialogue to develop and stick to a shared understanding of priorities.
We help senior leadership teams and Council have these hard conversations and useful processes to support their prioritization decision-making.
Service Levels: Clarity Is Key
Many Councils and Administrations struggle to clearly connect their budgets with the services they provide. That’s why we encourage municipalities to develop Service Level Inventories. Ideally, these inventories aren’t about criticism —they’re first about understanding. They answer vital questions: What services are we providing? At what level? Why are we providing them? How much do they cost?
For example, many Councils have clear policies on snow clearing but lack similar clarity for other services like recreational programming or community engagement. Without a full picture of what’s being delivered, it’s nearly impossible to make informed decisions about resource allocation. A Service Level Inventory fills that gap and creates common language for discussing priorities.
For more information about how McCarroll Consulting can facilitate a Municipal Service Level Inventory for your municipality, click here.
Culture of Respect
Respectful workplace culture is incredibly important and Council often sets the tone for the rest of the municipal organization.
Constructive disagreement and healthy debate are of course hallmarks of good governance. However, persistent conflict, mistrust, or infighting slows progress, wastes valuable time and resources, and strains relationships.
Yes, during election years, tension can be high as individuals advocate for their platforms. However, Council members must keep their focus on respectful communication and continued collaboration.
Investing in People
Whether it’s your CAO or frontline staff, people are the backbone of every municipality. Recruitment and retention are becoming increasingly difficult. We encourage Councils to be mindful of the tone they set for the organization and its staff. Without skilled, engaged employees, Council’s priorities for the community won’t be able to advance.
Building and maintaining strong relationships with other Council members and with your CAO is critical. At the start of Council terms, we often recommend informal time together such a dinner where the group can get to know one another, share personal motivations for running for Council, and discuss what kind of legacy they hope to create through their service to the community. These moments of connection set the stage for trust and collaboration that can help carry through challenging decisions you will face together in the term ahead.
Looking Ahead
Election years bring their fair share of hurdles, but they also provide an opportunity to reflect and set the stage for future success. By focusing on teamwork, aligning strategies with operations, understanding service levels, fostering respect, and investing in people, municipalities can navigate these transitions with confidence and purpose.
If you’d like to hear more about these strategies, I recently sat down with Chris Brown for an in-depth conversation on his Municipal Affairs show. We talked about everything from team building to service level inventories and the trends shaping municipalities in 2025. You can watch the video below.
Reach out to our team at McCarroll Consulting if your organization could use support in strengthening your organization’s culture, strategy, or transformation initiatives.
Trina McCarroll, CPF, CPHR and Facilitator at McCarroll Consulting recently appeared on Municipal Affairs with Chris Brown from the Cross Border Network to discuss the dynamics of Council and Administration relationship building during election years as well as how Service Level Inventories can be helpful to both groups.
