2001-2002 Annual Report - Public Guardian and Trustee of British ...

MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN AND TRUSTEE
2001-2002 was a year of continued progress and client
service improvement for the Public Guardian and
Trustee of British Columbia. In our second year of
delivering service under our new statutory framework,
we focused on creating a more open and transparent
environment in order to be more accountable to our
clients, their families and the public. We improved
service to our clients by concentrating on quality clientcentred
service, leadership in policy issues affecting
our clients, improving our organizational capacity,
program independence and empowering our employees.
In last year’s report, we published our performance plan which was developed
as part of our legislative commitment to transparency and expanded public
accountability under the new Public Guardian and Trustee Act. The goals,
objectives and performance targets set out in the plan covered the broad range
of services we delivered. I am pleased to be able to report on our successes in
meeting almost every one of these targets.
Our commitment to transparency goes further; our organization is unique in
being the only public organization in British Columbia to have annual
performance reports reviewed by the Auditor General under law. In this regard,
the statutory accountability of the Public Guardian and Trustee is the most
rigorous of any public body in British Columbia and the most rigorous of any
Public Guardian or Public Trustee in Canada.
Included in this report, you will find our
Performance Report and the Auditor General’s
Statement on that report, as well as the Audited
Financial Statements for both our Operating
Account and the Estates and Trust under our
stewardship.
“Moving to an
organizational
performance culture
has sharpened our
focus on customer
service.”
Moving to an organizational performance culture
has sharpened our focus on customer service.
It demands that we be a flexible organization - explicitly establishing agreed
upon goals can require ongoing reallocation of resources to meet these targets.
With a year’s experience, we now have greater insight into the art and science
of performance target development and managing for performance results.
The Public Guardian and Trustee has, for decades, faced a tremendous workload.
In managing this challenge, our staff continue to be our greatest asset. The
consistent high level of service that our employees provide is a tribute to their
professionalism and dedication. I thank them for their commitment and
acknowledge them for facing the demands of change with a positive outlook.
Despite working in an uncertain environment of ongoing public sector
transformation, staff have continued to provide the excellent service that is
becoming a hallmark of our office. Significant progress was made in reducing
several historic backlogs. I am particularly pleased to report that our service
turnaround in four areas - decisions on children’s trust disbursements, children’s
litigation settlement reviews, passing of accounts of private committees and the
transfer of assets of former adult clients - is now faster than ever.
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