Our Partners - Dale Lyle and Ernie Epp
Dale Lyle - C.G.A., C.M.M.A, P. Admin
Mr. Lyle has over 35 years of municipal government experience as City Manager and Treasurer in various cities, towns and municipalities in Manitoba and B.C., in addition to having spent time in public practice with a national accounting firm. He has extensive experience and knowledge in the areas of local government management, municipal finance, administration, human resource management and the political realities affecting local government.
Over the last 12 years Mr. Lyle has focused on normalizing relations with an adjacent municipality and has helped to create a regional focus on municipal government. During this time the two municipalities have moved from a position of minimal regional cooperation to a much more focused regional approach. Some of the items of regional cooperation that have taken place over this time period include:
- establishment of a regional planning district
- creation of regional water systems
- signing of the first comprehensive commercial/industrial property tax sharing agreement in Manitoba
- creation of a regional landfill authority
- agreement to construct a new $43 million recreation complex and a new joint regional recreation district authority to manage it.
Mr. Lyle has taught the accounting module of the Certified Manitoba Municipal Administrator certificate program for the University of Manitoba. He has also prepared and presented workshops on municipal policy development and Council orientation.
Mr. Lyle has participated in various international projects for the Canadian International Development Agency. He has been involved with a variety of projects in Trinidad, Tobago and the Philippines related to financial management and property taxation.
Mr. Lyle acted as lead negotiator for a municipality in the construction of two large agri-food plants valued at $200 million. As part of the plant construction process he was responsible for negotiating the funding and participating in the construction management, of over $80 million in water and sewer infrastructure upgrades.
Over the last few years, he has served as Director of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators and President of the Manitoba Municipal Administrators Association in addition to serving on various local Boards and Organizations in the community in which he resides.
EDUCATION
Advanced Diploma in Public Sector Management, University of Victoria, - 1999
Certified General Accountant - 1985
Certified Manitoba Municipal Administrator – 1981
Ernie Epp, C.M.M.A
Mr. Epp has been working in local government administration for over 35 years in Manitoba. The experience gained has been in various urban centers including one in the north, a rural municipality with high end urban-like development, and a rural municipality with a mix of rural residential and intensive livestock development. Through this varied background he has gained knowledge in all areas relating to municipal operations respecting all types of municipalities.
Mr. Epp was Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Leaf Rapids from 1989 to 1997. During that time he negotiated a funding agreement with Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Inc. after a change in provincial assessment significantly reduced the Company's property taxes.
Since 1997 Mr. Epp’s time has been spent working in three municipalities, each experiencing significant growth. Over this period of time he has developed significant skills in negotiating development agreements, building trust with developers while doing so. This has led to annual growth of over 4% and construction in the tens of millions during most of those years, resulting in a significant increased tax base for those municipalities.
Mr. Epp served as Emergency Coordinator during five declared emergencies. Three of these emergencies were due to forest fire and led to complete evacuation of the municipality. His experiences were shared with an audience of over 600 delegates at an Emergency Services Conference.
Over a fifteen year period covering four municipalities, Mr. Epp has developed a comprehensive policy manual covering all aspects of local government. This manual has been shared with numerous municipalities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Mr. Epp’s service to the industry has included one year as a director of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators, and over six years on the Manitoba Municipal Administrators Association board, including two years as President.
Mr. Epp has prepared and presented workshops on municipal policy development and Council orientation, and facilitated strategic planning sessions.
He is respected as one of the top municipal administrators in Manitoba by peers and politicians.
EDUCATION
Certified Manitoba Municipal Administrator, Honours – 1990