Testimonials

After Action Reviews

Milo MacDonald, former CAO, City of Williams Lake

In the aftermath of the fires of 2017, as the CAO of the City of Williams Lake we were looking to make sure that our organization was well positioned to manage a subsequent event and that we had examined internal opportunities for improvement.  The events themselves were unprecedented within the community, and unprecedented in the Province of BC.   Managing a protracted deployment of an Emergency Operations Center as well as Emergency Social Services and an evacuation of the community and a re-patriation of residents had stretched our management resources to the limit and had created challenging social issues and a challenging team dynamic.    We wanted to ensure that our after action evaluation was done by someone with the benefit of an outside view who nevertheless had the expertise and credibility to be able to give us the feedback we knew would make us stronger.   In our assessment of qualified consultants we found no-one with Tim Pley’s blend of approachable common sense, specific fire and emergency management experience and also experience as a CAO in a mid-sized city.  In short, Tim had the blend of characteristics that we knew would lead to a valuable exercise.  We asked that Tim give us a candid and unflinching assessment of where we went right and wrong and what opportunities he saw for us to prepare for subsequent events.   All our staff and myself enjoyed working with Tim through this thorough exercise because he left us feeling confident for the future, recognized the areas where we had excelled (and there were several) but balanced this with a great playbook to avoid shortfalls in future events.   Tim was a pleasure to work with, and so comfortable in both emergency services and local government that we were easily able to build rapport and trust his feedback.  In the end, the test of the additional preparation we undertook in the aftermath of this exercise was quick to come with floods only two years later which destroyed critical sewage infrastructure.   Our response to that event demonstrated a far higher level of preparedness and effectiveness and staff level cohesion.   Much of that effectiveness can be attributed to Tim’s assistance with our preparation.  I would highly recommend Tim for any role as an advisor to local governments seeking to confirm or ensure their readiness to face events that have become increasingly common in the last few years.   Tim has come by his sterling reputation as a firefighter and CAO because of a long and distinguished public service career and it is encouraging that he remains in our sphere willing to assist organizations in a consulting capacity.

Recruitment

Bob MacPherson, CAO, District of Tofino

Tim Pley worked with the District of Tofino when we were hiring our first-ever, full-time fire chief in 2014. His efforts as a trusted advisor and interview panelist helped the District to consider this critical leadership position in ways that benefitted our process greatly. Tim’s open and approachable demeanor helped our candidates engage in the interview process with requisite and equal openness. Our panel’s deliberations to build consensus and hire the right candidate were well guided by Tim.”

“Tim is clearly a thought-leader in the realm of the modern fire service. His insights would benefit any fire department looking build solid and sustainable leadership team.

Working with First Nation Governments

Cynthia Dick, Chief Councillor (2016-2020), Tseshaht First Nation

I have had the pleasure of working with Tim Pley beginning in 2016, while in his role as the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Port Alberni. In my term as the elected Chief Councillor for the Tseshaht First Nation (2016-2020), we developed a strong working relationship that was built on mutual respect and collaboration. Tim always had a progressive vision that assisted in bringing different stakeholders together to a place of mutual understanding and allowing committed working relationships to form. Tim has always been a lead supporter in advancing Reconciliation in our community of Port Alberni and assisted in many initiatives that continue to unite our community in positive ways. Tim always goes above and beyond to ensure that all perspectives are heard and shared and assists in moving these forward, to find a resolution suitable for all involved. It has been such a great pleasure working with Tim over the years; he is committed, professional, respectful, and always works with the best intentions for all the community and our next generations. I am confident that whatever Tim pursues next he will do so with honour, integrity and will continue to advance us to a place of health, wellbeing, sustainability, and unity.

Conflict Resolution

Brad McRae, former CAO, District of Lillooet

I worked with Tim in the winter of 2012 in my role as Chief Administrative Officer for the District of Lillooet. I requested Tim’s assistance through the British Columbia Fire Commissioner to help navigate through a potential mass resignation of the Lillooet Fire Department. Through collaborative focus, dedication to finding positive outcomes, and depth of knowledge, Tim provided the necessary guidance to repair relations with the membership and the tools to rebuild a strong, resilient department.

We were supporting six fire departments through a governance transition from being society-led to being led by the regional district. One step in that project was creating one comprehensive set of operational guidelines to replace six existing sets.

Tim’s approach to the work was refreshing. He understood our end goal, engaged thoroughly with all stakeholders, and created time and space for all fire chiefs to be included and heard. Tim understood that operational guidelines reflect and guide operations, and that writing new operational guidelines couldn’t just be a top-down administrative exercise. The result was one set of operational guidelines that could be adopted by all six departments, and no fire chief had to compromise their ability to lead and support their department.

This project could have gone sideways but Tim’s patient approach made it a success.