CAO UPDATE

CAO UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION: THAT the Committee receive the December 04, 2014 CAO Update Report for information.

PURPOSE OF REPORT: To provide Council with information from the office of the CAO regarding material events and happenings at Town Hall.

BACKGROUND: Council, as part of the 2013 performance review, requested that the CAO provide an Administrator's report at each Committee of the Whole meeting to apprise Council of the highlights of significant activities of the Town.

INFORMATION:

Administration

October and November were busy months in the Administration Department with the municipal elections underway at that time. The Elections Team had several meetings to organize arrangements for a successful, open and fair voting process where 2,136 votes were cast – a 28.1% voter turnout – over the three voting days. The required steps to finalize the election work (for example, reporting out, invoicing, packing up of supplies) are taking place in December.

The inaugural meeting of Council was held on December 2, 2014. This meeting requires additional preparations and more staff time than other regular Council meetings. The meeting was well attended – with approximately 70 people in the public gallery – and the light reception post meeting was appreciated by those who attended.

With Graham Hill stepping down as mayor after twelve years of service, several initiatives were undertaken to acknowledge his work. The Administration Department coordinated a light reception on October 21, 2014 and also participated in a public event held November 1, 2014.

As all staff strive for excellence in their work, the Administration Department hosted a customer service training session on November 26, 2014 to assist them in that quest. Feedback from the staff participants show that there was good value in attending and that information learned at the session can be applied immediately in serving the public.

With Council's approval of the "Business Continuity Plan" and the "Emergency Callout EOC Policy No. 2600.034" on October 21, 2014, this information will be rolled out to all staff in December in a joint presentation hosted by Administration and Protective Services. These documents are critical and will be essential to facilitate the on-going business operations of Town Hall in the event of an emergency or disaster.

Archives held an accessioning work party on October 18, 2014 where the volunteers worked together on photo identification for some of the collection's more mysterious photos. As well, work progressed on inventorying, organizing and accessioning the Fire Hall's records collection. New information was discovered and recorded with the help of the volunteer team shown in the photo below:

On November 7, 2014 fashion care and identification expert Joyce Mogg came to Town Hall to work with the Archives. Ms. Mogg has written a book on Victorian-era fashion and was involved with the Victoria Costume Society. She is able to identify the year of photographs from the fashions of the day. She helped to further identify some of the Archives' photographs and provided information about fashions worn in View Royal. Items that were discussed included the original outfits worn by a founding family of View Royal at the Craigflower Manor in the 1850's and a bright blue men's wool swimsuit from the 1920's. Ms. Mogg also offered suggestions at this training session about how to store and care for fabric and garments to ensure long term preservation. Archives volunteers are shown in the photo below discussing some outfits with Ms. Mogg:

Recently the Town's Archivist/Corporate Records Assistant became the Chair of the Archives Association of BC – South Vancouver Island Regional Group. In this professional group of approximately 100 members, Chance Dixon will be involved in arranging educational sessions, representing the group at the provincial level and promoting the Town's archives in the broader archival community. Congratulations are offered to Ms. Dixon on her appointment as it furthers her learning and the municipality's connection to the archival community.

The Department's budget preparation work is underway for both operating and capital budgets. As part of this work requires looking ahead, staff is considering options to deal with the Town's records. As more and more records are being created electronically, the shift from paper to electronic requires that a plan be developed so that management of electronic records can be undertaken using the same principles employed for paper records. A draft proposal of reorganizing the Town's local area network is being reviewed as a first step in this process.

Finance

The development of an IT strategic plan is underway. The consultant has been working with all the departments to understand the current challenges and future demands for Information Technology including an objective for reduced paper.

1. Phase 1 Current State Analysis – 75% Complete
2. Phase 2: Technical Architecture – 10% Complete
3. Phase 3 – Gap Analysis – 5% Complete
4. Phase 4 – Final Report – 5% Complete
5. IT Data Recovery and Business Continuity Plan – 5% Complete Council will receive the IT Strategic Plan report for deliberation and consideration in the new year.

The Finance Department has been researching the appropriate financial statement representations as they relate to contaminated sites. There are relatively new reporting requirements requiring recognition of liabilities for remediation of contaminated sites as at the financial reporting date.

The auditors will be performing an interim audit work program during the month of December.

We are in the process of implementing an Electronic Funds Transfer process for frequent, low dollar vendors. Testing and documentation is completed and the new program has been rolled out to vendors. The new process only applies to vendors with payments under $25,000. A dozen vendors have enrolled.

The 2015-2019 Financial Plan process has begun. Staff have been asked to establish documentation of a budget that describes core services so that Council engagement can easily drive a conclusion to the Financial Plan for 2015 and beyond.

Building Inspection and Bylaw Enforcement

Eagle Creek The servicing agreement with Omicron is completed. Building permits have been issued and Eagle Creek development is now in a position to continue construction.

The Bylaw Department continues to address the increase in complaints for 2014. There are a number of locales that are of particular interest and are receiving the required attention.

Planning

The RFP for Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Chilco Trails Network was awarded early October. This project is now complete.

Staff are working with the grant recipient to establish a work program for additional restoration work on the Lime Kiln. Vegetation on site was recently cleared and it is anticipated that workshops will be planned for Spring 2015 on the site.

Engineering and Operations

The signing of our servicing agreement with Omicron was a time for celebration for the developer, Engineering staff and the Building Inspection staff.

The Engineering Department continues to work on development projects including 1900 Watkiss Way, Eagle Creek, Limona developments Phase 6, 6 Mile Furniture, and Thetis Edge.

Staff are diligently reviewing drawings and monitoring construction activities on various developments.

Engineering is in the process of finalizing drawings and developing a servicing agreement for Phase 6 of the Thetis Vale development. We are waiting for authorization from the Ministry of Transportation and Highways concerning the offsite treatment of storm water drainage from the Thetis Vale Development onto Ministry Lands.

Staff are working towards completion of various capital budget projects. In addition 2015 budgets are being developed.

Parks are preparing for winter activities and staff are prepping for the maintenance program. Various meetings ensuring and reviewing snow related programs and priorities have been held.

Fire Hall

The ShakeOut BC exercise was held on October 16, 2014 with Town staff fully participating. The ShakeOut event included an extended exercise designed by Troy Mollin and Cindy Heslop. The exercise included activation of the Emergency Operations Center and a series of plausible emergency scenarios to test organizational response including ham radio participants. The event identifies opportunities for learning and overall improvement of the EOC operation.

The Fire Chief and CAO have been committed to the fire hall project nearly full time since ground breaking. This project has consumed considerable staff time to ensure both contract compliance as well as a quality product at the end of the project. It is expected that the building will be commissioned on December 19. The entire interior has received a coat of colour. Millwork is also in progress. Plans are in place for the physical move from the old building and a transition plan is in place to ensure a seamless switchover and to maintain uninterrupted service.

The Ministry has approved and has now implemented a new BC Fire Training Standard. The "Fire Training Playbook" establishes the minimum training standards pursuant to the Fire Services Act.

The Playbook is put into effect for the entire Province. The Playbook identifies the corresponding minimum level of training that is necessary in order for the minimum standard to be met based on intended levels of service. The View Royal department is reviewing the training program in the context of the Playbook.

RECOMMENDATION: THAT the Committee receive the December 04, 2014 CAO Update Report for information.

SUBMITTED BY: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer