CAO UPDATE FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION REPORT

CAO UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated December 5, 2023 from the Acting Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received 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:

An Administrator’s report for the Committee of the Whole meeting to apprise Council of the highlights of significant activities of the Town.

INFORMATION:

Administration:

Administration staff have been busy at the front counter processing secondary suite renewals, business licence and dog tag renewals.

Administration staff hosted a school tour in November for students from View Royal Elementary School. Students from grades 1 and 2 received a presentation about what local government does and how it gets things done, discussed future potential career options, and then toured the Town Hall building and grounds. As they toured the Archives, they were shown a 1949 photo of their newly built school and a photo of the approximately 155 enrolled students in the then new gymnasium.

The Town’s annual United Way campaign finished in November with a generous grand total of $4,725 in staff donations earmarked for giving in 2024 – thank you to our staff!

Archive volunteers have been meeting to discuss projects for the new year and have been helping with organizing donations. Researchers are busy this time of year, with an increase in requests for information.

The Microsoft 365 records and information management project has begun with departmental interviews to document the current state of business systems and procedures. Identifying efficiencies, inefficiencies, and opportunities, these discovery sessions will guide the design of the new Microsoft environment and customize the final product to the Town’s administrative and operational needs.

Administration staff helped Council host a public meeting on November 23, 2023 at the Victoria Scottish Cultural Centre to hear from members of the public about proposed new legislation, Bill 44-2023, Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023. A report related to that public meeting, entitled “What We Heard”, is in included in this agenda package.

Finance:

The due date for payment of 2023 sewer utility invoices was November 30th. The chart below shows the number of online payments versus other types of payments (cash, cheque, debit card). Approximately 1,410 or 76% of payments to the end of November were made online, compared to 1,330 or 74% in 2022 as displayed below:

The 2023 audit service plan was presented to Council and staff worked toward finalizing preparations for the interim audit to be conducted by MNP LLP, the week of December 11th. Concurrently, staff are finalizing preparations for financial planning workshops to be held in February.

In November, IT staff completed two major projects: the upgrade of multiple servers to replace the end-of-life operating system and configuration of the Teams Phone system, for which staff training is ongoing.

Development Services:

The Development Services team continued to be busy for the month of November responding to a consistent number of zoning, land use, building, and business licence inquiries, and reviewing and processing development applications. In November, Development Services (Planning and Building) received four new applications, which are summarized in the following table:

The Town’s new Building Bylaw came into effect on November 1, 2023. Staff have been working hard on finalizing application forms and checklists and carrying out software and website updates to support the implementation of the new bylaw. In addition to the new Building Bylaw, all Part 9 buildings (i.e., houses, duplexes, townhomes) must comply with Zero Carbon Step Code Level 4 (no fossil fuel appliances used for water heating, primary space heating and indoor cooking).

At the Council meeting on November 21, 2023, Council adopted Secondary Suite Permit Amendment Bylaw No. 1125 which removed the requirement for Type 1 Secondary Suite Permits, including annual renewals of existing Type 1 permits. At the end of November, staff sent letters to all homeowners with Type 1 Secondary Suite Permits notifying them of the recent changes. Annual renewal letters were also sent to homeowners with Type 2 Secondary Suite Permits¹ with the appropriate renewal information as well as informing them of the recent changes to the Secondary Suite Permit requirements and providing them with information on how to move forward with legalizing their secondary suites in accordance with the Zoning Bylaw and BC Building Code.

Lastly, staff mailed out 411 business license renewal invoices to all local business owners with valid business licenses in the Town. Business licenses must be renewed by January 31, 2024.

¹ Type 2 Secondary Suite Permits were issued to homeowners before September 1, 2007 for secondary suites that do not comply with the BC Building Code.

Engineering:

Staff attended the annual Asset Management BC conference in Richmond, BC. Representatives from the Municipal Insurance Association of BC, Municipal Finance Authority of BC, and the Union of BC Municipalities provided the message that municipalities’ continued access to insurance, financing, and senior government funding streams is increasingly dependent on the improvements to their asset management practices. To this effect, staff look forward to presenting the Town’s first asset management strategy in early 2024.

Part of staff’s annual maintenance of the sewer and drain systems involve confirming asset conditions. Sometimes this culminates in the reveal of assets previously unknown or assets that have been buried from the past. A sewer manhole on Talcott Road was the latest find and has been picked up by staff and GIS (see images below).

Staff are continuing the sewer pump repair program as part of its annual inspections. This year, two pumps were rebuilt at Hospital Pump Station (PS), two pumps were rebuilt at Talcott PS and one pump rebuilt at both Midwood PS and View Royal PS. Due to the high volumes handled by the View Royal PS, a backup pump was installed while the existing pump was rebuilt. Below are photos of the backup pump beside the wet well before installation and the pump to be rebuilt on the back of the crane truck.

Staff completed a challenging drain culvert replacement on View Royal Avenue. Some before and after pictures are shown below.

Road maintenance continues to be busy for staff:

• Construction has begun on the Six Mile Road at Atkins Road roundabout. Completion is anticipated in mid-2024. The Town’s land used for Thetis Lake overflow parking will be closed effective January 2024 to facilitate the construction project.
• Asphalt pavement repairs on Highland Road between the Thetis Lake Park boundary and McKenzie Creek bridge were completed.
• The onset of subzero temperatures triggered the start of winter roadway operations. Holiday lights and street banners are up along the Island Highway and Helmcken Road corridors.

Regarding development work, many development sites are now out of the ground. Therefore, staff continue to monitor construction activity for erosion and sediment control issues to ensure any nuisance to Town roads is mitigated early.

Engagement for the Watkiss Way Park area (next to the BC HandyDART facility) was a success in November. Information signs remained on site to continue to encourage feedback from residents on what they would like to see in the new park. A summary of engagement findings will be presented to Council in the near future.

Work is substantially completed for the View Royal Park Stormwater Management project. Rains throughout November have tested the bioswale’s capability to much success. The absorption capability of the swale will improve as the newly installed plantings continue to establish.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated December 5, 2023 from the Acting Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.

SUBMITTED BY:

S. Jones, Acting Chief Administrative Officer