CAO UPDATE - Finance & Administration Report
Activity report from the CAO covering administration, finance, development services, and engineering updates.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION REPORT
TO: Committee of the Whole DATE: November 5, 2020 FROM: Kim Anema, CAO MEETING DATE: November 10, 2020
CAO UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated November 5, 2020 from the 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:
The front counter and telephones have been busy with questions and payments regarding the new sewer utility invoice as the Capital Regional District (CRD) sewer costs were moved from the property tax notice to the sewer utility invoice this year. Both business licence and secondary suite renewals will be mailed soon which will continue to keep the front counter busy.
The Great British Columbia ShakeOut BC took place on October 15, 2020 with Town Hall staff participating in an associated Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Operations Centre refresher session via Microsoft Teams as well as the “drop, cover and hold” drill at their desks.
Following Dr. Bonnie Henry’s announcement that masks are expected to be worn in all enclosed public spaces, the Town will now require that masks be worn by the public when coming into Town Hall.
Archives volunteers have been able to have physically distanced meetings in the Council Chambers. For those that are unable to participate in person, there are also group phone calls scheduled and regular emails sent out on various archival, historical or museum related topics. Volunteers have been encouraged to write and donate a letter regarding their interest and contributions to the community archives.
On-going destruction of eligible records from the storage room will continue now through December to make room for the annual rollover at the beginning of January. Further storage and cabinet space will be gained as transitory records are culled from project files and boxes. As well, the Records Coordinator is currently working with various departments to identify active and inactive electronic records for migration purposes on one of the computer drives that is set to be retired as a cost savings initiative.
Finance:
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Council deferred the 2020 property tax penalty to October 1. This decision provided some relief to taxpayers while resulting in virtually the same cash flow when compared to the prior year.
| 2020 at October 1 | 2019 at July 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Collected | 97.6% | 97.7% |
| $ Outstanding | $399,863 | $400,703 |
| $ Penalty revenue | $39,986 | $40,070 |
Council approved a change in the methodology of calculating sewer user fees, adopting the new sewer rate bylaw on October 20. CRD sewer user fees are now calculated on water consumption and included on the annual View Royal sewer utility invoice, a significant shift from assessment-based collection via property tax notice. Staff undertook a proactive communication plan including website and social media updates, newsletter and e-news updates, a mass mail-out, targeted mail to those whose accounts experienced the greatest shift and an internal FAQ document to equip front-line staff with the information to assist residents who have questions or concerns. Sewer utility invoices were sent during the last week of October via direct mail and electronic billing. A total of 485 customers, or 20%, received their bill electronically (2019 - 16%), which represents a savings in printing and mailing costs.
Work continues toward online business licence functionality providing businesses with the option of paying for their business licence renewal online and offering an online searchable database of business with valid View Royal business licences. We anticipate launching the online platform in conjunction with the November renewal process. This project builds on the 2019 approval of the Credit Card Acceptance Policy. Staff have transitioned the front counter to a new payment process provider and are now accepting credit card payments for select items as prescribed by the policy.
Preparation of the 2021-2025 financial plan is underway; departments have begun collaborating in advance of the February 2021 budget workshops. Finance is also preparing for the interim audit by MNP LLP scheduled for early December.
Development Services:
The grant application to conserve the Hart Road Lime Kiln has been submitted and now is the waiting period—hopefully for good news! The Town requested $210,000 to complete work on the Lime Kiln and to landscape and interpret the site.
The View Royal Park Master Plan has been to Council’s advisory committees and a final draft will come forward for Council consideration shortly. One thing staff have confirmed through this process is that this park is very much loved and appreciated by the community.
The Department of National Defence (DND) continues to support the Town’s goals and objectives of a safe, environmentally sound, and clean waterfront within the Esquimalt Harbour. DND has recently cleared several derelict structures from the harbour, including several structures within Lime Kiln Bay that were impeding navigation.
Go By Bike Week concluded on October 4, 2020. Our small yet mighty group of seven cyclist commuters on staff impressively logged a total of 671 km that week.
Engineering:
A new development Engineering Technologist was hired and will start December 1. The Engineering Clerk has retired and this position will be posted soon.
Most of the October activity in the sewer area took place behind the scenes, involving data gathering, design, and budgeting.
At the Thetis Cove Pump Station upgrade project, a new drain catch basin and a stacked brick retaining wall were installed:
As well, several drain projects were completed in October including refurbishment of the drainage ditch at the end of Chancellor Avenue:
The drainage ditch, culvert and headwalls were completed at 515 Prince Robert Drive:
The Town also completed the installation of a new drain catch basin at 292 Bessborough Avenue:
Camden Avenue from St. Giles Street to Quincy Street was repaved as part of our road rehabilitation program:
As part of the subdivision near Thetis Lake, West Park Lane paving was completed along with the asphalt pathway connecting to Six Mile Road.
Progress was made towards upgrading the GIS. Extensive discussion with ESRI and IT has allowed for a plan to be created for upgrading the server and installing a more recent version of the GIS software. This project is critical because it ensures that the GIS remains functional while allowing for more features to be added. As it has been several years since the GIS has been upgraded, this project has a few complications that will cause it to take longer than it would normally.
For now, a cleanup was done on the GIS server this month, which has reduced the number of crashes experienced, improved speeds, and extended the functionality of existing technology. Licensing with ESRI was also updated this month to more accurately represent how the Town uses GIS. A layer showing the locations of sensitive ecosystems in View Royal has been added to the Planning and Parks web viewers. This information is referenced several times in the OCP, so having it easily accessible is highly beneficial.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated November 5, 2020 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.
SUBMITTED BY:
K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer
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