Finance and Administration Report - CAO UPDATE
An update from the Chief Administrative Officer regarding significant activities, including the new electronic agenda system, Town Hall renovations, and protective services staffing.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION REPORT
TO: Committee of the Whole FROM: Kim Anema, CAO DATE: December 8, 2016 MEETING DATE: December 13, 2016
CAO UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the Committee receive the December 3, 2016 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:
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
On November 18, 2016 Archives Volunteers accepted a donation of a scrap book from former View Royal resident, David Welham. The book contains many original photos, clippings and documents from the Craigflower Women’s Institute dating from 1937-1964. The Craigflower Women’s Institute was a very active community group in the early days of View Royal and the Archives is very appreciative of such a valuable donation.
The Town’s electronic agenda system (iCompass) was launched on December 2, 2016 for first use at the December 6, 2016 Council meeting. Administration and Finance (IT) staff held a training session for Council and have been working diligently to ensure a smooth roll-out.
The new system is in the process of being updated with the transfer of past agendas and minutes from the Town’s website. This transfer process includes “optical character recognition” (OCR) which allows previously scanned agendas and minutes to be fully searchable for specific items, topics or reports – a desire expressed by members of the public for some time.
Future phases will see changes to how staff reports are written, stored and circulated through the internal review process.
Some members of Council and staff “decked the Hall” in the afternoon of December 2nd with seasonally appropriate ornamentation. As well, greeting cards were sent out on behalf of Council and staff to other municipalities and local dignitaries.
Staff anticipate over forty young students from View Royal Elementary School to drop in with a decoration for the Christmas tree on December 15th. We will welcome them with oranges and candy canes.
Following the December 6, 2016 Council meeting, the Town hosted a Winter Reception to celebrate the impending holiday season and to mark Council’s half-way point in their four-year terms. This event was very well received and attended by approximately twenty residents.
Front counter staff have been increasingly busy as secondary suite, dog license and business license renewals were mailed out at the end of November.
On the mornings of December 12 and 13 staff will be attending safety training sessions to equip staff with a comprehensive skillset for dealing with challenging clients. The two sessions, “Managing Aggressive Clients” and “Responding to Active Threats”, will be lead by Chris Spargo of Personal Protection Systems.
With year-end comes the “roll-over” of files across the organization. The Archivist/Corporate Records Assistant is working with all departments to ensure a smooth transition into 2017.
Town Hall renovation work – flooring replacement, painting and replacement/realignment of the front counter – is set to take place during the month of December. The process to execute this project has required a high degree of collaboration and assistance across departments. Staff members are currently ironing out the final details for this project. There will be a general disruption of the operations at Town Hall.
An overview of the project and timeline is as follows:
Week of Dec. 5:
- Pack up both meeting rooms and Mayor’s office
- Carpentry work begins in foyer and Chambers
Week of Dec. 12:
- Painting & flooring in meeting rooms, Mayor’s office and, after CoW meeting on Dec. 13, the Council Chambers
- Pack up 6 offices upstairs, Engineering & Archives downstairs
Week of Dec. 19:
- Painting & flooring in 6 offices upstairs, Engineering and Archives downstairs
- Pack up main office area upstairs
Week of Dec. 26:
- Painting & flooring in main office area upstairs
- Installation of new front counter upstairs
Town Hall will continue to be open to the public until Friday, December 23rd at 2:00 p.m.
Finance
The municipal auditors were on location for three days in November doing their interim audit work in preparation for the 2016 Financial Statement audit. Additional work was done by the Department in prepararion for this and all reports from the auditors were positive through this stage of the process. This feedback is a testament not only to the work of the Finance Department staff, but also all Town staff in following and implementing processes and procedures throughout the year.
Staff are working on preparation for year end and procedures associated with the fiscal year end of December 31.
Work continues toward implementation of the IT Strategic Plan, including e-agendas for Council meetings, implemented for the December 6 Council meeting. Also, mobile inspections for the Building Department and significant other infrastructure upgrades to the network are in process.
Preliminary work is also underway in preparation for the 2017 – 2021 Five Year Financial Plan.
The Department, in conjunction with other departments, is currently focused on developing a work plan to meet the strategic priorities of the Town. Projects currently include the IT Strategy Implementation Program and Capital Plan in addition to work towards the Long-term Financial Sustainability Plan (Asset Management).
Development Services
Development Services continues to be busy with a number of inquiries and many projects at various stages of completion. Our main accomplishments over the past month were:
- The Fees and Charges Bylaw set for readings December 13 and hopefully adoption January 3rd 2017. This body of work is a comprehensive review of numerous fees and charges as they relate to a host of different bylaws covering a variety of other regulatory documents.
- The Council Chambers air-photo mural is now installed. The surface will accommodate the use of a dry eraser marker increasing its versatility so it can be used for training, EOC, planning exercises and public workshops/consultation. Care will need to be taken to ensure that permanent markers and tacks are not used on the surface!
- An application for a provincial lease has been made to the Province of BC (Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources) for the boat launch on Shoreline Drive. No word back yet on approval or timeline.
- The Planning Department, Engineering Department and CAO have been researching the Development Cost Charge Bylaw with a view to understanding the basis for which DCCs have been historically charged and used. This information is critical to ensure that DCC credits and rebates are properly managed.
Engineering
Following up on an item relayed in the November CAO Update Report, the Town has now received the insurance documentation from the 3005-11 Service Battalion Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps who are scheduling a bottle drive and Christmas tree chipping fundraiser on Saturday, January 7, 2017 between 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on the municipal road allowance near Integra Tire. This event will be run by the parents, officers and cadets affiliated with this group. We wish the Cadets success with this fundraising initiative.
Engineering staff are working on completing capital projects as well as working on the 2017 financial plan. Preparations for the installation of the flag poles at Town Hall are currently underway. The flag poles will be installed by the end of December 2016.
The initial design concepts for the Island Highway design has been developed and is under review by the Engineering Department. Final design will be presented to Council for adoption in 2017.
The storm drainage master plan was awarded to Aplin Martin Consulting Engineers and the Master Transportation plan is in its final stages of completion.
The Hallowell Road agreement will be presented to Council in January for consideration.
Final planning stages are being coordinated for the Town Hall renovation project. Parks staff will be significantly involved in the logistics of the movement of office infrastructure.
Protective Services
As of December 31, the Department will have staffed the station on night shifts for 18 months. The program has been very successful. To date 6,318 hours of voluntary staffing have been realized with an anticipated additional 600 hours for December. The program is under a six month evaluation cycle and is monitored closely to realize best practice response logics as well as demands on staff and volunteer firefighters.
Fentanyl overdose calls have increased significantly in the area. As a result, the Department is currently undergoing licensing through the licensing process to carry and administer naloxone. Crews will receive training once authorization is granted by the licensing body. With the adoption of the Playbook legislation, training requirements have increased substantially. Volunteer training has had to be extended to Monday evening as well as Saturdays to accommodate the additional requirements. As of December 1 the Department has completed 6,130 hours of training.
The Fire Chief is evaluating departmental requirements associated with several large development proposals, specifically Christie Point and the completion of Eagle Creek Village and its’ surgical centre component. The Fire Chief anticipates that additions to the current staffing model and budget may be required as these developments move forward.
The Bylaw Enforcement division received and processed a record number of files in 2016. The increase and complexity of files has put considerable pressure on the division. The Director is evaluating opportunities to re-assign administrative duties within the Fire Department to include assistance in the Bylaw Enforcement division.
The Fire Department is at full strength with thirty-seven members and a spring intake is anticipated. The Firefighters’ Association will be undertaking their annual Food Drive to collect food for the Goldstream Foodbank.
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the Committee receive the December 8, 2016 CAO Update Report for information.
SUBMITTED BY: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer
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