Special Council Report: CAO UPDATE

CAO UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated April 2, 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 Council meeting to apprise Council of the highlights of significant activities of the Town.

INFORMATION:

Administration:

Beginning on Monday, March 23, Town Hall moved to limit public access to the building but staff continue to maintain business operations. Administration staff are placing relevant information on the Town’s website regarding Town services and general COVID-19 information as it becomes available.

With the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Town’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been operating at a Level 2 with daily meetings taking place each morning. This level has recently been re-evaluated now that operations are up and running and will move to a Level 1 with meetings moving to a twice weekly basis. All Directors are completing daily status reports and position logs for their EOC roles.

Like other departments, some in Administration are working from home to reduce staffing numbers and allow for physical distancing at Town Hall.

The Records Coordinator/Archivist is continuing to keep in touch with neighbouring records and archives counterparts to exchange knowledge on RIM (records and information management) practice changes and legal security considerations due to COVID-19 and work from home arrangements as well as sharing project ideas and classification and retention Q & A’s. Archives counterparts are discussing documentation of the pandemic. Archives volunteer gatherings have been put on hold at Town Hall, however, the team is sharing virtual content via email to continue engagement and social contact.

Finance:

Finance staff have been quite busy concluding the 2019 financial statements in preparation for the annual audit while working to finalize the 2020-2024 financial plan. In support of physical distancing protocols, measures were taken to conduct the audit of 2019 draft financial statements remotely, as scheduled. It is anticipated that presentation of the draft financial statements will be to Council on May 12, 2020.

On the IT front, Town Hall staff have the ability and tools necessary to ensure they can work remotely if needed. In support of physical distancing, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive are being utilized to conduct virtual meetings and collaboration, ensuring continuity at Town Hall. Procedures have been developed by Finance staff to facilitate electronic transactions for customers who would like to make non-property tax and sewer utility payments, such as for garbage tickets. For customers who require an in-person transaction, staff are utilizing shared Outlook calendars and taking appointments to serve customers at the front counter. The use of Outlook prevents double-booking appointments while physical distancing protocols are maintained, ensuring the mutual safety of customers and staff.

The Town successfully launched the new online Citizen Budget engagement tool that enabled residents to provide input and voice their opinions on the annual budget prior to Council approval. The intake period ran from March 13-31, with the results reported to Council on April 14, 2020.

Development Services:

Development Services staff are maintaining good relationships with our development clients by providing ongoing information about process changes and amendments to timelines.

Staff are developing a report on public engagement and input in light of physical distancing, with an emphasis on providing options for Council consideration.

Over the coming weeks, Development Services staff will focus on policy and action list items. We continue to work on Terms of Reference for the Official Community Plan Review and a report to Council outlining options for consideration. We are also focused on Climate Action work, including preparing for the annual Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP) reporting and drafting the RFP for a Climate Action Strategy. Work continues on the Housing Gaps and Needs Study as well as the Precinct Land Economics Study.

The open house for the View Royal Park Master Plan will be rescheduled once we are able to gather in groups. Email input on the draft, which is posted on the Town’s website, is being received.

Finally, we are developing refreshed content about Development Services for the Town’s website.

Engineering:

We have closed all playgrounds as well as any infrastructure that promotes social interaction such as picnic tables, benches, and the bike park. Parks operations are continuing as basically intended, with the exception of adding daily inspections for closed infrastructure. We have installed some extra protocols such as single vehicle occupancy and have increased our garbage pickup frequency as parks are seeing an increase in activity and we are experiencing some illegal household dumping into parks’ waste receptacles. As well, we have been sanitizing vehicles daily and have started sanitizing Town Hall midday.

Contractors who provide service to the Town have been contacted and will notify the Town in the event they cannot continue to fulfill their contractual obligations. All of our contractors are following protocols as prescribed by the Province.

We did experience a short-term closure of the Canteen Yard and Garden drop off as Ellice Recycling was unable to staff the site. They have re-opened as of Tuesday, April 7, however they are not able to staff on Sundays so only five days per week (Tuesday to Saturday) are currently available. In addition, Waste Management shut down their Customer Service Centre for a week as they relocated employees from a central location to their homes but they are now back up and running.

Protective Services:

March has been an extraordinary month with the arrival of the COVID-19 virus. Significant changes were made to operations at the Fire Department and Building and Bylaw Enforcement Departments. Prior to the Fire Chief returning from holidays on March 6, several internal changes were being planned to protect staff and volunteers. By March 12, 2020, the Public Safety Building was closed and public were denied access to the building. Concurrently, the Town’s Emergency Operation Center was activated in the Public Safety Building at a Level 1 to manage information and consider future planning.

Based on extensive consultation with Fire Management, Westshore Fire Chief’s and the Firefighter’s Association, a coverage plan was created to limit potential COVID-19 exposure to volunteers and staff. On March 16, 2020 changes were made to how the Department is called for emergencies. A twenty-four hour staffing model which sees the career Assistant Chief’s working four days on and four days off in twelve hour shifts opposite each other and the two firefighters working four nights on and four nights off, twelve hour shifts were supplemented by three volunteer firefighters working twelve hour night shifts to provide coverage so volunteers would not be called in for emergencies (excluding structural fires). Within twenty-four hours, all shifts were covered by volunteers for an operational period of twelve weeks. The Fire Chief and Emergency Program Officer are working Monday to Friday, modified shifts to cover 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

On March 9, 2020, contact was made with our two First Nation partners at Esquimalt and Songhees to offer support and inclusion in planning functions. Both administrative offices made an early decision to close their offices to public and work at a skeleton staff to limit any exposures to staff and families. The EOC is in weekly contact with both Nations.