Body: Committee of the Whole Type: Minutes Meeting: Committee of the Whole Date: May 4, 2016 Collection: Council Minutes Municipality: South Frontenac

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Minutes of Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 Time: 9:00 am Location: Community Room - Sydenham Library Meeting # 15 Present: Mayor Ron Vandewal, Pat Barr, John McDougall, Alan Revill, Norm Roberts, Mark Schjerning, Ron Sleeth, Ross Sutherland Staff: Wayne Orr, Chief Administrative Officer, Tim Laprade, Arena/Recreation Supervisor, Lindsay Mills, Planner, Louise Fragnito, Treasurer, Sherry Corneil, HR/Legislative Compliance Officer, Rick Chesebrough, Fire Chief, Mark Segsworth, Public Works Manager, Angela Maddocks, Executive Assistant

Call to Order

a)

The Mayor called the meeting to order at 9:00 am and welcomed a member of the public in attendance.

Declaration of pecuniary interest and the general nature thereof - n/a

Focused Group Discussion

a)

Confirmation from Council of Priorities Identified in the Strategic Plan Council was asked if the items identified in the Strategic Plan remain priorities. Comments included the following: Councillor Revill - indicated that it is not fully fleshed out and questioned what is the combined vision for economic development? Councillor McDougall - okay with the items however an implementation plan has not been done, we have been diverted from our Strategic Plan by other issues. Should we focus on specific items or deal with one at a time? Councillor Sleeth indicated that we have been silent on economic development. We need to plan jointly with the county Mayor Vandewal felt that the role of the county needs to be dealt with Mark Segsworth questioned what reasonable growth was, as it means different things to different people. Deputy Mayor Sutherland felt it was still relatively good, it still works but now we need to do the “work” of the strategic plan Mayor Vandewal felt there were current road blocks in the development process and questions if it is any better elsewhere. Councillor Revill felt there was not enough clarity with the plan and that it was premature to run with it Councillor Sleeth felt there was merit in meeting like this every 6 months to work together. We only come together in a crisis. Rick Chesebrough -not clear on the expectations of Council; what are the priorities. We need to identify what has been accomplished. Staff aren’t connected to the plan. Louise Fragnito - we have a reactive approach instead of a planning approach, we’re not looking out beyond the day to day. Councillor Roberts - we are going around in circles with strategic planning, we need to narrow the focus and get it done. Lindsay Mills - with increased customer service and community engagement there needs to be more staff time Mark Segsworth - strategic plan needs to be intertwined with day to day operations, in front of us. He questioned if we are doing things that are contradictory to the plan. How are we measuring progress. It is hard to argue against the plan

Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 Mayor Vandewal - the Planning Advisory Committee at the County level is going to happen - is it time to let go of subdivisions, we’ve slowed the process down Deputy Mayor Sutherland - the township isn’t clear on how we want to develop, there is a shift in what we want. There is a changing culture, we have access to information and expertise. People expect more. We need to change and adopt. Councillor Revill - If we have to become a commenting agency, Councillor’s role is still going to be the same. Need a relationship between Council and the County Councillor McDougall - everyone is so busy day to day with no time to focus on the long term. Our best successes are when issues are directed to Committees. We often give no direction. We get too involved. We would be nowhere without our staff. Louise Fragnito - we need to map out an implementation plan Councillor Roberts - that is what we need to do Councillor Barr - we need to work with the County, to be at the table, otherwise why would they bother Wayne Orr - there is culture of County bashing that is ingrained. We have to move past this. Mark Segsworth - there needs to be clarity in roles Councillor Revill - What is the forum to deal with the County Deputy Mayor Sutherland - Delegation of subdivisions to us, but we would need to question if we are paying twice. If so we should have County Planning Staff on site. Councillor McDougall - Economic development is not part of our Agenda. With Planning need to recognize that Politics is local. Lindsay Mills - Bill 73 changes are complex Councillor Schjerning - is there any desire to take on subdivisions. It can be delegated as in Lennox and Addington. Councillor Roberts recommended the formation of a committee, with Councillors, Staff and Community to look at Economic Development and Planning and to report back in 6 months. b)

Confirmation of Challenges Identified in Organizational Review Strategic Plan It is important to note that this was an organizational review and not an operational review. The purpose of reviewing the challenges is to validate them The general consensus was that all these are valid issues that need to be addressed. Councillor Revill felt items 1 and 4 are a “disconnect”. Mark Segsworth asked how these challenges were identified. He felt that lots of the challenges were operational and not organizational. Wayne Orr referenced the “tools” used by the consultants to assist in the review. The strategic plan, organizational chart, the township website etc. were supplied to the consultant for their consideration plus the input from the interview process. Mayor Vandewal stated that his number one focus is residential development, the rest will be a spin off from that. Lindsay Mills confirmed that he does not evaluate the strategic plan daily but

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 agrees with adding to staff reports how the strategic plan is addressed as it relates to specific matters. Council Deputy Mayor Sutherland noted that a key point of Council is access for public input. He felt the system works well as is. Councillor Sleeth felt there may be one too many meetings per month Councillor McDougall noted the provision in the procedural by-law to cancel meetings if there are not enough items on the agenda and felt it should be left to the CAO based on agenda items. Councillor Schjerning stated that he agrees with all points, however we won’t know if it works until we try. There could be quicker recommendations from committees Councillor Revill felt there are areas to be streamlined. Councillor Barr supported a change in the committee structure Mayor Vandewal questioned if it would increase demands. Deputy Mayor Sutherland felt that COW was not efficient Councillor Roberts was not supportive of extending meetings as he felt it was unfair to staff and should be left as is. Mark Segsworth felt that every Tuesday was not too frequent, sees it as part of his job. Lindsay Mills supported two Committee of the Whole meetings and one Council meeting per month. Wayne Orr questioned whether Council is ready to put their trust in other Council members on committees, noting that formalizing the committees would increase workload for reports etc. Councillor Revill felt it is difficult to achieve good discussions with developers. Staff reports could include greater options and a compromise in the number of meetings may allow staff to have more time to focus on reports. Mayor Vandewal stated that everyone knew as a candidate what was involved in becoming a Council member and the meeting commitments. Angela Maddocks indicated that taking away form one end and adding to the other doesn’t make a difference. Organizationally Discussions on the “working manager” and what that means took place. Mark Segsworth felt that a working manager was part of connecting with the public, looking forward and building relationships. Sherry Corneil stated that she struggles as the HR person with the impact of the strategic process. She felt the CAO has a lot on his plate with the responsibility for the organization.

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 Councillor Revill referred to his working experience and asked how much time is needed for strategic planning within a department. Wayne Orr stated that the present Council has established higher expectations than in the past and there is not the staffing resources to get things done. Mark Segsworth was frustrated with the fact that South Frontenac hasn’t been successful with getting grants. He felt that the lack of a financial need was the cause and it had nothing to do with the Asset Management Plan. Louise Fragnito felt the asset management plan is a good and valuable tool that needs work on a continual basis. Deputy Mayor Sutherland suggested using Council more, complaints could go through the local politician and writing grant proposals as examples. Councillor McDougall disagreed with this and felt Council’s position should be the exact opposite. It is not Council’s role to get involved and it would be cutting staff off at the knees to get involved. Mark Segsworth referred to the concerns about customer service and felt residents are getting answers just not the ones they want to hear. Staffing Councillor Barr recognized that some departments are understaffed and suggested delegating responsibilities to others within the department. Wayne Orr pointed out that many departments are too small or have no one to delegate to and that at times things are delegated up. Sherry Corneil referred to the County Shared Services model and asked if there is an expectation for more shared services. The CAO’s, Public Works Managers and Treasurers groups are all looking at efficiencies. Communications Tim Laprade asked if we are talking about public engagement. There are other avenues besides website, advertising etc. He felt this was not clearly resourced however there is not justification for a full time position. He suggested this could be centralized and include procurement and funding applications. Councillor Schjerning cautioned the use of social media, we are not at the point for Facebook and Twitter with only 118 subscribers for the news and public notices on the website. He felt the township is not there yet for full time communications position. Deputy Mayor Sutherland suggested the use of press releases to the public. The public expect to have messages pushed to them rather than having to seek them out. Economic Development The consensus was that we do not do a good job at promoting the township. We need to ask more of the County. Mark Segsworth commented that we are not an island but part of a bigger

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 region. We should promote the larger area i.e. Rideau Canal and try and bring people to the region not just South Frontenac. Councillor McDougall noted the EOWC initiative for broadband growth and the success of that project. He noted the “branding” initiative that North Frontenac is working on. Councillor Barr spoke to the recent bus tour of agricultural related businesses. She felt the township could do more to help out farmers. She felt economic development needs clarification noting there are no little corner stores in some of the hamlets any more. Administration Wayne Orr noted that staff are ultimately responsible for managing and responding to Council expectations. A breakdown on the role of the CAO and the Clerk as separate positions would be helpful to Council to understand the responsibilities. Councillor McDougall spoke to the Clerk’s role at the County and the additional projects that have been taken on. He felt there is merit in looking at splitting this role. He recognized that job descriptions are a staff function. It was recognized that the role of the Clerk would evolve into other opportunities to incorporate and manage Council functions. Building and Planning Discussion took place with respect to various issues that are believed to be stumbling blocks. While historically Building Inspectors have interpreted the zoning by-law, this is currently being questioned. There are some operational and policy issues that need to be looked at. Lindsay Mills indicated that there was no relationship issues with him and the County or the former CBO. Mayor Vandewal felt there is a need for clarification of roles and that there should not be a division of responsibilities for inspectors. He referenced his own experience with constructing a new home and felt there needs to be an easier process in place. He noted a recent inquiry about storage units on a commercial property but the development charges would have been $14,000 and this was a deterrent for moving forward. Lindsay Mills suggested identifying employment areas and prezoning as a great idea to stimulate the economy and development. Fire Rick Chesebrough felt that generally speaking the organizational review was satisfactory, they were not asked to look at efficiencies. He noted that only his input was included and not those of the volunteer firefighters. He disagreed with police and fire at 22% and that this was not a true reflection as he felt police should be separated. He spoke to the difficulty province wide with retention, this is not just a problem for Bedford District. He spoke to inspections and other areas of concerns that are required to be done by the Fire Department. Inspections of chip wagons, home inspections for the CAS and complaints about burning are examples. He noted that you can only rely on volunteers to a certain extent and there is no succession planning in place for any department. He noted that emergency management needs more attention.

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 There was general discussion about the training requirements and legislative compliance. Rick confirmed that standards were being met. Council requested a breakdown on the Fire Chief’s day to day functions and what items consume most of his time. A job description of the Fire Prevention Officer position was requested as well. Council also questioned the amount of time that will be involved in the Chief’s recent appointment as Deputy Fire Coordinator. Public Works Mark Segsworth spoke to the organizational review and the comparators used. He noted that South Frontenac has a different mix of outsourcing and in house and that we have utilized the old MTO cost accounting. He stated that no two areas can be compared as there are slight nuances to each comparison. South Frontenac has a single tier road system that is not comparable with other townships. With respect to strategic planning, he felt it is not good to separate this from day to day planning. He felt there is lots of planning laid out with the multi year construction plan and the Public Works Department has exhibited thinking beyond today. It was recognized that South Frontenac has a high standard for roads and it was questioned if the spending is optimal. Mayor Vandewal noted the struggle with being over budget and that we always find the money. He questioned if there is money there that we don’t know about. Councillor Sleeth stated that South Frontenac may have to move to the debenture system in a few years noting that we will still not be financing to meet the current plans. Deputy Mayor Sutherland questioned if the overbuilding of roads is affecting increased speed limits. Recreation Tim Laprade questioned the Arena/Recreation Supervisor being moved under Public Services, noting it generally falls under community services. He noted that only one other comparator has the same set up as South Frontenac. He spoke to operational issues and ongoing challenges with respect to facility bookings and user fees. Treasury Louise Fragnito spoke to the need to establish the optimal mix of reserves and debt necessary to lever capital funding. c)

Identification of further challenges from Council and Managers Tim Laprade felt we are falling short on grants and sponsorships, he questioned if this could be associated with a specific role. He also noted the need for long term capital planning. Lindsay Mills noted that the following items remain challenging:  civic addressing  stricter MDS calculations coming forward  by-law enforcement issues

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 Louise Fragnito identified customer service, long term planning and benchmarks on reporting as a continual challenge. Rick Chesebrough identified the mutual aid arrangements and radio communications as a challenge while recognizing that the CAO group is dealing with the radio issue. Mark Segsworth identified increased development as a challenge, it is not going away. he suggested that we are the new Muskoka. He noted the significant changes in the past 28 years and that we need to look at issues in a broader scale and beyond our borders. Solid waste is undergoing significant changes. Sherry Corneil raised the issue of succession planning, given the potential retirements and ages of our staff. Wayne Orr commented that development doesn’t end with Council approval, there is a ripple effect to each department that requires people and processes. He noted the enforcement of subdivision agreements as an existing challenge. d)

Comment from managers on adequacy of current resources to address the priorities and challenges identified in a timely manager

e)

Are there other barriers beside resources to addressing the challenges? Mark Segsworth felt there is confusion with who does what with respect to the role of the County. Councillor Schjerning noted that a barrier would be the potential for physical space if other positions are added. Deputy Mayor Sutherland felt one of the barriers is the Official Plan review and the resourcing of time to accomplish this. Tim Laprade noted that resistance to change is a barrier. Any changes need to be sold on the basis of what benefits there are to the change. Mayor Vandewal stated that trust is a barrier. We need to put more trust in our committees and trust the County to work on our behalf. South Frontenac will be duplicating services if we resist what the county is capable of doing. Wayne Orr noted the reluctance of Council to be decisive as a barrier. Rick Chesebrough spoke to the level of service and are we over providing service. Whose expectations are we living up to? How far do we want to go? Mayor Vandewal commented that staff and Council need to recognize we are responsible for tough decisions. Lindsay Mills also felt the lack of physical space for additional personnel would be a challenge.

f)

Did the Organizational Review address the challenges? Not addressed

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 g)

What are the barriers to the proposed solution besides money? Not addressed.

h)

What other options are proposed and how do they meet the challenges? Councillor Revill  not supportive of an ED position but felt we could be relying on the County and CFDC for economic development  No structural problem with building and planning but rather just deal with County to clarify things. No director needed  felt there is merit in dividing the CAO/Clerk position.  Cost and space are a concern  evaluate over time  could support fire with greater clarity on the role Councillor Schjerning  felt there was no need to implement all the positions.  supported the CAO/Clerk being split into two positions and including communications functions  supported a fire services position. Councillor Roberts  requested clarification of the CAO and Clerk roles and responsibilities.  felt there is a public perception of being overstaffed  unsure of the monetary implications. Angela Maddocks  development services needs resources, possibly at the administrative level Councillor McDougall  supports Councillor Roberts’ suggestion of a committee and emphasized the importance of ensuring that South Frontenac doesn’t pay for anyone else’s share.  supportive of splitting the CAO/Clerk role  agreed to a fire services position provided there is clarification on the job description and roles. Sherry Corneil  cautioned the reporting relationships  suggested splitting the CAO and Clerk role to start with.  noted this would add another role to report to the CAO Mark Segsworth  not convinced of the challenges and recommendations.  questioned whether they were a direct result of the interview process with the consultants or from the comparators used. He felt there is still work to be done internally with “who does what” noting that the GIS position from the County has not yet been utilized to the fullest.  could see the need to split the CAO /Clerk  felt all gaps had not been identified Councillor Barr  supported the splitting of the CAO/Clerk role  suggested transitioning other positions over the next few years.  upcoming retirements may allow for change in roles and responsibilities.  new CBO needs to be customer service focused

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 

address the County and planning process

Deputy Mayor Sutherland  supportive of the CAO and Clerk role being separate but suggested a report on clarification of the roles be provided.  suggested that external communications could be part of the Clerk role.  With respect to planning he felt the township/county relationship needs to be resolved, but noted the end goal has not been defined  agreed to the need for another position in fire services with clarification of the role. Louise Fragnito  the end result is appropriate over time  supported the separating of the CAO/Clerk role to two positions including communications Councillor Sleeth  supports the committee that Councillor Roberts spoke of  referred to the CBO recruitment and the importance of both technical and personable skills; we don’t want to fill the role just to put a body there.  sort out the county issues Lindsay Mills  the report acknowledges “bare bones” staffing and reflects efficiencies.  the Planning Department needs administrative support.  the proposed organizational chart is pretty standard in structure but felt South Frontenac is just not there yet. Wayne Orr  expressed disappointment that the biggest issue (Development Services) before Council has not been supported  He appreciated the support for the CAO Clerk split, however he did not feel this was the biggest issue  The driving factor appears to be money and he noted that with the County and Education tax rates, the overall tax increase is .65% overall, thus there are options available to finance new positions. Mayor Vandewal  he struggles with increases for upper management positions.  if the issues with county planning is resolved then there will no longer be the same internal planning pressures.  he has never seen any request for staffing from the Fire Department.  the report generally shows the township is doing a good job, the structure is not top heavy and that he does not necessarily agree with the entire report. Councillor Schjerning  spoke to the financial component and the 2% increase option. He would support more positions if we looked at sustainability. Deputy Mayor Sutherland  we do not have a strategy on planning and we need to know where we are going.  is there clear direction There was general support for further meetings like this The CAO was asked to compile the information from the day and report back to

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Committee of the Whole May 4, 2016 Council including recommendations and options on May 24. 4.

Adjournment

a)

The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m.

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