Committee Recommendations Approved at Sept. 21 Burlington Council Meeting

Committee & Council Meetings
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At the Sept. 21 Burlington Council meeting, numerous recommendations were approved from the September cycle of committee meetings. Below are some of the highlights split up by committee.Click this link to go through the full post-meeting minutes for all recommendations that were approved at the Sept. 9 Special Council meeting:  Post-Meeting Minutes - Special Meeting of Council_Sep09_2021; and the Sept. 21 Regular Council meeting: Post-Meeting Minutes - Regular Meeting of Council_Sep21_2021.Minutes from the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability (CSSRA) Committee; Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services (EICS) Committee; and Community Planning, Regulation & Mobility (CPRM) Committee meetings can be found under the “Related Links” header at the end of this post.There are also separate posts for City and Regional Councils approving:

HIGHLIGHTS:CPRM COMMITTEE (Sept. 7)

• STAFF DIRECTION REGARDING THE REVIEW OF BYLAW UPDATES TO ALLOW FOR IMPROVED COMPLIANCE — Memo from Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman.Motion:

Direct the Director of Building and By-law to review options for updating by-laws to include mechanisms which will allow staff to remedy community issues related to items such as shipping containers and derelict vehicles and report back with by-law updates in Q1 2022. (SD-26-21).

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:Thank you to Counc. Sharman for bringing this forward and our staff for their work on this. I take the advice from our City Manager that we will need to add a lot more bylaw officers. We are seeing the increased demands on our bylaw department and hear you. CSSRA COMMITTEE (Sept. 9)

• SERVICE REDESIGN INTERIM MODIFICATIONS & RESUMPTIONS - HYBRID WORKFORCE — City Manager’s Office report.Recommendation:

Receive and file appendix A of city manager’s office report CM-18-21 providing information about service re-design decisions made under delegated authority during the period July 14 to September 6, 2021; andReceive and file appendix B of city manager’s office report CM-18-21 providing an update on the city’s adoption of a hybrid workforce model – city manager’s office; andReceive and file appendix C of city manager’s office report CM-18-21 providing interim service delivery modifications approved by the Burlington Leadership Team, Emergency Control Group and/or service leads for facility ventilation - health and safety human resources; andDirect the Chief Financial Officer to track and monitor the financial implications of the above service delivery program changes in the ongoing COVID-19 financial impact reporting to Council.

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:This has been the direction we've seen many organizations have gone to and many businesses are heading towards for a long time -- like most things with COVID, it was accelerated. I think our hybrid work model will help our City attract new staff. We’ve seen from our staff working from home during the pandemic that we've been getting more hours/work from them because their commute times have significantly decreased. I think employers are recognizing they’re getting more productivity and seeing their staff happier. We need to provide proper work/home life separation to protect our staff's mental health. We've also seen virtual/remote capabilities provide good opportunities for more engagement by the community. For example, the latest Millcroft Greens Golf Course public meeting had close to 800 participants -- we don’t have a venue that could fit that in-person. I believe this is the right direction our City should be heading and I'm happy to see that staff will have the option to work remotely as they should. EICS COMMITTEE (Sept. 13)

• NEW EVENT - BURLINGTON HOLIDAY MARKET — Recreation, Community & Culture Department report.Recommendation:Approve an event called the Burlington Holiday Market as outlined in recreation, community, and culture department report RCC-12-21 for 2021 and 2022, and report back in Q2 2022 on the economic impact of local businesses, cultural impact, and parking/active transportation impact of the new event; andAuthorize the Director to Recreation, Community and Culture to implement the specific details required to support the various components of the event that are to be hosted on city property.Carried by Council through a majority 5-2 vote.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:This is all good news: we have businesses and residents in support of it, Indigenous groups interested in participating and a potential sponsor. We want to be agile -- a council that says yes to proposals to animate our downtown and community. I can’t see any reason why we’d ever say no this and hold the organizers up. This is a brand new event at a time when our Village Square events are so popular -- this allows for extra space and the ability to mingle downtown safely and for use of the Elgin promenade for what it’s intended. RELATED LINKS:

—*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor’s Media and Digital Communications Specialist

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