Recognizing Multi-Government Investments in Customer Experience at Burlington City Hall

MY TAKE: "Our fantastic frontline customer service staff are always ready to support and serve our community's needs -- including our Service Burlington customer contact centre, located on the main floor of City Hall. The recently completed renovation of our main floor provides an open, welcoming, and easy-to-navigate experience for everyone coming into City Hall. The improvements are directly shaped by the input shared from Burlington’s business community through the Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force in 2019. With their insight, the renovations at City Hall are one of the ways we are making it easier to do business in Burlington and support the residents in our community. I want to thank the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario for the funding Burlington received through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. These dollars have helped to rehabilitate critical infrastructure in our city so that we can better serve our community. I encourage everyone to visit City Hall's main lobby and experience these improvements firsthand." -- Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

*Please see below a news release issued by the City of Burlington.Burlington, Ont. — Oct. 16, 2023 — The City is recognizing the investments that made the recent renovation of the first floor of City Hall possible. The improvements are designed to enhance the customer service experience, including accessibility.City Hall Modernization ProjectThe first-floor renovation at City Hall is the first step in a future design of City Hall that allows for a greater customer experience. The renewal of Civic Square in 2025, will allow for further improvements of City Hall’s front entrance and façade.The open main floor in City Hall provides easy access to customer service counters for Service Burlington and Building, Renovating and Licensing. With the new layout, customers can obtain all the information they need from the service counters in one place without having to travel between floors. Other features of the completed City Hall modernization project include:

• a new 40-foot bridge across the opening of the Atrium with glass railings
• a wider entrance from Locust Street with sliding doors for improved accessibility
• a light-filled lobby featuring a larger, furnished customer area that can double as a space for City events as required
• customer service counters with adjustable height, for improved accessibility

In July 2021, the City of Burlington was approved for $852,200 in Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) – COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream funding for four projects, including the City Hall customer service counter renovations. In total for the four projects, the Government of Canada provided $681,760, and the Government of Ontario’s contribution was $170,440. The City Hall customer service renovation project was allocated a total of $177,200.The renovation is the first major upgrade to City Hall since 1985.Providing a positive customer experienceConnect with the City for your service needs:

• Through email to city@burlington.ca
• On the phone at 905-335-7777
• In person at 426 Brant St. on the main floor of City Hall
• Service Burlington is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, except for Statutory Holidays and other City closures.

Residents can also subscribe to Get Involved Burlington to share your feedback and ideas with us.Burlington is a city where people, nature and businesses thrive. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at Burlington.ca/Enews and follow @CityBurlington on social media.

"The installation of new customer service counters and more space for people to queue at Burlington City Hall will create an improved customer service experience for visitors. Investments like this ensure that Canadians can easily get involved in local politics and be active members of their community." -- the Hon. Karina Gould, Burlington MP & Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, on behalf of the Hon. Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure & Communities"Supporting improvements to municipal infrastructure is crucial for providing quality customer service and more convenient access to the resources people need and rely on. These renovations to City Hall will help provide a more seamless and efficient customer experience for residents and businesses in the City of Burlington." -- the Hon. Kinga Surma, Ontario Minister of Infrastructure"The renovations to the main floor of City Hall represent a significant investment in the City’s focus on customer experience. Together, with Phase 2 of the work that will take place with the renewal of Civic Square, City Hall and the surrounding are become a place where we can build citizen engagement, community health and culture. The City Hall Modernization project also provided an excellent opportunity to renew aging infrastructure, including the electrical and mechanical systems and accessibility upgrades." -- Allan Magi, Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services, City of Burlington"The newly renovated first floor of City Hall was designed with a focus on providing a positive customer experience for all visitors. By locating City staff from different business areas in one place, it a simplifies the interaction for customers and allows for on-the-spot collaboration and problem solving." -- Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director of Community Relations & Engagement, City of Burlington

Quick Facts:

• The City Hall Modernization project is one of 22 recommendations from the Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force report, and was approved by City Council in September 2019.
• About the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP): In August 2020, the Federal government announced adjustments to the ICIP program to help provinces and territories, and ultimately municipalities, deal with the financial pressures brought on by COVID-19. This new stream of funding is designed to deliver a wider range of infrastructure projects during the pandemic by increasing the types of eligible projects and accelerating approvals.
• The City received ICIP funding for four City projects:
  • City Hall - Customer Service Counter Renovation ($177,200)
  • Downtown Promenade Multi-use Trail Construction (Elgin Promenade) ($150,000)
  • Design and Construction of Palmer Multi-Use Trail ($350,000)
  • Roads, Parks and Forestry Operations Centre Renovation ($175,000)

Links and Resources:

• For more information about the City Hall Modernization, visit burlington.ca/cityhallreno.
• For more information about Service Burlington, visit burlington.ca/customerservice.
• For more information about Building and Renovating, visit burlington.ca/building.
• For more information about Licensing, visit burlington.ca/business.