Thread by @LoveWilmot

The first of four Budget Advisory Committee Meetings begins at 5pm today. It's downstairs in the Wilmot Community Room, in the admin building. The full agenda package is available at calendar.wilmot.ca/townshipcalend…. I'll be live tweeting the discussions in this thread 👇

Starting a bit behind schedule as the preceding closed session ran longer than expected.

Cllr Pfenning reads the land acknowledgment.

https://twitter.com/LoveWilmot/status/1206703387154276353

Cllrs Gordijk and Hallman disclose pecuniary interests, both related to the community grant program.

Patrick Kelly (Director of Finance) starts the discussion with a presentation about the pre-budget consultation.

Cllrs Hallman and Pfenning thank Mr Kelly for undertaking the consultation. Cllr Pfenning asks if there is anything that could be done to increase engagement. Mr Kelly says he was pleased with the online process, but perhaps an evening session would get a bigger turnout.

Dawn Mittelholtz (Director of Clerk's Services) mentions that the township's communication specialist - who started earlier this year - might be able to help get the message out to more people.

Mayor Armstrong says that at one Regional meeting no-one turned up.

Recommendation to receive this report for information purposes: carried. Here are excerpts from the findings. See the full agenda package for full details.

Mr Kelly begins discussing the Inflationary Tax Levy Adjustment.

Cllr Gerber asks if any other local municipalities have announced - in their respective budget meetings - the recommended inflationary levy increase. Mr Kelly says not many have had their first meetings yet.

Grant Whittington (Chief Administrative Officer) says the cost of living assessment is pretty much universal across the board.

Recommendation to approve that staff prepare the 2020 budget based on a 2.2% levy increase: carried.

Next up: Special dedicated infrastructure levy. Mr Kelly begins the discussion.

Cllr Gordijk asks how the funds raised be reported to the public. Mr Kelly: Council will see reports from the finance department.

Cllr Fisher asks if council is being asked to approve the special infrastructure levy for 2020 only, or indefinitely. Mayor Armstrong says the levy would be in place for as long as we need it. Mr Kelly: Council will be asked to approve the levy each year so this is for 2020 only.

Cllr Gerber asks about Waterloo's and Woolwich's levies. Mr Kelly says Woolwich was 1.5% for 2019.

Grant Whittington (Chief Administrative Officer) says these discussions are going on in many municipalities at the moment.

Cllr Gordijk asks about the federal government saying they would go over the province's head if necessary to administer funds for projects.

Cllr Pfenning asks if this would make higher levels of government look favourably on Wilmot because of this special levy. Mr Kelly and Mr Whittington both say yes, because it's good service level management.

Cllr Gerber thinks this is a good idea because it helps the township "keep up" with infrastructure requirements.

Recommendation to approve a Special Dedicated Infrastructure Levy of 2% to be included in the 2020 budget: carried.

Ashton Romany (Manager of Finance/Deputy Treasurer) with the report on Fees and Charges.

Cllr Fisher with questions for clarification.

Recommendation to adopt the fees and charges covered by this report and that the Fees and Charges By-Law be amended accordingly: Carried.

Next: Mr Romany with a report on the 2020 Municipal Grants Program. A total of $50,383 is being awarded.

Cllr Fisher says that he disagrees with the Discover Your Wilmot program is only $2,145 and thinks it should be the $5,000 that council voted to approve at last week's council meeting.

Mr Kelly mentions that the Municipal Grants portion of the awards combines some of the funding requests from both programs.

Cllr Gerber says there is no clear breakdown between the funding between the two programs.

Voting on the 2020 Municipal Grants program, without the Wilmot Terry Fox Run and William Scott Festival, which have to be voted on separately due to pecuniary interests of Cllrs Gordijk and Hallman.

All three recommendations are carried.

Mr Kelly with the Overtime / Lieu-Time Report.

Cllr Gordijk: Is there a way of breaking out emergency overtime and "day to day" overtime, which would reflect service levels. "Do we have enough staff?"

Jeff Molenhuis (Director of Public Works) there are some service lines that would benefit from additional resources or operational plans.

Cllr Pfenning would like to know how many part-timers are working over 30 hours a week; i.e. part-time workers who are working close to full-time hours.

Mr Kelly: When that happens, it tends to be with casual staff.

Cllr Hallman would like to see a report on this, too.

Recommendation to receive the report for information purposes: Carried.

Mr Kelly with a report on Level of Service Requests.

Cllr Gerber asks if there is a more equitable way to discuss the various positions, rather than the order they've been listed. Cllr Hallman says she agrees.

Ms Mittelholz discusses the procedural aspects of this suggestion.

Mr Kelly asks if there is value on the various heads of departments discuss their service level requests before discussing each position individually.

Cllr Gerber observes that some positions/service levels might be driven by regulatory requirements, as they would be prioritized.

At Mr Kelly's invitation, Rod Leeson (Fire Chief) is discussing the need for a part-time Fire Training Officer. The pressure of providing the necessary training on the existing training officer is spilling onto the Chief's shoulders.

Scott Nancekivell (Director of Facilities & Recreation Services) and Tracy Loch (Castle Kilbride Curator/Director) discuss the need for a Parks and Facilities Technician and Museum Assistant respectively.

Ms Mittelholz talks about the role of a Communications Specialist. Says that the work being asked of her currently can't be done in the 21 hours she works, hence the need to move to full time.

Cllr Gordijk asks about the flexibility of working hours for a FT communication specialist so that more community events can be covered on social media. Says there were some events this month that didn't get mentioned on the township's Twitter feed.

Ms Mittelholz says that communication is two ways; there are some local events that didn't tell the township would be happening.

Cllr Gerber says he thinks the township's communication specialist should cover township events; other community organizations' events should be covering their own events.

Ms Loch uses Castle Kilbride staff as an example. There is flexibility in working hours to enable them to work, say, 4pm-midnight for the Ghost Walk. Those are regular hours, not overtime.

Cllr Hallman moves us on to the issue of IT security. Mr Kelly and Mr Romany answer her questions.

Cllr Fisher says it's important to get a Trails Coordinator in place. Four years ago, we didn't know how important trails would be to the township.

Cllr Pfenning: Just from a general HR perspective, permanent positions are preferable to contract (even three years). It gives stability and attracts better candidates. If we're asking for commitment, we should be offering commitment, too.

Mr Kelly, in response to a question from Cllr Gerber on why the tax levies are being broken down as proposed for 2020: Doesn't want this level of tax increase to be seen as the new norm.

Mr Kelly: This is a special year, with previously expected funding no longer coming, preparing for a coming boom, and taking into account infrastructure needs.

Ms Mittelholz talking about the benefit of having a FT communication specialist.

Cllr Hallman asks that building a Facebook presence should be part of the communication specialist's role, as that's where a lot of older residents are on social media.

Cllr Gerber says it shouldn't be up to council to tell staff how to do their jobs, referring to the request to use Facebook for township communication.

Cllr Pfenning says she gets asked all the time why the township doesn't use Facebook. She says she runs numerous Facebook accounts, so she's speaking from a position of professional experience.

Cllr Pfenning, referring to Cllr Gerber, says it's not the same as telling other departments how to do their jobs. Says she's hearing from the community that they want this. Says she supports the request for a professional to set up a FB page.

Mayor Armstrong says this should be left to the township's professional.

Cllr Gordijk says a large demographic in Wilmot doesn't use Twitter; they're only on Facebook.

Cllr Hallman says we need to connect with residents on their preferred social media platform.

Cllr Gerber says he's happy to approve the position, but doesn't believe his legislative role is to attach any riders to the job.

Ms Mittelholz says that a communication strategy is coming, and that council will have an opportunity to give their input. Says that there aren't any other positions where making specific requests like this would happen.

Mayor Armstrong: Right now what we should be deciding is if we want to have a communication specialist.

Recommendation for the Communication Specialist to go from PT to FT: carried.

Now on to hiring a Human Resources Assistant; report from Mr Kelly.

Cllr Pfenning says this is absolutely a necessary role.

Recommendation is carried.

Desktop Support Technician role being discussed by Mr Romany. This is a one year contract.

Cllr Gordijk thanks Mr Romany and Mr Kelly for their help with her technical issues. She supports this.

Recommendation carried.

Engineering Technologist and Technical Program Coordinator roles being described by by Mr Molenhuis.

Recommendation: Carried.

Mr Nancekivell with a brief report on the need for a FT Parks & Facilities Technician. Answers questions from Cllr Gerber.

Recommendation: Carried.

On to Trails Coordinator (three year contract).

Cllr Pfenning says how much she appreciates the work done by Andrew Martin (Manager of Planning/EDO) as a volunteer and on the trails committee.

Recommendation: Carried.

Ms Loch discusses the need for a FT Museum Assistant.

Recommendation: Carried.

Harold O'Krafka (Director of Development Services) with a report on the need to hire a FT Planner.

Cllr Pfenning acknowledges the good work done by the current person doing the job on a contract basis. Glad to see the FT job going to them.

Recommendation: Carried.

Chief Leeson on the need for a PT Fire Training Officer (one year contract).

Cllr Gordijk asks if the position can be shared amongst local municipalities. Chief Leeson: Short answer is yes, but this needs significant discussion.

Recommendation is carried.

Cllrs Gerber and Pfenning and Mayor Armstrong thank staff for all their hard work.

Mr Kelly asks the committee to consider moving the date/time of the third budget meeting. (This is might be the longest conversation of the evening.)

And we're adjourned.