Two well known Burlington voices looking for a better way to choose who sits on city council

By Staff

November 10th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

When things get worse and worse in the minds of people they begin looking for new and different ways to solve the problem.

This is what the world of politics is all about.

The public gives the power they have (expressed most vividly at the ballot box) to people they elect and expect them to act in the best interest of the people who voted for them.

The really brilliant politicians have the capacity to discern what their public wants. They truly love the people they represent and in return get elected again and again.

For some reason that doesn’t happen in Burlington.

The low voter turnout and the lack of active local groups in different communities has resulted in a city council that doesn’t feel it has to be accountable. The current lot was returned to office and feel they must be doing something right.

Burlingtonians often get described is as complacent, but in 2018 they were anything but. Then Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward was running for Mayor and four newbies were running for office, along with Paul Sharman who held the ward 5 seat and Angelo Bentivegna who beat Blair Lancaster by a slim 48 votes in the 2014 election.

ECoB packed the Baptist Church on New Street

The public turnout at the ward level debates put on by ECoB was an outstanding success. Unfortunately ECoB was unable to build on the success, partly due to the leadership and the failure of residents in the different wards to help make ECoB a city wide citizen organization.
There is now a population that is looking for new leadership.

If what Blair and White are thinking of is ever going to happen citzens are going to have to be involved.

Steven White and Blair Smith have both been active in the politics of the city but have never run for office. They also bring different political philosophies to their thinking.

They share a view that something has to be done to get a better grade of politician; people that will listen to the public and ensure that the city hall administration delivers on the will of Council

In a comment in the Gazette earlier this week Blair Smith responded to another resident saying:

“Your voices are strong and true and focused on exactly the right issues. Unfortunately, you fight from a position of great disadvantage. Literally, the Mayor, Council and COB senior management control both the media and the message. And the results are totally predictable.

Blair Smith flanked by Lynn Crosby and Mayor Meed Ward on a cable TV program.

“Perhaps, it is time to consider how citizens can regain a degree of control by offering a clearer choice – an open alternative that allows issues to be simply stated and positions to be compared; that provides a selection of Ward and Mayoral candidates who represent a common philosophy of fiscal and social stewardship; and who are all truly responsive to local issues first and foremost.

“This is certainly not my brainchild. Several of us have started to ‘ponder’ what a “slate” of candidates might look like for the 2026 election. How they would be selected? What the selection and vetting criteria might be? How to position ‘a list of candidates’ within the boundaries of the Municipal Election Act?

Obviously, there are many dimensions to be investigated and many logistical issues to be addressed. Perhaps 2026 is too soon for an operative approach.

But, I believe that the basic idea needs consideration. It might address the weak candidate, ‘best of a bad lot’ and ‘the devil we know’ conditions that have plagued (arguably) every election (2018 excepted) since 2002.

It would introduce the benefits of a common, well-articulated platform to our current municipal environment – not a party per se but a “slate of common interest”.

Stephen White

Stephen White added in a Gazette comment he made:
“You can call it a slate, a party, a coalition, a “slate of common interest’ or whatever. Whatever name you apply, the reality is we need to do something very different in this City because the present arrangement of municipal engagement by concerned residents clearly doesn’t work, and no one at City Hall appears to be listening.

Stephen White: “We need to get off this “hamster wheel”

“The recent budget discussions highlight two distinct realities: 1) the present arrangement of electing independent Councillors who are responsive to voters’ perspectives isn’t effective; 2) there are no effective checks on the actions of Council and the public service, and no mechanism to hold them accountable.

“More than anything else I think we need a clear statement or platform on what citizens want regarding transportation, development, affordable housing, finances, public transit, etc. This City has a lot of bright, talented, educated people, and I’m confident we could forge an effective coalition that would present a common front on what is needed.

“We need to get off this “hamster wheel” of continually responding to municipal issues and bouncing from crisis to crisis. Not only is it ridiculously time consuming but it’s frustrating and unproductive.

It’s time residents took control of the agenda and stated clearly and unequivocally our expectations of this Council and its public service. A good place to start is with the budget, and anything in excess of 2-3% certainly doesn’t cut it.

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Disabled home owner came very close to loosing $20,000

By Pepper Parr

November 10th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It is still happening.

Fast talkers taking advantage of people who don’t think through what people they don’t know are asking them to do.

On Wednesday, a Clark Avenue Gazette reader reports that a neighbour was conned out of $20,000 to repair a non-existing problem.

Our reader said he was “able to get the neighbour to his bank and put a stop payment on the cheque he had written.

“I want people to know these crooks are in town….An English man, “Mike”, & a Scot, “Peter” came to his door, & bamboozled their way in. They have what turns out to be a fake roofing company, & a great line of HOOEY.

“The police are taking our report today.”

 

 

 

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Kyle Hutton selected as the Green Party candidate for the federal seat in Burlington

Pepper Parr

November 10th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Does Kyle Hutton know something the rest of us don’t know ?

He has been selected as the Burlington Federal Green Party candidate.

Jane Jenner, Communications person for the Burlington Greens said she was “thrilled to introduce our candidate for the next federal election” which is scheduled for 2025 but could be sooner – at some point many expect the NDP to pull the support they have given the Liberals consistently since the last election..

Kyle Hutton: Green Party candidate running for the Burlington federal seat.

Hutton is no stranger to the political junkies in Burlington; he was part of Karina Gould’s first run at politics when she beat Mile Wallace for the federal seat.

In his statement Hutton said:  “I am excited once again to represent and share my Green values here in Burlington,” said Hutton, who previously ran for the Ontario Greens in the June 2022 provincial election.

“Growing up in Burlington and spending the last decade and a half knocking on doors here, I’ve heard a single consistent message from the community: we need to do more. We need to do more to make living here affordable; to prevent the catastrophe of climate change; to prepare for an economy where many more of today’s jobs will be automated; to create a more equitable and humane society with opportunities for all to thrive.”

“The Green Party recognizes that Canadians don’t need more empty slogans and attack ads – we need long-term solutions and a vision of the future worth voting for. My campaign will focus on providing both whenever the election comes.”

Kyle Hutton is a long-time Brant Hills resident, small business worker, and engaged community advocate. He has been active in local politics for over a decade, and has been part of the successful movement to keep sprawl out of Ontario’s Greenbelt and support affordable housing within Burlington’s urban boundaries.

“Canada is at a crossroads. We can either espouse resolutely progressive, sustainable policies to address the affordability and climate emergencies, or go down the same old destructive path of boom and bust promised by the NDP-backed Liberals and the Conservatives,” said Jonathan Pedneault, Green Party Deputy Leader. “As a Green MP, Kyle will be a strong advocate in Parliament, offering concrete solutions to address Burlington’s immediate and long-term needs.”

Kyle welcomes opportunities to speak with Burlington residents and businesses about what matters to them, and can be reached at kyle.hutton@greenparty.ca.

Karina Gould is the current MP for Burlington.

 

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Think of yourself as a Helping Hand and reach out to the United Way

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

 

The United Way Halton & Hamilton announced the launch of the annual Holiday Helping Hand program, a community- driven initiative aimed at supporting local agencies and families during the holiday season. This program not only spreads holiday cheer but also helps alleviate the immense stress placed on local community agencies due to increased demands and limited resources.

As the holiday season approaches, United Way Halton & Hamilton invites individuals and businesses to take part in the Holiday Helping Hand program and make a positive impact in the lives of those who need it most. Whether it’s helping pack stockings at a local agency, adopting a family in need, or contributing to a gift drive, participating in the Holiday Helping Hand program brings joy and hope to our community.

All volunteering opportunities are listed on the United Way Halton & Hamilton website. Registration for volunteer projects is first-come, first-served, so please be sure that each member in your group registers to reserve their spot. The deadline for adopt-a-family and gift drive is December 8. All adopt-a-family and gift drive items must be dropped off to the Community Donation Warehouse in Burlington, on December 11 and 12, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Additional details will be provided with registration confirmation.

Brad Park

This year, there are well over 100 families in our local community who require support. “We are confident that, together, we can rally and ensure that these families have a joyous and happy holiday season,” added Brad Park.

To participate in the Holiday Helping Hand program or make a donation, please visit uwhh.ca. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of our community.

About United Way Halton & Hamilton

United Way Halton & Hamilton (UWHH) is committed to leading measurable, impactful change by identifying the most challenging issues in our community, and bringing together people and resources to address those issues. We connect volunteers with local needs, and offer training and operational support to local charities. Along with our network of partners and experts, UWHH conducts research and works with key stakeholders to generate support for the not-for-profit sector. Each dollar raised is invested right back into the community to address the long-term recovery of its vital social safety net. Last year, UWHH helped 143,562 residents across Halton and Hamilton, who relied on 106 United Way-supported programs for life changing services.

 

 

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City Executive Director sums up what Staff set out to do -

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

During the closing minutes of a two day session on what Staff had determined was needed in the way of additional resources, Executive Director Sheila Jone, who chaired the meeting said:

Our priority as municipal government is to serve our local community in the most effective and efficient way possible and in doing so deliver the highest possible quality of life to our citizens.

Executive Director Sheila Jones

To do to do this, our own resources must keep pace with the growth and changes in our community. As this is the strongest way in which we can deliver on the key strategies and the master plans guiding that growth and change.

We continue to work on phasing in operational yet foundational processes and systems to maintain and sustain our valuable human capital as much as we need to maintain and sustain our physical and virtual infrastructure. Though we have continued to deliver services such that in 2021 95% of our community is satisfied with with our municipal services, and 89% of our community has a positive outlook on the quality of life.

The past has caught up with us and we are not as stable as we should be.

Sheila Jones: “These these sessions were designed to be directly aligned to your decision making process.”

Today we covered off the key investments related to vision to focus area to providing the best services and experiences and focus area for driving organizational performance.

These these sessions were designed to be directly aligned to your decision making process not only for the 2024 budget, but for the future years as we take this multi year approach knowing that decisions that you make today, we’ll have a cumulative impact on the future operations of the city.

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STOP the Tax Increase - Demand that the Mayor use her Strong Powers in the interests of the people who elected her

By Pepper Parr

November 10th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

STOP the Proposed 2024 Property Tax Increase

It is your city spending your tax money and you have a right to tell them what you want them to do.

Tomorrow we will remember them

The Last Post will be played by a trumpeter and we will reflect on what those men and women did.

The Reveille will be played.

And our hearts will rise again – we can overcome.

This morning at 7:45 there were 2438 signatures on the petition to

Keep that number inching forward.  The petition will be in place until the end of December. 

If you want to nudge it along HERE is where you can do your part.

 

 

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Workers injured when ceiling collapses at Bateman during asbestos removal

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Sign that appears on the door to every entrance to the building.

From our colleagues at the Bay Observer:

Workers say a ceiling collapsed at the Robert Bateman Community Centre project as they were removing asbestos from the former school. The accident Thursday morning resulted in injuries to four workers.

The asbestos removal is being conducted prior to the commencement of renovations on the facility. Police say rescuers had to don protective gear before entering the facility to rescue the workers.

The Ministry of Labour will be conducting the investigation into the incident.

Company that won the bid to do the asbestos removal.

The work is part of a $100 million project to convert the former school into a community centre that will house a Library branch, Brock University, Tech Place and community recreational facilities.

What makes this interesting is that for months the city made no mention of any asbestos and when they did they came up with a convoluted name that Executive Director Alan Magi could not easily pronounce.

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Lakeside Plaza is becoming a desert - all the retailers are leaving

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

This is not good news.

This is a community location that is falling apart. There are “plans” for huge developments; there is a new ice rink and community space under construction.

A reader told us this morning that they were in the Shoppers Drug Mart at the Lakeside Plaza (east end of the city)

We were just at the Shoppers Drug Mart located at Lakeside Plaza to mail a package.  We know the Post Master.  He informed us that the post office at this location will be closing Nov 23 and the entire store will be closing Nov 30. 

The shelves were bare and empty with stock being delivered to the new location at BurlOak and Rebecca which will open sometime soon. 

There WILL NOT be a postal outlet at this location.  Residents will have to go to the New Street and Appleby Shoppers Drug for mail, stamps, etc. 

Too bad for those nearby who used to walk to the plaza for necessities and now we will have to drive, taxi, or bus. 

Not the vision Burlington had in mind to encourage people to walk or cycle to nearby shops.

 

 

 

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Assessing Risk: Designing and Evolving our Organization (DEOO)

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Risk Assessment: Part 3 of a 6 part series

Designing and Evolving our Organization (DEOO) is perhaps what City Manager Tim Commisso will be remembered for most.  He along with Executive Directive Sheila Jones put this together and convinced Council to fund it.  It is human resources management at its best when done well.  Do they get it right?  Not all the time but they were very right when they introduced the approach.

Since 2019, the City has taken a corporate-wide strategic approach to refine its functional design and organizational structure through Designing and Evolving our Organization
(DEOO).

The body language was better than the words City Manager Tim Commisso used on this occasion.

As Council is aware, the City of Burlington has reached its tipping point where the ability to provide effective and quality services at current staffing levels is not sustainable.

DEOO has allowed the City of Burlington to continue to evolve to meet the changing environment to address the strengths and weaknesses of the organization in a strategic and comprehensive manner and most importantly prepare for the future.

Management is working across and throughout the organization to stabilize and enhance our competency, capability and capacity through resource needs — from people, process and technology — to be a customer-centered organization and to effectively deliver on our commitments.

Annually, DEOO includes the following process:

Assessing current state of resources based on risks and service needs

Updating the plan including resource rationalization and process improvement

Presenting the plan for review and approval in principle

Recommending Council consideration and approval of updated DEOO Plan and related budget implications

Sheila Jones brought in significant changes when she was the City Auditor – she continued the bringing in changes as an Executive Director working with City Manager Tim Commisso on the DEOO file.

By following these steps, DEOO has become a part of our natural process of aligning our resources to the achievement of strategic objectives and effective and efficient service delivery while managing risk. Through this process, resource needs are identified and prioritized, giving consideration to rationalization where it makes sense and process improvements. These decisions are reflected in an annually updated DEOO plan and incorporated into the budget.

Included within the 2024 Financial Needs and Multi-Year Forecast, additional staffing requests are reflected in the recommended Key Investments under the category of Sustaining City Services and are supported by business cases.

It was Jones who introduced Staff to the concept of the requirement to make a business case when asking for additional funding.

While serving as the City Auditor she did a survey on just how many people held a City credit card.  There were fewer when she completed that assignment

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There aren't many opportunities for taxpayers to say what they think - other than at the ballot box

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Between now and November 21st, City Councillors will be meeting with their constituents to get their position on the budget the Mayor is going to put forward later in the year.

Because the Budget will come from the Mayor the schedule is quite a bit different.

Earlier this week Staff presented reports to Council on what they had proposed in the way of spending in 2024.

One item that raised more than a few eyebrows was the creation of two new departments and a lot of new staff hires – all necessary for a city that is at the front edge of a massive growth in population.  Mayor Meed Ward explains every opportunity she gets that the city is committed to creating 29,000 homes by 2031.

Citizens are permitted to delegate to Council – they just don’t seem to be able to get their point across – on occasion they are chastised by the Chair of a meeting that they should not have said what they just said.

The Gazette has a comments section that is very “robust”.

Wendy Fletcher had this to say about the DEOO – Designing and Evolving our Organization

“People are very upset about all the new hires and rightfully so imo. 200 new people when the Bank of Canada rate has increased 10x since March 2022 and people are struggling to not lose their homes bc their 500-750K mortgage just went from 2% to 6.5-7.5%. I know people who have 9K mortgages terrified about this property tax increase. The Bank of Canada and CHMC currently considering their positions because of the anticipated impact of interest rates on the flux of mortgages expected to come due next year.

Mayor Marianne Meed Wad – not missing a beat

“But here’s the Burlington Mayor and council who don’t miss a beat in telling you how their costs are all increased because of inflation and commodity costs fluctuating because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Yet when it comes to them having the foggiest about the impact of them hiring 200 new people on the lives of Burlington citizens, they are either too daft to get it or they are just that cold hearted and lacking in all compassion and empathy. I truly am not sure which. Given the ease with which they make false statements to the press, I have to think the latter.

“The DEOO(Designing and Evolving our Organization)  isn’t new. This mayor and council came up with it 3-4 yrs ago. 2019 I think. It’s probably what they spent much of covid on. With months long delays in things and unable to get any service for months, they certainly didn’t seem like they were working very hard. The rest of the world was working. Yet city hall didn’t start answering phones again until, late 2022 I think? Uncalled for. And now council has decided it will by a completely hybrid work system. Taxpayers didn’t agree to that, just like they didn’t ever agree to implementing the DEOO

Mayor Meed Ward responding to a Staff comment at a Standing Committee meeting.

“But MMW and council have made it clear that they don’t care what taxpayers think or want.

“Maybe someone can explain to me how, as a customer, I’m getting this great customer experience they’re claiming, when there aren’t people at city hall to meet me, in person, when its convenient to me? Which means if I have time to go in on the fly, someone in that dept, is there right then. Not make an appointment for when its convenient to *them*. That’s not customer service. Further, what is the point of spending 6.5m on renos for it to be half empty, all the time? Or 1.32 m of taxpayer $ on Civic Garden?

“Oh wait, I forgot. Can we get a pic for the mag for the next edition of Best Place in Canada to Live?

“As a taxpayer, I have quite a bit of animosity towards all the money being wasted so MMW and council can have this grandiose illusion of what city hall at destination Burlington should look like.

“Just be sure to tell them to keep the cameras off the buses. They’re pretty being so shiny and new but as there’s no one in them, people will think its a ghost town they’re coming to. Of course it will be bc nobody can afford to live here anymore. They all went bankrupt from the 2000 city hall employees they had to support.”

Ted Gamble started with:

Here is my rant:

“A few of the positions are intuitively needed by their descriptions. Has the City ever recently undertaken steps to review, flow chart, modernize job descriptions and possibly amalgamate positions to cap the total employee count. Not a big fan of consultants generally despite hiring them extensively however some management consultants are worth their value. I suggest a cap on total employee numbers. Many organizations I have worked with had to do this multiple times or worse.

“Proceed with Top Priority only, re evaluate semi annually.

“A new department in 2024? Why?

“Scrap the onerous tree by law, associated staff and in my opinion is an infringement on my rights as a residential property owner. Use some of those funds to properly prune and keep hydro lines from falling! Clear invasive species and replace and encourage homeowners as well to plant native plants.

The province permits a municipality to borrow as much as 25% of a previous year’s Net Revenue. If interest rates come down enough borrowing could be a wise strategy.

“Increase borrowing so that needed infrastructure for massive condo’s towers are paid for by those who are supposedly coming.

Borrow as needed to keep tax increases 1% below inflation. Apparently we borrow to a level of half of what we can. While laudable, these times call for a different approach.”

Councillor Paul Sharman made the following comment at the close of the two day session where Staff made their pitch for funding when he said:

Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman: “We will find out in the next two years how bad we are.”

“Because of the circumstances I would prefer to provide services funding programs to support those people who need it, rather than for the people who don’t need it. I didn’t want to see us coming back with another 7.6 next year or 8% next year or the year after. I think that would be a disaster. We’re not going to do that I can tell you right now it will have will be back to cut, cut, cut cut.

“I’m just hoping that what we tried to set up two years ago we can actually aspire to doing and make it happen. Now having said that. I’m not sitting here saying we’ve done bad.

“We’re not finished yet. We will find out in the next two years how bad we are.”

Indeed with a municipal election taking place in 2026 the public can decide if this Council should be re-elected.

 

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Petition Still active: STOP the Proposed 2024 Property Tax Increase

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The headline reads:

STOP the Proposed 2024 Property Tax Increase – City of Burlington

It is part of a petition a taxpayer put up asking people to voice their objections to a tax increase Council is currently debating.

At 9:30 am, November 9th, there were 2379 signatures on the petition.

Because Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward has chosen to use the Strong Mayor powers she, along with about 50 other municipalities, was given July 1st – it will be the Mayor who has the final word on what the tax rate will be.

Wendy Fletcher, created the petition and has watched it build slowly but consistently.

If you wish to be part of the protest click HERE and have you say.

The petition will be in place until the end of the year.

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Burlington MPP congratulates Regional Police on their Cram-a-Cruiser event

By Staff

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Burlington MPP Natalie Pierre speaking at Queen’s Park

We don’t know exactly when Burlington MPP Natalie Pierre stood up in the Legislature to read a statement.  She was congratulating the Halton Regional Police on their Cram-a-Cruiser event supporting the Burlington Food Bank telling her colleagues that is was  a major success!

“Together with the community on a rainy Saturday morning we were able to raise $1150 and over 950 lbs of food! It was very heartwarming to see the generosity of Burlington residents.

Two police officers were in the gallery to hear the MPP

You can watch the performance HERE

 

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Provincial Leadership candidates will take part in a Roundtable on Health issue

By Pepper Parr

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

A group with the name Ontario Health Coalition has been doing a fine job nipping away at the heals of the provincial government.

They have scheduled a public event; Liberal Leadership Candidates Q & A Roundtable on Public Health Care in Ontario

The Ontario Liberal Party will announce the membership election of its new party leader is electing its new leader early in December

We coalition wanted to find out how the candidates are thinking about the key health care issues. All the candidates have agreed to join a public roundtable Q & A session.

All are welcome to attend. Here is the information:

Monday, November 13, 12 p.m. (noon)

You can join to watch and send your comments:

Zoom – register here and Zoom will email you the link to the event: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtc-uvqzgpG9VhNVZ2ZydAKl6V1cQQ4fy6

Facebook – go to https://www.facebook.com/ontariohealth at 12 p.m. on November 13 and you will see the Livestream

Twitter – go to our Twitter at @OntarioHealthC at 12 p.m. on November 13 and you can join the Twitter Space by clicking on the icon (and we will tweet out the link) to hear the Q & A

All are welcome. If you are joining the Zoom please register soon; they are limited to 1,000 people only.

Bonnie Crombie, Nate Erskine-Smith, Ted Hsu and Yasir Naqvi (invited, has not yet confirmed)

Candidates will respond to questions about their commitments and plans for Ontario’s hospitals, home & community care, long-term care, public health, EMS and primary health care.

The Ontario Health Coalition is a non-partisan public interest and advocacy organization dedicated to safeguarding and improving our public health care under the principles of equity and compassion that are foundational to our system of health care for all.

 

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Kozy Kids initiative to put winter snow suits on under served children starts November 21st

By Staff

November 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

There are children who do not have snow suits. The Regional Police have set up collection locations where snow suits can be delivered.

For the third consecutive year, Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) is launching their annual Kozy Kids initiative to help ensure under served youth across the Halton Region are prepared for winter.

The initiative was kickstarted in 2021 after two HRPS Constables learned that a number of children – many of whom were newcomers to Canada – were regularly absent from school during the winter months, as their families couldn’t afford to purchase winter apparel. In the Town of Milton alone, 105 students were identified as needing assistance. Thanks to the generous donations of Halton residents and business owners, gently-used clothing and financial donations were offered, ensuring all identified children were provided with a snow suit or winter jacket.

The following year, and made possible by financial donations, HRPS ordered new snow suits to-size, clothing 475 youth.

As the rising cost of living continues to impact individuals across the Region, we’re working with local community partners to identify more families who need our support.

Starting today and until November 21st, we kindly invite residents and business owners to purchase a new snow suit (youth sizes 6-16) and drop them into a collection box stationed at our Headquarters and each of our District buildings:

2485 North Service Road West, Oakville, ON. (8:00 am – 4:00 pm)

3800 Constable Henshaw Blvd., Burlington, ON. (8:00 am – 10:00 pm)

95 Oak Walk Drive, Oakville ON. (8:00 am – 10:00 pm)

490 Childs Drive, Milton, ON. (8:00 am – 10:00 pm)

217 Guelph Street, Georgetown, ON. (8:00 am – 4:00 pm)

Stephen J. Tanner, Chief of Police, Halton Regional Police Service said “Like many things in life, it’s not until you don’t have something that you truly appreciate it. Snow suits are an essential item for children in our Region. When you donate, you’re not just helping to keep kids warm as they travel to and from school, you’re giving them the opportunity to explore and learn in the great outdoors for what can otherwise be isolating months. We’ve seen firsthand the joy and excitement that your donations bring to children in our community, and on behalf of myself and the entire Service, we thank you for warming both the bodies and hearts of those who need us the most.” –

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Staffing at City Hall - determining what is needed and what the city can afford is a serious exercise.

By Pepper Parr

November 8th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Direct the City Manager to bring forward a rank order (Top Priority/High Priority/Medium Priority/Other Priority) for all FTEs (Full time Employee) included in the 2024 financial needs and multi-year forecast that are supported through the tax rate for the November 7 Budget Council Workshop meeting.

The following are the graphics that came out of that Direction.

Getting the priority documents into the hands of Council the following days was the result of a superb effort on the part of several Staff members led by Executive Director Shelia Jones who ran a very tight meeting.

As each department head explained to Council what their staffing needs there had to be some way to prioritize the jobs.  Some were needed immadiately, other weren’t needed this year but the department heads were making it clear that they would be needed next year.

 

These were the jobs that staff saw as essential. They were included in the Budget the Mayor put forward.

 

These were the next level of prioritization. Note that the Dire Department is expected to get by with two of the four they require.

Third level of prioritization. Yellow indicates those that are in the current Mayor’s budget.

These were seen as necessary by staff but not seen as necessary by Council – usually because funding wasn’t available.

 

This chart shows how the city recognized what was needed and when they could not be funded they were carried forward to a following year. All this staff expansion is the result of the 29,000 housing units that are going to be built in the next decade.

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If all the public gets out of this budget is a webmaster - they have won

By Pepper Parr

November 8th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

When the public gets wind of just how many new jobs city department managers say they need – everything will go up in smoke.

Chad Macdonald: An Executive Director and Chief Information Officer

During one of the Workshops during which there was drill down deep questions during which the staff member responsible for the department was asked to explain what they needed and who – and then – how it could be done.

A lot of this stuff is way over the heads of most people.

But there was one new job that will delight those who pay some attention to what goes on in city hall.

They want to hire a webmaster!!!  Halleluiah!!!

No word on when this might happen – but it is clear that the Executive Direction and Chief Information Officer Chad Macdonald has it on his list.

Macdonald is doing a superb – and could get a lot of what he is asking for.

The chart below will blow your mind – it is a list of the jobs that need to be filled.

There are at least 16 new jobs on the list. A webmaster would be very very welcome. It is hard to find someone that likes the city web site as it is today.

 

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Burlington will miss out on provincial funding - not enough concrete being poured

By Staff

November 8, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

A report in the Toronto Star has a majority of 50 municipalities poised to fail their first high-stakes provincial housing assignment.

There is a “fundamental flaw” in the government program that may further stall development.

Burlington close to the bottom of the list of municipalities reaching their development targets.

Ontario’s housing ministry has a program that is in place to reward some and punish other  municipalities for something beyond their control.

This is what the province wants to see – just not enough of it happening in Burlington

The Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM), a coalition of 29 municipal leaders that represents 70 per cent of the provincial population, is urging the province to rewrite the terms of its housing strategy, which is using a pot of $1.2 billion to award municipalities that reach at least 80 per cent of their provincially assigned target.

The housing ministry clarified that target late last month, telling municipalities they would be accountable for “housing starts” — the number of foundations laid during the initial stage of construction.

Municipalities don’t  pour concrete. They can’t lower interest rates, expand the number of skilled labourers or carry water into communities that have none.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward at a budget meeting earlier this week.

“Tying funding eligibility to a foundation being poured is holding the municipality to account for something we can’t control,” said OBCM chair Marianne Meed Ward, who is also the mayor of Burlington. “That’s one of the reasons why so few of our members are qualifying.”

Burlington is among 26 cities, including Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Newmarket, Oshawa and Vaughan, that are less than halfway toward meeting their targets this year. As of late October, 76 per cent of the municipalities Ontario is tracking — 38 of 50 — did not qualify for funding.

“If this is not fixed, the municipalities that won’t get the funding will have to do one of two things: raise taxes or not build infrastructure,” said Meed Ward. “Neither option is appropriate or palatable.”

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra told the Star his government “will continue to work with our municipal partners in order to achieve our shared housing goals.

 “At the same time we have been clear that the Building Faster Fund is a tool through which our government is supporting municipalities committed to growth … with costs related to the housing enabling infrastructure required to support that growth,” Calandra said in an email Thursday.

Housing Minister Paul Calandra – “We will not allow for any distractions.

“We will not allow for any distractions … we are counting on each municipality to do their part.”

Later that day, the province released its fall economic statement, which set aside additional money for municipal infrastructure projects, but OBCM said the pot won’t go far.

The Star reached out to municipal staff and elected officials in a dozen communities across Ontario to understand the challenges keeping them from meeting their provincial targets and building more homes faster.

They talked about the true costs of building new neighbourhoods, being publicly shamed by Premier Doug Ford and why most of the municipalities that signed up for this challenge never had a fighting chance of winning.

Mayor Meed Ward is struggling to produce a budget that comes in at 4.99% for the city portion of the property tax bill – this isn’t going to help what already looks like a target that may not get met

 

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Volunteer to join a City of Burlington committee    

By Staff

November 8th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Burlington is looking for community members to volunteer on a city committee or board.

These volunteers play a key role in providing advice and feedback to City Council and staff on a variety of city issues. Applications are now being accepted online at burlington.ca/committees until Nov. 27, 2023.

Residents taking part in a discussion about the role Advisory Committees can and should play in helping Staff get feedback. This group didn’t manage to resolve anything.

Members of the public over 18 years of age, representing the diverse backgrounds of our community are encouraged to apply. Participating on a city committee provides a unique opportunity to:

  • Lend your voice and expertise to help shape decisions and services that impact our community
  • Expand your network and meet new people
  • Gain a broader understanding of how municipal government works.

Now Recruiting
The nine committees recruiting new members include:

Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee (1 vacancy)Burlington Agriculture and Rural Affairs Advisory Committee (6 vacancies)

Burlington Cycling Advisory Committee (9 vacancies)

Burlington Downtown Parking Advisory Committee (2 citizen representatives and 2 alternates)Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee (9 vacancies)Burlington Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee (2 vacancies)

Burlington Mundialization Committee (4 vacancies)

Burlington Sustainable Development Advisory Committee (10 vacancies)

NEW – Pipeline to Permit Standing Committee (5 vacancies)

The number of people the city wants to recruit for a couple of the committees look as if they are doing a complete re-build – not a healthy sign.

New – Pipeline to Permit Committee

Waterfront Access and Protection Advisory Committee was sunset by the city when it no longer served its original purpose.

New for 2024, Council has established the Pipeline to Permit Standing Committee.  It has nothing to do with “pipelines”

This new Committee, which to a considerable degree is an experiment, will focus focus on tracking growth, issues, and continuous improvement opportunities for the development approval process within the City of Burlington, recognizing overarching legislative planning requirements and any other relevant regulations.

The City is looking for five community members with relevant experience to volunteer on the Committee. More information about the Pipeline to Permit Committee can be found at burlington.ca/committees.

Attend an information session on Nov. 23

Individuals interested in learning more, can attend a virtual information session on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. To register, please email clerks@burlington.ca.

The City of Burlington has more than 18 boards and committees that play a key role in providing advice and feedback to City Council and staff on a variety of issues, including heritage, accessibility, diversity and the environment.

On Nov. 2, 2023, City Council approved the Terms of Reference for the Pipeline to Permit Committee (Report CM-15-23).

 

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Stop the Proposed 2024 Property Tax Petition keeps growing

By Pepper Parr

November 8th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON           

The Wendy Fletcher Petition to keep the property taxes lower is still drawing signatures.

It climbs a little high each day.

The Telephone Town Hall last night drew a reported 5,000 people on the call.  Nothing all that new – it was a bit of a grandstand for the Mayor who was joined by one of her Deputy Mayors – Paul Sharman

As of 8:30 today there were:

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Executive Director of HR lays out the problems and the changes needed if the public expectations are going to be delivered

By Pepper Parr

November 7th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Sue Evfremidis, Acting Executive Director Human Resources –

The increases to the staffing compliment are at the base of concerns and complaints about the budget increases.

Sue Evfremidis, Acting Executive Director Human Resources

Sue Evfremidis, Acting Executive Director Human Resources – started by explaining that “, our staff, our people are our most valuable and unique asset that we have.

Human Resources  is responsible for developing a people strategy that is aligned with the city strategy and goals. That will ultimately increase our organizational effectiveness.

“Our ability to attract, hire and retain staff has a direct impact on our ability to achieve our goals and deliver service excellence. The employee experience drives the customer experience. When I say employee experience, I’m referring to the entire employee life-cycle from the moment that they become a potential employee for the City of Burlington to the moment that they leave and everything in between.

All of it is impacted by the HR systems that are in place today and planning for tomorrow. How they were hired, did we invest in their development? Was it the right development? Did we provide a safe and inclusive work environment? Did we address the compensation and to ensure the compensation systems were equitable? Did we recognize and reward behaviours?

“We wanted to foster that  employee experience. I’ve worked for a variety of different organizations, both private and public sectors, like much like many of you here today, they ranged from classical managerial style to highly collaborative global innovative structures.

“There’s not a one size fits all people strategy. It must be aligned with the organization’s strategy and goals and must also take into consideration the organization’s current capabilities and future capabilities. If not, may not be implementing HR systems and programs but we may be implementing excuse me, HR systems and programs that are hindering instead of helping our organization to achieve our goals.

“Our city is a complex organization with multiple business lines, varying funding streams, legislations legislated highly legislative excuse me that relies on a skilled union and non union workforce, inclusive of both full time and part time staff. Within a hybrid work environment, the city is experiencing a significant transition.

Sue Evfremidis, Acting Executive Director Human Resources explained: approximately 50% of our people leaders have changed positions in the last two years.

“The community is also growing and there are many exciting and very important city goals on the horizon. And we currently don’t have a people strategy nor the HR systems in place to support this transformation effectively.

“Let me tell you the story behind the data you see. There were approximately 389 full time staff changes since the beginning of 2022. With just over 1000 full time employees, we are not large. What that means is we do not typically have the staff or the bench strength to draw upon when there are unexpected vacancies.

“On average, it takes approximately 14 weeks to hire a replacement. And many of our jobs take several months to get up to speed to be considered fully qualified. And that’s once the hiring process has begun.

“We also had a 10% overall turnover rate in 22. That’s inclusive of all the departures which is certainly not bad. What is alarming, however, is that approximately 60% of those resigning are doing so within their first three years of employment with the city. The retention of our staff has to be a top priority, and the retention of staff within the first three years of employment needs immediate attention.

“Next, the city has approximately 170 People leaders from coordinator to executive level. And over the past two years approximately 50% of our people leaders have changed positions whether internally or externally brought onboard Gartner, a world class consulting firm that specializes in a number of areas including human resources, identified the number one priority for HR departments is for leader and manager development. We are no different here at the city. It must be a priority.

“Many managers are struggling workload responsibilities have increased, and this is often further exasperated by poor organization and position design and lack of leadership development and leader pipelines. People leaders have the most direct impact on our culture, retention and service delivery. We need to have programs in place to set them up for success.

“Some major programs and approaches that could positively support our people leaders and by extension service delivery, our people leader onboarding, leadership development, succession planning, and reposition redesigns. Lastly, I want to bring your attention to the drop in our culture score. It dropped by 13% in one year, it was previously 80%:  67% of staff feel very positive or positive about working for the city.

“Culture is something that the city needs to actively foster because in the absence of a cultural direction, people leaders and staff will adopt and practice their own norms and behaviours that may not support a culture that is aligned with our goals. And not surprisingly again, Gartner’s number two HR priority was organizational culture. Some contributing factors may be fewer in person interactions for culture to succeed.

“In a hybrid world, leaders must work intentionally to align and connect employees to it equipping teams to create vibrant and healthy micro cultures. I won’t read out all the goals you have up on the slides nor the risks, however, I want to draw your attention to a couple of the mitigation strategies, increasing HR staffing to stabilize and prepare for the future is key. We need to establish a people strategy with embedded HR systems and programs. So city staff are better positioned to pivot and respond to the changing needs of the city.

“The city currently only has one full time organizational development consultant. This role is also lead for the city’s corporate learning portfolio. One role is simply not enough to do all of this and to do it well. Also, with the launch of Workday, just around the corner, real time recruiting, retention and other employee related data will be available to assist HR and people leaders to make more informed people related decisions. This must be used to its best advantage. .

 

This is the first time the public has been made fully aware as to just how extensive the changes really are.

What’s happened and what’s happening? “This slide is inclusive of some of the city manager and vision to focus targets. You’ll notice right away that three key city manager targets were achieved in 2022. Phase one of the non-union job evaluation program was completed in October of this year.

“The next part of this program is ensuring two distinct salary adjustment levers remain in effect, the market and the performance lever. You may recall that under our old system, it could take non-union staff upwards of 20 years to get the job reach. The second target that was met was our WSIB action incident rate. Fostering a safe a safe work environment is a fundamental part to any retention strategy. What we need to focus here in addition to the target that we met below, which is the turnover target is maintaining these achievements.

“The fourth item on the slide is related to the HR department goals as they relate to creating a PPL strategy that is aligned with both the city manager’s objectives and V to F to include the following outputs.

Sue Evfremidis,: the development of a leadership development program is critical.

“We are currently in phase one of the performance management project we hired a consultant this past summer to lead this project. A project team has been struck and the design work is well underway. I’ll talk more about this project tomorrow. Another important output is the development of an employee facing Diversity Equity and Inclusion strategy. This project work was initially delayed due to COVID. It is currently underway, albeit progressing slowly due to limited resources. This is extremely important work as a passive approach Diversity will not yield our intended results.

“The third output is the development of a leadership development program. This program work is in its initial stages. It is scheduled to ramp up after workday is launched and stabilized once workday is up and running. And we’re able to access real time data.

Workday is a user-friendly, cloud-based system that will replace the City’s current human resource and finance systems used for items such as benefits, time and attendance, recruitment payroll, financial services and procurement. 

“My intention is to provide regular human resource scorecard updates to a broader to the broader audience here as well as to staff. A people strategy that is aligned with the city’s strategy and capabilities is essential to the city success.

“The employee experience drives the customer experience.”

 

 

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