Council Agenda October 4, 2016 – 10:00 AM
1. Call to Order 2. Moment of Reflection 3. Roll Call 4. Adoption of Agenda 5. Declaration of Pecuniary Interest 6. Adoption of Minutes – September 6, 2016 and Development Charges Public Meeting Minutes dated September 6, 2016 (Pages 4 to 17) 7. Retirement Presentation 8. Communications and Correspondence 9. Notice of Motion 10. Business Arising from the Minutes 11. Deputations
10:45 AM Doug MacMillan, President Stacey McCarthy, Senior Account Manager the Letter M Marketing Communications Strategy
12. Presentation of Reports a. Board of Health minutes dated August 26, 2016 and Program Report dated September 23, 2016 (Pages 18 to 53)
b. Transportation and Public Safety Committee minutes dated September 22, 2016 (Pages 54 to 60)
c. Social Services Committee minutes dated September 14, 2016 (Pages 61 to 63)
d. Corporate Services Committee minutes dated September 13, 2016 (Pages 64 to 69)
i. Grey County Building Task Force – Administration Building Minutes dated September 6, 2016 (Pages 70 to 72)
1 County Council October 4, 2016 Page 2
e. Planning and Community Development Committee minutes dated September 15, 2016 (Pages 73 to 78)
f. Development Charges Steering Committee Meeting minutes dated September 20, 2016 (pages 79 to 83)
g. PDR-CC-34-16 Development Charges Background Study and By-laws (Pages 84 to 131)
h. CCR-CC-27-16 Adopting a Corporate Communication Strategy (Pages 132 to 135)
i. Attachment to CCR-CC-27-16 Corporate Communication Strategy (Pages 136 to 181) 13. Closed Meeting Matters
THAT Grey County Council do now go into closed session to discuss: i. Labour relations or employee negotiations; and ii. Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose, regarding long-term care
14. By-laws (see By-law document)
4949-16 A By-law to establish development charges for the County of Grey (County-Wide Roads and Related Charges) (Pages 182 to 202) 4950-16 A By-law to development charges for the County of Grey (County- Wide General Service Charges) (Pages 203 to 221) 4951-16 A By-law to establish certain lands in the Municipality of Meaford (Geographic Township of Sydenham) described in Schedule ‘A’ as Part of the County Highway Upon Which the Lands Abut (Pages 222 to 224)
15. Business on Motion 16. Good News and Celebrations 17. Adjournment 18. O Canada
2 County Council October 4, 2016 Page 3
Correspondence
General Correspondence Letter of thanks from Georgian College dated August 29, 2016 for supporting the MED training centre at the Owen Sound campus (Page 225) Georgian College Thank You Letter for MED Training Centre Contribution
Received for Information
3 Council Minutes
September 6, 2016
Grey County Council met at the call of the Warden on the above date at 10:00 AM at the County Administration Building. The County Clerk called Council to order and Warden Alan Barfoot assumed the Chair. The Warden invited members of Council to join him in a moment of reflection. The Roll was called by the Clerk with all members present. Kim Wingrove, Chief Administrative Officer, Sharon Vokes, County Clerk/Director of Council Services and Heather Morrison Deputy Clerk/Records Manager were also in attendance. The following staff members were in attendance for the presentation of their respective reports: Kevin Weppler, Director of Finance; Anne Marie Shaw, Director of Housing; Lynne Johnson, Director of Long Term Care; Barbara Fedy, Director of Social Services; Geoff Hogan, Director of Information Technology; Grant McLevy, Director of Human Resources; Pat Hoy, Director of Transportation Services; Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning and Development and Mike Muir, Director of Paramedic Services. Medical Officer of Health Dr. Christine Kennedy was also in attendance. Adoption of Agenda
CC105-16 Moved by: Councillor Burley Seconded by: Councillor Fosbrooke
THAT the County Council agenda dated September 6, 2016 be adopted as presented.
Carried Declaration of Pecuniary Interest
There were no disclosures of pecuniary interest. Adoption of Minutes
CC106-16 Moved by: Councillor McQueen Seconded by: Councillor Bell
4 County Council September 6, 2016
THAT the minutes of the August 2, 2016 Session of Grey County Council be adopted as circulated. Carried Retirement Presentation
Helen Dowling was presented with a retirement gift. Ms. Dowling was an Activation/Recreation Assistant with Rockwood Terrace since 1985. On behalf of County Council, Warden Barfoot extended congratulations to Ms. Dowling. Communications and Correspondence
The Clerk presented correspondence and recommendations for its disposition as follows:
Letter from the Ministry of Natural Resources extending the input deadline on proposed changes to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan Received for information CC107-16 Moved by: Councillor Burley Seconded by: Councillor Greenfield
THAT the disposition of Council correspondence as recommended by the Clerk be approved. Carried Director of Housing, Anne Marie Shaw provided an update on the addition and renovation of the County Administration Building. She noted that additional items were discussed at the September 6, 2016 Building Task Force Meeting and will be brought forward to Council later today under a Notice of Motion. Notice of Motion
Notice of Motion was given by Councillor Burley regarding additional expenditures as a result of the Building Task Force Meeting held September 6, 2016. A Notice of Motion was provided on the agenda related to proposed changes to the Niagara Escarpment Plan. Business Arising from the Minutes
There was no business arising from the previous meeting.
52 County Council September 6, 2016 Public Meeting
Council recessed at 10:12 AM and moved into the public meeting portion regarding Development Charges.
Council reconvened at 11:37 AM. Deputations
United Way Ms. Francesca Dobbyn, Executive Director, United Way Bruce Grey was in attendance to provide an update on the United Way building that was provided to the organization by Grey County 10 years ago. Ms. Dobbyn presented Warden Barfoot with a plaque commemorating the 10 year anniversary.
Elected Officials and Political Youth Engagement Mr. Jon Farmer was in attendance to speak to County Council regarding Samara Canada an organization connecting citizens with politics. He spoke about youth voter apathy. He noted that a poster has been devised to outline how to better engage youth. Four points came through:
There are no “youth issues” and the youth have opinions about issues youth are diverse and come from different perspectives use social media for meaningful conversations come visit us where we are
Questions and comments then followed. A digital copy of this poster will be distributed to the local municipalities. Presentation and Adoption of Reports Board of Health
Council considered the minutes of the Board of Health and the Report of the Board. CC108-16 Moved by: Councillor Pringle Seconded by: Councillor Bell
THAT the minutes of the Board of Health dated July 22, 2016 and the Program Report dated August 2016 be received. Carried Council recessed for lunch and reconvened with Warden Barfoot in the Chair.
63 County Council September 6, 2016
Councillor McKean was absent from the afternoon session. Social Services Committee
Council considered the minutes of the Social Services Committee. CC109-16 Moved by: Councillor Boddy Seconded by: Councillor Mackey
THAT the minutes of the Social Services Committee dated August 10, 2016 and the recommendations contained therein be adopted as presented and engrossed in the minutes. Carried Transportation and Public Safety Committee
Council considered the minutes of the Transportation and Public Safety Committee. CC110-16 Moved by: Councillor Greenfield Seconded by: Councillor Jack
THAT the minutes of the Transportation and Public Safety Committee dated August 18, 2016 and the recommendations contained therein be adopted as presented and engrossed in the minutes. Carried Planning and Community Development Committee
Council considered the minutes of the Planning and Community Development Committee. CC111-16 Moved by: Councillor Wright Seconded by: Councillor Paterson
THAT the minutes of the Planning and Community Development Committee dated August 11, 2016 and the recommendations contained therein be adopted as presented and engrossed in the minutes. Carried
CAOR-CS-03-16 Committee of the Whole Pilot Council considered the above noted report. Ms. Wingrove provided a brief overview of the report and the background behind the report. She spoke about the proposed structure and meeting commitments related to this type of change. Ms. Wingrove noted that the report recommends a six month trial period before making a final decision.
Questions and comments then followed related to:
74 County Council September 6, 2016
9 AM start time especially in the winter time Length of meeting especially for the first few meetings First step towards a possible review of council size
CC112-16 Moved by: Councillor Fosbrooke Seconded by: Councillor Hicks THAT Council pilot a Committee of the Whole governance structure/process from January 2017 to June 2017, with a review in June 2017;
AND THAT during the pilot period, all items that would normally be considered at Corporate Services, Social Services, Transportation and Public Safety and Planning and Development Committees be considered at the Committee of the Whole meeting;
AND THAT the schedule of Council and Committee meetings for January to June 2017 as set out in Report CAOR-CS-03-16 be approved;
AND THAT Council temporarily suspend any conflicting sections of Procedure By-law 4876-14 for the duration of the pilot period;
AND THAT staff be directed to temporarily suspend any processes and/or policies necessary to give effect to this governance structure; and
AND THAT the Clerk take the necessary action to give effect to this direction.
Councillor Eccles requested a recorded vote.
In favour: B. Pringle 4, S. Mackey 3, S. Paterson 3, S. Hicks 3, B. Clumpus 5, H. Greenfield 5, I. Boddy 9, A. Wright 8, A. Fosbrooke 4, G. Ardiel 5, K. Eccles 6.
Opposed: A. Barfoot 5, D. Burley 5, P. McQueen 5, S. Halliday 5, N. Jack 3, J. Bell 6
The motion was Carried 55 to 29 By-Laws
CC113-16 Moved by: Councillor Halliday Seconded by: Councillor Burley
THAT By-Laws 4943-16 to 4948-16 inclusive be introduced and that they be taken as read a first, second and third time, finally passed, signed by the Warden and the Clerk, sealed with the seal of the Corporation and engrossed in the By-law book.
85 County Council September 6, 2016
4943-16 A By-law to Adopt a Policy with Respect to a Code of Conduct for Grey County Council 4944-16 A By-law to authorize the Warden and Clerk to execute a social infrastructure fund agreement between the Corporation of the County of Grey and the Ministry of Housing 4945-16 A By-law to permit off-road vehicles on certain roadways under the jurisdiction of the County of Grey as regulated in accordance with Ontario Regulation 316/03
4946-16 A By-law to amend By-law 4941-16 being a By-law to execute an agreement between the Corporation of the County of Grey and Susan Warrilow for a drainage agreement 4947-16 A By-law to amend Schedule “P” of By-law 4788-13, being a By-law to regulate traffic and parking on highways within the Grey County roads system 4948-16 A By-law to Establish a Public Highway and Remove the Highway from the County Road System Carried Business on Motion
CC114-16 Moved by: Councillor Halliday Seconded by: Councillor Wright WHEREAS the province has put forward proposed changes to the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP) as part of the overall Coordinated Land Use Plan Review, including proposed changes to the designations as well as proposed additions to the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area;
AND WHEREAS the consultation process to date has not provided enough information for municipalities and landowners to comment on the proposed changes and to fully understand the potential impacts that could result from the proposed changes;
AND WHEREAS the proposed changes and the proposed expansion to the Niagara Escarpment Plan will have a negative economic impact to municipalities;
AND WHEREAS municipalities are important partners in the
96 County Council September 6, 2016
implementation of land use planning and provincial policies;
AND WHEREAS municipalities already have official plans and zoning by-laws that are consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement which will ensure that the lands proposed to be added to the Niagara Escarpment Plan will be developed in an appropriate and sustainable manner;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Corporation of the County of Grey (“Grey County”) does not support the proposed changes or expansion to the Niagara Escarpment Plan until a collaborative consultation process has been completed, including more detailed mapping being provided to allow municipalities and landowners to better understand the proposed changes;
AND THAT Grey County requests an extension to the comment deadline of September 30th, 2016 until such time as a collaborative consultation process has been completed;
AND THAT Grey County is willing to work with the province and the Niagara Escarpment Commission on developing a more collaborative consultation process whereby municipalities are considered partners in the process; AND THAT this motion be forwarded to the province and the Niagara Escarpment Commission as Grey County’s initial comments regarding the proposed changes and the proposed expansion to the Niagara Escarpment Plan. Carried CC115-16 Moved by: Councillor Eccles Seconded by: Councillor Ardiel
THAT the motion CC137-15 from October 6, 2015 Grey County Council session referring to the dissolution of the NEC be resubmitted to the review committee of the NEC initiative. Councillor McQueen declared a conflict and left the session during discussion and voting of the above resolution. Councillor Burley requested a recorded vote. In favour: B. Pringle 4, S. Mackey 3, A. Barfoot 5, D. Burley 5, S. Halliday 5, S. Paterson 3, S. Hicks 3, B. Clumpus 5, H. Greenfield 5, G. Ardiel 5, K. Eccles 6, J. Bell 6 Opposed: I. Boddy 9, A. Wright 8, A. Fosbrooke 4, N. Jack 3 The motion was Carried 55 to 24.
107 County Council September 6, 2016
CC116-16 Moved by: Councillor Burley Seconded by: Councillor Hicks THAT the following separately priced expenditures included in RFT- FIN-01-16 be approved: 1. Provide new asphalt surfacing at existing parking lot - $100,000, plus HST 2. Provide new granular base at the new asphalt resurfacing at existing parking lot - $80,000, plus HST 3. Provide new carpeting throughout the existing building to replace the existing carpet - $110,000, plus HST
AND THAT these expenditures be funded $188,000 from the Administration Property reserve and the balance from the One Time Funding reserve.
Carried Closed Meeting Matters
CC117-16 Moved by: Councillor Pringle Seconded by: Councillor Eccles
THAT Grey County Council do now go into closed session at 1:57 PM to discuss personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal employees, pursuant to Section 239 (2) of the Municipal Act, 2001, regarding a potential position secondment;
AND THAT the following staff remain in attendance: Kim Wingrove, Sharon Vokes and Heather Morrison.
Carried
CC118-16 Moved by: Councillor Bell Seconded by: Councillor Clumpus
THAT Grey County Council do now return to open session at 2:03 PM.
Carried Good News and Celebrations
Council was apprised of good news and celebrations occurring within the County. Adjournment
On motion of Councillor Pringle, Council adjourned at 2:13PM to the call of the Warden.
118 County Council September 6, 2016
Council closed with the singing of O Canada.
______Alan Barfoot, Warden Sharon Vokes, County Clerk
129 Council Minutes Development Charges Public Meeting Minutes
September 6, 2016
Grey County Council met at 10:12 AM at the County Administration Building to hold a Public Meeting regarding updating the County’s Development Charges By-law. Warden Barfoot called the Public Meeting to order. Warden Barfoot introduced Mr. Craig Binning and Ms. Carolyn Brown from Hemson Consulting Limited. Mrs. Vokes stated that this is a statutory public meeting being held under the Development Charges Act. It is required before the passage of a development charges by-law. In accordance with the Act, the Public Meeting was advertised in the following papers on August 11, 2016:
Owen Sound Sun Times Hanover Post Grey Bruce This Week The Public Meeting Notice was also posted on the County website at www.grey.ca. The associated development charges background study and draft by-law was made available to the public on August 3, 2016 at the County Administration Building in the County Clerk’s office and on the County website. Mrs. Vokes read correspondence received from the following:
From Mr. John Bailey, 462316 Concession 24, Georgian Bluffs. Mr. Bailey suggests that the development charges should be levied on the number of square metres of land in the proposed development as this would penalize sprawl and reward compact development. He notes that the rampant sprawl in Grey County today is neither sustainable nor scalable. He notes that if one person builds a nice house in the country they get a nice house in the country but if 100,000 people build a nice house in the country they get sprawl. From Darcy Chapman, Treasurer and Director of Financial Services and Infrastructure Management for the Municipality of Meaford asking why social housing was not included in the proposed capital program and if area ratings
13 County Council September 6, 2016
should be considered by lower-tier structure or four areas such as Owen Sound, Grey West, Grey East and Grey South to capture the housing needs by reflecting different charges in different areas of the County and to be based on need for additional housing. From Mr. Glenn Walker, Economic Development Officer, Township of Southgate, Mr. Walker notes that the DC Background Study does not contain a competitive analysis of non-residential development charges and he believes it is necessary to know how competitive our development charges are before they are approved. He suggests that the consultant be requested to analyze the proposed Grey County development charge (DC) to see how they compare to DC’s in surrounding Counties and within the GTA. He notes that the competitive analysis should reveal that other municipalities have separated their non-residential DC’s into subgroups such as industrial, retail, office and other non-residential development which has allowed those municipalities to waive or reduce DC’s for industrial or office development to encourage economic development in their municipalities. From Andrew Pascuzzo, DC Slade Consulting – asking clarification questions about the DC By-law including questions about the calculated rates. From Lindsay Ayers, Blue Mountain Resorts (BMR). BMR notes that that the current exemption of non-residential development from the payment of DC’s has been very much supported and appreciated by BMR as it supports the County’s long-term vision of Grey County being ‘Open for Business’. BMR notes that they have undergone significant growth and development in recent years and is currently in the planning stages for other future development projects. They note that the increased costs to obtain approvals has increased significantly as a result of additional studies being required, increased planning and engineering fees, application fees and development charges. They note that these increased costs coupled with rising construction costs are proving to be increasingly challenging for businesses to grow in today’s economic climate. Should Council decide to discontinue exempting non-residential development from paying DC’s, BMR strongly opposes the 177% increase. They note that should Council decide to impose the non-residential rate, that the combined non-residential rate imposed by the Town of The Blue Mountains and the County’s calculated rate would be quite significant and would add additional financial burden to any potential project BMR is looking to advance. Given the impact that development charges can have on a project budget, BMR strongly encourages County Council to continue the exemption of non-residential development from the payment of DC's or at the very least reconsider the proposed 177% non-residential DC rate increase (please note that the 177% increase referenced is referring to the previous calculated rate which will be revised based on the new calculated rate
142 County Council September 6, 2016
which is approximately a 16% increase – this will be further explained by Hemson as part of their presentation).
BMR notes that in 2014 the Town of The Blue Mountains with the assistance of Hemson completed its DC Background Study and proposed a new Draft DC By- law. The Draft By-laws for the Town contained identical language to the language in the County’s draft DC By-laws as it relates to redevelopment being Section 20 of the draft By-laws. BMR along with other residents and businesses raised concerns regarding the redevelopment clauses in the draft by-laws and how it was being interpreted under the current Town by-law. Essentially, any buildings or structures were not eligible for a DC credit unless the property owner could produce proof that ‘similar fees’ were paid. BMR submitted that the interpretation of the ‘Rules for the Redevelopment of Land’ fundamentally discouraged the reinvestment and redevelopment of existing, older buildings and structures and that the proof of payment issue was further exacerbated by the fact that many of these ‘similar fees’ were in place decades earlier so records could be difficult to locate and that many of these fees were not typically applied to non-residential properties. As a result of the concerns raised, the Town revised the draft DC by-law removing reference to the requirement for previous payment of DC’s or similar fees. BMR strongly encourages Grey County to consider including language similar to Town of The Blue Mountains By-law 2014- 51, ultimately providing greater clarification regarding the Rules for Redevelopment going forward.
No further correspondence was received. Mr. Binning and Ms. Brown presented a PowerPoint presentation. Ms. Brown explained that development charges cover capital costs only. She indicated that development charges pay for new infrastructure and facilities to maintain service levels. She explained the study and the development forecast summary. Ms. Brown outlined the 10-year historical service levels for the services provided and explained how the development charge rates are distributed across these services. It was also noted that the County currently calculates development charges based on the size of the residence and provided a comparison of how development charges are currently calculated and how it is recommended they be charged based on a new model. Ms. Brown noted that the proposed changes to this would allow development charges to move to a unit type approach which would include single and semidetached homes, row homes and other multiple residences and apartments. Wind turbines would also be subject to development charges. Ms. Brown then provided a list of non-residential buildings that might be considered as exempt from the development charges by-law. These include health units, government
153 County Council September 6, 2016 buildings, hospitals, churches and schools. Currently no non-residential buildings are required to pay development charges with the exception of wind turbines. The following members of the public wished to speak: Stuart Doyle with Barry’s Construction provided some concerns related to the background study. Mr. Doyle questioned the inclusion of a capital program and distribution of the cost and how it has been determined and allocated to the development charges. He stated that Category 2 projects-road segment projects add a significant cost to the levy in order to accommodate increased traffic from development. He stated it is difficult to justify having these added into Development Charges. He noted that the upgrade from a two lane rural road to a two lane urban road does not mean in increase an traffic but rather an upgrade in the road itself (curbs, sidewalks etc.). Mr. Doyle questioned the provided growth statistics in Keady and Neustadt. Category 1 projects were hard to determine what they are and why there were included. He noted that this is a good opportunity to review the statistics contained in the background package based on the numbers coming from the growth management study. He also stated that there are a lot of jobs supported by the construction industry. Andrew Pazcusso from DC Slade Consulting stated that there is a need to look at how much developments are costing developers. He stated that currently developers are looking at over $40,000 per residential unit in Thornbury when combined with the Town of The Blue Mountains development charge. He urged council to reconsider its option to charge based on per unit rather than unit size. He requested clarification on why two by-laws are required to pass development charges. Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning and Development explained that two by-laws are required so that if there was a change for the road portion, this by-law could be updated without opening up both by-laws. Warden Barfoot then opened up question from Grey County Council. Comments received were in regards to:
Question regarding the Transportation Master Plan and if it had already been implemented by transferring the recommended roads to the local municipality what would the impact be on the development charges. Why the difference in road related development charges between the neighbouring counties of Dufferin and Wellington? Concerned with the notion that one size fits all based on the recommended change from collecting a charge based on unit type versus unit size. Grey County wants to attract and keep young families and this change to unit type versus unit size does not support that initiative. Mr. Binning provided further insight into the proposed rate structure indicating
164 County Council September 6, 2016
that it is the most common structure across Ontario and has been supported by the Ontario Municipal Board. Question regarding non-residential development charge rates and rationale for these. Affordable housing should be considered moving forward. Recommended that semi-detached be added to the rows and townhouses unit type category if the charge is going to be applied based on unit type. Clarification regarding non-residential not being in the current by-law but is an option for bringing forward for council’s consideration. Question regarding the projected seasonal growth figures and indicating that the projections are too low. This figure needs to be reviewed with staff. Question regarding whether Council has an appetite to look at non-residential? Members generally indicated no. The definition for farm buildings needs to be clarified. Understanding that what is not charged by the County can be charged by the lower tier municipalities. In relation to growth forecasts – question the importance of the projections and do we have the best projections that we can? Question regarding the rate increase due to less growth. Balance of what is working and what needs to be changed? Review of calculation based on growth. Could look at a phased in approach to rate increase. Regarding wind turbines, the current charge should be kept. For the development charges exemption of Section 3 of the Assessment Act- does non-profit housing fall under this section? Are they exempt? The County has an affordable housing fund for this aspect. It is currently not an exemption from development charges but a grant in lieu. Social Housing costs should be considered in the development charges. Development charges are not the incentive for builders to build affordable housing. Needs to be promoted in other ways for the development of affordable housing. It takes time for developers to plan for these developments and that some are considering smaller units based on the current rate structure. There were no further questions. Warden Barfoot thanked everyone in attendance. On motion by Councillor Ardiel, the Public Meeting adjourned at 11:37.
______Alan Barfoot, Warden Sharon Vokes, County Clerk
175
Board of Health Minutes
Date: Friday, August 26, 2016 Location: Neustadt Community Centre – 183 Enoch Street, Neustadt Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Members Present: Kevin Eccles (Chair), Alan Barfoot, Stewart Halliday, David Inglis, Will Rogers, David Shearman, Mike Smith, Arlene Wright Regrets: Laurie Laporte, Gary Levine, Mitch Twolan Also Present: Dr. Christine Kennedy, Sue Brown, Drew Ferguson, Sue Murray Special Guests: Secretary: Staci Ollerton
1.0 Call to Order Chair, Kevin Eccles declared quorum present and called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
2.0 Amendments to Agenda 2.1 Addition: 10.0 In-Camera Session
3.0 Approval of Agenda Moved by: Alan Barfoot Seconded by: Stewart Halliday “THAT, the agenda be approved as amended.” Carried
4.0 Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest There were no disclosures of pecuniary interest declared at this time.
5.0 Adoption of Minutes – Friday, July 22, 2016 Moved by: Mike Smith Seconded by: David Shearman “THAT, the minutes of July 22, 2016 be approved as circulated.” Carried
6.0 Correspondence 6.1 County of Lambton Council Support Grey Bruce Health Unit Brief in Response to Patients First Paper Moved by: Alan Barfoot Seconded by: Arlene Wright “THAT, the Board of Health receives the correspondence as circulated.” Carried Page 1 of 3 18
7.0 Reports – Medical Officer of Health 7.1 August Reports 7.1.1 MOH Report – Building Healthier Communities 7.1.2 Program Report – August 2016 7.2 News Releases 7.2.1 Heat Warning Issued by Grey Bruce Health Unit 7.2.2 Do Not Use Water Advisory Remains in Effect for Lake Rosalind Moved by: David Inglis Seconded by: Stewart Halliday “THAT, the Board of Health receives the August reports as presented.” Carried
8.0 Administration and Finance 8.1 Financial Report June – Sue Murray Moved by: Alan Barfoot Seconded by: Arlene Wright “THAT, the Board of Health receives the Financial Report for the month of June as amended by Sue Murray.” Carried
9.0 Other Business 9.1 Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) 2017 Annual Conference 9.2 alPHa 2017 Annual Conference 9.3 alPHa Online Risk Management Resource 9.4 alPHa Fall & Winter Symposiums 9.5 Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins Letter of Appointment Approval 9.6 Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins Letter of Congratulations 9.7 Chief Medical Officer of Health David C. Williams Letter of Congratulations 9.8 2016 Staff Holiday Celebration
10.0 In-Camera Session Moved by: David Inglis Seconded by: David Shearman “THAT, the Board of Health does now go into closed session to discuss labour relations negotiations and matters pertaining to terms of employment of individual employees or management and that Sue Murray, Drew Ferguson, Sue Brown, Staci Ollerton and Dr. Christine Kennedy remain present.” Carried
Moved by: David Shearman Seconded by: David Inglis “THAT, the Board of Health does now return to open session.” Carried
Page 2 of 3 19
11.0 Adjournment By Motion of Alan Barfoot, Chair Kevin Eccles adjourned the meeting at 11:36 a.m.
Next Meeting: Friday, September 23, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. Grey Bruce Health Unit Boardroom
X X Kevin Eccles Dr. Christine Kennedy Chairperson Medical Officer of Health
X Staci Ollerton Recording Secretary
Page 3 of 3 20
Board Report
September 23, 2016
21 Medical Officer of Health Report to the Board Friday, September 23, 2016
Health in All Policies: Engaging Municipal Decision Makers in Population Health Promotion
Health in All Policies “is a collaborative approach to improving the health of all people by incorporating health considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas.” (Rudolph et al 2013). It is an approach to addressing the social determinants of health that are key drivers of health outcomes and health inequities. "Health in All Policies is an approach to public policies across sectors that systematically takes into account the health implications of decisions, seeks synergies, and avoids harmful health impacts, in order to improve population health and health equity." (WHO, 2008).
Municipal policy makers have the potential to substantially effect change in the health of the population, through modifying the social determinants of health. Applying a health lens to municipal policy making means considering health implications when developing policy about non-health issues.
A Healthy Community provides for the following through all stages of life: Meets basic needs of all; Quality and sustainability of environment; Adequate levels of economic and social development; Health and social equity; Social relationships that are supportive and respectful.
A Health in All Policies approach includes five key elements (Rudolph et al. 2013):
1) Promoting health and equity. 2) Supporting intersectoral collaboration. 3) Creating co-benefits for multiple partners. 4) Engaging stakeholders. 5) Creating structural or process change.
This is the main approach applied to practice in Grey Bruce. It has led to several successful initiatives such as the substandard/standard housing work and interventions for the prevention of childhood injury and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Page 1 of 2 22 Complex issues such as childhood obesity, prevention of FASD, substance misuse, and falls across the lifespan, are indeed ‘wicked’ issues and require multipronged and strategic partnerships to support significant positive outcomes in our communities. They ultimately require broad and meaningful social change. This forms an important part of the effective and mandated work of the Grey Bruce Health Unit. Hopefully, this will be recognized formally as part of the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) Standards Modernization process. Activities identified in the OPHS modernization framework include, “Enhance the role of public health in addressing determinants of health and decreasing health inequities.” (PEPSAC, May 2016). Development of modernized program standards for public health are due December 2016.
Christine Kennedy
23 APPENDIX A: ONTARIO PUBLIC HEALTH STANDARDS MODERNIZATION
Goals of 1. To develop programmatic standards that are responsive to emerging evidence and priority issues in public health and are aligned with the government’s strategic vision and priorities for public health within a transformed Review health system. 2. To develop recommendations that address capacity and infrastructure needs for implementation of modernized standards.
Drivers for System Integration Accountability Transparency Organizational Capacity Efficiency/Value for Money Expert Advice Evidence based Service gaps (First Nations, Change Mental Health etc.)
Objectives Identify what public health should deliver Identify how public health should deliver services Identify capacity to deliver Identify the systems and structures required public health services to deliver effective and efficient public health services
• Identify evidence to support requirements for public health Through: • Identify public health capacity needs to • Identify required IM & IT and programs and services based on core public health • Strengthening and enhancing accountability and ensure the effective and efficient infrastructure to support effective and functions. transparency. delivery of public health services. efficient delivery of public health programs and services. • Reduce variation in service delivery through increased • Improving efficiency of public health program & services. • Identify roles and responsibilities for
standardization, taking into consideration the parallel need public health disciplines that improve • Identify opportunities for integration of to foster flexibility to respond to local needs and priorities. • Establishing collaborative partnerships to support system efficiency and effectiveness of public public health IM & IT systems with efficiency across the continuum of care. • Identify service gaps and areas of duplication to improve health service delivery. EMRs and the broader system, where appropriate. coordination of services across the continuum of care and • Establishing a performance measurement and • Identify processes to ensure a sector Activities other sectors. management framework to capture public health sector with qualified professionals to provide • Identify how current systems support • Enhance the role of public health in addressing contribution to population health outcomes (value for required services. transparency across the public health determinants of health and decreasing health inequities. money). sector.
• Identify opportunities for public health to increase its role • Identify current and required systems in addressing the needs of priority populations. to support performance measurement across the public health sector.
Inputs Jurisdictional Scans Literature Reviews Technical Reviews (PHO and others) Expert Advice Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement
• A recommended set of evidence based program standards reflective of current accepted practice in the areas of health protection • Recommendations to address capacity requirements for the effective and efficient delivery and health promotion that support key government priorities, address service gaps, and the needs of priority populations. of public health services. • A recommended approach to performance measurement at all system levels to ensure accountability, support transparency, and • Recommendations for systems and structures which support the effective and efficient demonstrate value for money.
Outputs delivery of public health services.
PHASE 1: Development of modernized program standards for public health (Fall 2015 to December 2016) Timelines PHASE 2: Recommendations for system implementation in terms of capacity and infrastructure to support modernized standards (January 2016 to June 2017)
Result Recommendations for modernized standards and practice guidance, in alignment with the vision and principles of Health System Transformation, that facilitate optimal delivery of public health functions and support co-ordinated delivery of public health programs and services across the full continuum of health. 24 3 of 3
Augmented Air Sampling - Dundalk, Ontario Summer, 2016 Presented to the Township of Southgate Council, September 21, 2016
Introduction During the summer of 2016, ambient air sampling for formaldehyde was conducted in the town of Dundalk as a joint project of the Grey Bruce Health Unit (GBHU) and the local Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) office, with technical support from Public Health Ontario (PHO).
The reason for this specific sampling regimen was to augment the results of sampling carried out by the MOECC in 2014 in response to complaints about odours emanating from waste recovery facilities on Eco Parkway. At that time, all health-based parameters tested for were within acceptable limits with the exception of one isolated, transient result related to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a colourless gas with a disagreeable odour. It is produced naturally through events such as forest fires and the decomposition of organic matter. However most exposures to formaldehyde stem from human sources1. These include combustion emissions, tobacco smoke and off-gassing from plastics and various types of building materials. Short term, low level exposure to formaldehyde can produce irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. If these exposures are prolonged, they can exacerbate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma. At very high levels, formaldehyde can be carcinogenic.2
Ongoing human exposure to formaldehyde is common. Health Canada reports that typical daily household levels of formaldehyde range from approximately 16 – 33 parts per billion (ppb) with highs to 77 ppb3. Exposure to levels of formaldehyde below 40 ppb should produce no adverse health effects. This is known as the Acute Minimal Response Level (AMRL).
The transient formaldehyde result observed in the 2014 sampling study was 72 ppb based on a maximum half hour concentration. PHO reports this level can produce mild and reversible irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract in sensitive individuals.
There was no evidence to suggest that this formaldehyde result was associated with odour emissions from the waste recovery facilities referred to above. However, GBHU and MOECC undertook to conduct further sampling in order to determine whether or not there were potential health impacts associated with these emissions. Note that attempts were made to conduct this sampling in the summer of 2015, however the appropriate sampling equipment was unavailable at that time.
Method Sampling was carried out using a Graywolf © FM-801 Formaldehyde Multi Mode Monitor, provided by PHO. Technical staff from PHO also provided training and support to MOECC personnel on device set-up, calibration and use. (Refer to Appendix A of this report for details about device operation and sampling methodology). Sampling was conducted on July 12th, July 28th and August 4th. Sample location sites are illustrated on Figure 1 below.
1 Environment and Climate Change Canada - Formaldehyde 2 Health Canada - Formaldehyde 3 Health Canada - Formaldehyde
Augmented Air Sampling - Dundalk, Ontario Summer, 2016 25 Grey Bruce Health Unit
Results Sample results are tabled in Figure 2. It will be noted that sampling dates and times encompass a range of weather conditions. As well, the table indicates whether odour was present at the time of sampling. With the exception of one sample, all readings were below the detection limit of the monitoring device and therefore also well below the AMRL of 40 ppb. The one sample yielding a detectable level tested at 30 ppb, below the AMRL, and did not correspond to either of the two sampling periods when odour was detectable. As well, the sample was obtained from a site upwind of the waste recovery facilities.
Conclusion Based on both the results of this summer’s augmented air sampling and those of the original sampling program of 2014, we conclude that emissions from the waste recovery facilities on Eco Parkway do not contribute significantly, if at all, to public exposure to substances of health concern. With the exception of the one minor adverse formaldehyde reading detected in 2014, all health-based parameters have been observed to be within acceptable limits. Moreover, there is no evidence to suggest that any substances detected at any level originate from these facilities rather than from other sources commonly found in human environments.
GBHU acknowledges with thanks the assistance provided by the following individuals in completing this initiative: Rick Chappell, Owen Sound District Manager, MOECC Sierra Gillies, Senior Environmental Officer, MOECC Lisa Hines, Junior Environmental Officer, MOECC Jacqueline Otterbein, Practicum Student, MOECC Sunil Varughese, Environmental Health Analyst, PHO Seema Sharma, Practicum Student, PHO
26 Augmented Air Sampling - Dundalk, Ontario Summer, 2016 Grey Bruce Health Unit Augmented Air Sampling – Dundalk, Ontario Summer, 2016
Appendix A Dundalk Formaldehyde Testing Methodology
Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) staff selected four air sampling locations based on the 2014 Dundalk Odour Monitoring Report and additional locations as determined by the MOECC. The GrayWolf Sensing Solutions Formaldehyde Multimode Monitor FM-801 was used to measure the concentration of formaldehyde. Under the direction and advice of GrayWolf Sensing Solutions Technical Support and the Operation Manual, a standard methodology was followed for each day of sampling. A one hour Prior Exposure Procedure was performed at the beginning of each sample day in accordance with the Operation Manual. This allowed the sensor cartridge to optimally respond to formaldehyde. Measurements were recorded in the Continuous Mode. Each individual measurement period was 30 minutes in length. Results were recorded manually and stored in the internal memory at the end of each half hour. There were 30 minute travel times between recorded samples in order to move between the air sampling locations. The monitor recorded measurements during the travel time but the data was not relevant to the four air sampling locations and was discarded. The following methodology was performed in accordance with the Operation Manual: 1. Ensure the detachable formaldehyde sensor cartridge is in the fridge the night before the testing day 2. Collect all required equipment and arrive at the first air sampling location 3. Mount the GreyWolf © Formaldehyde Multimode Monitor FM-801 on a standard photography tripod stand 4. Record temperature, humidity, humidex, pressure, wind direction, wind speed using the Environment Canada weather website. 5. Record GPS coordinates of the air sampling location 6. Follow the “Formaldehyde Multimode Monitor FM-801 Operation Manual” (Page 20-23) for Continuous Measurement Mode instructions: . Place tripod and monitor in an open space away from direct sunlight when possible (tin foil was used to shade the monitor to limit sunlight exposure when applicable) . Turn on monitor . Select Continuous Measurement Mode and select Next . Enter Sampling No. and select Next . Insert the formaldehyde sensor cartridge and select Start . Usage Expectancy is displayed, select Next . Prior Exposure Procedure is automatically started for 60 minutes and a baseline value will appear once complete
27 Augmented Air Sampling - Dundalk, Ontario Summer, 2016 Grey Bruce Health Unit . Measurement will automatically progress until it is manually stopped. Concentration is measured in parts per billion every 30 minutes. The data is automatically stored in the internal memory 7. Move equipment to next air sampling location. Monitoring will continue during the travel time but the data recorded is not relevant to the air sampling results and was discarded. 8. Repeat Steps 4 through 7 for each of the three remaining sampling locations. 9. Select Stop on the monitor to end the measurement period 10. Remove formaldehyde sensor cartridge at the end of the measurement period 11. Return all equipment to the Owen Sound District Office and place formaldehyde sensor cartridge in the fridge 12. Download data from the monitor to a laptop using the WolfSense PC data transfer software 13. Review the monitor-recorded data with manual notes to ensure consistency 14. Provide measurement results to the appropriate MOECC and Grey Bruce Health Unit staff for review
Repeat the complete methodology for each sampling day. A total of three sampling days were completed on the following dates: July 12, 2016 July 28, 2016 August 4, 2016
28 Augmented Air Sampling - Dundalk, Ontario Summer, 2016 Grey Bruce Health Unit Air Sampling Program - Dundalk, ON, Summer 2016 Figure 1: Sampling Points
DU ND AL K S TR EE ET T E TR S G EL Y N O E U L N G G T S S T E T R W S E E E T T E W E T R E T E Dundalk and Proton Community School S R T IN S 1 Grey County CP Rail Trail A A M I 4 R O T IC V
Waste Recovery Facilities End of Eco Parkway 3
Ida Street 9 D A 2 O R Y E R G Dundalk Transfer Station
Dundalk Sewage Lagoons
ID A S TR E E T
Legend
Air Quality Sample Location Features of Interest Property Boundary (Assessment Parcel)
Projection: 0 125 250 500 750 1,000 Information provided by the Ministry of the Universal Transverse Mercator Metres Environment and Climate Change, and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Zone 17 The maps shown here are for illustration purposes only and are not suitable 29for site-specific use or applications. Ministry of the Environment provides this False Easting: 500000m information with the understanding that it is not guaranteed to be accurate, correct or complete and conclusions drawn from such information are the responsibility Published Date: September, 2016 False Northing: 0m of the user. While every effort has been made to use data believed to be accurate; a degree of error is inherent in all maps. Map products are intended for reference purposes © Queen's Printer for Ontario Central Meridian: -81 ¯ only, and the Ministry of the Environment will accept no liability for consequential and indirect damages arising from the use of these maps. These maps are distributed 'as-is' without Printed in Ontario, Canada 1983 North American Datum warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to warranties of suitability to a particular purpose or use. Air Sampling Program - Dundalk, Ontario Summer, 2016 Figure 2 Sampling Results
Date Site # Sample Ambient Humidity Wind Wind RESULT Odour present? start time Outdoor (%) direction Speed Max half hour Temp (0C) (km/hr) concentration (ppb)1 July 12 1 09:17 24 64 S 12 <10 No July 12 2 10:17 26 59 SSW 10 <10 No July 12 3 11:17 27 55 SSW 15 <10 No July 12 4 12:17 29 49 SSW 12 <10 Slight sewage odour July 28 1 10:15 23 70 N 8 <10 No July 28 2 11:15 24 66 NNE 5 30 No July 28 3 12:15 25 53 NNE 8 <10 No July 28 4 13:15 26 49 S 5 <10 No August 4 1 09:38 24 52 SSW 10 <10 No August 4 2 10:38 26 47 SW 8 <10 No August 4 3 11:38 28 47 SW 11 <10 No August 4 4 12:38 29 41 S 6 <10 Faint sewage odour
1 The Acute Minimal Response Level for formaldehyde is 40 ppb. At levels below 40, no adverse effects should be experienced. Levels stated as “<10” indicate the amount of formaldehyde, if present at all, was below the monitor’s accurate detection limit.
30 PROGRAM REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 101 17 TH Street East, Owen Sound, Ontario N4K 0A5 Phone: 519-376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 WEBSITE: www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca
Working with Grey Bruce communities to protect and promote health
Table of Contents Grey Bruce Health Unit Tobacco Quit Clinic ...... 1 How Can We Improve the Quality of Services We Deliver? ...... 2 Water Safety Strategy ...... 3
Grey Bruce Health Unit Tobacco Quit Clinic In late 2014, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care provided grants for the purchase of nicotine replacement therapy to support priority populations wanting to quit using tobacco. The Grey Bruce Health Unit Tobacco Quit Clinic provides support to quit attempts as well as no cost nicotine replacement therapy such as patches, lozenges, gum and inhalers. The program is promoted to clients without access to free nicotine replacement therapy through their primary health care provider. Clients are mostly low income including those on social assistance or in a low wage job, residing in social housing, dealing with mental health issues or other addictions. The majority of clients are long-term, heavy smokers with chronic health issues.
Clinics were established early in 2015 and several strategies were used to promote the program. The area hospitals, doctors in independent practice, and various social support agencies were notified they could refer clients. The program was funded again in 2015 by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to support the purchase of additional nicotine replacement therapy products.
From January 2015 to July 2016, 193 clients were referred to the program with the majority of clients self-referring. This can be broken down to 119 clients in 2015 and 74 clients in the first half of 2016.
Of the clients seen in 2015, most attended at least two clinic appointments and made an attempt to quit. Of the clients seen in 2015, 48% completed a 30 day assessment, with an average decrease in 20 cigarettes per day and an average increase in confidence by 0.9, indicating increased confidence in their ability to quit using tobacco.
Over the past six months, training and orientation has been underway for staff in the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children and the Sexual Health Program to provide cessation support and no cost nicotine replacement therapy to clients in those programs. This will help to reach more young adults and young parents to support them in quitting tobacco.
31 2
How Can We Improve the Quality of Services We Deliver? A growing body of evidence demonstrates that improving the client and community partner experience is linked with improved health outcomes. One of the ways to improve the client experience is to ask our clients how we did and what we could do better.
In our efforts to engage clients and community partners, we have developed a client and partner satisfaction policy and a client and partner survey, to gather feedback on service and project delivery. This policy and survey supports the Health Unit’s strategic direction to “Deliver the highest quality public health services”. Survey responses will be compiled bi-annually and used to flag areas where we can improve the quality of our services.
To promote this survey, the health unit has developed a brochure which supports not only obtaining feedback on current services, but also raises community awareness of the health units mission, values, strategic direction, as well as an overview of the programs and services we provide. Promoting greater visibility and awareness of public health’s work was identified as an area to address in strategic planning with the Board of Health and key community stakeholders.
Each program area will be distributing the new brochure to clients at health unit program and service delivery sites throughout Grey Bruce and encouraging completion of the survey. Additionally, the brochures will be available at various locations across Grey Bruce to support public awareness of programs and services.
32 3
Water Safety Strategy In 2015, the Board of Health identified water safety as a key issue for the community. Given this direction, staff developed a social media campaign to target this issue. Throughout this past summer from Victoria Day weekend to Labour Day, the Health Unit posted weekly Facebook and Twitter messages focused on recreational and beach water safety.
Research indicates that 70.5% of adults in Grey Bruce use social media1, and our usage data indicates a weekly reach between 2,000 to 3,000, and as high as 10,000 people. Since residents are more likely to engage in recreational water activities on weekends, these social media postings were scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays. Key safety messages for families were included on our website with current, evidence-based links to Canadian organizations like Parachute Canada and the Lifesaving Society. The posts were also accompanied by photos of local beaches.
Key messages included: Lifejackets are Life Savers Always Swim with a Buddy Don’t swim if you have been drinking alcohol Keep Your Children within Arm’s Reach
The focus of this initiative was to provide positive, preventative safety messaging that shares statistics and safety resources with families in a move towards empowering families to make informed decisions when engaging in recreational water activities. In addition, Grey Bruce Health Unit staff hosted an interactive display at the 2016 Salmon Spectacular that engaged children and parents in understanding these key messages.
1. Grey Bruce Health Unit, (2016), Social Media Use in Grey Bruce, Owen Sound, Ontario: Grey Bruce Health Unit
33 Guys Caring For Kids PHOTO CONTEST WINNER “Daddy and Me” by Dale Hamill
GREY BRUCE HEALTH UNIT ANNUAL REPORT 2015
A healthier future for all. 34 TABLE OF CONTENTS
MESSAGE FROM THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH...... 3 PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY TEAMS...... 4 HEALTHY COMMUNITIES...... 5 CLIENT SERVICES...... 13 BOARD OF HEALTH...... 18 FINANCIAL...... 19
35 2 MESSAGE FROM THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
Together We Build Healthy Communities
This is the final annual report from Dr. Hazel Lynn, who retired from the Grey Bruce Health Unit on June 30, 2016.
“The state of wellness of the Enhanced food safety is another achievement, particularly people must be the first and with the food handler certification program. We have most important care and concern created a ‘One Health’ group with the Grey Bruce of a statesperson - and why is Veterinarian Association to help control the diseases that wellness more important than trade, roads, industry? are common to animals and ourselves. Our family health Good health is the bedrock on which all social progress programs start with prenatal education, breastfeeding is built.” Marc Lalonde, then the Minister of Health and awareness and support for individuals as well as for Welfare, 1974. workplaces and businesses. Much of this is also available through our web site. Public Health is the organized activity of society to protect, improve and, when necessary, restore the health of Our health unit piloted the provincial roll out of Panorama, individuals, groups or the entire population. the electronic immunization record system soon to be common across the country. In the past 15 years, we have worked with our municipalities, schools, hospitals, partner organizations Our school programs look upstream with healthy physical and businesses to build a foundation of awareness and, activities, mental health supports and educational with that, we have started to shape policy to support opportunities so that young people can be successfully health. Thanks go to the many community people who employed here. Communities are embracing and have worked with us in Grey and Bruce counties. encouraging involvement of youth.
Credit must also go to the Board of Health. Their vision All 17 municipalities now have alcohol policies for their inspired development of an award winning building municipal venues. We launched a needle exchange that addresses the challenge of providing public health program across the area and host one of the first rural programing in a large geographic area. For our people, Naloxone programs in the province. the building is the hub for our communications, program planning, administration and support. More than a These achievements would never have come about were wonderful building to work in, it is also a resource for the it not for our highly engaged, educated, ambitious and community, providing meeting and training space. innovative workforce. These folks are consistently looking for new, more effective ways to deliver our programs and It is remarkable to think back on the important public services. We need to look no further than the exemplary health successes. Each one is a story in itself. We can status awarded by Accreditation Canada and the Best look at environmental initiatives such as safe, small Practice Organization status by RNAO as testament to drinking water systems and, of course, the Walkerton their level of commitment and professionalism. Clean Water Center. We have advanced air quality testing, we are seeing higher standards in rental housing, safer I know the Grey Bruce Health Unit is well poised to built environment, emergency planning with municipalities, continue to play a leading role in the delivery of rural as well as our work supporting recreational trails and bike public health initiatives and will continue to be at the lanes. forefront as new opportunities present themselves.
The way our communities have embraced smoke-free is truly amazing with rental housing, indoor public spaces, recreational spaces and all of our 12 hospital buildings and grounds. Hazel Lynn, MD, FCFP, MHSc
36 3 COMMUNITY TEAMS
Public Health Community Teams build relationships and work with community partners to address locally identified priorities. All four teams wrapped up the Tamarack Community Conversation project sharing highlights with municipal and community partners. Northwest Northeast • Supported food security and job skills development • Support for the Alpha Street Family Resource Centre initiatives at the Wiarton Salvation Army. These included and, based on that model, established a Family exploring options for local egg grading and providing Resource Centre at the Victoria Village complex in free food handling certification for youth. Partnered with Meaford. the Salvation Army in an open house showcasing the • Support for Meaford Recreation Master Plan. programs offered. • Support for Georgian Bay Youth Roots coalition in • Provided school immunization clinics and community Meaford and Town of the Blue Mountains. influenza clinics for Chippewas of Nawash First Nations • Smoke-Free Movie Nights in Meaford and the Blue Community in Neyaashiinigmiing when they did not have Mountain Village. a community health nurse. • Emergency planning exercise completed in Georgian • Developed a Children’s Oral Health Initiative poster Bluffs. for Saugeen First Nations featuring children from that • Connecting with community groups, including housing, Community. social services and food security groups to enhance • Participated in the Hope Springs Best Start program public health partnerships. offering weekly peer-to-peer sessions on breastfeeding • Meeting with Owen Sound Family Health Team to and parenting to high-risk vulnerable women. enhance collaboration between public health and • Partnered with Northern Bruce Peninsula as a monitoring primary care. site in the Grey Bruce Expanded Air Quality Study. • Land use planning Memorandums of Understanding with • Provided comment on amendments to the Saugeen Owen Sound, Meaford and Town of the Blue Mountains, Shores municipal by-law. including East Bayshore Road and Redhawk housing developments. • Smoking cessation session held in Owen Sound. Southwest • Working with Kincardine and Brockton in areas of public health and municipal alignment including membership Southeast on each of the Safe Communities Committees and • Support development of More Than Food: Community support for the Kincardine Trails Committee B Line Food Toolkit for food banks to promote safe and project. nutritious food donations. • Work with area Family Health Teams to enhance • Participation with Southgate Municipal Open House as collaboration between public health and primary care well as the official plan review. including supporting Baby Friendly Initiatives. • Participated in Hanover’s strategic planning process. • Leadership role on the Kincardine Interagency • Established a liaison with Grey Highlands cultural Committee. channel, a new initiative to highlight local cultural • Building relationships with Old Order/Mennonite activities. communities with more services for this priority • Contributed to development of a youth committee at population including the expansion of a community Grey Highlands Secondary School. clinic. • Supported the Healthy Kids Community Challenge • Support for priority populations at the Old Durham Road with South East Grey Community Health Centre housing complex in Walkerton. compiling a community profile and an action plan for • Supported Youth Waves in Kincardine; co-chair coalition and supported achieving bronze status as Youth the three-year initiative. Friendly Community. • Supported the WE CARE project directing troubled teens to appropriate mental health services. 37 4 HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Emergency Preparedness FARMERS’ MARKETS Special educational packages were provided to 35 vendors Improvements to the public safety system were introduced during farmers’ market inspections. Vendors were also in partnership with Bruce Power and the Municipality of instructed on labelling requirements for food products sold Kincardine. Enhancements include an FM radio and updated at markets. Labelling assists in quickly responding to a public alert system. A new Community Safety Guide compromised product. provides a voucher for Potassium Iodide (KI). Pre-distribution of KI is a new requirement by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and is carried out in consultation with Public FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATION Health. The food handler course continues to be very successful with 325 food handlers certified; 208 participants attended one of Emergency exercises were held with Bruce Power, Grey the15 classroom courses and 117 took the online program. Bruce Health Services, Grey County Social Services, both The course teaches safe food handling, preventing food-borne Counties and five area municipalities. illness, hazardous foods, basic microbiology, sanitation, food allergies and pest control. Haines Food Safety funding supported a course for the Wiarton Salvation Army Work Start Food Safety program. This course was free to priority youth engaged in job INSPECTION skills development. Frequent inspection is important for food premises that prepare and handle foods where the risk of food-borne illness is more likely. Inspections were completed once every four months for high-risk and every six month for moderate-risk food premises. Current premises’ inspection reports are available on our Check It website.
INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT In addition to routine inspections, 33 food premises complaints, 8 food product complaints and 16 food-borne illnesses were investigated; 8 provincial offence tickets were issued for a variety of infractions.
38 5 HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Healthy Environments Population Health A population health approach recognizes a range of social ABOVE-STANDARD HOUSING PROJECT and economic factors, the physical environment and individual The Above-Standard Housing Project aims to improve the behavior that collectively affect health. These are the social quality of existing rental housing by engaging with property determinants of health. Actions to improve health are directed owners, tenants and regulatory/service agencies to address at the entire population, or sub-population, rather than the substandard housing. Activities included tenant focus groups, individual. developing connections between Public Health Inspectors and municipal by-law officers and working with RentSafe to survey FOOD SECURITY how health units respond to housing issues. The Nutritious Food Basket survey identifies it costs $199.55 per week to feed a family of four, based on a AIR QUALITY STUDY reference basket of food products. That’s a 10% increase from A study of air quality throughout Grey Bruce was undertaken the previous year. with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. The study looked to confirm that the Tiverton air monitoring station An Environmental Scan of Healthy Food Choices and Tap accurately reflects air quality throughout the region. A portable Water in Municipal Recreational Facilities and Affiliated air monitoring station was set up at three locations throughout Public Spaces was completed for all municipalities and both Grey Bruce with the results compared with Tiverton for the First Nations communities. There was unanimous support same period. The study showed very good consistency of for healthier food choices in recreation facilities. The report data, meaning the Tiverton station provides reliable air quality outlines a Grey Bruce Action Plan with the goal that all recre- data for all of Grey Bruce. The full report is available on the ational facilities serve healthy food and beverages. Grey Bruce Health Unit website. SUPPORTING HEALTH AND WELLBEING There were 110 participants for the Gift of Motherhood, a free online prenatal course. The Let’s Grow child development package is provided electronically to 3,442 subscribers and in hard copy to 60 recipients. Thirty-seven prenatal sessions were held for vulnerable women to support education and op- portunities to learn new cooking skills. This strategy is through the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program in collaboration with Keystone Family and Child Services. A Dietetic Intern created an evaluation that will capture changes in participant behavior.
A new Healthy Schools section on the Grey Bruce Health Unit website promotes the concept of comprehensive school health. A Healthy Schools Toolkit was adapted for local use and distributed as a resource to support schools. A pilot project to enhance student health and wellness was launched in three schools in the Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board, aligning with the Board’s mental health strategy.
Working with community groups and municipalities, Public Health helped launch a number of Youth Coalitions within Grey Bruce. Both Hanover and Kincardine have received a Youth Friendly designation.
39 6 BUILDING CAPACITY/COMMUNITY Local primary care health professionals were supported to implement the NutriSTEP toolkit. NutriSTEP is a nutrition ENGAGEMENT screening questionnaire to assess eating habits and identify Significant effort went toward strengthening a culture of nutrition problems in children. In addition, a Memorandum breastfeeding anytime, anywhere in Grey Bruce. of Understanding was signed with Dietitians of Canada • The Breastfeeding Friendly Business toolkit was launched where they will assist residents without internet to access the with community members engaged in its development and Nutri-eSTEP nutrition tool. promotion. • The municipality of North Bruce Peninsula passed a The A Step Ahead to Falls Prevention in Older Adults resolution to adopt Breastfeeding Friendly facilities. curriculum was delivered to Georgian College PSW and • Leads in the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) provided Practical Nurse programs and was expanded to include education to all staff, conducted a survey to assess the first year BSc Nursing program. Over 400 older adults knowledge gaps and interviewed 11 partner agencies. engaged in falls prevention education opportunities. • Over 50 health care professionals attended the breast- feeding education session with researcher and educator The Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force’s newly formed subcom- Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis. mittee Bridges Action Group hosted a workshop to engage • A BFI Implementation Workshop was presented in community partners to map assets and gaps that support the partnership with Toronto East General Hospital. Hanover social determinants of health. and District Hospital and the Hanover Family Health Team are working towards designation. The Income Employment Security Action Group hosted a • A Breastfeeding Workshop for Primary Care was Consumer Financial Protection consultation with the Ministry presented in partnership with the Ontario College of of Government and Consumer Services. A key initiative Family Physicians. supported under-resourced community members in Grey Bruce to participate in the voting process. Forty staff from Ontario Early Years Centres received training on the new Grey Bruce Early Years Health Curriculum. Results of the Grey Bruce Community Conversations were Physical Literacy workshops were presented to 51 Early presented to Grey County, Meaford and the Grey Bruce Childhood Educators and daycare providers. Additionally, 58 Healthy Communities forum. The results form part of the cooks and staff from local childcare centres participated in national research initiative led by Tamarack Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety training. Community Engagement. County Child Care Managers and Supervisors were Into the Open: Sexual Violence Prevention workshops were introduced to the Best Start It Takes a Village online learning held in partnership with Violence Prevention Grey Bruce. modules. Survivors, professionals and community members are developing initiatives to address and prevent sexual 40violence in Grey Bruce. 7 HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS TO MAKE PUBLIC POLICY TO PROTECT AND THE HEALTHY CHOICE THE EASY CHOICE PROMOTE HEALTH We worked with schools, community, parents and students to All federal election candidates received the Let’s Make open youth oriented safe spaces/community service rooms a Difference and Put Health in all Policies resource kit. in schools. Public Health participated on healthy school Interviews were conducted with candidates to evaluate the committees and supported Healthy School Certification for strategy. A six-week Facebook and Twitter social media three schools in Grey Bruce. campaign supported this initiative with a total reach of 26,900.
Under the leadership of South-East Grey Community Health The Bruce Grey Food Charter Centre, the Healthy Kids Run, Jump, Play, Every Day! events was released. Developed by the were held in Southgate, Grey Highlands and Chatsworth. Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force, the Charter guides policies and Victoria Village Family Resource Centre in Meaford opened programs that promote a healthy with a community barbeque and celebration. Modelled on the food system locally. The Grey Bruce Alpha Family Resource Centre, the unit will offer one stop Health Unit, two municipalities, shopping for community resources and services appropriate Grey County and four community to the local needs. Drawing on the success of these initiatives, partners have endorsed the a similar program is being launched at the Old Durham Road Charter. complex in Walkerton. Funding from the Grey Bruce Healthy Communities Working with the leadership of several Plain Communities Partnership supported development of a Grey Bruce (Old Order Mennonite and Amish) supported the purchase, Complete Streets Implementation Guide. Presented to over staffing and opening of a community-owned and operated 50 municipal and county staff, elected officials and community primary health care clinic in Holyrood. stakeholders, the Guide will support the review of Official Plans and Transportation Master Plans. Consultation was The Good Food Box has increased to 18 sites throughout ongoing with Grey County to support an active transportation Grey Bruce with the addition of a pilot site in Paisley. component within the development of the County Transporta- tion Master Plan. The Grey Bruce Health Unit is one of 34 recipients of Ontario’s first Bicycle Friendly Business awards. The Memorandum of Understandings were developed with the designation acknowledges efforts to promote cycling in the Owen Sound, Meaford and the Town of the Blue Mountains to workplace and community. provide comments on official plan amendments, development proposals, zoning by-laws and other components of the Planning Act that support the development of healthy communities.
Work was undertaken with local school boards to develop and implement concussion policies. Concussion management policies were shared with local health care providers. Online resources are available to support coaches, educators, parents and health professionals in identifying and managing concussions.
A review was conducted with all 17 municipalities and both counties to assess the uptake of the Grey Bruce Municipal Alcohol Policy Template, originally released in 2013. Most municipalities used portions of or the entire template in their policy. 41 8 SHOWCASING GREY BRUCE Tobacco Enforcement The breakout session Walk and Roll: Making Rural Trans- portation Work in Small, Rural Communities was featured at SMOKE-FREE ONTARIO ACT the Ontario Good Roads Association/Rural Ontario Municipal January 1, 2015 the Smoke-Free Ontario Act was amended to Association. The project showed how Public Health and prohibit use of tobacco products on: municipalities can work together to advance active • Outdoor restaurant and bar patios. transportation in a rural setting. • Outdoor playgrounds and within 20 meters of the playground. Several local projects are highlighted as Grey Bruce partici- • Outdoor municipal sporting areas, spectator areas, and within 20 metres of the sporting or spectator areas. pated in the development of the Healthy Rural Communities • Additionally, the sale of tobacco is prohibited on premises Tool Kit funded by Public Health Ontario. licensed under the Independent Health Facilities Act, Grey Bruce provided a rural voice for the Registered Nurses’ post-secondary campuses, schools, day nurseries and Association of Ontario Provincial Mental Health and Addiction licensed private-home day care, whether or not children Champion Pilot. This project focused on using a youth are present. engagement approach and peer-to-peer strategies. Tobacco Enforcement and Education Officers distributed new The Grey Bruce Falls Prevention and Intervention project was signs to 17 municipalities, provided resources and presenta- the model for the regional expansion of the initiative to the tions to special event organizers, municipalities and workplac- South West Local Health Integration Network. es, developed and distributed educational materials such as children’s colouring pages and server buttons for restaurants The Grey Bruce Community Conversations was presented in with patios. Officers visited 17 parks, playgrounds and sports fields distributing 920 educational flyers. workshops at both the HC Link, Your Resource for Healthy Communities provincial symposium and the Tamarack Institute national conference.
42 9 HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
YOUTH ACCESS for Humanity, Salvation Army, schools, Durham Medical Clinic Youth access to tobacco products is measured by the and Grey Sauble Conservation Authority. percentage of tobacco vendors in compliance with the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. The target is 90% or greater. ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES ACT Tobacco Enforcement and Education Officers conducted 325 In preparation for the Electronic Cigarettes Act (ECA) that took tobacco retail checks resulting in 24 sales to minors and 30 effect January 1, 2016, all electronic cigarette vendors in Grey charges, for an overall compliance rate of 93%, down from Bruce were identified. Regulations, including a ban on sales 98.2% in the previous year. to those under 19, will be enforced locally by Public Health. The three hospital corporations and both school boards were VENDOR EDUCATION provided support and education regarding the ECA. The Tobacco vendor workshops help retail staff understand annual retail vendor newsletter offered information about sign their responsibilities under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. requirements, age restriction and resources for calculating a Three workshops were held with 50 participants; the third customer’s age. The fall vendor workshop covered relevant was added due to the increase in the number of sales to topics under the ECA. As the Ministry now requires test minors. Workshops reviewed the importance of preventing shopping for electronic cigarettes, the program was up-dated tobacco sales to minors and provided employers/owners with to included ECA in the job description and training materials. resources on their responsibilities of due diligence, including how to create a policy and train staff. Rabies Control This was the third year for the Who is 25? campaign using No cases of rabies were identified in Grey Bruce in 2015. 19 to 25 year-old test shoppers to ensure clerks are properly However, the Terrestrial Arctic Strain rabies re-emerged in asking for ID. Under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, clerks must Southern Ontario with a rabid calf identified in Perth County ask for ID from anyone that looks under 25. The campaign and a significant number of raccoon rabies cases in Hamilton targeted places that had not asked for ID the previous year. Region. Of 107 locations tested, 102 (95%) correctly asked for ID. Five locations (5%) were flagged for not asking, a significant There were 232 dog and 130 cat bite investigations, down improvement from 68 locations (44%) the previous year. from 262 dog and 148 cat bites in 2014. All vendors not asking for ID received a follow up from a Tobacco Enforcement and Education Officer. The annual tobacco retailer newsletter included the results and supporting educational materials.
ENFORCEMENT Tobacco Enforcement and Education Officers undertake progressive enforcement based on the Ontario Public Health Standards and Ministry directives. In 2015, 122 investigations resulted in 131 warnings and 58 charges.
Education included distribution of workplace packages and presentations on employee/employer responsibilities under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.
YOUTH DIVERSION PROGRAM The Youth Diversion program offers youth 14 to 16 years the alternative of 20 hours community service in lieu of a charge under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. Since its inception in 2009, 30 students have participated including five students in 2015. Partners taking youth for this program include Habitat 43 10 limit and seven over the calculated average limit. These were Safe Water short-lived events with follow up results returning to low levels. POOLS Beach postings are decided by the level of risk to the public The Grey Bruce Health Unit met inspection requirements for based on sample results, environmental conditions and public Class A pools with 66 routine inspections and 4 re-inspec- use. On three occasions, beaches were posted: Kelso Beach tions. These pools are open to members of the public and in Owen Sound, Port Elgin Main Beach and Gobles Grove in have lifeguards. The region has 17 seasonal and 8 year round Saugeen Shores. pools that require quarterly inspection while open. SMALL DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS Class B pools are those typically used by guests of a public Changes to the Drinking Water protocol released late in 2014 facility such as a campground and generally do not have had a significant impact on monitoring. Fifteen Public Health lifeguards. The Grey Bruce Health Unit inspected 80 seasonal Inspectors attended a new training course jointly developed and 16 year-round class B pools carrying out 211 routine and by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Conestoga 13 re-inspections. College.
SPAS The 2015 inventory shows 549 Small Drinking Water Systems. Spa facilities require quarterly inspections while open. The High-risk systems require inspection once every 2 years, and region has 10 seasonal and 35 year-round regulated spas. low and medium risk systems once every 4 years. We fulfilled These facilities received 161 routine and 8 re-inspections; our requirements for high-risk systems and increased the low meeting provincial requirements for inspections. and moderate risk inspections, completing 70.
BEACHES ADVERSE WATER INCIDENTS Environmental surveys were undertaken and weekly sampling Notifications were received for 56 adverse water incidents was carried out at 12 beaches in Grey Bruce during the at systems regulated by Public Health. Adverse notifications summer. require follow up and risk assessment to ensure appropriate action by the operators. An additional 76 adverse water High winds, rain and waves action are the usual factors incidents were reported at systems regulated by the Ministry affecting sampling results. There was one sample over of the of the Environment and Climate Change. Canadian Recreational Water Quality Guideline single sample 44 11 HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Vector-Borne Disease There were no human cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) or Lyme disease in Grey Bruce.
All hospitals and healthcare providers received reminders regarding heightened surveillance for patients presenting with signs or symptoms potentially related to Lyme disease and WNV, as well as the tick submission protocol. The reminder included the Algorithm for Prophylaxis for Lyme disease as a guideline on appropriate treatment.
Resources on tick identification were posted on the website and on social media. An educational display, a stand-up banner and pamphlet were developed.
As a result of a positive tick found in 2014, surveillance for ticks through drag sampling was conducted in Bruce County. No ticks were identified.
Twenty-six ticks found on or suspected of biting a human were submitted to the Ontario Public Health Laboratory for identi- fication and testing. Five were confirmed as the blacklegged tick and two were positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Since passive surveillance began in 2010, there have been an average of 18 ticks submitted for testing each year. The first positive tick was identified in 2014 in Bruce County.
ONE HEALTH One Health acknowledges the links between human health, animal health and the environment. Work with the Grey Bruce One Health Interagency included updates to their members, development of a Grey Bruce One Health poster presented at the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors National Conference and creation of a Grey Bruce One Health website for local members to share information.
45 12 CLIENT SERVICES
Healthy Babies In response to infections investigations identifying people meeting sexual partners through so-called social media Healthy Children hook-up sites, a wide-ranging media campaign was Healthy Babies Healthy Children supports vulnerable families undertaken with a “get tested” theme. through home visits and working in partnership with allied agencies to help children achieve their full potential. The team conducted 411 regulatory inspections of all childcare centres and personal services facilities including • 1,386 babies were born in Grey Bruce. Parents receive an tattoo/body piercing, manicure/pedicure, hair and other information package of material and resources. esthetic services. • 62% of pregnant women screened scored for risk factors linked with low birth weight and parenting concerns. Infection control consultations were provided to local acute • 60% of families screened in the postpartum period and long-term care facilities. Training on infection prevention identified for one or more issues such as isolation, low for clinic and office settings was made available to local income, low education, etc. primary care providers. • 376 families received home visits. • 101 families received referrals to other community programs and services.
Infectious Diseases There were 661 individual/sporadic cases of reportable disease. Of 81 outbreaks, 45 were respiratory and 36 gastro- intestinal.
A pertussis/whooping cough outbreak in an under-immunized community resulted in 41 confirmed or probable cases with 89 people vaccinated. Four special clinics were held in the community for vaccine, assessment and treatment.
46 13 CLIENT SERVICES
Integrated Preschool Speech and Language Program The Integrated Preschool Speech and Language Program assess and treat children from birth to June of their Junior Kin- dergarten year. The program is no cost to parents and does not require a doctor’s referral.
The Ministry provided one-time funding to address the increased demand for the program and to reduce wait times. At year-end, 646 children were registered with the program and 140 children were waiting for an initial assessment.
Parents of children to be assessed are encouraged to learn strategies to use while waiting; 31 parents attended these information sessions. In addition, 94 parents received training to supplement their child’s therapy at one of six different sessions that best suits their child’s needs.
The preschool speech and language program participated in an inter-agency province-wide Special Needs Strategy initiative to improve the experience of families in three key areas: identifying kids earlier and getting the right help sooner, coordinating service planning and making service delivery seamless.
INFANT HEARING SCREENING PROGRAM Undetected hearing loss can delay a child’s speech and language development. All newborn babies in Ontario have their hearing screened either in the hospital when they are born or in a community setting. Communicative Disorder Assistants screened 308 infants in the community from January to July. On August 1, screening transferred to the Southwest Region Infant Hearing Program.
47 14 services. The Canadian Institute of Health Information cites Oral Health Services dental surgery as the most common surgical procedure ASSESSMENT AND SURVEILLANCE requiring anaesthesia in childhood. By the numbers: • 6037 children screened for dental decay. CHILDREN’S ORAL HEALTH INITIATIVE • 796 students (11% of screened) received urgent dental Funded by Health Canada, the Children’s Oral Health Initiative treatment through the Children in Need of Treatment (COHI) provided screening and preventive services to 119 (CINOT) program. First Nation children, including 305 fluoride varnish appli- • $321,665 in Ministry funding for urgent dental treatment cations and 34 sealants. In consultation with the Saugeen for children. community, a poster using images of local children was developed to promote the program. HEALTHY SMILES ONTARIO There were 366 children, including 196 new clients, in the First Visit by First Birthday packages were distributed Healthy Smiles Ontario plan for families who have no dental to the health centres and daycares at both First Nation coverage and meet the income eligibility criteria. In January communities. An oral health program was provided to mothers 2016, Healthy Smiles Ontario changed to combine six and expectant mothers attending the Aboriginal Headstart publically funded programs and expand enrollment eligibility. program.
DENTAL CLINICS There were over 1,500 visits, including 377 new clients, to Public Health dental clinics in Owen Sound, Wiarton, Walkerton and Markdale. The clinics support clients that do not have a community practitioner due to factors including availability of a provider, ability to pay, the provider not accepting publically administered programs and geographic accessibility.
Dental Hygienists delivered 5,133 preventive services including topical fluoride, pit and fissure sealants, scaling, polishing and oral health education. Clinics with a contract dentist provided 70 restorative procedures.
PREVENTATIVE SERVICES Local decay rates and other health data are used to focus prevention strategies to communities and risk groups. Oral health campaigns targeted plains communities’ health clinics, health fairs, food banks and were widely circulated on social media.
Over 40 children, up to six years, received topical fluoride treatments in their home from a Parent Support Worker or from a Dental Health Educators at a Parent Mutual Aid site.
Preventing dental decay begins before teeth erupt with good oral hygiene. The First Visit by First Birthday campaign targeted over 130 family physicians, nurse practitioners and midwives asking them to promote the importance of good oral health, including encouraging parents to book their child’s first dental visit by their first birthday.
Children in the CINOT program that had undergone general anaesthesia for dental surgery received free preventive
48 15 CLIENT SERVICES
Sexual Health and Launched in 2015, the Take Away Naloxone program equips and trains clients to administer naloxone in order to reverse Harm Reduction Services the effects of opioid overdose. This program aims to reduce Sexual Health services align with the Public Health Founda- death and injury from drug overdose. tional Standards based on client need, impact, capacity and partnership. Services focus on those clients who do not have access to primary care. Tobacco Cessation The Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP) program Nurses working at Community Clinics in Owen Sound, offers a free smoking cessation program. Provided in Walkerton and Hanover saw 2,111 clients for services such partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health as sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, (CAMH), participants learn quitting strategies and receive five pregnancy testing, lifestyle counselling and low cost contra- weeks of free nicotine replacement patches. CAMH conducts ception. Nurses saw 1,323 students in ten secondary school- follow-up with participants to see how they are progressing. based clinics. In 2015, 345 new clients received services at Five workshops including two with Saugeen First Nations and community and school clinics. Maple Leaf Foods in Hanover drew 41 participants.
NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM The 80 member Grey Bruce Tobacco Cessation Community The Needle Exchange Program continued to expand adding of Practice (Cessation CoP) brings together individuals two new community-based needle exchange sites, for a total working on tobacco cessation. The Cessation CoP supports of nine in Grey Bruce. The program saw 1,146 returning and networking, knowledge exchange and acts as a platform for 213 new clients. Requests for needle exchange supplies problem solving and building a shared skill set in tobacco almost doubled distributing 4,350 quick packs, containing five cessation. needles and supplies; up from 1,850 quick packs distributed in 2014. Over 56,000 needles were distributed with 23,000 Ministry funding supported a one-time purchase of nicotine returned, a 41% rate of return. Clients report opiates as the replacement therapy. Prior to this funding, cessation services drug of choice. required support such as the CAMH STOP. Local agencies and services assisted in identifying individuals from priority populations that could benefit from a cessation program. Services included individual and group counselling, nicotine replacement therapy and linking with the Smokers’ Helpline. There were 256 in-person or phone consultations with 119 49clients participating in cessation activities. 16 Youth Tobacco participated in the Universal Influenza Immunization Program, providing over 850 doses of vaccine from October to Use Prevention December. Preventing youth from experimenting with smoking is key to prevent them from smoking as adults. Using 2009-2010 One hundred and eleven health care locations that store data, the baseline of youth that have never smoked a whole publicly funded vaccine, including physicians’ offices, cigarette was set at 77.1% with the target set at 79.4% for pharmacies and hospitals received a cold chain inspection to future years. Grey Bruce exceeded the target with 85.2% of ensure that vaccines were being stored according to Ministry youth reporting they have never smoked a cigarette. protocol.
Working with community partners, three smoke-free movie Grey Bruce was one of the first health units in the province events were held in Town of the Blue Mountains, Meaford and to roll out the Panorama electronic vaccine inventory Owen Sound with 803 participants. The discussion after the system. That follows efforts in piloting and leading provincial movie looked at the dangers of tobacco depiction in movies workgroups to develop the Panorama immunization rated for children and youth. repository.
The Public Health continued to work with Saugeen First School-based immunizations are provided to Grade 7 and Nation youth to deliver culturally oriented tobacco use 8 students, as well as to secondary school students with prevention. Grade 7 and 8 youth collected 2,535 cigarette incomplete immunization records. There were 2,364 doses butts at a community clean up at the recreation centre, of Hepatitis B and 1,724 doses of Meningococcal disease band office, youth centre and baseball diamond. The group vaccine administered to students. Another 1,411 doses of presented recommendations to the Band council and hosted human papillomavirus (HPV) were administered to female an awareness event at Sauble Beach on the environmental students. impact of cigarette butt litter. Revisions to the Immunization of School Pupils Act, adding Additional youth engagement strategies included: Meningococcal disease and varicella (chickenpox) to the • pigs lungs demonstrations to students in the Drug Abuse schedule, resulted in an unusually high volume of suspension Resistance Education program (DARE). notices for Grey Bruce during the 2014/15 school year. • maintaining the local Target Youth website. Request for immunization information went out to 3,479 • training 22 youth as peer leader in their school and local students. Of those, 1,763 suspension orders were issued. community. Initially, 267 students were suspended due to incomplete im- • promotion of the 91 Reasons Why 91% of Youth do not munization information. By the end of the first week, almost all Smoke campaign. the students had complied with the reporting and returned to • cessation workshops at two local high schools. school. • distribution of Tobacco and Environment toolkits.
Vaccine Preventable Diseases Thirty-seven Community Immunization Clinics were held in Owen Sound, Walkerton and Holyrood for clients who did not have a primary care provider. The number of immuniza- tions increased significantly with 2,013 administered in 2015, from 1,592 in 2014. Uptake at the new Holyrood Clinic, new regulations in the Immunization of School Pupils Act and a pertussis outbreak contributed to the increase.
Twenty-six high-risk infants participated in the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) prophylaxis program. Monthly injections are provided to protect from RSV, a virus with potentially serious consequences for medically fragile infants and children. No chld in the program contracted RSV.
Public Health distributed 51,050 doses of influenza vaccine to hospitals, physicians, long-term care facilities, retirement homes and pharmacies. Forty Grey Bruce pharmacies 50 17 BOARD OF HEALTH 2015
Back Row: Kevin Eccles, Vice Chair, County of Grey; Mitch Twolan, Warden, Bruce County; Mike Smith, Chair, Bruce County; David Inglis, Bruce County
Middle Row: Sue Murray, Director of Finance and Administration; Laurie Laporte, Provincial Appointee
Front Row: Stewart Halliday, County of Grey; Erin Meneray, Executive Assistant; Dr. Christine Kennedy, Associate Medical Officer of Health; Dr. Hazel Lynn, Medical Officer of Health; Rev. David Shearman, Provincial Appointee
Absent from photo: Bob Pringle, County of Grey; John Bell, County of Grey; Gary Levine, Provincial Appointee; Will Rogers, Cross-Board Member
51 18 FINANCIAL
2015 BUDGET
138,600 PBG Mandatory Funding 11,109,867 127,000 2015 Budget 11,008 Vector-Borne Diseases 272,533 85,162 35,837 306,800 CINOT Expansion 80,133 PBG Mandatory Funding Vector Borne Diseases PBG Mandatory Funding - 1X Request 299067 90,100 1,102,211 CINOT Expansion 449,975 PBG Mandatory Funding ‐ 1X R Small Drinking Water Systems 141,333 Small Water Drinking Systems Food Safety ‐ Enhanced Fundin Food Safety - Enhanced Funding 47,600 786,778 Safe Water ‐ Enhanced Funding 121,500 Infection Control Safe Water - Enhanced Funding 15,500 180,500 PHN Inititative 15,500 277,800 Chief Nursing Officer Infection Control 277,800 47,600 141,333 Speech and Language PHN Inititative 180,500 299,067 Smoke Free Ontario (100%) 80,133 Infectious Control Nurse Chief Nursing Officer 121,500 272,533 HBHC Ontario Healthy Smiles Speech and Language 786,778 Health Canada Grey Bruce Falls Prevention Smoke-Free Ontario (100%) 449,975 Panorama Funding Communities in Action Infection Control Nurse 90,100 11,109,867 Other Grant Programs HBHC 1,102,211 Ontario Healthy Smiles 306,800 Health Canada 85,162 Grey Bruce Falls Prevention 127,000 Panorama Funding 138,600 Communities in Action 11,008 Other Grant Programs 35,837 15,679,304
2015 FUNDING SOURCES Municipalities 2,975,733 19% Provincial Cost Shared Programs 8,927,200 57% Provincial 100% Programs 1,305,400 8% Federal 100% Programs 85,162 0.5% Speech and Language 786,778 5% HBHC 1,102,211 7% Smoke-Free Ontario 449,975 3% Other 46,845 0.3% 15,679,304 100%
52 19 Grey Bruce Health Unit facebook.com/GreyBrucePublicHealth 101 17th Street East twitter.com/GBPublicHealth Owen Sound, Ontario, N4K 0A5 519-376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca 53 Committee Minutes
Transportation and Public Safety Committee September 22, 2016 – 10:00 AM The Committee met on the above date at the County Administration Building with the following members in attendance: Present: Chair John Bell; Councillors Bob Pringle, Stewart Halliday, Sue Paterson, Harley Greenfield, Ian Boddy, Norm Jack and John McKean; and Warden Alan Barfoot Staff Present: Kim Wingrove, Chief Administrative Officer; Mike Muir, Director of Paramedic Services; Pay Hoy, Director of Transportation Services; Matt Marck, Engineering Manager; Sharon Melville, Buyer; Mike Alguire, Purchasing Manager; Marty Zevenbergen, Shop Foreman and Tara Warder, Committee Coordinator
Call to Order
Chair Bell called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. Adoption of the Agenda
TAPS96-16 Moved by: Councillor McKean Seconded by: Councillor Paterson
THAT the Transportation and Public Safety Committee agenda dated September 22, 2016 be adopted as amended, by adding the following items:
a closed session item regarding personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees, pursuant to Section 239 (2) of the Municipal Act, 2001. Resolution from the Municipality of Hastings Highlands regarding the Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Waste Collection and Snow Plows) Carried
54 Transportation and Public Safety Committee September 22, 2016 Declaration of Pecuniary Interest
There was none. Business Arising from the Minutes Transportation and Public Safety Committee minutes dated August 18, 2016
These minutes are for information only as they were adopted by Grey County Council on September 6, 2016. Deputations
Brian McCulloch, President, Beaver Valley Ratepayers’ Association – Request for Speed Limit Change Outside of Kimberley, Engine Brake Signage and Improvements to Transverse Lines Entering Kimberley Brian McCulloch attended the meeting to request a speed limit change outside of Kimberley, as well as requesting installation of engine brake signage and improvements to transverse lines coming into Kimberley.
Mr. McCulloch spoke to the use of engine brakes and the noise that they make. He further explained the rationale for the request to reduce the speed limit, noting that a reduction in the speed limit would require less braking and result in vehicles slowing more gradually.
Mr. McCulloch also requested staff look at the number of transverse lines and their location within Kimberley, as he thinks they should be outside of the village.
Mr. McCulloch then thanked the County for the work they have done to help address speeding in Kimberley.
Committee noted that trucks are most likely slowing down for cars that are turning left to go to the Beaver Valley Ski Club.
Matt Marck responded to the requests, stating that 80 kilometres per hour is the speed limit that is dictated at this location from the guideline perspective. To reduce the speed limit because of trucks likely would not achieve what the requester is looking for.
Mr. Marck further noted that the current policy states the County does not install new engine brake signage.
55 Transportation and Public Safety Committee September 22, 2016 With respect to transverse lines, the data does not suggest excessive amounts of speeding in this area.
Staff noted that residents have contacted the company who are using engine brakes excessively and requested them to have drivers refrain from using them in residential areas. There seems to have been results from this approach. Reports – Transportation TR-TAPS-46-16 Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) Top – Up Component Application Grey Road 15
Pat Hoy presented the above report. Grey County was notified it is eligible for top up funding from OCIF. The City of Owen Sound and the County are interested in doing a joint project. Staff recommend that a proposal for the rehabilitation of Grey Road 15 (3rd Avenue East) in Owen Sound be submitted. The full amount will be applied for, being $613,481 of the $850,000 total contribution by the County. TAPS97-16 Moved by: Councillor Boddy Seconded by: Warden Barfoot WHEREAS the Province of Ontario has launched expanded infrastructure funding under the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF);
AND WHEREAS the County of Grey is eligible to submit an OCIF Top-Up Component application
AND WHEREAS the County of Grey and the City of Owen Sound would like to submit applications for the rehabilitation/reconstruction project on Grey Road 15 (3rd Ave East) in Owen Sound;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Report TR-TAPS-46-16 regarding the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund Top-Up Component Application be received;
AND THAT the Transportation and Public Safety Committee approve the following project to be submitted as a Top-Up Component Application to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund as a joint submission with the City of Owen Sound:
Grey Road 15 (3rd Ave East) in Owen Sound reconstruction from 18th Street to the Waste Water Treatment Plant
Carried
56 Transportation and Public Safety Committee September 22, 2016 TR-TAPS-47-16 Request for Winter Part Time Operators
Graham Wilson addressed the Committee on the above report. Staff are recommending that eight part time operators be hired for the 2016-2017 winter season. Mr. Wilson spoke to the difficulties in calling operators in when not enough hours are offered and the costs associated with turnover and training. Committee spoke to the benefits of the proposal. Inquiry was made as to whether consideration has been given to part time operators working these shifts during the week. Mr. Wilson noted that from staff’s perspective, having more experienced staff during the week and afternoons is beneficial. TAPS98-16 Moved by: Councillor Greenfield Seconded by: Warden Barfoot
WHEREAS an operational review of the winter maintenance operations has determined the need for eight Winter Part-Time Operators (two for each patrol);
AND WHEREAS by offering three, eight hour scheduled winter shifts per week, Transportation Services will be providing weekend coverage consistent with weekdays and improve the overall level of service;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT report TR-TAPS-47-16 be received;
AND THAT staff be directed to proceed with hiring the proposed eight Part-Time Operators for the 2016/2017 winter season.
Carried TR-TAPS-48-16 Capital Purchasing Prior to Budget Approval
Pat Hoy presented the above report. Staff are requesting authorization to proceed with procuring two tandem trucks before the passing of the 2017 budget because of possible delivery time constraints.
Staff addressed questions from the Committee regarding the weight of the vehicles, longevity, costs and comparisons of the different options. Committee suggested one stainless and one regular box be procured to see how much longer the stainless steel box will last. There is approximately $10,000 difference in price between the stainless steel boxl and the regular box. Staff spoke to past experiences with aluminum, and how it can be difficult to repair cracking.
57 Transportation and Public Safety Committee September 22, 2016 Doug Johnstone spoke to the status of the equipment reserve. Committee discussed merits of each option. TAPS99-16 Moved by: Councillor McKean Seconded by: Councillor Pringle
WHEREAS the 2017 budget has not yet been approved;
AND WHEREAS Section 10.1 Reporting to Council of the purchasing procedure states that items requiring pre-budget approval must be reported to Council in order to have the expenditure authorized via resolution;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT report TR-TAPS-48-16 be received;
AND THAT staff be directed to proceed with procuring two tandem trucks (with one stainless box and one aluminum box) prior to 2017 budget approval due to delivery time constraints.
Carried Correspondence Township of Carlow/Mayo and Municipality of Hastings Highlands- Support for Bill 171, Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Waste Collection Vehicles and Snow Plows)
Staff spoke to the importance of protecting staff and recommend support of the resolution. TAPS100-16 Moved by: Councillor Halliday Seconded by: Councillor Jack
THAT the County of Grey support the Township of Carlow/Mayo and the Municipality of Hastings Highlands resolution in support of Bill 171, Highway Traffic Amendment Act regarding extending restrictions on approaching stopped road service vehicle. Carried Letter from Keith Davidson – Grass Cutting on Scenic Roads
Committee considered the letter from Mr. Davidson. It was noted that if grass needs cut along the roadside during the year, staff will look at undertaking additional cuts when needed. The Committee requested staff to bring back a report at a later date which looks at the cost of cutting all county roads twice per year from a safety perspective.
58 Transportation and Public Safety Committee September 22, 2016 Staff spoke to the type of machinery used to do this work. Staff are looking to increase the grass cutting budget next year.
Further, Committee noted that there is a need to reexamine the policy with respect to the sign by-law surrounding enforcement of temporary “sandwich board” type signage for small events.
Committee requested that the sign policy come forward for review. Closed Meeting Matters
TAPS101-16 Moved by: Councillor Greenfield Seconded by: Councillor Halliday
THAT the Committee do now go into closed session to discuss: i. Personal matters about an identifiable individuals, including municipal or local board employees pursuant to Section 239 (2) of the Municipal Act, 2001 regarding a Human Resources matter AND THAT the following staff remain in attendance: Kim Wingrove, Pat Hoy, Graham Wilson, and Tara Warder. Carried The Committee proceeded into closed session at 10:58 AM. TAPS102-16 Moved by: Councillor Seconded by: Councillor THAT the Committee return to open session at 11:08 AM. Carried Other Business
Councillor McKean raised concerns around people using County roadways to train for cross country skiing. There are people putting signage in the right of way warning motorists of the activity. Skiers are using equipment that resembles a cross country ski but is used on pavement. It has been occurring along Grey Road 119, 19 and the Castle Glen area. The Committee suggested that staff patrol the area or request the police to patrol. Next Meeting Dates
October 6, 2016 and/or October 20, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building
59 Transportation and Public Safety Committee September 22, 2016 November 3, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building On motion by Councillor Pringle, the meeting adjourned at 11:13 AM. John Bell, Chair
60 Committee Minutes
Social Services Committee September 14, 2016 – 10:00 AM
The Social Services Committee met on the above date at Rockwood Terrace in Durham with the following members in attendance:
Present: Chair Dwight Burley; Councillors Gail Ardiel, John Bell, Ian Boddy, Barb Clumpus, Anna-Marie Fosbrooke, Stewart Halliday, Selwyn Hicks and Scott Mackey Regrets: Warden Alan Barfoot Staff Present: Kim Wingrove, Chief Administrative Officer; Lynne Johnson, Director of Long-Term Care; Barb Fedy, Director of Social Services; Karen Kraus, Rockwood Terrace Administrator; Rob Hatten, Communications Officer and Tara Warder, Committee Coordinator
Call to Order
Chair Burley called the meeting to order at 10:04 AM. Adoption of the Agenda
SSC66-16 Moved by: Councillor Mackey Seconded by: Councillor Bell
THAT the Social Services Committee agenda dated September 14, 2016 be adopted as presented. Carried
Declaration of Pecuniary Interest
There was none. Business Arising from the Minutes
61 Social Services Committee September 14, 2016 Social Services Committee minutes dated August 10, 2016
These minutes are for information only as they were adopted by Grey County Council on September 6, 2016 Reports – Long-Term Care Verbal Update – Current Status and Review of Rockwood Terrace
Lynne Johnson addressed those in attendance on the current status and review of Long-Term Care redevelopment in Grey County. Ms. Johnson began with an overview of the review to date, and noted that the provincial government requires that all long- term care homes be in compliance with its requirements by 2025. Rockwood Terrace has been well maintained, however standards have changed since it was constructed and so have resident needs.
Ms. Johnson then outlined the new provincial design standards, which include resident home areas and smaller dining areas adjacent to living areas. Further information on timelines was provided in order to meet the Ministry of Health’s deadline of 2025.
The difficulties in deferring projects at Rockwood Terrace was noted.
Ms. Johnson then outlined next steps, including additional research, conducting a community engagement strategy, and providing an overall presentation with recommendations.
Staff addressed questions from the Committee regarding proposed timelines and whether staff have reached out to other communities going through the same process. It was noted that staff have spoken with other organizations, as well as the Ontario Long- Term Care Association and the Local Health Integration Network as Grey County is certainly not the only organization going through this.
The Committee thanked the members of the public for attending the meeting and showing their support. Correspondence Receive for Information – 2015-2016 Communication Connection Annual Report and Paramed Rate Increase
SSC67-16 Moved by: Councillor Clumpus Seconded by: Councillor Halliday THAT the following correspondence be received for information:
2015-2016 Communication Connection Annual Report
62 Social Services Committee September 14, 2016 Paramed Rate Increase Carried Other Business
It was noted that with the most recent throne speech from the Province, there is hope that something will be done about high energy costs, specifically hydro. The Committee suggested that a resolution be considered at the next meeting to be distributed to municipalities across the Province, advocating for long term structural changes to Hydro access and delivery. An inequity exists between rural and urban Ontarians, as those in rural areas pay more for delivery because of population density. Kim Wingrove explained the forum for members of the public to submit questions regarding Long-Term Care redevelopment and noted that attendance today shows there may be support for a public meeting on long-term care redevelopment as part of the engagement strategy. Next Meeting Dates
Thursday, September 29, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building On motion by Councillor Bell, the meeting adjourned at 10:51 AM. Dwight Burley, Chair
63 Committee Minutes
Corporate Services Committee September 13, 2016 – 10:00 AM
The Corporate Services Committee met on the above date at the County Administration Building with the following members in attendance:
Present: Councillors Bob Pringle, Dwight Burley, Paul McQueen, Arlene Wright, Norm Jack; and Warden Alan Barfoot Regrets: Councillors Kevin Eccles; Selwyn Hicks, Harley Greenfield and John McKean Staff Present: Kim Wingrove, Chief Administrative Officer; Sharon Vokes, Clerk/Director of Council Services; Kevin Weppler, Director of Finance; Grant McLevy, Director of Human Resources; Geoff Hogan, Director of Information Technology; Heather Morrison, Deputy Clerk/Records Manager; Marlene McLevy, Emergency Systems Coordinator/Claims Supervisor; Rob Hatten, Communications Officer, Tim Scott, Technology and Infrastructure Manager and Tara Warder, Committee Coordinator
Call to Order
In the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair, Warden Barfoot called the meeting to order at 10:08 AM. Adoption of the Agenda
CS62-16 Moved by: Councillor Pringle Seconded by: Councillor Burley
THAT the Corporate Services Committee agenda dated September 13, 2016 be adopted as presented. Carried
Declaration of Pecuniary Interest
64 Corporate Services Committee September 13, 2016 There was none. Minutes of Meetings Building Task Force minutes dated September 6, 2016
The minutes were reviewed. CS63-16 Moved by: Councillor Burley Seconded by: Councillor Wright
THAT the minutes of the Building Task Force dated September 6, 2016 be adopted as presented. Carried Business Arising from the Minutes Corporate Services Committee minutes dated July 26, 2016
These minutes are for information only as they were adopted by Grey County Council on August 2, 2016. Deputations
Anthony Fleming, Account Manager, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation Anthony Fleming attended the meeting to give a 2016 Assessment Update. Mr. Fleming began by providing an overview of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, the role of the Provincial Government in property assessment, as well as the municipality’s role in determining revenue requirements, setting rates and collecting taxes.
The assessment cycle was then highlighted. It was noted that the valuation date of January 1, 2016 and phasing in of values will be used to determine property assessment and taxes from 2017-2020.
Mr. Fleming also provided the timelines for which property assessment notices will be mailed to residents.
An overview of the products MPAC offers was also highlighted, including aboutmyproperty.ca, market trend information and Municipal Connect. Further discussion on the importance of municipal engagement ensued.
Mr. Fleming then highlighted the median changes in assessed values across each lower tier municipality.
65 Corporate Services Committee September 13, 2016 Questions from Committee were addressed surrounding farmland values, golf course and aggregate valuation, and methods of valuating properties. Inquiry was made as to how staff predict changes to assessments and taxes based on Requests for Reconsideration (RfRs) that are pending after budget passes. Kevin Weppler noted that the County has a tax reserve to balance such changes, because RfRs and supplementary assessments do have an impact. Reports – Clerk’s CCR-CS-24-16 Accessibility Advisory Committee Membership Recommendation
Rob Hatten presented the above noted report, recommending two additional members be appointed to the Grey County Accessibility Advisory Committee. CS64-16 Moved by: Councillor Burley Seconded by: Councillor McQueen
WHEREAS Grey County is required to have an Accessibility Advisory Committee;
AND WHEREAS Grey County Council recently endorsed updating the Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference to include up to seven public members;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Report CCR-CS-24-16 be received;
AND THAT Catherine Sholtz and Tara Turnbull be accepted as voting members of the Grey County Accessibility Advisory Committee for the remainder of the 2015-2018 term.
Carried CCR-CS-25-16 Emergency Management Mutual Assistance
Marlene McLevy addressed the Committee on the above report. Staff are recommending that the proposed mutual assistance agreement be executed with all willing member municipalities. CS65-16 Moved by: Councillor Pringle Seconded by: Councillor Jack
WHEREAS the Emergency Management Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E. 9 provides that the Council of a municipality may make an agreement with another municipality for the provision of any personnel, service, equipment or material during a declared emergency;
66 Corporate Services Committee September 13, 2016 AND WHEREAS it is desirable to have such an agreement in place to provide a clear framework within which municipalities may make and respond to requests for assistance during a declared emergency and to provide clarity around common questions arising from such giving and receiving of assistance;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Report CCR-CS-25-16 be received;
AND THAT Grey County Council supports the proposed Mutual Assistance arrangement as set out in Report CCR-CS-25-16;
AND FURTHER THAT the County of Grey enter into such an agreement with all of its willing member municipalities.
Carried Reports – Information Technology ITR-CS-06-16 Security Software Renewal
Tim Scott presented the above report. Mr. Scott noted that the security software renewal is expiring and savings can be achieved if payment is made in advance. It was noted that a vendor has not yet been selected. CS66-16 Moved by: Councillor Wright Seconded by: Councillor Burley
WHEREAS the current four year pre-paid security software subscription (anti-virus, anti-malware, data protection) is expiring in October 2016;
AND WHEREAS there are savings in procuring an all in one software security solution and prepaying for three years in advance;
AND WHEREAS the IT-General reserve has been funded over time for the renewal of our anti-virus and web filtering software.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Report ITR-CS-06-16 regarding the procurement of Security software be received;
AND THAT Security Software be procured for a three year pre-paid term;
AND FURTHER THAT the purchase of the software be funded $25,000 from the IT General Reserve and any shortfall from the approved 2016 Information Services budget.
67 Corporate Services Committee September 13, 2016 Carried Correspondence Town of Parry Sound – Collection of Outstanding Fines
CS67-16 Moved by: Councillor Wright Seconded by: Councillor Pringle
THAT the County of Grey support the resolution from the Town of Parry Sound regarding the collection of outstanding fines; AND THAT this resolution be sent to the Member of Provincial Parliament for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound and Simcoe-Grey. Carried Receive for Information – Ontario Municipal Insurance Exchange (OMEX) – OMEX Suspends Underwriting Operations
CS68-16 Moved by: Councillor Pringle Seconded by: Councillor Jack
THAT the correspondence from the Ontario Municipal Insurance Exchange (OMEX) regarding undertaking new subscribers, be received for information. Carried Other Business
Sharon Vokes updated the Committee on the process for distributing closed meeting minutes. Councillor Wright requested a report on the status of union negotiations and what groups are coming up for renewal. Councillor McQueen spoke to the number of resolutions from municipalities that were sent to Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO),ranging from concerns about the sale of Hydro One, to the high costs of energy. Next Meeting Dates
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building Tuesday, October 25, 2016 (if required) at the Grey County Administration Building Tuesday, November 8, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building
68 Corporate Services Committee September 13, 2016 On motion by Councillor Pringle, the meeting adjourned at 11:35 AM. Alan Barfoot, Acting Chair
69 Task Force Minutes
Grey County Building Task Force – Administration Building September 6, 2016 – 9:30 AM
The Grey County Administration Building Task Force met on the above date at the County Administration Building with the following members in attendance: Present: Chair Dwight Burley; Councillors Pringle, Hicks, Greenfield; and Warden Barfoot Staff Present: CAO Kim Wingrove; Directors Anne Marie Shaw, Kevin Weppler, Sharon Vokes; staff members Rob Hatten, Aaron Whitney and Penny Colton – Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Chair Burley called the meeting to order at 9:31a.m. Adoption of the Agenda
BTF-07-16 Moved by: Warden Barfoot Seconded by: Councillor Greenfield
THAT the Grey County Building Task Force – Administration Building agenda dated September 6, 2016 be adopted as presented. Carried.
Declaration of Pecuniary Interest
There was none. Minutes of Meetings
70 Building Task Force September 6, 2016 Grey County Building Task Force dated July 5, 2016 These minutes are for information only as they were adopted by Grey County Council on August 2, 2016.
Status of Roof Mrs. Shaw provided an overview of the issues with the roof at the Administration Building. A thermal projection was provided which indicated that the entire roof is wet. The warranty for the previous work has expired and replacement is required. Various estimates were provided, and direction was given to delay the work until 2018 as redesign of the roof will alleviate roof issues. Patch work on the barrel roof will be done this year to alleviate some of the issues. Ms. Wingrove reviewed the budget. There currently no plans to touch the contingency; the roof issues reinforces the need to be cautious and diligent with the budget. DJ Peat will provide an estimate for patching to carry the roof through the winter. Funds had been put aside for roof work in 2020. The life expectancy of the work completed did not match the estimated time frame.
Rear Parking Lot Mrs. Wingrove reviewed the additional item pricing including resurfacing of the back parking lot, painting, and carpet. The parking lot piece does need to move forward and the proposed amount is appropriate. Mr. Weppler reviewed the spreadsheet of costs and the funding resources. The costs do not include architect fees as staff will be working directly with Devlan Construction.
Chair Burley questioned the grade and catch basin designs. Mrs. Shaw and Ms. Wingrove confirmed that the designs are appropriate, and include parking lines. The addition of the back parking lot will alleviate some of the current parking restrictions.
Resolution BTF-08-16 regarding RFT-FIN-01-16 was endorsed by County Council on September 6, 2016. BTF-08-16 Moved by: Councillor Hicks Seconded by: Councillor Pringle THAT the following separately priced expenditures included in RFT-FIN- 01-16 be approved:
71 Building Task Force September 6, 2016 1. Provide new asphalt surfacing at existing parking lot - $100,000, plus HST 2. Provide new granular base at the new asphalt resurfacing at existing parking lot - $80,000, plus HST 3. Provide new carpeting throughout the existing building to replace the existing carpet - $110,000, plus HST
AND THAT these expenditures be funded $188,000 from the Administration Property reserve and the balance from the One Time Funding reserve. Carried. Other Business
Updates were provided on the recent construction; foundation work has begun, steel is expected to begin in October - November. The building will be enclosed in December in order for work to continue throughout the winter months. Installation of the sprinkler system work has been completed and outside work continues. Staff meetings are occurring today and next week to update staff and a link on the County website is also now available for staff and public. The OPP have been approached to provide a threat risk assessment for the courts. Next Meeting Dates
At the call of the Chair. On motion by Councillor Pringle, the meeting adjourned at 9:58 a.m. Dwight Burley, Chair
72 Committee Minutes
Planning and Community Development Committee September 15, 2016 – 10:00 AM
The Planning and Community Development Committee met on the above date at the County Administration Building with the following members in attendance:
Present: Chair Paul McQueen; Councillors Scott Mackey, Sue Paterson, Barb Clumpus, Arlene Wright, Anna-Marie Fosbrooke, Gail Ardiel and Kevin Eccles; and Warden Alan Barfoot Staff Present: Kim Wingrove, Chief Administrative Officer; Sharon Vokes, County Clerk/Director of Council Services; Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning; Chris Hachey, Grey County Trails Manager; Sarah Morrison, Intermediate Planner and Tara Warder, Committee Coordinator
Call to Order
Chair McQueen called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. Adoption of the Agenda
PCD106-16 Moved by: Councillor Fosbrooke Seconded by: Councillor Eccles
THAT the Planning and Community Development Committee agenda dated September 15, 2016 be adopted as presented. Carried
Declaration of Pecuniary Interest
There was none. Minutes of Meetings Tourism Advisory Committee minutes dated August 9, 2016
73 Planning and Community Development Committee September 15, 2016 The minutes were reviewed. PCD107-16 Moved by: Councillor Ardiel Seconded by: Councillor Clumpus
THAT the minutes of the Tourism Advisory Committee meeting dated August 9, 2016 be adopted as presented. Carried Business Arising from the Minutes Planning and Community Development Committee minutes dated September 15, 2016
These minutes are for information only as they were adopted by Grey County Council on September 6, 2016. Deputations
Jerry Grant – Friends of the Camp Oliver Forest Mr. Jerry Grant attended the Committee meeting on behalf of the Friends of the Camp Oliver Forest.
Mr. Grant provided an overview of the Friends of the Camp Oliver Forest and proceeded to speak about the issues with noise and ruts that ATVs can produce. Mr. Grant spoke out against ATVs being permitted in the Camp Oliver Forest. He then outlined comments from the club expressing opposition to ATVs in that tract. Further discussion occurred on issues with the ATV Warden system.
Andy Nixon – West Grey ATV Club Andy Nixon addressed the Committee. He began by thanking Grey County for installing gates, as issues with 4x4 trucks have been dramatically reduced.
Mr. Nixon then spoke to the concerns that were raised by the public and from the staff report, noting that gate damage was likely caused by trucks rather than ATVs and that the surface damage and rutting is likely not to have been caused by ATVs.
Mr. Nixon noted that ATVs have improved emissions, and if drivers drive the speed limit, you cannot hear them in the forest. With regard to concerns about scaring animals, many hunters use ATVs and they likely wouldn’t if the machines scared wildlife.
It was further noted that logging will do more damage than ATVs on the trail system and that if ATVs were permitted in the tract, issues could be policed by the Wardens.
74 Planning and Community Development Committee September 15, 2016 Committee inquired as to whether snowmobiles are permitted in all the tracts. Ms. Morrison noted that they are not permitted in all areas. Further inquiry was made as to whether club policies exist on what riders should do if a rider meets a horse. Mr. Nixon noted that policies do exist. Riders are to stop and let horses pass.
It was noted that there are no rules restricting modifications to exhaust.
The remaining deputation was scheduled for later in the meeting. Reports – Planning PDR-PCD-31-16 Camp Oliver and Glenelg Klondyke ATV Request
Sarah Morrison presented the above noted report to the Committee, noting that a request has been received from the West Grey ATV Club to use the Camp Oliver and Glenelg Klondyke Forest Tract for ATV use. Ms. Morrison noted that the Glenelg Klondyke request was not considered, as the trails are not suitable for such a use, and the tract contains areas of natural and scientific interest (ANSI). Ms. Morrison then outlined the location of the Camp Oliver lands. It was noted that there was significant opposition to the request and the comments received were outlined. The agreement with the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority is at capacity and this proposal would trigger a re-negotiation of the contract. Staff indicated that all the County Forest tracts prohibit use of ATVs, except for the Harkaway Tract. ATVs were permitted in this tract because there had been minimal improvements to the tract and it was used historically for vehicular traffic and could accommodate ATVs. Ms. Morrison spoke to the use of side-by-sides and that permitting them would negate the use of gates which opens the possibility of trucks trespassing on the trails. Staff are recommending that the request for use of the Camp Oliver tract be denied. The trail base cannot accommodate wider vehicles. If the request is accepted however, staff recommend that the cost of the upgrades be borne by the West Grey ATV Club. Committee inquired as to the state of the trails. It was noted that they have been improved on the west side. The east side is more natural. Suggestions were made as to how to address the request. Suggestions such as conducting a trial period using the easterly trail only, as well as having staff bring back a report with further information, were given. It was also noted that ATVs are now able to
75 Planning and Community Development Committee September 15, 2016 access more areas to ride, and that there should be some places people can go that ATVs cannot. PCD108-16 Moved by: Councillor Eccles Seconded by: Warden Barfoot
THAT Report PDR-PCD-31-16 be referred back to staff for further review and investigation regarding access being granted on a trial basis from June 1, 2017 – October 15, 2017 on the east side only of the Camp Oliver Tract. Lost PCD109-16 Moved by: Councillor Wright Seconded by: Councillor Paterson
THAT staff be directed to work on a comprehensive Recreational Trails Strategy for the County Forests; AND THAT the request from the West Grey ATV Club be deferred until the completion of the Recreational Trails Strategy. Carried Warden Barfoot then left the meeting. Deputations (continued)
Saugeen Valley Children’s Safety Village Marilyn Rosner attended the Committee meeting to provide information on the Saugeen Valley Children’s Safety Village and request funding from the County. Ms. Rosner outlined the Safety Village’s mission and vision, and the main components of the village. The village provides a safe environment for children to learn safety. There is opportunity to learn the rules of the road, as well as fire drills, escape plans, and farm safety, among others.
The focus will be on children from kindergarten to grade six, however it is available to other groups as well.
There is no charge to attend.
The funding request to the County is $30,000 to be put towards the salary and expenses of a dedicated safety instructor.
Ms. Rosner addressed questions from the Committee. Inquiry was made as to whether there is opportunity to use this as a revenue generating stream when it is not in use. Ms. Rosner noted that it is hoped this can be done.
76 Planning and Community Development Committee September 15, 2016 The Committee expressed concern with providing half the salary on an annual basis and hoped that opportunities to use it as a revenue generator have been explored.
Kim Wingrove noted that she will speak with Bruce County to see what approach it has taken on this.
PCD110-16 Moved by: Councillor Clumpus Seconded by: Councillor Wright
THAT the presentation from the Children’s Safety Village be received for information. Carried By-law Enforcement Officer Report – August 2016
PCD111-16 Moved by: Councillor Clumpus Seconded by: Councillor Mackey
THAT the By-law Enforcement Officer report dated August 2016 be received for information. Carried. Committee Review of Land Use Planning Appeals/Potential Appeals
Grey County Active Ontario Municipal Board Appeals File List The Committee reviewed the list. Correspondence Bruce Power – Establishment of an Advisory Committee to Support the County of Bruce and Bruce Power’s Economic Development and Innovation Initiative
PCD112-16 Moved by: Councillor Eccles Seconded by: Councillor Mackey
THAT the Warden and CAO be put forward as the two representatives of the Advisory Committee to support the County of Bruce and Bruce Power’s Economic Development and Innovation Initiative. Carried Receive for Information – Intercommunity Bussing – Comments from Grey County
77 Planning and Community Development Committee September 15, 2016 The Committee requested the information be provided to the Corporate Services Committee as well.
PCD113-16 Moved by: Councillor Eccles Seconded by: Councillor Ardiel
THAT the correspondence regarding comments from Grey County on Intercommunity Bussing be received for information. Carried Other Business
The dates for upcoming meetings regarding the Niagara Escarpment Commission’s proposed expansion were noted: September 26th at the Mulmur Township Office and September 28th at the Royal Canadian Legion in Owen Sound from 5-8 PM. Next Meeting Dates
Thursday, October 13, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building Thursday, November 10, 2016 at the Grey County Administration Building On motion by Councillor Clumpus, the meeting adjourned at 12:52 PM. Paul McQueen, Chair
78 Committee Minutes
Development Charges Steering Committee September 20, 2016 – 10:00 AM The Committee met on the above date at the County Administration Building with the following members in attendance: Present: Chair Kevin Eccles; Councillors Paul McQueen, Dwight Burley and John Bell and Warden Alan Barfoot Staff Present: Kim Wingrove, Chief Administrative Officer; Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning; Kevin Weppler, Director of Finance; Matt Marck, Engineering Manager and Tara Warder, Committee Coordinator. Carolyn Brown of Hemson Consulting was also in attendance.
Call to Order
Chair Eccles called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. Adoption of the Agenda
DCS06-16 Moved by: Councillor Burley Seconded by: Councillor McQueen
THAT the Development Charges Steering Committee agenda dated September 20, 2016 be adopted as amended, by adding discussion regarding a resolution from the Municipality of Grey Highlands. Carried
Declaration of Pecuniary Interest
There was none. Business Arising from the Minutes Development Charges Steering Committee minutes dated July 26, 2016
79 Development Charges Steering Committee September 20, 2016 These minutes are for information only as they were adopted by Grey County Council on September 6, 2016. Introductions
Brief introductions were given. Carolyn Brown of Hemson Consulting noted that the purpose of the meeting is to finalize terms in the draft by-law, as well as decide how to respond to outstanding submissions. Development Forecast Compare County with the Blue Mountains – Seasonal Unit Forecast
Ms. Brown suggested that the County stay with the Growth Management Study forecasts.
She outlined the Seasonal Unit Forecast comparison between Grey County and the Blue Mountains, noting that the Blue Mountains do not account for all recreational development in the County. Though it is a significant level, it totals approximately 47%.
Discussion occurred on the implications of underestimating growth and the difficulties in predicting growth. It was noted that a small amount of employment growth in Grey County is expected over the next ten years. The rate is connected to population growth, however the rate is dependent on the nature of the population growth. An aging population and decrease in the number of working age people will result in smaller increases in employment growth.
Discussion occurred on the extent of involvement with the real estate industry in terms of data collection and land and housing stock.
Inquiry was made as to whether there was any movement on applying Development Charges to commercial/industrial properties. Staff noted that at the last Council meeting there appeared to be no appetite for applying charges to these property types. Revised Development Charges Rates The Committee reviewed the updated rates. By-law Policy
The Committee then reviewed the draft by-law to finalize outstanding issues.
80 Development Charges Steering Committee September 20, 2016 Apartment Definition It was noted that the definition included in the draft by-law is consistent with the definitions in the Municipality of Meaford, West Grey and the City of Owen Sound with respect to the minimum number of units within an apartment. Staff recommend keeping it at three units if Council would like to encourage more affordable housing.
Farm Building Definition Discussion occurred on whether on farm diversified uses should be included in the farm building definition.
The impact on the roads from increased truck traffic was noted, as well as impacts during half load seasons. Randy Scherzer noted that on-farm diversified use policies will be discussed as part of the Official Plan update. There is also the option to address some of the impacts from these uses through the site plan process. Local municipalities also have the option of applying development charges to these types of uses.
Staff recommend taking on-farm diversified use out of the definition. Further discussion occurred on the implications for non-residential uses if it is taken out.
The Committee agreed to remove it from the definition.
Treatment of Non-Residential Development The Committee agreed to keep “non-residential uses” in Section 18 – Categories of Exempt Uses.
Re-Development provision The Committee agreed on the revised provisions listed in the draft by-law under Section 20.
Treatment of Additional Dwelling Units The Committee concurred with having development charges for detached additional dwelling units but to not apply a development charge if the additional dwelling units are located within or attached to existing dwellings
S.3 of Assessment Act – Does not Include Affordable Housing Ms. Brown noted that Section 3 of the Assessment Act does not include affordable housing.
81 Development Charges Steering Committee September 20, 2016 Commercial Resort Unit Definition Staff will find out the purpose of the square footage mentioned in the definition of “commercial resort unit with separate designated lock off unit” Responding to Submissions
Ms. Brown noted that there is one submission that needs to be followed up on. Staff will draft a letter to follow up. Next Steps
It is anticipated that Council will consider the By-law on October 4, 2016. Questions and Discussions
There were no further questions. Other Business
The resolution from the Municipality of Grey Highlands was reviewed by the Committee. Discussion occurred on the implications of changing multi-residential, row house and semi detached home rates, as noted in the correspondence. Committee recommended that the current dwelling type categories remain as currently drafted because by adding semi detached to the row housing and other multiple category causes the development charges to increase for this category. Committee noted that development charges in Grey County are not a deterrent to growth. Staff will follow up with the Municipality of Grey Highlands regarding the resolution it submitted.
The merits of having two by-laws were discussed and the Committee recommended that it be kept as two by-laws.
Further discussion occurred on options for phasing in development charges, and what has been done in the past. It was recommended by the Committee that the development charge increases be phased in over two years. Staff and the consultant will determine how to phase in the increase given that the current charges are based on unit size versus unit type. Discussion occurred on development charges for wind turbines and other options for recovering financial impacts from wind turbines on municipal and County roads, including road use agreements.
82 Development Charges Steering Committee September 20, 2016 Next Meeting Dates
At the call of the Chair. On motion by Councillor Burley, the meeting adjourned at 12:10 PM. Kevin Eccles, Chair
83 Council Report
Report PDR-CC-34-16
To: Warden Barfoot and County Councillors From: Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning Kevin Weppler, Director of Finance Meeting Date: October 4, 2016 Subject: Development Charges Background Study and By-laws Status:
Recommendation(s)
WHEREAS Council instructed Hemson Consulting Ltd. to prepare a draft Development Charges Background Study and draft Development Charges By- laws on the basis of the growth forecasts and growth related capital program presented to Council on June 23, 2016;
AND WHEREAS a Development Charges Background Study and Development Charges By-laws were prepared and made available on the County website and at the County Administration Building on August 3, 2016 in accordance with the Development Charges Act;
AND WHEREAS a Stakeholder Information Session and a Public Meeting were held on August 25 and September 6, 2016, respectively to receive comments on the Development Charges Background Study and Draft Development Charges By- law with notice being given in accordance with the Development Charges Act;
AND WHEREAS based on the comments received revisions to the capital program and the development charges by-laws have been recommended by the Development Charges Steering Committee;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council receive Report PDR-CC-34-16 regarding the Development Charges Background Study and By-laws;
AND THAT Council endorse the growth-related capital program as set out in the Development Charges Background Study dated August 3, 2016 and as amended
PDR-CC-34-16 841 October 4, 2016 to reflect the changes to the capital program as supported by the Development Charges Steering Committee;
AND THAT Council express its intent that growth-related costs identified in the Development Charges Background Study as post-period benefit shall be paid for subsequently by development charges or other similar charges;
AND THAT Council state that it has given notice in accordance with Section 12 of the Development Charges Act, 1997, of its intention to pass a by-law under Section 2 of the Act;
AND THAT Council has determined that no further publics meetings are required under Section 12(3) of the Development Charges Act, 1997;
AND THAT Council hereby adopts the Development Charges By-laws 4949-16 and 4950-16 as presented.
Background
The purpose of this report is to propose Council’s adoption of the Development Charges By-laws as included in the agenda package.
Development charges are fees collected from developers to help pay for the cost of capital infrastructure required to provide services to new development. The principle of development charges is that ‘growth pays for growth’ so that existing residents do not have to absorb the costs of growth through property taxes. Development charges are generally collected upon building permit issuance and therefore County development charges are collected by local municipalities and forwarded to the County. The Development Charges Act allows municipalities to levy development charges. Development in Grey County is subject to development charges imposed by the County of Grey as well as some local municipalities who collect development charges, including Owen Sound, Meaford, The Blue Mountains, Grey Highlands, West Grey and Southgate.
The current development charge rates collected by the County are shown in Table 1 below. Development charges are currently only collected for residential development as well as wind turbines. Non-residential development charges (e.g. commercial and industrial development) are currently not collected by the County. Development charges are levied through a single County-wide development charge. Residential development charges are presently collected based on the size (gross floor area) of the residential unit.
PDR-CC-34-16 852 October 4, 2016 Table 1: Current Development Charge Rates
Residential B (≤225 sq. Residential Residential Wind m. (2422 Non- Type of A (>225 sq. C (≤110 sq. Turbines sq. ft.) and Residential Development m.) (2422 m. (1184 (per >110 sq. m. Development sq. ft.) sq. ft.) turbine) (1184 sq. ft.) Current Development Charge Rates $5,296.24 $4,413.54 $3,530.84 $5,275.14 No Charge Effective January 1, 2016
Municipalities are required to review the Development Charges Background Study every 5 years. The current Development Charges By-laws were adopted by Council on January 3rd, 2012 and therefore expires on January 3rd, 2017.
Grey County has retained Hemson Consulting Ltd. to prepare a development charges background study and by-laws in accordance with the Development Charges Act. The Development Charges Steering Committee and Staff worked with Hemson to prepare background information and conduct analysis in order to prepare growth forecasts and a growth related capital program. The growth forecasts were based on the Growth Management Study received by Council in December 2015. On June 23, 2016, Council instructed Hemson to prepare a Development Charges Background Study and draft Development Charges By-laws on the basis of the growth forecasts and growth-related capital program that was presented to Council.
On August 3, 2016 the Development Charges Background Study and draft by-laws were posted on the County website and were available for viewing at the County Administration Building. A Stakeholder Information Session was held on August 25, 2016 to obtain feedback from stakeholders. A Public Meeting was held on September 6, 2016 in order to obtain feedback from the public and was appropriately advertised on the County’s website on August 3, 2016 and the Owen Sound Sun Times, the Hanover Post and Grey Bruce This Week on August 11, 2016. Several comments were received which have been attached to this Report. The comments received were discussed with the Development Charges Steering Committee on September 20th, 2016 which resulted in recommended changes to the Development Charges Background Study and the draft Development Charges By-laws. A consolidated report will be released following by-law
PDR-CC-34-16 863 October 4, 2016 passage that reflects the final capital programs, revised maximum calculated DC rates and approved by-laws.
The following are highlights of changes to the development charges background study and the by-laws based on either comments received, recommendations from the Steering Committee or based on further review from Hemson and Staff:
Formula correction – non-residential calculated charge o Hemson reviewed the non-residential calculated charge and identified a correction required to the formula. This has resulted in a decrease to the non-residential calculated rate from $83.49 per square metre to $34.87 which was discussed at the Public Meeting. The non-residential calculated rate has been further reduced based on changes to the capital program as outlined below. Adjustment to the roads capital program o Based on comments received and based on a further review by Staff, some adjustments have been made to the roads and related capital program. One adjustment was made to account for the existing condition of one of the sections of Grey Road 1 (Section 1-1). Another adjustment was to change the Category 1 and 2 maps to reflect the proposed upgrades to sections of Grey Road 17B. The other change was to remove the intersection upgrades for the Alvanley intersection (Category 4 project) as this project is now being completed by MTO. Staff and Hemson reviewed the benefit-to-existing costs attributed to the various projects with the Steering Committee and the recommendation was to keep the same benefit-to-existing costs. o The changes to the roads capital program has resulted in a decrease of 3 per cent to the residential and non-residential rates. The revised development charge rates are shown in Table 2 of this report. By-law policy changes o The current development charges by-law applies a charge to residential development based on the size (gross floor area) of the residential unit. Hemson is recommending that the County apply a residential charge based on unit type given that this is the industry standard and based on recent Board and Court decisions that would support this approach. The residential type categories recommended are identified in Table 3 of this report and are also reflected in Schedule B of the Development Charges By-laws. Comments were received recommending that the semi- detached unit type be combined with the row housing and other multiple residential type category. Hemson explored this option with the Development Charges Steering Committee and by moving semi-detached
PDR-CC-34-16 874 October 4, 2016 to a different category it results in a slightly higher charge for single detached unit types, a higher charge for the suggested semi-detached, row housing and other multiples category, and only a slight decrease for the apartment category. As a result, the Development Charges Steering Committee suggested that the residential type categories remain the same which may help to encourage higher density housing and more affordable housing types. o Based on preliminary comments received from Council as well as other comments received, the Development Charges Steering Committee is recommending that non-residential development be exempted from the payment of development charges save and except for wind turbines. As such, the proposed by-laws add non-residential development within the exemption section of the by-law and the non-residential charges schedule has been removed from the proposed by-laws. The definition for non- residential development has also been revised to add in a statement that non-residential does not include wind turbines. o Redevelopment Clauses (Section 20) – comments were received from the Blue Mountains Resorts recommending that the County consider using the wording that was developed in the Town of The Blue Mountains Development Charges by-law with respect to the redevelopment clauses. This was reviewed with the Development Charges Steering Committee and the Committee recommended that the redevelopment clauses be revised using the wording from the Town’s by-laws. The new wording has been added to the proposed by-laws. o Additional Dwelling Clauses (Section 17) – Staff recommended that the Additional Dwelling clauses in the by-laws be revised to clarify that additional units can be added either within or attached to an existing dwelling without a development charge. For single detached, up to 2 additional dwelling units can be added within or attached to an existing single detached unit without a development charge. For semi-detached, row housing, other multiples or apartments, one additional dwelling unit can be added within or attached to an existing unit without a development charge. This should help to encourage the creation of secondary dwelling units which will ultimately assist with providing more affordable housing in Grey County. o Definition changes – several definitions were changed or added to clarify some of the terms in the by-laws including commercial resort units, apartments, other residential uses, dwelling units, farm building, and non- residential use. The following are some of the definitions that have been added/revised:
PDR-CC-34-16 885 October 4, 2016 . “apartment” means any dwelling unit within a building containing more than three dwelling units where the units are connected by an interior corridor . “farm building” means a building or structure actually used as part of or in connection with a bona fide farming operation and includes barns, silos, and other buildings or structures ancillary to a bona fide farming operation, but excluding a residential use
Financial / Staffing / Legal / Information Technology Considerations
The proposed development charge rates have been calculated based on a County-wide rate. The majority of the capital costs relate to roads. The County road system acts as a network on which cars and trucks travel to access various destinations throughout the County and therefore area-rate specific charges were not recommended. The calculated development charges are shown in Table 2. As mentioned, the Development Charges Steering Committee recommended that non-residential development be exempted from paying development charges (save and except for wind turbines) and therefore the proposed by-laws do not include a non-residential rate schedule.
A schedule has been included for wind turbines. Although the calculated maximum eligible wind turbine charge is less than the current wind turbine charge, the methodology used to calculate the wind turbine charge can be defended and is based on recent Board/Court decisions regarding this matter. The wind turbine charge was discussed with the Steering Committee and it was noted that there are other ways to recover road-related costs associated with specific wind turbine projects including through road use agreements. The County has utilized road use agreements in the past to recover road-related costs that are directly attributable to specific wind turbine projects.
The post-benefit period has been extended for a number of road projects identified in the Development Charges Background Study as it is expected that some projects will continue to provide benefits to future growth beyond 2041. By extending the post- benefit period it reduces the proposed development charge rates, however these post- benefit costs will need to be paid for subsequently by future development charges or other similar charges.
The Steering Committee also recommended that the rate increases for the residential development charges be phased in over a two year period. The rate schedules in the by-laws have been updated to show the rate increases being phased in over a two year
PDR-CC-34-16 896 October 4, 2016 period. Given that the rate structures in the current by-law are based on unit size versus unit type, the phased-in rate increases have been calculated using the Residential B category (average residential unit size) as a base and calculating the equivalent rate increases on a proportional basis. Table 3 shows the proposed development charge rates phased in over a two year period.
Table 2 - Calculated Development Charges
Row Single and Housing Wind Non- Semi- Type of and Other Apartment Turbines Residential Detached Development Multiple (per unit) (per Development Residential Residential turbine) (per sq.m.) (per unit) (per unit) Calculated Development Charge Rates $6,571 $4,575 $3,884 $2,345.72 $33.93 (Maximum Eligible Charge)
Table 3 – Proposed Rate Structure (Two Year Phase-in)
Row Single and Housing Wind Semi- Non- Type of and Other Apartment Turbines Detached Residential Development Multiple (per unit) (per Residential Development Residential turbine) (per unit) (per unit) Proposed Development Charge No Charge Rates $5,425 $3,778 $3,207 $2,345.72 (Exempted) (Jan. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2017) Proposed Development Charge Rates No Charge $6,571 $4,575 $3,884 $2,345.72 (Jan. 1, 2018 (Exempted) to By-laws Expiration Date) *subject
PDR-CC-34-16 907 October 4, 2016 to indexing
The adoption of the proposed Development Charges By-laws will enable the County to continue to collect development charges for residential development and wind turbines to help pay for the costs of growth and to mitigate against further increases to property taxes. By exempting non-residential development from the payment of development charges, other sources of revenue will be required to cover these costs, including property taxes.
Link to Strategic Goals / Priorities
Action 6.5 of the County’s Strategic Plan indicates that new or enhanced sources of revenue should be explored to help offset service and program costs. Development Charges help to offset growth related capital costs.
Supporting Documentation
1. Development Charges Background Study (to be amended) 2. Updated Maps for Roads Capital Program - Category 1 to 5 3. Comments Received - Development Charges 4. Grey County Growth Management Study
Attachments
By-law 4949-16 Establish Development Charges County-Wide Roads and Related Charges
By-law 4950-16 Establish Development Charges General Services
Respectfully submitted by,
Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning
Kevin Weppler, Director of Finance
PDR-CC-34-16 918 October 4, 2016 By-law 4949-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY BY- LAW NO. 4949-16
A BY-LAW TO ESTABLISH DEVELOPMENT CHARGES FOR THE COUNTY OF GREY (COUNTY-WIDE ROADS AND RELATED CHARGES)
WHEREAS Subsection 2(1) of the Development Charges Act, 1997 provides that the council of a municipality may by by-law impose development charges against land to pay for increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from the development of the area to which the by-law applies;
AND WHEREAS Council has received a report entitled “Development Charges Background Study, County of Grey”, dated August 3, 2016, prepared by Hemson Consulting Ltd. (the “Study”);
AND WHEREAS Council gave notice to the public and held a public meeting pursuant to Section 12 of the Act on September 6, 2016, prior to which the Study and the proposed County-wide development charges by-law were made available to the public and Council heard comments and representations from all persons who applied to be heard (the “Public Meeting”);
AND WHEREAS following the Public Meeting, Council afforded the public an additional period of time for the submission of further written representations;
AND WHEREAS Council has further considered the Study and the By-law in light of the further written representations received;
AND WHEREAS Council has provided notice of intent to enact the proposed County-wide development charges by-law;
AND WHEREAS Council has indicated that it intends to ensure that the increase in the need for services attributable to the anticipated development will be met as set out in the Capital Programs contained in Appendices B and C of the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has expressed its intention that excess capacity identified in the Study shall be paid for by development charges or other similar charges;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the County of Grey has given consideration of the use of more than one development charge by-law to reflect different needs for services in different areas, also known as area rating or area specific DCs, and has determined that for the services, and associated infrastructure proposed to be funded by DCs under this by-law, that it is fair and reasonable that the charges be calculated on a municipal-wide uniform basis;
92
By-law 4949-16
AND WHEREAS the Development Charges Background Study dated August 3, 2016 includes an Asset Management Plan that deals with all assets whose capital costs are intended to be funded under the development charge by-law and that such assets are considered to be financially sustainable over their full life-cycle.
AND WHEREAS Council will give consideration to incorporate the asset management plan outlined in the Development Charges Background Study within the County’s ongoing practices and corporate asset management strategy.
AND WHEREAS Council hereby adopts the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has determined that no further public meetings are required under Section 12 of the Act;
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
Definitions
1. In this By-law,
“Act” and “Development Charges Act, 1997” means the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c.27;
“agricultural use” means lands, buildings, or structures, excluding any portion thereof used as a dwelling unit, used, designed or intended to be used for the purpose of a bona fide farming operation including, but not limited to, animal husbandry, bee keeping, dairying, fallow, field crops, fish farming, forestry, fruit farming, horticulture, livestock, market gardening, pasturage, poultry keeping, the growing, raising, packing, treating, storing, and sale of produce produced on the premises, and other activities customarily carried on in the field of agriculture;
“air-supported structure” means an air supported structure as defined in the Building Code Act;
“apartment” means any dwelling unit within a building containing more than three dwelling units where the units are connected by an interior corridor;
“board” means a board of education, public school board, secondary school board, Catholic school board, Protestant school board, or a board as defined in Subsection 1(1) of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.2, as amended;
93
By-law 4949-16
“building or structure” means a structure occupying an area greater than ten square metres consisting of a wall, roof, and floor or any of them or a structural system serving the function thereof including an air- supported structure, or a wind turbine, excluding a farm building;
“Building Code Act” means the Building Code Act, S.O. 1992, c.23, as amended, and all Regulations thereto including the Ontario Building Code, 1997, as amended;
“Capital cost” means costs incurred or proposed to be incurred by the municipality or a local board thereof directly or by others on behalf of, and as authorized by, the municipality or local board,
(a) to acquire land or an interest in land, including a leasehold interest;
(b) to improve land;
(c) to acquire, lease, construct or improve buildings and structures;
(d) to acquire, lease, construct or improve facilities including,
(i) rolling stock with an estimated useful life of seven years or more,
(ii) furniture and equipment, other than computer equipment, and
(iii) materials acquired for circulation, reference or information purposes by a library board as defined in the Public Libraries Act, 1984, R.S.O. 1990, P.44, and
(e) to undertake studies in connection with any of the matters referred to in clauses (a) to (d);
(f) to complete the development charge background study under Section 10 of the Act;
(g) as interest on money borrowed to pay for costs in (a) to (d);
required for provision of services designated in this by-law within or outside the municipality.
“commercial building” means any building that is used for a purpose of non- residential use and that is not an industrial building or an institutional building;
94
By-law 4949-16
“commercial resort unit” means one room or a group of rooms in a building used or designed or intended to be used by one or more persons, as a single commercial accommodation unit within a commercial resort unit complex (i) in which food preparation and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons; (ii) which has a private entrance from a common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building; (iii) which is part of a rental or lease management program which consists of a minimum of ten such units in one building or group of buildings; (iv) which is not used or designated as a principal residence; and (v) which has been established to provide accommodation for gain or profit; but does not mean or include a hotel unit, a motel unit, an inn unit, a lodge unit, a dormitory unit, or a hostel unit. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units are residential use;
“commercial resort unit with separate designated lock off unit” means a commercial resort unit having a single adjacent room or suite with a shared door in the common wall between the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with a private entrance from the common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building for each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite designated as separate condominium units in accordance with a declaration and description, and where the gross floor area of the adjacent room or suite does not exceed 46.5 square metres. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit are residential use;
“Council” means the Council of the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“County” means the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“development” means any use or proposed use in respect of land that requires one or more of the actions referred to in Section 7 of this By- law, including the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land or the making of an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the size or usability thereof, and includes redevelopment;
“development charge” means a charge imposed pursuant to this By-law;
“dwelling unit” means a room or suite of rooms used, or designed or intended for use by, one person or persons living together, in which culinary and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons, or a commercial resort unit with or without separate designated lock off unit;
95
By-law 4949-16
“farm building” means a building or structure actually used as part of or in connection with a bona fide farming operation and includes barns, silos, and other buildings or structures ancillary to a bona fide farming operation, but excluding a residential use;
“floor” includes a paved, concrete, wooden, gravel, or dirt floor;
“grade” means the average level of proposed or finished ground adjoining a building or structure at all exterior walls;
“gross floor area” means the sum total of the total areas of all floors in a building or structure, whether at, above, or below grade, measured between the exterior faces of the exterior walls of the building or structure or from the centre line of a common wall separating two uses, or from the outside edge of a floor where the outside edge of the floor does not meet an exterior or common wall, and:
(a) includes the floor area of a mezzanine and air-supported structure and the space occupied by interior walls partitions;
(b) excludes any parts of the building or structure used for the parking and loading of vehicles;
(c) excludes the floor area of a hallway directly adjacent to a Commercial Resort Unit; and
(d) where a building or structure does not have any walls (except as expressly provided in paragraph (a) above, there is deemed to be no gross floor area;
“hotel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“industrial building” means a building used for or in connection with,
(a) manufacturing, producing, processing, storing or distributing something;
(b) research or development in connection with manufacturing, producing or processing something;
(c) retail sales by a manufacturer, producer or processor of something they manufactured, produced or processed, if the retail sales are at
96
By-law 4949-16
the site where the manufacturing, production, or processing takes place;
(d) office or administrative purposes, if they are,
(i) carried out with respect to manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distributing of something, and
(ii) in or attached to the building or structure used for that manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distribution.
"institutional building" means a building or structure or portions thereof used or designed or intended to be used for a purpose which is classified as a Group B pursuant to the Building Code Act;
“institutional church use” means land, buildings or structures used, designed, or intended to be used for a place of worship or for the purpose of a cemetery or burial ground and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
“local board” means municipal service board, municipal business corporation, transportation commission, public library board, board of health, police services board, planning board, or any other board, commission, committee, body or local authority established or exercising any power under any general or special act with respect to the affairs or purposes of the County, but excluding a board, a conservation authority, and any municipal business corporation not deemed to be a local board under O. Reg. 168/03 made under the Municipal Act, 2001, S. O. 2001, c.25, and any corporation created under the Electricity Act, 1998, S. O. 1998, c. 15, Schedule A;
“mezzanine” means a mezzanine as defined in the Building Code Act;
“motel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“non-residential use” means land, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, designed or intended to be used for a purpose other than for residential use and not including wind turbines;
97
By-law 4949-16
“owner” means the owner of land or any person authorized by such owner to make one or more applications described in Section 7 of this By-law for the development of such land;
“other multiple residential buildings” mean residential buildings not including single detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, row dwellings or apartments;
“protracted” means in relation to a temporary building or structure the persistence of its construction, erection, placement on land, alteration or of an addition to it for a continuous period exceeding eight months;
“Public Works” includes, but is not limited to, lands, buildings, structures, equipment and vehicle fleet;
“redevelopment” means the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land where all or part of a building or structure has previously been demolished on such land, changing the use of a building or structure from residential to non-residential or from non-residential to residential or changing a building or structure from one type of residential development to another or from one type of non- residential development to another;
“residential use” means lands, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, or designed or intended for use as a home or residence of one or more individuals, and shall include a single detached dwelling, a semi- detached dwelling, row dwelling, a multiple dwelling, an apartment dwelling, the residential portion of a mixed-use building or structure and, for the purposes of this by-law:
(a) commercial resort units; and
(b) commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit;
“Roads & Related Works” include, but are not limited to, land, bridges, culverts, structures, drainage ditches, highways, roadways, sidewalks, signal lights, storm sewers and street lights;
“semi-detached dwellings or row dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contains a single dwelling unit, that have one or two vertical walls, but no other parts, attached to other buildings;
98
By-law 4949-16
“services” means services designated in this By-law and listed in Schedule A to this By-law or in agreement under Section 44 of the Act, or both;
“single detached dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contain a single dwelling unit, that are not attached to other buildings;
“temporary building or structure” means a building or structure constructed or erected or placed on land for a continuous period not exceeding eight months, or an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the gross floor area thereof for a continuous period not exceeding eight months; “wind turbine" means any wind energy conversion system with a name plate capacity greater than 300 kilowatts, that converts wind energy into electricity for sale to an electrical utility or other intermediary.
Rules
2. For the purpose of complying with Section 6 of the Act:
(a) the area to which this By-law applies shall be the area described in Section 3 of this By-law;
(b) the rules developed under paragraph 9 of Subsection 5(1) of the Act for determining if a development charge is payable in any particular case and for determining the amount of the charge shall be as set forth in Sections 4 through 16, inclusive, and Section 27 of this By- law;
(c) the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits provided for by such rules shall be the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits set forth in Sections 17 through 23, inclusive, of this By-law, the indexing of charges shall be in accordance with Section 14 of this By-law, and there shall be no phasing in of development charges as provided in Subsection 15 (1) of this By-law except as provided in Subsection 15 (3) and Subsection 15 (4); and
(d) the redevelopment of land shall be in accordance with the rules set forth in Section 20 of this By-law.
Lands Affected
3. This By-law applies to all lands in the geographic area of the County, whether or not the land is exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended.
99
By-law 4949-16
Designation of Services
4. It is hereby declared by Council that all development within the area to which this By-law applies will increase the need for services.
5. The development charge applicable to a development as determined under this By-law shall apply without regard to the services required or used by an individual development.
6. Development charges shall be imposed for the following categories of services (but excluding ineligible services as set forth in Section 2 (4) of the Act) to pay for the increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from development:
(a) Roads and Related Works;
Approvals for Development
7. Development charges shall be imposed against all lands, buildings or structures within the area to which this By-law applies if the development of such lands, buildings or structures requires any of the following approvals:
(a) the passing of a zoning by-law or of an amendment to a zoning by- law under Section 34 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(b) the approval of a minor variance under Section 45 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(c) a conveyance of land to which a by-law passed under Subsection 50(7) of the Planning Act or successor legislation applies;
(d) the approval of a plan of subdivision under Section 51 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(e) a consent under Section 53 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(f) the approval of a description under the Condominium Act or successor legislation; or
100
By-law 4949-16
(g) the issuing of a permit under the Building Code Act or successor legislation in relation to a building or structure.
8. No more than one development charge for each service designated in Section 6 shall be imposed upon any lands, buildings or structures to which this By-law applies even though two or more of the actions described in Section 7 are required before the lands, buildings or structures can be developed.
9. Notwithstanding Section 8 and Section 13, if two or more of the actions described in Section 7 occur at different times, additional development charges shall be imposed in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by that action.
10. If a development does not require a building permit but does require one or more of the approvals described in Section 7, then the development charge shall nonetheless be payable in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by such approval and shall be paid prior to the granting of the approval required under section 7.
11. Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of an agreement under Section 51 or Section 53 of the Planning Act, that the owner, at his or her own expense, install such local services related to a plan of subdivision or within the area to which the plan relates, as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time, or that the owner pay for local connections to storm drainage facilities installed at the owner’s expense, or administrative, processing , or inspection fees.
Basis for Calculation of Development Charges
13. (1) Subject to the provisions of this By-law, development charges in the County shall be imposed, calculated and collected in accordance with the base rates designated for the use of the development set out in Schedules B and C, which relate to the services set out in Schedule A.
(2) The development charge with respect to the development of any land, buildings or structures shall be calculated as follows:
(a) in the case of residential use development, or the residential portion of a mixed-use development, the sum of the product of the number and type of dwelling units multiplied by the corresponding total amount for each dwelling unit, as set out in Schedule B;
101
By-law 4949-16
(b) in addition to the development charge determined under section 13 (2)(a), in the case of commercial resort development, or the commercial resort portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of the non-residential portion of the development, in which the development occurs multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in this by-law as applicable;
(c) in the case of non-residential development, or the non- residential portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of such development, and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in in this by-law as applicable; and,
(d) in the case of wind turbines, the sum of the number of wind turbines multiplied by the corresponding amount for each wind turbine as set out in Schedule C.
(e) in the case of a type of development not described above, based upon the number of units and/or gross floor area portions of such development and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in Schedules B or C as applicable.
(3) Notwithstanding subsections 13(1) and (2) of this By-law, development charges shall not be imposed on industrial buildings.
Indexing of Development Charges
14. The development charges set out in Schedules B and C hereto shall be adjusted without amendment to this By-law annually on January 1st in each year, commencing on January 1st, 2018, in accordance with the Statistics Canada Quarterly, Construction Price Statistics (catalogue number 62-007) based on the preceding twelve month period ending September 30th.
Phasing, Timing of Calculation and Payment
15. (1) The residential development charges set out in this By-law are subject to phasing in as identified in Schedule ”B” hereto and are payable in full, subject to the exemptions and credits herein, from the date this By-law comes into force.
(2) The development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be payable on the date the first building permit is issued in relation to a building or
102
By-law 4949-16
structure on land to which the development charge applies unless sections 10 and 11 apply in which case the development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be payable on the dates determined pursuant to those sections.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection 15(1), development charges imposed on wind turbine development pursuant to this By-law are n o t being phased-in and are set out in Schedule C of this By-law. The development charge shall be that charge in force at the time that all the requirements for a building permit have been satisfied and the building permit is ready to be issued.
Payment by Money or the Provision of Services
16. (1) Payment of development charges shall be by cash or by cheque.
(2) In the alternative to payment by the means provided in Subsection (1), the County may, by an agreement entered into with the owner under Section 38 of the Act, accept the provision of services in full or partial satisfaction of the development charge otherwise payable provided that:
(a) if the County and the owner cannot agree as to the reasonable cost of the work performed, the reasonable cost of the work shall be determined by the County’s Treasurer; and
(b) if the credit exceeds the amount of the development charge for the service to which the work relates,
(i) the excess amount shall not be credited against the development charge for any other service, unless the County has so agreed in an agreement under Section 38 of the Act; and
(ii) in no event shall the County be required to make a cash payment to the credit holder.
(3) Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of any approval given under the Planning Act that the owner, at the owner’s expense, install such local services as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time.
Rules for Exemption Relating to the Creation of Additional Dwelling Units
103
By-law 4949-16
17. This By-law does not apply with respect to approvals related to the residential development of land, buildings or structures that would have the affect only,
(1) of permitting the enlargement of an existing dwelling unit;
(2) of creating a maximum of two additional dwelling units in or attached to an existing single detached dwelling where the total gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit or units is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit;
(3) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to an existing semi-detached dwelling or row dwelling where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit; or
(4) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to any existing other residential building where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the smallest existing dwelling unit.
Categories of Exempt Uses
18. The following categories of uses are hereby designated as being exempt from the payment of development charges:
(1) land, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a municipality and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(2) lands, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a board and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31;
(3) buildings or structures used as public hospitals governed by the Public Hospitals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.40, as amended;
(4) land, buildings or structures used for institutional church use and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(5) farm buildings;
104
By-law 4949-16
(6) buildings or structures used for and devoted solely to accommodation of temporary or seasonal agricultural labourers which may contain their own culinary facilities and sanitary facilities;
(7) industrial buildings; and
(8) non-residential uses.
Temporary Buildings or Structures
19. (1) Subject to Subsections (2) and (3), temporary buildings or structure shall be exempt from the payment of development charges.
(2) In the event that a temporary building or structure becomes protracted, it shall be deemed not to be nor ever to have been a temporary building or structure, and the development charges required to be paid under this By-law shall become payable on the date the temporary building or structure becomes protracted.
(3) Prior to the issuance of a building permit for a temporary building or structure, the County may require an owner to enter into an agreement, including the provision of security for the owner’s obligation under the agreement, pursuant to Section 27 of the Act providing for all or part of the development charge that would be required by Subsection (2) if the temporary building or structure became protracted, to be paid. The terms of such agreement shall then prevail over the provisions of this By-law.
Rules for the Redevelopment of Land
20. (1) Despite any other provision of this By-law, where as a result of the redevelopment of land, a building or structure existing on the same land has been demolished in order to facilitate redevelopment, or converted from one principal use to another principal use on the same land, the development charges otherwise payable with respect to such redevelopment shall be reduced by the following amounts:
(a) In the case of a residential building or structure, an amount equivalent to the applicable development charge for the unit type of the existing dwelling that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(b) In the case of a non-residential building or structure, an amount
105
By-law 4949-16
calculated by multiplying the applicable development charge by the Gross Floor Area that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(c) In the case of a mixed-use building or structure, by an amount calculated by the unit type for the existing residential use portion and by gross floor area for the non-residential use portion, of the unit that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use.
(2) The amount of any reduction or credit permitted shall not exceed, in total, the amount of the development charges otherwise payable with respect to the re-development.
(3) Any reduction or credit applicable hereunder shall only apply provided that a building permit for the re-development has been issued within five years of the date of the issuance of a permit for the demolition of any building or structure on the same lands.
(4) For greater certainty, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no credit shall be allowed where the demolished building or structure or part thereof prior to the demolition or conversion would have been exempt from the payment of development charges pursuant to this By- law (ie temporary structures).
Rules with Respect to Existing Agreements
21. If there is a conflict between this By-law and an agreement made between the County and the owner or former owner of land before the coming into force of this By-law and the owner or former owner of the land agreed to pay all or a portion of a charge related to development under the agreement with respect to the land or provided services in lieu of payment, then the provisions of the agreement prevail over the By- law to the extent of the conflict. The extent of the conflict shall be determined on a service by service basis. Notwithstanding the allocation of total development charges within an existing agreement, the development charges may be reallocated by the County to services set out in this By-law.
Reserve Funds
106
By-law 4949-16
22. (1) Monies received from payment of development charges under this By- law shall be maintained in separate reserve funds as per the service set out in Schedule A.
(2) Monies received for the payment of development charges shall be used only in accordance with the provisions of Section 35 of the Act.
(3) Where any development charge, or part thereof, remains unpaid after the due date, the amount unpaid shall be added to the tax roll and shall be collected as taxes.
(4) Where any unpaid development charges are collected as taxes under subsection (3), the monies so collected shall be credited to the development charge reserve funds referred to in subsection (1).
(5) The Treasurer of the County shall, in each year commencing in 2017 for the 2016 year, furnish to Council a statement in respect of the reserve funds established hereunder for the prior year, containing the information set out in Section 12 of O.Reg. 82/98.
(6) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the County may borrow money from a reserve fund and repay the amount used plus interest at a rate not less than the Bank of Canada rate updated on the first business day of every January, April, July, and October.
Interest
23. The County shall pay interest on a refund under Subsection 18(3) and Subsection 25(2) of the Act at a rate equal to the Bank of Canada rate on the date this By-law comes into force.
Front Ending Agreements
24. The County may enter into agreements under Section 44 of the Act.
Schedules
25. The following Schedules to this By-law form an integral part of this By- law.
Schedule A Designated Services
Schedules B-1 and B-2 Residential Development Charges
107
By-law 4949-16
Schedule C Wind Turbine Development Charges
By-law Registration
26. A certified copy of this By-law may be registered in the by-law register in the Land Registry Office against all land in the County and may be registered against title to any land to which this By-law applies.
Date By-law Effective
27. This By-law comes into force on January 1, 2017.
Date By-law Expires
28. This By-law expires five years after the date on which it comes into force.
Headings for Reference Only
29. The headings inserted in this By-law are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this By-law.
Severability
30. If, for any reason, any provision, Section, Subsection or paragraph of this By-law is held invalid, it is hereby declared to be the intention of Council that all the remainder of this By-law shall continue in full force and effect until repealed, re-enacted or amended, in whole or in part or dealt with in any other way.
ENACTED AND PASSED this 4th day of October, 2016.
WARDEN: Alan Barfoot CLERK: Sharon Vokes
108
By-law 4949-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule A
Designated Services
1. Roads & Related Works
The designated services listed above exclude in each case ineligible services as set forth in section 2(4) of the Development Charges Act, 1997.
109
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule B-1
Residential Development Charges
Effective date of By-law passage – December 31, 2017
Residential Charge By Unit Type (1) Service Percentage of Singles & Rows & Other Apartments Charge Semis Multiples
Roads & Related Works $4,954 $3,449 $2,928 100.0%
TOTAL CHARGE PER UNIT $4,954 $3,449 $2,928 100.0%
(1) Based on Persons Per Unit Of: 2.60 1.81 1.54
110
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule B-2
Residential Development Charges
Effective January 1, 2018 – date of By-law expiry
Residential Charge By Unit Type (1) Service Percentage of Singles & Rows & Other Apartments Charge Semis Multiples
Roads & Related Works $6,100 $4,246 $3,605 100.0%
TOTAL CHARGE PER UNIT $6,100 $4,246 $3,605 100.0%
(1) Based on Persons Per Unit Of: 2.60 1.81 1.54
111
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule C
Wind Turbine Development Charges
Effective date of By-law passage
Wind Turbine Service Charge per Turbine
Roads & Related Works $2,345.72
TOTAL CHARGE PER TURBINE $2,345.72
112
By-law 4950-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY BY- LAW NO. 4950-16
A BY-LAW TO ESTABLISH DEVELOPMENT CHARGES FOR THE COUNTY OF GREY (COUNTY-WIDE GENERAL SERVICES CHARGES)
WHEREAS Subsection 2(1) of the Development Charges Act, 1997 provides that the council of a municipality may by by-law impose development charges against land to pay for increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from the development of the area to which the by-law applies;
AND WHEREAS Council has received a report entitled “Development Charges Background Study, County of Grey”, dated August 3, 2016, prepared by Hemson Consulting Ltd. (the “Study”);
AND WHEREAS Council gave notice to the public and held a public meeting pursuant to Section 12 of the Act on September 6, 2016, prior to which the Study and the proposed County-wide development charges by-law were made available to the public and Council heard comments and representations from all persons who applied to be heard (the “Public Meeting”);
AND WHEREAS following the Public Meeting, Council afforded the public an additional period of time for the submission of further written representations;
AND WHEREAS Council has further considered the Study and the By-law in light of the further written representations received;
AND WHEREAS Council has provided notice of intent to enact the proposed County-wide development charges by-law;
AND WHEREAS Council has indicated that it intends to ensure that the increase in the need for services attributable to the anticipated development will be met as set out in the Capital Programs contained in Appendices B and C of the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has expressed its intention that excess capacity identified in the Study shall be paid for by development charges or other similar charges;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the County of Grey has given consideration of the use of more than one development charge by-law to reflect different needs for services in different areas, also known as area rating or area specific DCs, and has determined that for the services, and associated infrastructure proposed to be funded by DCs
113 By-law 4950-16 under this by-law, that it is fair and reasonable that the charges be calculated on a municipal-wide uniform basis;
AND WHEREAS the Development Charges Background Study dated August 3, 2016 includes an Asset Management Plan that deals with all assets whose capital costs are intended to be funded under the development charge by-law and that such assets are considered to be financially sustainable over their full life-cycle.
AND WHEREAS Council will give consideration to incorporate the asset management plan outlined in the Development Charges Background Study within the County’s ongoing practices and corporate asset management strategy.
AND WHEREAS Council hereby adopts the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has determined that no further public meetings are required under Section 12 of the Act;
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
Definitions
1. In this By-law,
“Act” and “Development Charges Act, 1997” means the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c.27;
“agricultural use” means lands, buildings, or structures, excluding any portion thereof used as a dwelling unit, used, designed or intended to be used for the purpose of a bona fide farming operation including, but not limited to, animal husbandry, bee keeping, dairying, fallow, field crops, fish farming, forestry, fruit farming, horticulture, livestock, market gardening, pasturage, poultry keeping, the growing, raising, packing, treating, storing, and sale of produce produced on the premises, and other activities customarily carried on in the field of agriculture;
“air-supported structure” means an air supported structure as defined in the Building Code Act;
“apartment” means any dwelling unit within a building containing more than three dwelling units where the units are connected by an interior corridor;
“board” means a board of education, public school board, secondary school board, Catholic school board, Protestant school board, or a board as defined in Subsection 1(1) of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.2, as amended;
114 By-law 4950-16
“building or structure” means a structure occupying an area greater than ten square metres consisting of a wall, roof, and floor or any of them or a structural system serving the function thereof including an air- supported structure, or a wind turbine, excluding a farm building;
“Building Code Act” means the Building Code Act, S.O. 1992, c.23, as amended, and all Regulations thereto including the Ontario Building Code, 1997, as amended;
“Capital cost” means costs incurred or proposed to be incurred by the municipality or a local board thereof directly or by others on behalf of, and as authorized by, the municipality or local board,
(a) to acquire land or an interest in land, including a leasehold interest;
(b) to improve land;
(c) to acquire, lease, construct or improve buildings and structures;
(d) to acquire, lease, construct or improve facilities including,
(i) rolling stock with an estimated useful life of seven years or more,
(ii) furniture and equipment, other than computer equipment, and
(iii) materials acquired for circulation, reference or information purposes by a library board as defined in the Public Libraries Act, 1984, R.S.O. 1990, P.44, and
(e) to undertake studies in connection with any of the matters referred to in clauses (a) to (d);
(f) to complete the development charge background study under Section 10 of the Act;
(g) as interest on money borrowed to pay for costs in (a) to (d);
required for provision of services designated in this by-law within or outside the municipality.
“commercial building” means any building that is used for a purpose of non- residential use and that is not an industrial building or an institutional building;
115 By-law 4950-16
“commercial resort unit” means one room or a group of rooms in a building used or designed or intended to be used by one or more persons, as a single commercial accommodation unit within a commercial resort unit complex (i) in which food preparation and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons; (ii) which has a private entrance from a common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building; (iii) which is part of a rental or lease management program which consists of a minimum of ten such units in one building or group of buildings; (iv) which is not used or designated as a principal residence; and (v) which has been established to provide accommodation for gain or profit; but does not mean or include a hotel unit, a motel unit, an inn unit, a lodge unit, a dormitory unit, or a hostel unit. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units are residential use;
“commercial resort unit with separate designated lock off unit” means a commercial resort unit having a single adjacent room or suite with a shared door in the common wall between the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with a private entrance from the common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building for each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite designated as separate condominium units in accordance with a declaration and description, and where the gross floor area of the adjacent room or suite does not exceed 46.5 square metres. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit are residential use;
“Council” means the Council of the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“County” means the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“development” means any use or proposed use in respect of land that requires one or more of the actions referred to in Section 7 of this By- law, including the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land or the making of an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the size or usability thereof, and includes redevelopment;
“development charge” means a charge imposed pursuant to this By-law;
“dwelling unit” means a room or suite of rooms used, or designed or intended for use by, one person or persons living together, in which culinary and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons, or a commercial resort unit with or without separate designated lock off unit;
116 By-law 4950-16
“farm building” means a building or structure actually used as part of or in connection with a bona fide farming operation and includes barns, silos, and other buildings or structures ancillary to a bona fide farming operation, but excluding a residential use;
“floor” includes a paved, concrete, wooden, gravel, or dirt floor;
“grade” means the average level of proposed or finished ground adjoining a building or structure at all exterior walls;
“gross floor area” means the sum total of the total areas of all floors in a building or structure, whether at, above, or below grade, measured between the exterior faces of the exterior walls of the building or structure or from the centre line of a common wall separating two uses, or from the outside edge of a floor where the outside edge of the floor does not meet an exterior or common wall, and:
(a) includes the floor area of a mezzanine and air-supported structure and the space occupied by interior walls partitions;
(b) excludes any parts of the building or structure used for the parking and loading of vehicles;
(c) excludes the floor area of a hallway directly adjacent to a Commercial Resort Unit; and
(d) where a building or structure does not have any walls (except as expressly provided in paragraph (a) above, there is deemed to be no gross floor area;
“hotel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“industrial building” means a building used for or in connection with,
(a) manufacturing, producing, processing, storing or distributing something;
(b) research or development in connection with manufacturing, producing or processing something;
(c) retail sales by a manufacturer, producer or processor of something they manufactured, produced or processed, if the retail sales are at
117 By-law 4950-16
the site where the manufacturing, production, or processing takes place;
(d) office or administrative purposes, if they are,
(i) carried out with respect to manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distributing of something, and
(ii) in or attached to the building or structure used for that manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distribution.
"institutional building" means a building or structure or portions thereof used or designed or intended to be used for a purpose which is classified as a Group B pursuant to the Building Code Act;
“institutional church use” means land, buildings or structures used, designed, or intended to be used for a place of worship or for the purpose of a cemetery or burial ground and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
“local board” means municipal service board, municipal business corporation, transportation commission, public library board, board of health, police services board, planning board, or any other board, commission, committee, body or local authority established or exercising any power under any general or special act with respect to the affairs or purposes of the County, but excluding a board, a conservation authority, and any municipal business corporation not deemed to be a local board under O. Reg. 168/03 made under the Municipal Act, 2001, S. O. 2001, c.25, and any corporation created under the Electricity Act, 1998, S. O. 1998, c. 15, Schedule A;
“mezzanine” means a mezzanine as defined in the Building Code Act;
“motel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“non-residential use” means land, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, designed or intended to be used for a purpose other than for residential use and not including wind turbines;
118 By-law 4950-16
“owner” means the owner of land or any person authorized by such owner to make one or more applications described in Section 7 of this By-law for the development of such land;
“other multiple residential buildings” mean residential buildings not including single detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, row dwellings or apartments;
“protracted” means in relation to a temporary building or structure the persistence of its construction, erection, placement on land, alteration or of an addition to it for a continuous period exceeding eight months;
“Public Works” includes, but is not limited to, lands, buildings, structures, equipment and vehicle fleet;
“redevelopment” means the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land where all or part of a building or structure has previously been demolished on such land, changing the use of a building or structure from residential to non-residential or from non-residential to residential or changing a building or structure from one type of residential development to another or from one type of non- residential development to another;
“residential use” means lands, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, or designed or intended for use as a home or residence of one or more individuals, and shall include a single detached dwelling, a semi- detached dwelling, row dwelling, a multiple dwelling, an apartment dwelling, the residential portion of a mixed-use building or structure and, for the purposes of this by-law:
(a) commercial resort units; and
(b) commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit;
“Roads & Related Works” include, but are not limited to, land, bridges, culverts, structures, drainage ditches, highways, roadways, sidewalks, signal lights, storm sewers and street lights;
“semi-detached dwellings or row dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contains a single dwelling unit, that have one or two vertical walls, but no other parts, attached to other buildings;
119 By-law 4950-16
“services” means services designated in this By-law and listed in Schedule A to this By-law or in agreement under Section 44 of the Act, or both;
“single detached dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contain a single dwelling unit, that are not attached to other buildings;
“temporary building or structure” means a building or structure constructed or erected or placed on land for a continuous period not exceeding eight months, or an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the gross floor area thereof for a continuous period not exceeding eight months; “wind turbine" means any wind energy conversion system with a name plate capacity greater than 300 kilowatts, that converts wind energy into electricity for sale to an electrical utility or other intermediary.
Rules
2. For the purpose of complying with Section 6 of the Act:
(a) the area to which this By-law applies shall be the area described in Section 3 of this By-law;
(b) the rules developed under paragraph 9 of Subsection 5(1) of the Act for determining if a development charge is payable in any particular case and for determining the amount of the charge shall be as set forth in Sections 4 through 16, inclusive, and Section 27 of this By- law;
(c) the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits provided for by such rules shall be the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits set forth in Sections 17 through 23, inclusive, of this By-law, the indexing of charges shall be in accordance with Section 14 of this By-law, and there shall be no phasing in of development charges as provided in Subsection 15 (1) of this By-law except as provided in Subsection 15 (3) and Subsection 15 (4); and
(d) the redevelopment of land shall be in accordance with the rules set forth in Section 20 of this By-law.
Lands Affected
3. This By-law applies to all lands in the geographic area of the County, whether or not the land is exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended.
120 By-law 4950-16
Designation of Services
4. It is hereby declared by Council that all development within the area to which this By-law applies will increase the need for services.
5. The development charge applicable to a development as determined under this By-law shall apply without regard to the services required or used by an individual development.
6. Development charges shall be imposed for the following categories of services (but excluding ineligible services as set forth in Section 2 (4) of the Act) to pay for the increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from development:
(a) Land Ambulance;
(b) Public Works – Buildings & Vehicle Fleet;
(c) Provincial Offences;
(d) Employment Resources;
(e) General Government;
(f) Trails;
Approvals for Development
7. Development charges shall be imposed against all lands, buildings or structures within the area to which this By-law applies if the development of such lands, buildings or structures requires any of the following approvals:
(a) the passing of a zoning by-law or of an amendment to a zoning by- law under Section 34 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(b) the approval of a minor variance under Section 45 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(c) a conveyance of land to which a by-law passed under Subsection 50(7) of the Planning Act or successor legislation applies;
121 By-law 4950-16
(d) the approval of a plan of subdivision under Section 51 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(e) a consent under Section 53 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(f) the approval of a description under the Condominium Act or successor legislation; or
(g) the issuing of a permit under the Building Code Act or successor legislation in relation to a building or structure.
8. No more than one development charge for each service designated in Section 6 shall be imposed upon any lands, buildings or structures to which this By-law applies even though two or more of the actions described in Section 7 are required before the lands, buildings or structures can be developed.
9. Notwithstanding Section 8 and Section 13, if two or more of the actions described in Section 7 occur at different times, additional development charges shall be imposed in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by that action.
10. If a development does not require a building permit but does require one or more of the approvals described in Section 7, then the development charge shall nonetheless be payable in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by such approval and shall be paid prior to the granting of the approval required under section 7.
11. Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of an agreement under Section 51 or Section 53 of the Planning Act, that the owner, at his or her own expense, install such local services related to a plan of subdivision or within the area to which the plan relates, as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time, or that the owner pay for local connections to storm drainage facilities installed at the owner’s expense, or administrative, processing , or inspection fees.
Basis for Calculation of Development Charges
13. (1) Subject to the provisions of this By-law, development charges in the County shall be imposed, calculated and collected in accordance with the
122 By-law 4950-16
base rates designated for the use of the development set out in Schedule B, which relate to the services set out in Schedule A.
(2) The development charge with respect to the development of any land, buildings or structures shall be calculated as follows:
(a) in the case of residential use development, or the residential portion of a mixed-use development, the sum of the product of the number and type of dwelling units multiplied by the corresponding total amount for each dwelling unit, as set out in Schedule B;
(b) in addition to the development charge determined under section 13 (2)(a), in the case of commercial resort development, or the commercial resort portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of the non-residential portion of the development, in which the development occurs multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in this by-law as applicable;
(c) in the case of non-residential development, or the non- residential portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of such development, and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in in this by-law as applicable; and,
(d) in the case of a type of development not described above, based upon the number of units and/or gross floor area portions of such development and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in Schedule B as applicable.
(3) Notwithstanding subsections 13(1) and (2) of this By-law, development charges shall not be imposed on industrial buildings.
Indexing of Development Charges
14. The development charges set out in Schedule B as applicable hereto shallbe adjusted without amendment to this By-law annually on January 1st in each year, commencing on January 1st, 2018, in accordance with the Statistics Canada Quarterly, Construction Price Statistics (catalogue number 62-007) based on the preceding twelve month period ending September 30th.
Phasing, Timing of Calculation and Payment
15. (1) The residential development charges imposed on residential development pursuant to this By-law are not being phased-in and are set
123 By-law 4950-16
out in Schedule B of this By-law. The development charge shall be that charge in force at the time that all the requirements for a building permit have been satisfied and the building permit is ready to be issued.
(2) The development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be payable on the date the first building permit is issued in relation to a building or structure on land to which the development charge applies unless sections 10 and 11 apply in which case the development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be payable on the dates determined pursuant to those sections.
Payment by Money or the Provision of Services
16. (1) Payment of development charges shall be by cash or by cheque.
(2) In the alternative to payment by the means provided in Subsection (1), the County may, by an agreement entered into with the owner under Section 38 of the Act, accept the provision of services in full or partial satisfaction of the development charge otherwise payable provided that:
(a) if the County and the owner cannot agree as to the reasonable cost of the work performed, the reasonable cost of the work shall be determined by the County’s Treasurer; and
(b) if the credit exceeds the amount of the development charge for the service to which the work relates,
(i) the excess amount shall not be credited against the development charge for any other service, unless the County has so agreed in an agreement under Section 38 of the Act; and
(ii) in no event shall the County be required to make a cash payment to the credit holder.
(3) Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of any approval given under the Planning Act that the owner, at the owner’s expense, install such local services as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time.
Rules for Exemption Relating to the Creation of Additional Dwelling Units
124 By-law 4950-16
17. This By-law does not apply with respect to approvals related to the residential development of land, buildings or structures that would have the affect only,
(1) of permitting the enlargement of an existing dwelling unit;
(2) of creating a maximum of two additional dwelling units in or attached to an existing single detached dwelling where the total gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit or units is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit;
(3) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to an existing semi-detached dwelling or row dwelling where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit; or
(4) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to any existing other residential building where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the smallest existing dwelling unit.
Categories of Exempt Uses
18. The following categories of uses are hereby designated as being exempt from the payment of development charges:
(1) land, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a municipality and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(2) lands, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a board and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31;
(3) buildings or structures used as public hospitals governed by the Public Hospitals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.40, as amended;
(4) land, buildings or structures used for institutional church use and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(5) farm buildings;
125 By-law 4950-16
(6) buildings or structures used for and devoted solely to accommodation of temporary or seasonal agricultural labourers which may contain their own culinary facilities and sanitary facilities;
(7) industrial buildings; and
(8) non-residential uses.
Temporary Buildings or Structures
19. (1) Subject to Subsections (2) and (3), temporary buildings or structure shall be exempt from the payment of development charges.
(2) In the event that a temporary building or structure becomes protracted, it shall be deemed not to be nor ever to have been a temporary building or structure, and the development charges required to be paid under this By-law shall become payable on the date the temporary building or structure becomes protracted.
(3) Prior to the issuance of a building permit for a temporary building or structure, the County may require an owner to enter into an agreement, including the provision of security for the owner’s obligation under the agreement, pursuant to Section 27 of the Act providing for all or part of the development charge that would be required by Subsection (2) if the temporary building or structure became protracted, to be paid. The terms of such agreement shall then prevail over the provisions of this By-law.
Rules for the Redevelopment of Land
20. (1) Despite any other provision of this By-law, where as a result of the redevelopment of land, a building or structure existing on the same land has been demolished in order to facilitate redevelopment, or converted from one principal use to another principal use on the same land, the development charges otherwise payable with respect to such redevelopment shall be reduced by the following amounts:
(d) In the case of a residential building or structure, an amount equivalent to the applicable development charge for the unit type of the existing dwelling that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(e) In the case of a non-residential building or structure, an amount
126 By-law 4950-16
calculated by multiplying the applicable development charge by the Gross Floor Area that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(f) In the case of a mixed-use building or structure, by an amount calculated by the unit type for the existing residential use portion and by gross floor area for the non-residential use portion, of the unit that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use.
(2) The amount of any reduction or credit permitted shall not exceed, in total, the amount of the development charges otherwise payable with respect to the re-development.
(3) Any reduction or credit applicable hereunder shall only apply provided that a building permit for the re-development has been issued within five years of the date of the issuance of a permit for the demolition of any building or structure on the same lands.
(4) For greater certainty, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no credit shall be allowed where the demolished building or structure or part thereof prior to the demolition or conversion would have been exempt from the payment of development charges pursuant to this By- law (ie temporary structures).
Rules with Respect to Existing Agreements
21. If there is a conflict between this By-law and an agreement made between the County and the owner or former owner of land before the coming into force of this By-law and the owner or former owner of the land agreed to pay all or a portion of a charge related to development under the agreement with respect to the land or provided services in lieu of payment, then the provisions of the agreement prevail over the By- law to the extent of the conflict. The extent of the conflict shall be determined on a service by service basis. Notwithstanding the allocation of total development charges within an existing agreement, the development charges may be reallocated by the County to services set out in this By-law.
Reserve Funds
127 By-law 4950-16
22. (1) Monies received from payment of development charges under this By- law shall be maintained in separate reserve funds as per the service set out in Schedule A.
(2) Monies received for the payment of development charges shall be used only in accordance with the provisions of Section 35 of the Act.
(3) Where any development charge, or part thereof, remains unpaid after the due date, the amount unpaid shall be added to the tax roll and shall be collected as taxes.
(4) Where any unpaid development charges are collected as taxes under subsection (3), the monies so collected shall be credited to the development charge reserve funds referred to in subsection (1).
(5) The Treasurer of the County shall, in each year commencing in 2017 for the 2016 year, furnish to Council a statement in respect of the reserve funds established hereunder for the prior year, containing the information set out in Section 12 of O.Reg. 82/98.
(6) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the County may borrow money from a reserve fund and repay the amount used plus interest at a rate not less than the Bank of Canada rate updated on the first business day of every January, April, July, and October.
Interest
23. The County shall pay interest on a refund under Subsection 18(3) and Subsection 25(2) of the Act at a rate equal to the Bank of Canada rate on the date this By-law comes into force.
Front Ending Agreements
24. The County may enter into agreements under Section 44 of the Act.
Schedules
25. The following Schedules to this By-law form an integral part of this By- law.
Schedule A Designated Services
Schedule B Residential Development Charges
128 By-law 4950-16
By-law Registration
26. A certified copy of this By-law may be registered in the by-law register in the Land Registry Office against all land in the County and may be registered against title to any land to which this By-law applies.
Date By-law Effective
27. This By-law comes into force on January 1, 2017.
Date By-law Expires
28. This By-law expires five years after the date on which it comes into force.
Headings for Reference Only
29. The headings inserted in this By-law are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this By-law.
Severability
30. If, for any reason, any provision, Section, Subsection or paragraph of this By-law is held invalid, it is hereby declared to be the intention of Council that all the remainder of this By-law shall continue in full force and effect until repealed, re-enacted or amended, in whole or in part or dealt with in any other way.
ENACTED AND PASSED this 4th day of October, 2016.
WARDEN: Alan Barfoot CLERK: Sharon Vokes
129 By-law 4950-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4950-16
Schedule A
Designated Services
1. Land Ambulance 2. Public Works – Buildings & Vehicle Fleet 3. Provincial Offences 4. Employment Resources 5. General Government 6. Trails 7. Health Unit
The designated services listed above exclude in each case ineligible services as set forth in section 2(4) of the Development Charges Act, 1997.
130
By-law 4950-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4950-16
Schedule B
Residential Development Charges
Effective date of By-law passage
Residential Charge By Unit Type (1) Service Percentage of Singles & Rows & Other Apartments Charge Semis Multiples
Land Ambulance $142 $99 $84 30.2%
Public Works - Buildings & Vehicle Fleet $0 $0 $0 0.0%
Provincial Offences $20 $14 $12 4.3%
Employment Resources $0 $0 $0 0.0%
General Government $162 $113 $96 34.3%
Trails $8 $6 $5 1.7%
Health Unit $139 $97 $82 29.5%
TOTAL CHARGE PER UNIT $471 $329 $279 100.0% (1) Based on Persons Per Unit Of: 2.60 1.81 1.54
131
Committee Report
Report CCR-CC-27-16
To: Warden Barfoot and Members of Grey County Council From: Kim Wingrove, Sharon Vokes and Heather Morrison Meeting Date: October 4, 2016 Subject: Adopting a Corporate Communication Strategy Status:
Recommendation(s)
THAT Report CCR-CC-27-16 be received;
AND THAT the Corporate Communications Strategy, 2016 be endorsed;
AND THAT staff begin to implement the recommendations contained within the Strategy.
Background
Communication is a fundamental component of all that Grey County does and is embedded in almost every activity the County is involved in from attracting businesses to the area, to supporting people services such as long-term care and children’s services to promoting our area as a four season tourism destination. It provides stakeholders, both internal and external with the knowledge of who Grey County is and what we do. It also provides a process for further engagement into county services and an opportunity to garner stakeholder support and consultation for those services.
In the 2016 budget approval was given to proceed with the hiring of a consultant to develop a corporate communications strategy for Grey County. The Letter M Marketing was hired through RFP in March 2016. The strategy will set the direction for both the County’s internal and external communications as well as provide clear guidance for planning future communications with all stakeholders.
The strategy submitted is comprehensive and reflects 45 one-on-one meetings with council members, communications staff, local municipal staff, media, three focus group meetings with staff, stakeholders and the public along with an on-line public survey and
132 a review of best practices.
Benefits of Effective Strategic Communications
As noted above, communication is a foundational component of everything Grey County provides. The consultant identified several benefits of effective strategic communications including:
Strengthens relationships and collaboration between the County and municipalities Helps achieve strategic goals and increase efficiency Promotes engagement to support decision making Uses resources effectively and attracts and retains the best and brightest Corrects or eliminates misinformation Promotes transparency, clarity and consistency Builds resident and employee pride in Grey County
Key Findings
Within the Strategy, the consultant identified several key findings and also links those findings back to the overall Corporate Strategy:
Disconnects-at the staff, municipal and general public level due to inconsistent, lack of relevancy or understanding Department Structure-the current staffing and resource model doesn’t allow it to function well Efficient Operations-using communication resources, both new and existing, effectively and efficiently Engagement-Council, staff and external stakeholders to engage and act as ambassadors for Grey County Tactical Direction-Development of resources to guide corporate communications
Key Messages
The Strategy also provides some key messages that represent the values of Grey County as a whole and will support the County’s overall strategic objectives.
The County of Grey effectively and efficiently delivers services that take care of everyone in the County
133 The County of Grey will communicate critical and core service information to all key audiences Readily-accessible information and citizen engagement will be of critical focus for Grey County communications efforts to ensure an informed and engaged community Grey County communications will support and enhance the efforts of County staff to deliver services that take care of the County
Guidelines for Effective Communication Strategies
The Strategy provides for some guidelines in order to maximize communication activities within Grey County.
Make engagement, feedback and enquiries as easy and efficient as possible Focus on timely communications Communicate in layers Make roles clear Emphasize electronic communications while retaining traditional tactics Build strong community channels with key partners and influencers Promote a brand voice/identity that supports how the County wants to come across in communications Ensure sustained, strategic and proactive communications through realistic and thorough planning Demonstrate appreciation of citizen and staff engagement, and the value of it, through updates Endeavour to eliminate heavy, formal wording in favour of plain language and strong visuals Emphasize internal-first to foster culture of communications.
Implementation
It is expected, should Council endorse the Strategy, that Communications become its own department reporting to the CAO. Through the implementation of the action items contained within the Strategy, communications staff will provide more services to the stakeholder groups in a more proactive and engaged manner including providing a consistent image, voice and graphic look, greater awareness of County services, having County Council and staff better informed of county services, increased presence with the media and the promotion of the County brand that attracts and engages audiences. The Strategy contains some recommendations within each audience group and actions on how to achieve the goals outlined.
134 Financial/Staffing/Legal/Information Technology Considerations
The Strategy recommends that Communications become a department under the leadership of the CAO as well as the immediate hiring of a manager to lead the department in its implementation of the Strategy. These funds have been included in the draft 2017 budget. The Strategy also recommends a graphic designer and digital specialist, which could be combined into one position, at least in the interim, to oversee the graphic needs and website and social media management portfolios.
Link to Strategic Goals/Priorities
The Corporate Communication Strategy compliments the Corporate Strategic Plan as communications is interwoven in everything the County does. The Strategy will assist in communicating the opportunities in Grey County to assist with Expanding the Prosperity Base (goal 1). It also supports connecting with others inside and outside of Grey County to achieve strong collaboration with all stakeholders as well as ensuring the community is well informed and engaged (goals 4 and 5).
There is a very strong component within the Strategy about taking care of the County. The implementation of full communication services allows staff to focus on their delivery of services to our citizens (goals 2 and 6). Communication staff will work with tourism and economic development staff to continue to explore new opportunities to leverage Grey County as a four-season destination for residents and visitors (goal 3).
Respectfully submitted by,
Kim Wingrove, CAO Sharon Vokes Clerk/Director of Council Services Heather Morrison, Deputy Clerk
Attachment:
Grey County Communication Strategy
135
Page 1 of 46
Grey County
Communications Strategy 2016-2019
Prepared By The Letter M Marketing
September 2016
136 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 2 of 46
Contents
Executive Summary ...... 3
Imperative for Structured Communications ...... 6
Goals and Objectives ...... 9
A. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES ...... 10 Overarching Guidelines ...... 10 Key Messages ...... 12 Audiences and Roles ...... 13 Communication Channels and Partnerships ...... 22 Media and Public Relations ...... 23 Social Media Strategy...... 25
B. TACTICS ...... 29 Internal – HOW TO REACH STAFF ...... 29 Internal – HOW TO REACH COUNCIL ...... 33 Internal – HOW TO COMMUNICATE AS A DEPARTMENT ...... 36 Internal – HOW TO REACH PARTNERS ...... 37 External – HOW TO REACH THE COMMUNITY...... 38 Programs/Campaigns ...... 41
C. OPERATING MODEL AND RESOURCES ...... 43
D. MEASUREMENT ...... 45
137 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 3 of 46
Executive Summary The Grey County Strategic Plan sets out clear and targeted goals and actions for ensuring it is strong and steady and future ready. At the core of these – improved collaboration, promotion of initiatives, demonstrating leadership, community engagement – is the need for strong communication. It is the goal of this Communications Strategy to support the County in increasing awareness of County services, programs and their value; key to this will be a focus on delivering relevant, fulsome and impactful information and engaging and collaborating with municipalities, residents and stakeholders in organizational decisions.
This Strategy does not include the activities of the Tourism department or Grey Roots service as these operations have separate communications plans already in place, with different target audiences and messaging.
Why a Strategy? It is the intent of a municipal communications department to lead staff in the delivery of clear, correct and timely information to other staff, community members and other key stakeholders to the end benefit of citizens. This three- year Strategy identifies specific goals, strategies and tactics to enable the greatest success for Grey County as it dedicates greater focus and new resources into the planning, implementation and sustaining of strategic communications both internally and externally.
Our Process The research and stakeholder engagement portions of this Strategy’s development were significant and comprehensive. These included:
1. Client meetings/liaison 2. Media review 3. Materials review of more than 32 different pieces of literature and materials provided by the County 4. Website (previous version) and social media channel reviews 5. Five best practice interviews (counties of Dufferin, Oxford, Simcoe, Huron and the City of Guelph) 6. 45 one-on-one interviews that included the Warden, Mayors and Deputy Mayors, Grey directors, managers, tourism specialists, Clerk and select staff, municipal CAOs/clerks and communications personnel, and media 7. Three staff, external partner/stakeholder and public focus groups 8. Online public survey (558 responses)
Key Findings Research and engagement found that the County’s communications activity is suffering from a diminished presence both internally and externally, low success in consistently reaching and engaging with audiences, and from limited measurable results in communicating key information. Indeed, the County’s services – versus those of the municipalities – are often misunderstood by audiences – including County staff.
1. Department Structure: The current staffing and resourcing of the Communications Department do not allow it to function as a dependable and forward-thinking strategic advisor, or able tactical developer. Communications can only offer limited support to critical County departments. In addition, the hierarchical placement of Communications – under the Clerk’s office – prevents it from being optimally placed for strategic and quick response and planning.
2. Staff Disconnect: There is limited or inconsistent communications effort to/from County staff within the broader Grey County corporation. This carries the danger of uninformed, unengaged and “culturally” disconnected staff.
138 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 4 of 46
3. Municipal Disconnect: There are many instances of effective collaboration between municipalities and the County, but these are sporadic/isolated. There is limited interest amongst municipalities in broader information exchanges with the County due to a lack of perceived value or relevance. There also exists a range of communication focus amongst municipalities – for some it is a key strategy and others a lesser element of operations.
4. Public Understanding: There is currently a low awareness and understanding of the services provided by the County versus those provided by a municipality. The nature of County services means that the real “value” of them is often hard for citizens to see/quantify: they are often more service-oriented, such as road maintenance and broadband connection, rather than direct operational such as the garbage pick-up or library resources provided by municipalities.
5. Efficient Operations: Even with additional staff and/or resources, requirements of the Communications Department will be significant. Tactical and strategic efforts must utilize existing resources firstly, and additional requirements must be smart, efficient and highly-relevant.
6. Council Engagement: Grey County Council members are not consistently provided with the information, messaging and resources that would allow them to serve as key communicators in their broader municipalities. What is presented is often excessive, formal and term-laden, which is not conducive to easy and effective communication to the public. In addition, greater effort needs to be made to inculcate Councillors on the importance and value of communications.
7. External Engagement: It is often difficult for the public to find additional information on specific services or to connect with the appropriate County personnel. When information is presented, it is often heavy/excessive and written in a formal/corporate way that is difficult to interpret and share. In addition, there is not always ample time or a diverse number of ways for residents to engage on an issue of note for them.
8. Information Source: Most citizens know of the existence of a “two-tier system” (although ‘who provides what’ is still unclear to many), it is of little consequence to them from whom they receive information.
9. Tactical Direction: Currently, there are no formalized policies, guidelines, resources and responsibilities guiding communications in Grey County. Efforts are individualized, ad hoc. Smart, strategic materials, the revitalization of existing tools and tactics, and overarching and consistent guidelines will make better use of resources and staff time.
This Strategy includes broad-reaching recommendations to restructure the County’s communications, apply sound strategic direction to efforts and integrate new, or hone existing, tactics that will allow the County to progress towards effective and engaging communications. It tackles communications at every level, addressing Council needs, senior management, County staff, municipal contacts, partners and channels, and residents. And at its core, the Strategy anticipates a carefully-implemented and monitored tactical strategy overseen by a Manager and dedicated, centralized Communications Department staff, supported by the enthusiasm of County departments and staff.
The Letter M Marketing September 2016
139 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 5 of 46
RIGHT NOW
Strong and appealing brand • Vested public open to embracing efforts • High-quality work from Communications • Dedicated and committed staff • Commitment to communications from top-down • Number of media and community outreach opportunities • Trusted and respected County Councillors • Exceptional commitment to accessibility/ inclusiveness • Communications may be handled by staff who lack the necessary skills/knowledge • Low presence amongst many audiences • Feeling of disconnection by satellite staff • Uncertainty on service ownership (County or municipality) • Multiple unique municipal identities and needs • Lack of concerted engagement with municipalities • Lack of internal collaboration on communications • Fragmented communications • Dense and text-heavy communications • Reactive rather than proactive • One-person communications team only • Communications operates under Clerk • Lack of strong support of County by external audiences
NEXT STEPS VIA PLAN
A strong and centralized communications team • Targeted communications strategies for both Council and County staff • A consistent and energetic brand • Defined roles and responsibilities • Defined audiences targeted using the most effective tactics for their needs • Formalized channels • Established internal-first policy • Finding and sharing of good-news nuggets • Convenient and robust guidelines, tools, templates and ideas • Focus on team effort with roles for staff, partners and key audiences • Exploration and embracing of opportunities to reach out and connect with audiences one-on-one • Focused strategy to communicate County services • Revitalizing existing resources • Stronger emphasis on low-cost electronic tactics • Targeted media policy and outreach strategy • Fulsome and tight social media strategy
EXPECTED RESULTS / GOALS
Staff spend less time on communications and more on service • There is a greater level of readiness/preparedness • Staff supported by a sufficiently-resourced communications department • Audiences are quickly and easily able to find information • Stronger municipal relationships • Communications are proactive • Communications have a positive and successful impact • Consistent image, voice and graphic look • Greater awareness of County services • Council and County staff are better informed on services • Increased staff integration and morale • Fluid and frequent communications • Increased presence in municipalities and media • Increased likelihood of key audiences engaging • Audiences feel their input is valued • A friendly brand that attracts and engages
140 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 6 of 46
Imperative for Structured Communications A Communications Strategy directs how various communications and community engagements are developed and dispersed by Grey County. It sets key communication priorities and overall messaging, defines target audiences, outlines roles and resources, frames internal and external tactics, and establishes media protocols. It is a living document – meant to be fluid as needs and opportunities arise, and to be reviewed and built upon every three to five years as strategic priorities develop.
Effective communications will help the County meet four critical strategic objectives:
1. Expanding the prosperity base a. Support and enhance outreach and promotion of the County as investment-ready AND a preferred tourism destination b. Attract visitors, residents and investors through a strong, appealing and friendly community brand c. Foster community pride through promotion of the efforts and successes of County citizens and businesses
2. Making connections a. Strong local partnerships b. Internal efficiencies through connection and collaboration with municipalities c. Culture of communications with increased staff morale, attraction and retention d. Enhanced issues management, preparedness and smart, strategic messaging for consistent, measured response
3. Listening and working together a. Clarity and understanding on County services, programs and value b. Collaborative, evidence-based decision-making c. Innovation in outreach and citizen engagement
4. Achieving excellence in governance and service a. Alignment and integration of strategic priorities b. Operational efficiency c. Citizen-centred service delivery
Why Engage?
Public is Public is informed knowledgable
Public is open to be more engaged; is engaged
141 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 7 of 46
The following two pages elaborate on 17 benefits of effective strategic communications:
1. Strengthens relationships and collaboration between the County and municipalities: Targeted and increased information exchange between the County and its municipalities builds stronger relationships. There is greater understanding of services and information, heightened trust, increased respect and a desire for collaboration. The end benefit is the positive, proactive, relevant and fruitful exchange of information between the County and municipalities and vice versa, as well as potential for a combination of resources for a reduction in resources and cost.
2. Helps achieve strategic goals: Communications are at the centre of an engaged, collaborative and connected County. Whether the County’s corporate strategic goal is a targeted multi-media strategy to promote Grey for new Canadians or collaborate with the public, stakeholders, and other governments to improve delivery of County services, a Communications Strategy provides for smart, structured and inclusive communications that further the chance of success and allow for the greatest return on investment.
3. Allows for strategic and inclusive dispersal: The right information is sent to the correct audiences in the manner that is most likely to produce a favourable response. This is ensured by the upfront engagement – made directly with the intended audiences – that informed the Strategy’s development.
4. Promotes engagement to support evidence-based decision-making: Audiences that are informed and aware of developments and opportunities in the County are more likely to support and contribute to their success and encourage others to do the same. In turn, their engagement provides opportunity for Council and staff to identify their needs or concerns, which allows for early identification of issues, and drives future planning for programs and initiatives.
5. Uses resources effectively: The defined and planned efforts of a Strategy ensure staff are not engaging in communication activity that is unnecessary, ineffective, a doubling-up of effort, or requires resources that are already available or can be reallocated.
6. Correct or eliminate misinformation: Controlled and structured communications ensure that only those charged with the responsibility of communicating are involved, that messaging is consistent, and incorrect information is identified and addressed.
7. Promotes transparency: Frequent and clear communications support a focus on accountability and transparency, which can lead to increased trust, more positive receipt of information amongst key audiences and an increased desire by audiences to engage, lead or consider political service.
8. Promotes clarity and consistency: Standardized communications set best practice examples for every staff member, leading to consistent communications – sharing a common structure, look and voice – that help to reduce confusion or missed information amongst audiences.
9. Increases morale: Staff or external audiences that don’t feel included can feel frustrated and left out. This leads to disengagement and dissatisfaction. Having a plan that includes them and their needs – that seeks their input – is crucial to limit these issues.
142 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 8 of 46
10. Attracts and retains the best and brightest: A focused Strategy promotes the image of the County as a successful, open, engaging and welcoming place that attracts not only visitors and residents, but also progressive businesses and driven, accomplished staff.
11. Increases efficiency: Having everyone on the same page helps ensure a project realizes success. In addition, structured communications – whether for routine needs or for a critical issue – ensure County and municipality staff spend more time delivering services than communicating about them.
12. Minimizes unnecessary customer service: Effective communications provides clear, relevant and timely information that not only saves the public’s need to call or visit the main administration building for information, but can reduce the time spent by Council and frontline staff to answer general inquiries – freeing them up for more fulsome public interaction.
13. Builds resident pride in being part of Grey County: A government that reaches out, stakeholders who share and contribute, and partners that are engaged together build a stronger sense of community and project a greater sense of pride in their collective achievements.
14. Strengthens partnerships: A Strategy defines, helps establish and grows strong communication channels and partnerships within the County and amongst the County and its member municipalities. This ensures effective community connections, enabling further opportunities and alignment with strategic goals, which benefits both the County, its municipalities and partners, and the community at large.
15. Strengthens effectiveness in times of crisis: Having structured communications in place, supported by a Strategy and tactics such as an enhanced web presence or strengthened partner channels, better ensures the County is prepared to reach key audiences quickly and effectively in times of need.
16. Allows for measurement: Formalizing communication efforts means outreach is strategically planned, implemented and measured. This allows for more effective evaluation of effort versus desired outcome to establish success measures, bring precision to future activities and to support positive public perception.
17. Creates a brand experience: When all public engagement and communications are aligned with a common identity, voice and personality, it leads to a more fulfilling brand experience resulting in greater stakeholder confidence and enthusiasm – promoting a united and resilient community to prospective visitors, investors and partners.
143 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 9 of 46
Goals and Objectives Communications Department
1. Provide strategic communications and support to the Council, County and its departments that aids in the timely and effective provision of information to its member municipalities and citizens about County programs, services and initiatives (i.e. Green in Grey or Recolour Grey). 2. More widely incorporate new technology tactics, alongside various traditional tactics, to ensure greater and easier access, and broader, more economical delivery. 3. Ensure continued use of more “traditional” media, at least for the duration of this strategy’s three-year span, to address a higher median age of 48 (Ontario: 41.3). 4. Forge stronger and collaborative exchanges with municipalities, providing advice and support as requested. 5. Achieve consistency in identity and voice in communications. 6. Provide consistent, clear, accurate and high-quality messaging that reflects corporate goals and objectives. 7. Ensure a respectful tone and manner that encourages collaboration and the open exchange of ideas.
Internal
1. County corporate and departmental communications are supported by a sufficiently-resourced and skills-based Communications Department. 2. Department staff spend less time creating and addressing communications and more on delivering services. 3. Staff and municipalities seek out, and are confident in, the abilities, skills and guidance of the Communications Department. 4. Staff understand and utilize communication tools that allow them to operate more efficiently. 5. Staff respond to citizens with the information that they want. 6. Staff anticipate and deliver a timely and informed response on questions and issues. 7. Staff and Council awareness about what is happening in the County more broadly is increased. 8. Organizational goals are achieved through greater engagement and corresponding results. 9. Employees at satellite locations feel connected to the “Corporation”. 10. A tone and manner is developed and embraced by all staff that encourages collaboration and the open exchange of ideas – a “culture of communications”.
External
1. An involved community that is interested and engaged in the workings of its government. 2. Citizens and other key stakeholders feel informed about County services and operations. 3. There is clear understanding on what is a County or municipal service and where to access information. 4. Citizens and other key stakeholders feel they have a voice – and directly affect – key decisions. 5. Awareness of County priorities – and the public’s role in them – is more widely understood. 6. Stakeholder relationships are improved. 7. There are strong, proactive relationships with media. 8. The County’s image – both in the community and outside – is positively boosted.
144 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 10 of 46
A. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
Overarching Guidelines The following overarching strategic directions are intended to guide all specific communication activities in the realization of the above Goals and Objectives:
1. Make engagement, feedback and enquiries as easy and efficient as possible. Make it easy for the community to find information on their own, engage with staff if necessary or preferred, and share information easily by always providing clear call-to-actions, direct phone and email contact(s) and increased customer service levels. Clearly identify additional resources, community contacts and satellite locations to access information or staff directly.
2. Focus on timely communications. Engagement, open houses, surveys and the like are rendered ineffective if audiences are not provided with ample awareness and opportunity to partake in these opportunities. Ensure set standards, practices and requirements are developed for all community engagement efforts and are uniformly applied across the organization.
3. Communicate in ‘layers’. Provide layers of content – from brief Facebook posts and media advisories, to online access of a fulsome brief, and yet further access to background details, reports and the like. Allow more for audiences to control their communications and engagement – this eliminates the possibility of inundating, oversharing or assuming audiences don’t want information, while providing for them to access or engage as their individual preferences direct. It also supports strong tracking and measurement as clicks can be made quantifiable.
4. Make roles clear. It is critical that it always be made clear what level of government is responsible for what service in order to limit frustration or misunderstanding. Clearly identify ownership (County or municipality) and provide a strong call to action, direct web link, or staff email address or phone number for additional inquiries (done to great effect on the website). This will be supported by developing, promoting and referencing an overarching “overview” of roles that details the responsibility of the Communications Department, Directors/Managers/Supervisors, staff/departments, County Council and municipalities in communications.
5. Emphasize electronic communications while retaining traditional tactics. Public survey participants spoke clearly – interest in online communications is growing. Actively pursue new and innovative ways to reach stakeholders virtually: through use of sophisticated email/enewsletter technology, social media channels, videos, blog platforms and smartphone apps. Given the strong number of satellite locations and staff that operate outside of an office environment, reliance on electronic communications (email, social media, SMS) is essential as well as economical.
Note: a commitment to more traditional forms of communications such as mailings and radio will still need to continue, as will a commitment to making these tools accessible.
6. Build strong community channels with key partners and influencers. Make community and municipal outreach a core component of a more heavily-resource Communications Department in order to increase collaborative opportunities that will ensure more robust, comprehensive
145 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 11 of 46
planning. Establish communication and conversation relationships with academic institutions, cultural centres, businesses, arts groups and multicultural organizations. Explore unique communication arrangements with each to provide their stakeholders with timely, useful information that is relevant to them.
7. Promote a brand voice/identity that supports how the County wants to come across in communications. Currently inconsistently applied, there is opportunity to more fulsomely adopt a welcoming, collaborative (“we”) and “charming” personality in communications to engage and entice internal and external audiences. It can be fun and playful, so long as it is also honest and respectful.
It is recommended, outside of instances where the full legal name is mandated, that the term “Grey County” be used in place of “County of Grey” in all communications, both internally and externally. It is a warmer and more approachable term and supports the more welcoming personality recommended above.
The Grey County brand voice can be reinforced – and indeed strengthened – by a promissory statement such as “Taking care of the county” and each communication identifying how the service provides care. This is different than the tagline attached to the brand (“Colour It Your Way”) – it is a cultural theme, a corporate operations promise. It is the experience expected of County services, not a County brand.
8. Ensure sustained, strategic and proactive communications through realistic and thorough planning. Identify ongoing communications as a key responsibility for everyone involved on a program or campaign, and for each define ‘what you can do’. The County has a number of creative programming personnel whose superior skills and insights should be sought in the developmental stages of key programs.
There is also a tendency for communications to be – or be perceived as – reactive. A greater focus on issues management planning throughout departments, will minimize surprises and ensure that County staff can stay ahead of communication needs and to address potential conflicts.
9. Demonstrate appreciation of citizen and staff engagement, and the value of it, through updates. A focus on follow-up through continued engagement, reporting and updates must be the cornerstone of communications – how is input being incorporated? What is the status of Recolour Grey? What’s next? Where can I find out more information? Audiences who are informed and involved in an authentic way are more likely to tell others and are generally more embracing of decisions. Staff are more likely to collaborate and share when communications support and promote what they have accomplished.
10. Endeavour to eliminate heavy, formal, superlative copy in favour of plain language and strong visuals. Visual will catch attention and get recipients looking, is preferred by most stakeholder groups and is more memorable. Reduce copy-heavy communications in favour of visuals that make a more personal connection include internal documents, such as Council reports, in this focus. Embrace video more strongly as well as infographics and a professional, community-based image library.
11. Emphasize internal-first to foster a culture of communications. Ensure County staff are made aware of issues and new information first. Often serving as the first point of contact for citizens, they can serve as brand ambassadors, delivering correct, knowledgeable and helpful support. Conversely, if staff are not informed, or ill-informed, this can demonstrate to audiences a lack of cohesion, poor operational effectiveness and low staff engagement.
146 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 12 of 46
Key Messages These key messages represent the unique values that Grey County’s communication efforts will realize. These key messages should remain strong areas of focus and improvement to help support the County’s strategic objectives of “expanding the prosperity base” (goal 1), “making connections” (goal 4), “listening and working together” (goal 5) and “achieving excellence in governance and service” (goal 6).
1. Grey County effectively and efficiently delivers services that take care of everyone in the county.
1. Grey County, through strong collaboration with member municipalities, delivers fulsome services that support a high quality of life for our citizens. 2. The County is made up of nine distinctive municipalities that each have a voice in and influence over County-wide decisions. 3. The County is guided by a strong and engaged Council that is representative of the individual needs, personalities and make-ups of our municipalities.
2. Grey County will communicate critical and core service information to all key audiences.
1. We will deliver clear and informative information on County programs and services, and plainly and effectively distinguish between County and municipal services. 2. We will accommodate the varied communication needs and preferences of our citizens by using a blend of traditional and new technology methods for communications. 3. We will be open and transparent through proactive and frequent communications.
3. Readily-accessible information and citizen engagement will be of critical focus for Grey County communications efforts to ensure an informed and engage community.
1. We will ensure information on County services is readily available, easy to access through a number of channels, fulsome and easy to understand. 2. We will provide correct and accurate information, and clearly communicate where more details and ongoing updates can be found. 3. We will ensure strong, proactive and comprehensive communications and interaction with county organizations, associations, business and other key partners for effective information exchange. and
4. Grey County communications will support and enhance the efforts of County staff to deliver services that take care of the county.
1. We will deliver strategic planning and guidance, as well as the full range of communications services, in order to allow County staff to focus on service delivery to our citizens. 2. We will inform and update staff on County programs and services to ensure they can serve as informed ambassadors to the community. 3. We will focus on proactive, fulsome planning with staff to ensure engagement efforts and information reach citizens in a timely and effective manner.
147 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 13 of 46
Audiences and Roles Given the significant number of audiences and the perceived overlap in general needs and audience overviews, audiences have been grouped into similar “categories” with shared communication objectives and engagement recommendations. Persona identification pulls from best practices findings from The Letter M’s considerable outreach in the private/public sectors and feedback garnered during the focus groups and survey. This matrix will serve to guide the development of materials (content) and their distribution to audiences. Greater detail on the proposed tactical recommendations begin on page 29.
County Communications Department:
Role
1. Leadership: Departments with strong communications knowledge and capability; ensure best practices standards are adhered to 2. Support: County departments with dedicated communications staff in-house (Grey Roots and Tourism) 3. Support: Municipalities on strategic planning and issues management 4. Dedicated liaison: Departments requiring fulsome assistance 5. Source: County Council for messaging, updates and resources 6. Strategic communication planning: All departments; key message drafting 7. Public relations: Media relations/releases, monitoring, speech writing 8. Electronic and visual communications: Social media management and monitoring, videos, Grey’p Vine, photography 9. Emergency, issues and crisis communications: Releases/broadcasts, media/social media, publications, internal communications 10. Graphic design services: Materials or outsourcing to preapproved vendors as required; creation of overarching templates (letters, posters, etc.) as well as creation, review and update of toolkit 11. Event and community outreach planning: Internal and external in collaboration with depts. 12. Advertising buys/marketing: For promotion of corporate initiatives 13. Printing: Liaise with external, preapproved vendors to facilitate large-scale or professional printing; provide printers with identity standards regarding printing 14. Website: Content updates 15. Social media: Guide and populate approved social media feeds; establish policy; oversee broader social media channels 16. Brand management: Corporate branding and style standards; policing usage; brand merchandise 17. Accessibility (AODA) 18. Coaching/training: As relates to communications such as media training, Grey’p Vine, template usage, social media or design guidelines, etc.) and provide one-on-one training for key staff as necessary on particular areas
148 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 14 of 46
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Grey County Council – Spokesperson in their municipality; focus remains more strong on – Council update (from Comms. Dept.) this role – Report template (updated) – Need clear and concise information and messaging – Council communications presentation; – General understanding of County services; significant knowledge include issues mgmt. on some key areas – Website – Governance and/or leadership role – Media – Expect thorough analysis – Annual communications progress report – Cost-benefit focused – Candidates presentation (updated) – May serve on other bodies (channel/ambassador) – Media relations training – Focused on citizen satisfaction – Social media training – May be skeptical/cautious about County comms. – CAO update (include in mailing) – Often first point of contact for citizens, media and partners – Staff newsletter (include in mailing) – Busy: rely on easiest form of communication – Grey’p Vine Role
1. Seek support: Liaise with Communications to seek support with messaging 2. Be a brand ambassador: Support and promote the Grey brand 3. Be a key communicator: Provide Communications with personal and community feedback 4. Municipal citizen liaison: Serve as general contact for those requesting information on an issue, service or program 5. Monitor: Track public discourse/issues and liaise with County staff to collaborate/plan response 6. Provide support: Ensure awareness/understanding of key County communications to allow for accurate representation to constituents 7. Social media: Forward on/share/comment on County communications 8. Keep up-to-date: On communications processes/tools and take advantage of County training opportunities
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Staff (includes volunteers) – Focused on service delivery; pride in work – Grey’p Vine (individual and department/ – May be skeptical/cautious about comms. – Staff meetings location-based such as – May feel disconnected, separate or distinct from County services – CAO update Finance, Grey Gables, etc.) – Possible comms. “ownership” issues – Staff newsletter – Often first point of contact for citizens – Events (rotating locations) – Not guaranteed access to device (email) – Training (comms., brand, etc.) – Limited time to invest specifically on comms. – Website – Busy: rely on easiest form of communication – Social media – Significant knowledge of department; limited on broader services – Award program – Campaign (brand awareness) 149 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 15 of 46
Role
1. Seek support: Liaise with Communications to seek support with messaging, tactics and roll-out 2. Strategize: Meet with Communications and provide dedicated resources to yearly departmental planning to ensure strategic and proactive communications 3. Municipal collaborator: In cases where cross-promotion or other service combination with municipalities is necessary or advised, serve as key liaison as appropriate 4. Printing: Coordinate in-house where possible or liaise with Communications to facilitate large-scale or professional printing 5. Support: Assist Communication by directing County staff to, or providing the information, relevant to your department/service as needed 6. Be a key communicator: Provide Communications with news, facts, information, etc. that allows the department to ably communicate, or to assist you in communicating, information 7. Community liaison: Serve as general contact for those requesting information on an issue, service or program that falls under your responsibility 8. Monitor: Track public discourse/issues and liaise with managers/senior staff to collaborate/plan response 9. Social media: Guide and populate external social media (only those staff who are pre-approved to do so); monitor feeds/pages; follow established guidelines for posting; follow and support County social media 10. Media contact: Serve as contact, following Communications approval, in select circumstances 11. Feedback: Provide ongoing feedback to Communications 12. Partner liaison: Serve as contact for external partners in situations where a relationship has been established or when it makes communications most expedient; rely on Communications for messaging and materials to support the relationship. Set yearly or bi-yearly meetings with partners to ensure an open, collaborative relationship 13. Keep up-to-date: On communications processes/tools and take advantage of Communications training opportunities
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Member Municipalities – Municipality-focused mindset – Council update (from Comms. Dept.) (key communicator such as – Busy: rely on minimalist; easiest form of communication – Bi-weekly summary Clerk, etc.) – Interested in resources/tools that reduce their time spent on – One-on-one engagement comms. – Website – Limited time to invest in collaboration, updates, etc. – Speaker series – Generally unconcerned unless issue affects them; citizens – Campaign (Know Your County) – General understanding of County services; general feeling of – CAO update (include in mailing) disconnect/separation from County – Communications Working Group – Focused on citizen satisfaction – May be skeptical/cautious about County comms. – Often first point of contact for citizens – Varying levels of communications knowledge 150 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 16 of 46
Role
1. Support: Liaise and partner with County communications on key services and programs of mutual note 2. Engage: Engage with and seek the input of County on issues management if/when necessary 3. Dedicated liaison: Serve as municipal liaison (supporting Mayor and CAO) to County 4. Source: Provide County communications with information, updates and news of note 5. Channel: Serve as key disseminator of County news of note/relevance in municipality 6. Emergency, issues and crisis communications: Releases/broadcasts, media/social media, publications, internal communications 7. Event and community outreach planning: Internal and external in collaboration with County communications 8. Website: Where website is managed by Grey County, provide content updates 9. Brand management: Properly and consistently apply Grey corporate branding and style standards
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Residents – Permanent – Property-possessive; wary of interference – Website/videos/app (general public, tenants, – Prefer mix of electronic and traditional, but with growing – Social media youth, etc.) preference for electronic – Media/advertising – Lack of connection to/understanding of County – Enewsletter Interest/advocacy groups – Greater interest in service information, but still high interest in – Preferred channels/partners planning/budget – Campaigns (brand, planning, etc.) – May be leery of “government” – In-facility screens/message boards – Generally unconcerned unless issue affects them; then vocal – Mobile County events and meetings advocates – Community events – Limited time to invest in engagement; limited interest – Surveys – Community advocates – Year in Review Role
1. Provide support: Act as a conduit for County messaging 2. Be a key communicator: Engage with and provide insights and feedback to County staff; share County communications more broadly in community 3. Social media: Forward on/share/comment on County communications 4. Keep up-to-date: Source and request information on County services/programs of interest (may also serve ambassadorial role) 5. Extend reach: Connect with hard-to-reach members of the community 6. Be a brand ambassador: Support and promote the Grey brand
151 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 17 of 46
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations First Nations – Appreciate/desire greater one-on-one engagement and personal – One-on-one engagement at events invitations – Website/videos/app – Property-possessive; wary of interference – Preferred channels/partners – Lack of connection to/understanding of County – Social media – May be leery of “government” and issues communications – Media/advertising – Generally unconcerned unless issue affects them; then vocal – Enewsletter advocates – Campaigns (brand, planning, etc.) – Community advocates – Surveys – Greater “niche” culture – Year in Review Role
1. Provide support: Act as a conduit for County messaging 2. Be a key communicator: Engage with and provide insights and feedback to County staff; share County communications within broader First Nations community 3. Provide a voice: Ensure First Nations engagement is a critical component of communications and outreach efforts 4. Keep up-to-date: Source and request information on County services/programs of interest
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Residents – Seasonal – Majority of their interaction will likely be online – Website/videos/app – Lack of connection to/understanding of County – Social media Visitors – Limited interest in broader communications and County brand – In-facility screens/message boards – More susceptible to “marketing” messaging – Media/advertising – Generally unconcerned with most County services/engagement – Speaker series outside of direct personal needs – Enewsletter – Busy; interested in short/succinct information – Community events – Limited interest in community engagement Role
1. Limited support: No direct role in communication of County services and messaging; act as high-level conduit for County messaging 2. Communicator: May provide insights and feedback on services and projects 3. External reach: May forward on key information to regions outside of the County 4. Social media: Forward on/share/comment on County communications
152 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 18 of 46
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Committees (i.e. social – Strong commitment to position/role – CAO update services committee, public – Generally, strong sense of community; community advocates – Website/videos/app safety committee, etc.) – Need clear and concise information and messaging – Enewsletter – General understanding of County services; significant knowledge – Social media on some key areas – Media/advertising – May be point of contact for citizens, media and partners – Year in Review – Busy: rely on easiest form of communication Role
1. Inform: Ensure Communications is provided with meeting minutes/updates of note 2. Community liaison: Serve as information channel on the issue, service or program that falls under your responsibility 3. Be a brand ambassador: Support and promote the Grey brand 4. Social media: Forward on/share/comment on County communications
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Businesses (general, – Typically, strong community supporters – Enewsletter landlords, communication – Need strong understanding of benefits and return on investment – Speaker series providers, developers, etc.) – Broad network of contacts – Website/videos/app – Generally, tech savvy – Social media Chambers of Commerce – Busy; limited time for communications – Media/advertising – Low knowledge on broader County services; may have significant – Year in Review knowledge on specific areas – County meetings – May be skeptical of County communications/messaging – Community events – Not generally receptive to softer messaging – Surveys Role
1. Inform: Ensure Communications (EcDev) is provided with community business news and updates of note for greater promotion 2. Industry liaison: Serve as information channel to Communications on your particular industry/area of focus 3. Collaborate: Provide insights and feedback on relevant County services and projects 4. Provide support: Provide pertinent County information to employees/members/peers 5. Social media: Forward on/share/comment on County communications as appropriate
153 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 19 of 46
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Institutions (i.e. hospitals (via – Receptive to benefits of partnering – Speaker series Grey Bruce Health Services), – Professional and focused with communications experience – Website/videos/app elementary/secondary – Highly-connected with substantial access to networks and contacts – Enewsletter schools via school boards, – In some cases, knowledge of County services; may not be accurate – Social media Georgian College, Adult – Tech savvy – Media/advertising Learning Centres, Career & – Generally, have structured internal comms. capacity – Year in Review Business College, etc.) – Busy; need-to-know – County meetings – More receptive to individualized rather than blanket comms. – Community events Role
1. Inform: Ensure Communications is provided with news and updates of note for greater promotion 2. Liaison: Serve as information channel to Communications on your particular industry/area of focus 3. Collaborate: Provide insights and feedback on key and relevant services and projects 4. Provide support: Provide relevant County information to members/clients/patients/students 5. Be a key communicator: Convey insights and feedback 6. Extend reach: Connect with hard-to-reach members of the County 7. Social media: Forward on/share/comment on County communications as appropriate
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Media (print, radio and TV) – Professional, focused and determined – One-on-one outreach – Highly-connected with substantial access to networks/resources – Customized media releases – Busy/time-crunched – Social media – High level of County operations knowledge (broadly) – Website/videos/app – Not generally emotionally invested – Year in Review – Highly tech savvy – Mobile County events and meetings – Generally, disapproves of “salesy” language – Community events Role
1. Ask questions: Challenge decisions and seek the facts for audiences 2. Provide support: Act as a conduit for County messaging 3. Effect understanding: Influence public understanding and perception 4. Be a key communicator: Convey public insights and feedback 5. Social media: Forward on/share/comment on County communications 6. Extend reach: Connect with hard-to-reach members of the community
154 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 20 of 46
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations First Responders (fire – Often travelling – Customized memos/releases services and Grey County – Community advocates – Website/videos/app OPP/Police Services) – Highly tech savvy – Social media – Limited knowledge of broader County services – Busy; juggling many responsibilities – Ability to act/process under pressure Role
1. Inform: Ensure Communications is provided with service news and updates of note for greater promotion 2. Industry liaison: Serve as information channel to Communications on your area of focus 3. Collaborate: Provide insights and feedback on relevant County services and projects 4. Provide support: Forward on/share/comment on County communications as appropriate
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Associations/organizations – Typically, strong community supporters – Website/videos/app (i.e. volunteer centres, – Trusted sources – Speaker series Conservation Authority, – Spokesperson in their specific “communities” or industry – Enewsletter Ontario Early Years, CMHA, – Professional and focused – Social media Community Care Access – Highly-connected with substantial access to networks/resources – Media/advertising Centre, Downtown – High level of knowledge (broadly) and in many cases, perhaps – Campaigns (youth, planning, etc.) Improvement Areas, etc.) more specifically to County services – Year in Review – Generally, tech savvy – County meetings Community services/groups – Disapproves of overt “salesy” language – Community events (i.e. YMCA, libraries (via – Receptive to the end benefits of partnering municipalities), United Way, – Significant resources/budget in some cases such as comms. dept. museums, churches, legions, – May not have accurate information on County services Business Enterprise Centre, – Busy; limited time for external communications etc.) – Generally protective of membership/members Role
1. Collaborate: Provide insights and feedback on key and relevant County services and projects 2. Member channel: Provide relevant County information to members/peers 3. Provide support: Forward on/share/comment on County communications
155 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 21 of 46
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Neighbouring Counties – High level of understanding of County operations – Speaker series (Bruce, Huron, Wellington, – Not necessarily “local”: main contact may be 2-3 hours away – Website Simcoe, Dufferin) – Generally unconcerned with most Grey County services – Social media – Busy professionals; limited interest in engagement – Media releases (relevant) – Likely more interested in campaigns/softer messaging – One-on-one outreach as required Role
1. General liaison: May provide collaborative support on best practices and other issues management advice/recommendations 2. Limited support: No direct role in communication of County services and messaging 3. Commentator: May provide general oversight/feedback on County services and projects
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Federal/Provincial – Generally unconcerned with most Grey County services – Website Governments – No high level understanding of County operations/services – Media releases (relevant) – Majority of their initial interaction will likely be online – One-on-one outreach as required – Not necessarily “local”: main contact may be 4-5 hours away – Busy professionals – Need-to-know; not receptive to softer messaging Role
1. Limited support: No direct role in communication of County services and messaging 2. Commentator: May provide general oversight/feedback on County services and projects 3. External reach: Limited media relations support (on significant issues) as part of a broader campaign
Audience Group Overview Tactical Recommendations Unions (CUPE, OPSEU, – Leery of “government” – One-on-one outreach as required UNIFOR and ONA) – Unconcerned on County services unless issue identified with mbrs. – Media/advertising – Professional and focused – Website – Spokesperson and trusted source for membership – Need-to-know; not receptive to softer messaging Role
1. Limited support: No direct role in communication of County services and messaging 2. Commentator: May provide general oversight/feedback on County services and projects
156 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 22 of 46
Communication Channels and Partnerships In the preceding section a number of target audiences were identified that will directly or indirectly benefit from the County’s communication efforts. In many cases, these audiences also serve as channels and partners for communication efforts – these professionals, organizations and associations are readily positioned and able to promote County services and information and/or have direct access to a key audience. This directly supports a key action in the Strategic Plan to more effectively and efficiently deliver services and programs.
Each year, effort should be taken by the Communications Department (or alternate contact as per below) to set one-on- one meetings with 8 to 10 key partners to develop a formal communication program (and personal rapport) whereby the County supplies agreed-to content, specifically developed to support the organization’s messaging or mandate, and invites the organization to provide likewise to the County. These meetings do not have to be marathon strategy sessions, but a phone call or quick coffee to update, identify opportunities and measure/evaluate previous communication collaboration efforts.
By including the County’s updates in their existing activities, these partners can help bring information to their stakeholders, while the County effectively connects to some of the more tough-to-reach corners of the community.
1. Identify key contacts: For each of the identified partners, it is likely that one/more County staff members already act as an informal contact. In some cases, these partners are municipality-based, requiring initial discussion and outreach to municipal contacts in order to strategize an optimum approach. Any existing relationships should be identified, explored and formalized to limit cross-over/repetition with Communications, and to identify opportunities for further strengthening: one key contact, targeted messaging and personal communications.
2. Key messages: For each of the identified partners, it is recommended that three to four targeted key messages be drawn and amended from the recommended messaging (see page 12). These messages would answer or address partners’ specific needs and wants, and form the basis for all communications with that particular audience. In few cases will the partner’s mandates align directly with the County’s, so great care will need to be taken to properly nuance messaging.
In some cases, strategic and tactical recommendations (such as collaborating with specific businesses on development or target neighbourhood populations on road construction) make more sense to be administered by the relevant department (from a messaging and follow-up standpoint). It is anticipated that the department may take the lead in these specific circumstances with close collaboration with Communications to ensure messaging is targeted and strategic communication and community engagement guidelines are followed.
157 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 23 of 46
Media and Public Relations It is recommended that a modified and targeted media strategy be employed to engage with municipal print, radio and television sources. In all cases, it is key that efforts to engage with the media centre on providing fulsome and fact-based content that requires limited effort of time-pressed reporters to dig for PDFs or backgrounders.
1. Set media policy:
i. Response: Ideal response to a media inquiry should be immediate or within 1-2 hours. Same day is the maximum requirement. ii. Monitoring: Continue to track media coverage and collect clippings, but summarize coverage rather than scan/cut/paste each article; evaluate coverage and liaise with department/media source iii. Establish roles: Communications should endeavour to establish greater and more personal one-on-one connections with key media representatives; Communications should attend all County events, where feasible, at which the media will be present. This will minimize the likelihood that media will reach out to non-authorized or uninformed County staff for comment or information.
Communications is to be the media relations contact in all circumstances except when:
i. another source has been identified in a media release; ii. a previous relationship between a media representation and a department’s Director or supervisor has been established; or iii. information is of a nature that does not require strategic oversight (i.e. date a road is closed?).
For i. and ii., at the discretion of the staff member, Communications should be notified of the exchange and/or called upon to provide/review messaging and appropriate response.
2. Increase timeliness and frequency of outreach: Media often indicate that not enough notice is given of a pending event – or they are simply not informed and find out “after the fact”. Increase the number of press releases and ENSURE staff contacts noted in releases will be available after release is sent. In addition, as a number of smaller outlets depend almost entirely on Council minutes for information, ensuring this resource is available as soon as possible is critical to ensure coverage.
3. Evaluate and evolve release: Rework the current release format to ensure the only key focus is how it will affect residents (not how it affects the County – i.e. not “the budget came in low”, but rather “residents will see reduced services in…”). In addition, knowing a particular media outlet’s preference or format for information – and their deadlines – and catering to this, is a proven method of ensuring more fulsome, accurate coverage.
4. Engage with media appropriately:
i. Radio: More uniquely in Grey County, radio enjoys a preferred place as a key resource by key audiences. Ensure fulsome and fast distribution to key identified providers as identified through the survey: County 93.7, Mix 106.5 and The One 101.7 with Dock 92.3 less so, as well as other supporting stations. Efforts must keep in mind that most broadcasters have limited staff and time to collect, research and draft stories. Releases should be created specific to radio – short, written in a script style.
ii. CTV: Ensure fast and accurate releases and accessible sources; prefers hard news.
158 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 24 of 46
iii. Rogers Cable, Markdale Communications, Wightman, Eastlink: Ensure fast and accurate releases; provide greater soft news.
iv. Print: Provide greater soft news with continued and frequent one-on-one follow-up; ensure imagery is provided if media do not attend event; ensure updates are provided on initiatives. As indicated by survey respondents, the most frequently-read publications are the Owen Sound Sun Times and The Hanover Post, so the greater amount of outreach effort and budget should be allotted accordingly, with The Flesherton Advance and the Shoreline Beacon less so, as well as other supporting publications.
Where possible and advisable as part of a larger strategy, advertising placements with the top identified media above should be considered (see page 41).
5. Share good news stories: More aggressively identify and promote County examples/connections to provide ongoing coverage and awareness with media in-between harder news stories. This will help to better “sell” and celebrate the quality of people and leadership to overcome “one-step” removal perception of County, satellite staff isolation and demonstrate the value of County services. Key to this however will be ensuring that stories, while originating by/with Grey, will need to strongly and clearly demonstrate a value (what’s in it) for the community more broadly. Why does a particular story matter to the public? Without a broader value, it is anticipated media and community pick-up, and positive public impressions, will be negligible.
Brainstorm a list of stories to develop and push out to media and on social media – look at doing at least one story/release per month. Engage with departments on a monthly basis for 200-300 word stories (Colour It stories). These should look to highlight positive achievements and successes made by the County, its staff and municipalities, and its citizens. Ensure that a call for submissions is put out to staff through a general email.
159 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 25 of 46
Social Media Strategy 1. Formalize a social media policy: Communications should serve as a centralized resource for the oversight, content creation, monitoring and evaluation of online communications tools, except for specific instances where separate, trained administrators are better able to monitor and respond more effectively.
The following social media strategy is based on best practices stemming from similar governments, social media experts and analysts. It reflects the public feedback on preferred methods (Facebook with a growing Twitter following). This framework will provide a solid basis upon which the County’s Communications team can support existing or build new campaigns. These recommendations apply to the County’s corporate social media feeds as well as any separate feeds specific to, and managed by, other County departments.
Page/Feed Recommendations It is recommended that, in order to concentrate feeds, resources and messaging, that consideration be given to amalgamating the County Jobs (639 followers) and Purchasing (136) feeds into the Grey County.
Content Strategy It is recommended that monitoring and posting on County social media feeds (under the County persona) be minimized and assigned to only those who have received training or who have demonstrated aptitude for the medium and for supporting strategic communications and corporate goals and planning. In all cases, contributing personnel must acknowledge that social media monitoring is as essential as using it.
Although all other County staff are encouraged to use and engage on social media, they must be reminded that their comments may reflect on their position within the County and on the County itself. Staff who are not authorized to engage as administrators on County social media MUST NOT under any circumstances undertake to do so without with express approval from the Communications Department. All staff who are approved for corporate social media engagement must sign off each tweet or post with their initials (e.g., “hey thanks for letting us know about the Governor General visit – we’ll be there! – BL”). Approved contributors include:
1. Corporate a. Manager, Communications Department b. Communications Officer c. Digital Specialist 2. Grey Roots (two or three contacts) 3. Tourism (one or two contacts) 4. County Clerk (one contact) 5. Paramedic Services (one contact) 6. Planning and Development (one contact) 7. Transportation Services (one or two contacts) 8. Economic Development (one contact)
Content Recommendations
1. County service information: Launch news or updates on initiatives with pre-event Facebook or Twitter enticements. Sustain interest through updates and feedback on social media.
160 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 26 of 46
2. Municipal service information: Share partner news or service updates as appropriate and where clear distinction between County/municipality ownership can be made.
3. Activities and events: Remind citizens of upcoming activities and events (in the County and municipalities). This can also be accomplished through an “Events” feed in Facebook, where users can subscribe to an RSS feed of events (effective Events calendar at visitgrey.ca).
4. Public and Council meetings: Post reminders and hints of meeting content. Post meeting highlights within 24 hours and follow-up where appropriate.
5. Departmental feeds: Share Grey exhibits, Tourism sightseeing recommendations, EcDev events, road closures and construction updates, HR job search recommendations, etc.
6. Job applications: To help fill open job positions, post them with links to full job descriptions and instructions on how to apply. One or two posts on social media can get several people to apply and add new followers.
7. Videos: County videos or slideshows.
8. National holidays and celebrations: Issue a shout-out from the County for Labour Day, New Year’s, etc.
9. Education and public service announcements: As is done with Paramedic Services (share and post original content).
10. Partners: Share or give a shout-out to partners’, businesses’ and citizens’ events and celebrations such as awards, anniversaries and fundraising opportunities. Volunteer requests and program updates are also great ideas.
11. Crime prevention and police assistance: Police post crime prevention tips, time-sensitive information such as Amber alerts and alerts on dangers in the area.
12. Questions/surveys: Engage followers by grabbing their interest with quick personal, but not intrusive, questions such as “what road in Grey causes you the biggest headache?”
Facebook Overview Consider Facebook a hub for community engagement and an online junction for real-world interaction.
Hard Rules 1. 1 post in the morning and, where possible, 1 post in the evening 2. Always post with a visual/link (this can include an image, PDF, link back to the County’s website, link to an alternate website, how to contact, video, etc.) 3. Always have a call to action: a. Sign up b. Share c. Like
161 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 27 of 46
d. Go to this link 4. Always include a meaningful message when sharing other partners’ content (never just blank share) 5. Always include a hashtag and any relevant hashtags (no more than three maximum) 6. When posting a picture with a text post: a. Always have text on the picture itself b. Always watermark the photo with the County logo, hashtag and link c. Always use a high-res photo 7. Always respond with something meaningful (or friendly in keeping with County “voice”) 8. Never delete a comment unless the content is inappropriate or defamatory. Instead: a. Ask individuals into a private message session. Empathize with the disgruntled and possibly-misinformed user. Try to educate with fact: If not possible, state that the County appreciates their input but agrees to disagree and end communication even if they continue to add more to the conversation Only respond again if the County is in the wrong: apologize and withdraw from the conversation 9. Turn the narrative of the conversation that is public to the County’s advantage: a. State the facts b. Remove emotion on the County’s end, but embrace the emotion on the end user
Variety 1. Visual works best: a. Photos will always have a better engagement level than text b. Video doesn’t always have to be polished: people crowding a webcam is just as effective 2. Always add some form of media to a lengthy text post and include a link
Make Connections Every month, search for local pages or connection to “like”. A key focus should be following local media feeds and engagement. Share appropriate content.
Twitter Overview Twitter is the most real-time of the social networks. Timely responses are imperative. If a resident has a question regarding anything County-related, ensure the question is answered the same day (i.e. “How much longer will there be construction on Grey Road 12?”) – THE COUNTY then contacts Transportation to find the appropriate response rather than directing the individual to contact Transportation.
Hard Rules 1. Tweets will always have a: a. Link or picture (if picture, it must always have text overlaying the picture) b. #hashtag – whether it’s #GreyCounty hashtag or leveraging an already-popular hashtag or both. One hashtag is fine, 10 are not. Use hashtags (#) to separate posts and organize content 2. Tweets will have no more than 110-115 characters to accommodate retweets (R/Ts) from the community. Don’t use all 140 characters: give people room to retweet with a reply 3. No more than 15 original tweets per day (not including responses, R/Ts or quote-tweets [Q/Ts]), but 3-5 a day is recommended. Space out posts every few hours.
162 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 28 of 46
4. Always include a call to action 5. Never R/T – ONLY Q/T: Q/T’ing allows you to tell the community why they should read the tweet 6. Respond to mentions and thank R/Ts in no less than 90 mins up until 9 p.m. (this helps to alleviate batch responses) 7. Always be honest, kind and admit when you were wrong 8. Always shorten links 9. Always ask individuals to direct message (DM) the County if the need should arise to take issues off public domain 10. DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS: a. Turn problems into opportunities for discussion b. Ask volatile users into a DM conversation if need be (if they refuse, end the conversation) 11. Never block a user just because they disagree with a posting or commentary
Responsiveness Responding within 90 mins is preferable and 24 hours is forgivable, but too late. We’ve recommended an approved team of contributors and supporting training that will ensure County social media responders will be comfortable with speaking to users online, which is an important factor to collecting successful user interactions online which leads to creating a predictable, reliable, and trusted online entity for Grey County.
Make Connections Every two weeks or so, find a new list or hashtag to follow, and follow everyone on the list. This can be done by searching for keyword terms of choice in Twitter (e.g., #GreyNews, #VisitGrey, #GreyRoads, etc.), or more easily using Hootsuite, which can show dual feeds at the same time. A key focus should be following local media feeds. Wait 48 hours and unfollow the users who don’t immediately follow you back in that window of time (this process allows you to engage the most prolific/communicative users that will engage with you more often and spread your message farther as more often than not their community is already full of prolific users).
Variety 1. When idle from any large-scale communication campaign (i.e. Connected County), keep content to roughly 65% on message for the County, and 35% light hearted conversation and non sequiturs. 2. Make sure that you are not always relying on partners for content to recirculate: finding new media and users is always an important part of the process of staying fresh and influence/attention worthy online.
2. Institute a policy/procedure: At present there is a fulsome formal Social Media Corporate Policy in place to guide these communications. This policy should be reviewed and revised on an annual basis as needed.
163 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 29 of 46
B. TACTICS
Internal – HOW TO REACH STAFF A clear need for improved communication and collaboration within and between County departments and service areas was identified as a key action in the Strategic Plan. For good reason – the contribution that clear and effective channels of communications can make to the realization of a positive staff work environment is substantial. Through effective communications, staff are better able to understand, appreciate, contribute to and support goals and objectives, and can be motivated to achieve maximum performance and provide superior, cost-effective service.
1. Formalize a structure for communications: Each staff member has thousands of interactions with external audiences. An ideal flow of information minimizes unnecessary staff time, barriers, red tape or unnecessary approvals. Provided staff are equipped with timely and accurate information, and given effective motivation, they are a critical channel. Staff who are not informed will be unable to forward information, may forward inaccurate information, or suffer feelings of frustration or resentment at not being “in the know”.
It will be essential that an internal-first policy be required for all communications deemed relevant by senior staff and Communications (i.e. personnel change is “relevant” but new common printer for a department is “not relevant”). Although this policy will be helped along by creating an inherent culture of communication amongst staff, it must also be enshrined in all communication planning.
* Directors/managers (supervisors) often serve as information “gatekeepers”, acting as a trusted and authoritative source to their department staff. If they are directly informed, there is opportunity for the information to be passed onto staff via departmental meetings or other inter-department communiques. This would be in addition to staff being informed independently by the Communications Department.
** As deemed appropriate during internal discussions, Communications should receive Council, committee, subcommittee and task force meeting minutes.
*** It is anticipated that content and information provided to the municipalities via a bi-weekly summary (see page 36) would be determined in discussion with Clerks.
164 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 30 of 46
2. Formalize staff meetings: The majority of County departments hold update meetings on a structured or semi- structured basis. In most cases, the meeting format includes a segment where updates or information from other departments is shared. It is recommended that mandatory weekly meetings be instituted and that a structure where other County news of note is communicated be formalized. In cases where staff do not have formal in-office meetings, “tailgate” morning get-started or afternoon wrap-up meetings should be identified as key channels for information dissemination. Content would be provided by Communications to all department heads, via emailed bullet points, on a weekly basis.
3. Develop a content strategy: Develop a clear matrix – noting who, what and when – for each department that indicates what content they are responsible to provide in support of communication goals on a monthly basis. An example matrix is included below:
Department Contact Content Format Due Transportation Jane Smith Fleet overview (# of vehicles) 250-400 words Oct. 31 Services “Colour It” story on 100 words (max per event) Nov. 7 exceptional service Planning and Joan Smith Year in Review content 450-500 words Dec. 5 Development Project update(s) 200 words (max per project) Dec. 12
4. Expand beyond email: It is recommended that a County-wide evaluation be made to determine which staff do not have access to email in the event of critical/crisis communication situations. This evaluation could take the form of a structured survey, or a questionnaire provided during scheduled departmental meetings. In such cases, do staff have access to County-provided (or personal) computers, tablets or cellphones? If the number is significant and employee interest high, employ and test an update app or use SMS that pushes information directly to staff or institute animated updates via Grey’p Vine. Content should be of moderate to high significance (i.e. Grey County Administration building renovation updates or CAO event for all staff and not a charity bake sale) and can pull from the monthly CAO update and quarterly newsletter proposed below.
5. Develop a toolkit: Even with the introduction of this Strategy, there is a possibility of individuals or departments continuing to manage all of some of their specific communications. This could be due to the presence of staff hired for such a position (as in Tourism) or a desire to simply continuing to “do what they have done”. There is inherent risk in the latter example, but which can be minimized by providing standard graphic templates and tools to address the possibility via Alfresco. This will ensure that communications will at least be readily identifiable as “County” although messaging or the strategy behind them may not be so.
i. Photo library: High-quality stock (or authentic County photos when consent has been sourced) grouped into categories (i.e., Housing, community engagement, Transportation, etc.) ii. Council reports: See page 33 iii. County logo: Standard files (png, eps, jpg and black/white, etc.) iv. Templates: May include standard #10 size brochure, insert/flyer, memo, PowerPoint, department newsletter, poster and ads (3” w x 2.5” h, 1/4-page and 1/2-page vertical and horizontal format)
6. Institute monthly CAO update: Identify the top three to five outcomes of Senior Management and Council meetings and email, SMS or push these out via app or Grey’p Vine – under the CAO’s name – to Council, municipal CAOs and all general staff contacts. This should be done on a monthly basis. Content should be short and succinct (think Tweets) for ease of reading and sharing.
165 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 31 of 46
7. Launch quarterly staff newsletter: Introduce a twice-yearly strategically-focused employee newsletter. But rather than sending it via email, take the additional step of mailing it to staff homes – for “you and your family”. Content could include a note from the CAO and should offer “corporate” updates on achieving strategic goals, but also quality of life articles on employee wellbeing and opportunities for families in the County. This piece may be 8- pages, 17” wide x 11” high, folded to 8.5 x 11. This will accommodate three main and 8-10 supporting articles (with images) along with a page of short events/blurbs; key will be providing ongoing brand awareness tie-in articles.
8. Institute County staff events: Held at rotating locations within the County these events should be fun and memorable, centered around connecting staff with the CAO and/or other senior County staff or Council. Invite all staff to attend – this would be an ideal time to award the staff service award (see page 32). Other opportunities include CAO luncheons, brand awareness campaign launch (see page 40), Strategic Plan feedback sessions, seminars on managing workplace stress, adopt-a-pet, etc.
9. Tune Grey’p Vine: Overseen by Communications, the Grey’p Vine intranet is a valuable and well-regarded tool that has the potential to be a key, and preferred resource. It is anticipated that all staff with computers have access, so it serves as a main source of providing County-wide communications to all recipients outside of blanket emails.
Consider implementing functional and content changes to increase readership. Traffic should be closely monitored and subsequent updates made accordingly, and staff feedback and engagement should be sought on a yearly basis.
i. Consider eliminating the programmed push-out that results in regular emails being sent to staff; instead, send a Friday summary that links to the portal ii. Explore and enliven content for greater interest. Considerations may include: a. Five things you should know about right now b. Feature article(s) (Colour It stories from departments) c. Employee profile d. Departmental sections e. Weekly poll
10. Institute yearly departmental planning: Each department already develops a yearly operations work plan to establish goals and guide service development. It is recommended that this be expanded to include proactive communications planning. This can be facilitated through an early-year meeting between Communications and department personnel when Communications provides a template and coaching, the department fills out the template, and both parties meet to review and amend. The plan should be supported by a mid-year review, or more often as required, for each department and Communications.
These plans will identify how each department can and should use current resources – or additional resources as required. These plans can be developed/modified during the mid-year review as required in order to ensure they continue to guide efforts and resources effectively.
Communications’ role in the development should be to serve as a consultant and planner, guiding the department to the best resources – not just the standard or “easiest”. The template for communications planning for each department could include:
i. Goals (for department) and corresponding focus of communications ii. Messages (if specific messaging is required for a particular department/program) iii. Audiences (internal/external)
166 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 32 of 46
iv. Key spokesperson(s) (if necessary to support public communications) v. Communication partnerships vi. Tactics (electronic and printed): Include engagement framework (see page 37) vii. Media plan viii. Social media strategy ix. Budget/resources x. Calendar xi. Measurement
11. Institute awards program: An excellent way to boost staff morale – and earn positive PR – is through an awards program where friendly nomination/competition acknowledges the achievements of staff in service/delivery or exceptional communications. Submissions can be made via Grey’p Vine or a dedicated URL on the Grey website, and the award should be significant, such as a $250 Visa gift card, to encourage participation. Tiered rewards for second/third and finalists should also be considered. Communication of this program should remain internal (i.e., Grey’p Vine, staff newsletter), but a general media release could be distributed and social media posts included to highlight and support the “our staff take care of Grey citizens” brand voice.
A winner can be announced during the CAO staff event (see page 31) along with a 20-minute presentation to demonstrate how staff efforts at connecting with citizens to deliver superior service allow the County to “take care”.
12. Provide training and workshops: Effectively communicating and building excitement around initiatives is ensured by Communications’ frequent, friendly contact with staff. These contacts are best made via short (30 minute) engagement training or information sessions. Depending on the end number of planned sessions, there may be opportunity to introduce a certificate program (i.e. once five modules are done the staff member is awarded a “Community Communicator” certificate. Training opportunities include:
i. New staff: Orientation on County operations currently exists and is administered through Human Resources. Through collaboration with Communications, this should be updated with an eye to incorporating strategic communications, key responsibilities and resources. ii. Media: An external consultant can provide, on a term basis, media relations training in close consultation with Communications. The training should address that the use of media for divisive/conflicting viewpoints is a key instigator of discord amongst audiences. As it is recommended that media relations be strongly centralized under Communications, only key senior staff, that may act as media liaisons, and Council should be included in sessions. iii. Social media: Those tasked with monitoring and posting social media content and management should receive formal instruction on the County policy and their role/responsibilities every two years. Communications should prepare and administer the session. iv. Accessibility: As AODA compliance is currently overseen through Communications, an all-staff session on how it affects their work is a key recommendation. v. Departmental staff: Primer and workshops on Grey’p Vine. vi. Grey’p Vine: Communications should prepare and administer an overview session, with an all-staff invitation (and Council), on Grey’p Vine and supporting “cheat sheet” covering access, content and accessible resources. This may include the toolkit templates (see page 30). vii. Engagement: An external consultant can provide key department staff, who are anticipated to have front-line engagement with the public, with engagement training on how to approach, interact and close conversations.
167 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 33 of 46
Internal – HOW TO REACH COUNCIL Providing that Warden and Council, and senior staff, are well-informed, and easily able to access information ensures they can appropriately serve their role as liaisons to both the community and staff. They serve as key front-line channels and are trusted and sought sources of information. As such, additional effort should be made to more effectively promote the “value” and benefit of communications – to get them excited and vested in efforts.
In particular, Council members must strike a delicate balance in their dual roles as both a municipal representative (Mayor) and County Councillor. There is often confusion or misunderstanding on exactly how these roles support and differ from each other. Concerted effort at providing clear, nuanced and strong messaging – continually – will aid their role in supporting Grey County, its brand and its communications and engagement efforts.
In all cases of connection with Council – as well as more broadly within Grey County operations – it is recommended that a more personal and friendly tone be adopted as and when appropriate. Currently, there is a tendency at all levels of government to adopt a formal, “policy-speak” manner. We see no need or value in maintaining this approach to communications in Grey County.
1. Presentations: There is an existing orientation video for candidates that provides an overview of their role on County Council. In collaboration with Communications, this presentation should be updated to include key messaging (see page 12), the proposed brand voice and a brand overview in order to deliver a consistent and professional image to incoming Councillors.
It is recommended that a second presentation (video) then be created that focuses specifically on the role of Communications in supporting County Councillors and helping to inculcate a “culture of communications”:
i. Value of communications/current communications climate ii. Overview of County community outreach and engagement (include issues management) iii. Overview of the direct impact communications has on the achievement of strategic goals iv. The roles of Communications and staff, and the role of Council v. Examples of communication initiatives vi. How Communications will directly support Councillors
2. Institute monthly CAO update: Ensure Council also receives the CAO update (see page 30).
3. Council report template (from County staff): Update the staff Council report template to include a staff-written, one to two-page public-focused, clear and simplified summary of the over-arching findings of the content within the report. The key direction on the content of the summary should be that it provides brief “information bites” that can be easily remembered and distributed verbally or via social media channels (a good rule of thumb will be to provide 140-character ‘Tweet-friendly’ bullets that Councillors can quickly absorb and pass on). Communications may need to hold a training session or offer one-on-one guidance to select staff as this template rolls out.
4. Council update report (from Communications): Ensure Council stays ahead of potential issues through a Council report prepared by Communications in advance of Council meetings (based on staff reports), but updated right after Council and provided to Councillors. Content of this summary should be a two to three-page snapshot that addresses key “what” (flagging key potential issues), “who” (identifying key parties/contacts, political/public implications) and clear, simple guiding messages based on Communications’ anticipation of key issues that will capture public attention. It should be sent to Council members and municipal CAOs.
168 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 34 of 46
5. Establish issues management process: Part of Communications’ role is to serve as a source for County Council for messaging, updates and resources in support of their interactions with audiences. Key to this is identifying, anticipating and addressing issues of importance to County constituents. Although this should already be done on a yearly basis via the creation of departmental communications plans (see page 31), new concerns may arise that are not foreseen. Proper issues management is about anticipating these challenges before they become problems, so the necessary steps can be taken to garner support, prepare audiences, clarify questions before they arise and ensure preparedness:
1. Forecasting Issues
i. “Potential Issues” should be on the agenda at Council, senior management and staff meetings, at quarterly meetings with key County communicators, and identified through Communications’ ongoing staff engagement efforts. From there, Communications can work with the required departments to develop a micro plan for action. ii. Review media websites (daily) and community organizations’ and advocacy groups’ websites (monthly). Speak with Councillors on what issues are at the forefront of community concern.
2. Analyzing Issues
i. Review and discuss at the department level if the issue is low-risk, with a micro plan being developed in the process. ii. Medium or high-risk issues must be addressed by the department Director, who will be responsible for analyzing the County’s risk in concert with the CAO and Senior Managers, and preparing a specific plan and communicating with Council and staff. iii. Micro plans for Council and staff should include an issue history and background, a list of stakeholders, statistics and facts that help clarify the issue, definition of threats and opportunities related to the issue, and a forecast of potential scenarios and County actions.
3. Acting on Issues
i. In most cases, unless otherwise directed by the Director, Council and staff should be notified (before external audiences) of the issue and appropriate messages and responses relayed. ii. Public notification should take the form of targeted media such as news releases or a conference, advertising/open letters, posted flyers, content in existing vehicles such as newsletters, etc. Appropriate tactics would be defined in the micro plan. iii. For critical issues, a County meeting may need to be planned and advertised. iv. Any media contact will be based on factual information, and highlight County key messages. v. Close monitoring of the issue is required. vi. A concluding report assessing the strengths, weaknesses and overall effectiveness of the plan.
6. Institute an annual progress report: In support of the work that Communications currently does, and which is expected to increase through the dedication of greater resources, and to prove that additional investment in communications is warranted, it is recommended that Communications prepare and present a PowerPoint summary of achievements to Council on a yearly basis. The presentation may include:
i. Department structure (matrix) ii. Overview of department services (what they do)
169 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 35 of 46
iii. Summary of achievements (# of completed tickets, # of media releases, # of videos, etc.) iv. Graphic design projects (# and examples) v. Four to six case studies of department projects (demonstrating strategic planning and guidance) vi. Events overview vii. Website/app review viii. Advertising summary
7. Grey’p Vine: Ensure Council access, if they don’t already have it (see page 31).
8. Staff newsletter: Ensure Council also receive the quarterly staff newsletter (see page 31).
170 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 36 of 46
Internal – HOW TO COMMUNICATE AS A DEPARTMENT The following are recommended resources or initiatives to be undertaken by Communications in support of their day-to- day operations to the benefit of department efficiencies and wider support to other County staff.
1. Establish operational pillars: It is recommended that the Communications Department develop and promote to Council and staff a set of fundamental guidelines on how they operate (versus the Overarching Guidelines on page 10 that address how communication efforts in the County are directed). These pillars may be:
i. Citizen-centered: Our efforts focus on providing all necessary information to our citizens; our support to County departments focuses on assisting their delivery and communication of services to citizens. ii. Educators: It is the role of our department to provide our audiences with the information they need and to serve as a primary source for clarification and follow-up. iii. Leaders: We will serve as informed, strategic and leaders in communications and provide staff with sound guidance and external audiences with targeted and smart outreach efforts. iv. Accessible: At the core of our efforts is a commitment to ensuring the greatest, most convenient and preferred opportunities for our audiences to share and contribute. v. Transparent: Our communications with staff and external audiences will be at all times honest and sincere, and present factual, supportable information. vi. Inclusive: We will develop communications that can be easily accessed and read, with the greatest opportunity to be clearly understood. vii. Ensure staff commitment (through understanding of communications and its importance)
2. Integrate department: Increase opportunity and availability of Communications staff (through additional resourcing) in reaching out and being accessible to senior and general staff, and Councillors (i.e. attend Business Visitation Program visits, department celebrations to grab an image for the staff newsletter, etc.). In addition to ensuring this positions Communications staff as integrated, committed and accessible resources, it builds rapport and personal connections that support the integration of communications into County operations.
3. Create a Communications Advisory Committee: Establish an internal team of four to six members that include Grey Roots, EcDev/Tourism and other key internal communication leaders. This team should meet quarterly to explore the County’s communication needs, identify emerging opportunities, discuss brand/voice synergy and shared resources, issues management, and new channels and challenges.
4. Create a communications primer: Develop and circulate a primer on “working with communications” to introduce staff and Council to the operations, role and responsibilities of the department, and to their processes. Content could include the pillars of the department (see this page), lead time for project requests, information required in order to facilitate a request, anticipated turnaround time for design or other jobs, etc. It is recommended that the primer be a four to six-page emailed document (also available on Grey'p Vine).
5. Source and integrate a time-tracking or ticket software program: A time-tracking program will allow Communications to accurately track and report on time and resources spent per project. This allows Communications and other departments to understand and plan future budgeting and resource requests, and places a time value on the work of the Communications department. Examples are the Hours Keeper app (via iTunes) or TimeLedger (https://www.timeledger.com/) which record time spent on individual projects. Daily, weekly and monthly summary reports are immediately available, as well as any associated external expenses (i.e. printing or media buys) for each department.
171 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 37 of 46
Internal – HOW TO REACH PARTNERS Working collaboratively with municipalities is a key action in current Strategic Plan. This extends to communications, although there is recognition that municipal partners are generally overwhelmed and internally-focused, with minimal time to support County communications. Efforts at outreach must be smart, strategic, resource-light and efficient.
1. Relationship building: Generally, key municipal communicators (Clerks or dedicated communications personnel) feel a lack of connection with County Communications. In some cases, this is due to resources and priorities (municipal staff are busy and focused on their own municipal service delivery). In others, a “value” in closer connections with County staff is unclear and anticipated to be onerous. This can be counter-acted through the proposed Know Your County campaign (see page 41), but can be more strongly supported through increased one- on-one engagement between Grey and municipal communications personnel. This can take the form of frequent, monthly phone calls to follow-up on County communiques or to find out more information on municipal ones. Relationship building should also include personal invitations to attend County events.
An added benefit of this type of personal engagement is that it will allow the County to better understand their key communication partners, and to more easily and ably customize communications, where possible, in order to make the greatest use – and demonstrate respect – for their time. For example, if it is known that one township prefers to be copied on all County news of note, and another prefers only information of direct relevance to their operations, effort should be made, where possible, to cater to this.
2. Make it EASY: The efforts required from municipalities should be kept minimal. This includes keeping phone chats to a short duration, providing “layered” information that starts with a short, succinct and cut/paste soundbite, attaching key documents instead of requiring them to log into a separate interface and including links and images with information that allows them to quickly and easily put together their own releases.
3. Bi-weekly enews summary: It is recommended that direct relationship-building with municipalities be supplemented with a value-demonstrating enews summary. Customized, as much as and where possible, this summary should be developed in close collaboration between the County Communications and Clerks departments in order to apply a strategic lens on relevant content and a polish on tight, impactful messaging. Each enews should contain three to five items of relevance for municipalities, these being short soundbites with links to, or attachments of, supporting documentation. This summary will serve as an excellent base of contact for Communications when reaching out through increased one-on-one engagement.
4. Communications Working Group: There was interest expressed by some municipalities in being part of a communications working group to exchange best practices, identify concerns, opportunities (County-wide communications such as elections) and synergies. Although an invitation should be provided to all, participation would not be mandatory and might not be accepted in all cases due to resource and workload concerns.
5. Content provision: Stronger relationships with municipalities – and demonstrating value – can be realized through in-person meetings. On a yearly basis, it is recommended that Communications staff sit down with municipal contacts to liaise on mutually-beneficial content provision: determining opportunity for a set County space on an existing municipal eblast, website or mailing, and how the County can push out municipal content via their channels.
6. Training: Municipal contacts can be invited to sessions when appropriate (media, social media and accessibility.
7. Council update report: Municipal CAOs should receive the Council update report (currently done). See page 33.
172 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 38 of 46
External – HOW TO REACH THE COMMUNITY Engagement and collaboration with residents and stakeholders is a key strategic goal for Grey County. While electronic communications are key and critical, they cannot be the only focus in Grey County. Especially as an organization with a strong commitment to accessibility, and a geographically-spread audience (not all with equal access to electronic networks), the majority of County communications and engagement efforts must be two-stream to ensure information has the opportunity to reach the greatest number of stakeholders.
Direct Engagement
1. Develop an engagement framework: Eliminate overlap, fatigue or misuse of resources by formalizing outreach and engagement efforts in an engagement framework document (i.e. formalize when a public meeting will be held, etc.). This will help to guide Communications, as well as department staff, in ensuring their efforts are supportive of overall strategic goals. Ensure it is incorporated in the development of departmental plans (see page 31) and promote it on Grey’p Vine, providing actual case studies of usage.
The framework should also outline County responsibilities on updates and ongoing liaison with audiences. This would be a formal commitment to set reporting and status updates. This demonstrates the value that the County places on audience contributions, will garner greater support and ensure more fulsome understanding from stakeholders, and encourages staff to share updates and results that effectively demonstrates their efforts.
An example may be:
County Notice of Proposed Action Notice of Completed Action Action Notice How Notice is Notice to How Notice is Notice How Notice is Notice to How Notice is to Provided Affected Provided to Provided Affected Provided Public Individuals Public Individuals Council Yes - Website Council - Revised staff Yes - Media release Council - Council update Meeting - Social media report - Website report - Social media Public Yes Staff Survey
2. Implement mobile “County admin centre” with visiting staff: Connect with community members by being in communities. Create an in-person presence, such as a tabletop or roll-up display (“Do you know you live in Grey?”), to be set up and manned by County in key municipal facilities on a rotating basis. This presence will allow opportunity for the County to connect with municipal staff as well as their citizens.
For each event, County staff should prepare a custom one or two-page printout, in collaboration with Clerks and the applicable County Councillor, noting specific concerns or initiatives for that municipality that fall under County service, and seek to engage on those.
Consider also including a Warden’s Breakfast as an event (rotating County locations by municipality), with direct invitations to Councillors and key municipal staff, partners and leaders.
3. Identify areas of interaction: Visits to County sites were was not part of the research to inform this Strategy. As such, it is recommended that Communications complete an “audit” and evaluation of all public County facilities in order to identify those that act as “hubs” for community engagement, and to explore the current existence or
173 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 39 of 46
potential introduction of video screens, banners or message boards in these central locations. Where feasible, exploration can also be made to include displays in partner facilities such as:
Libraries/museums Fitness centres Hospitals/health centres Shopping complexes Seniors’ centres Food banks Transit stations Community centres/community support services Post-secondary centres Chambers of Commerce
4. Attend community events: Many County municipalities, partners and community organizations hold yearly or quarterly events or meetings to which they may invite contacts such as County staff (i.e. Blue Mountains’ Jazzmania, Georgian Bluffs’ Canada Day, Grey Highlands’ Feversham Fall Fair, etc.). Generally, celebrations or updates on progress or to define new directions, these events often include achievements or success touting. Where time and resources allow, Communications or other departmental staff should attend: this type of personal engagement and interest is critical to the relationship-building that is a cornerstone of effective mutual communication support and gives a positive impression to the general public. Where feasible, a branded presence should be set up (i.e. tabletop roll-up display).
5. Public meetings: Direct engagement with external audiences through a public meeting forum may be required or recommended via the engagement framework (see page 37) for a particular service, initiative or issue. Unless a key or critical issue, these types of events generally have low attendance. Greater strategic focus is necessary to bring progressives “to the table” – i.e. don’t always hold these at the County Administration Building. Go out to communities, stream it live, offer online engagement/feedback opportunities if individuals cannot attend.
Online/Electronic (technology-based)
6. Website: The website, as indicated via the public survey, is a critical communications tool. While the previous site fell short of audience needs and expectations, the County has just launched a revitalized website presence (currently in BETA testing mode). As it was introduced mid-way through the engagement, it has not been evaluated as part of this strategic process.
It is recommended that Communications’ role for the website be as key content manager, evaluating and adding content as appropriate to support County communications, in collaboration with staff as appropriate and necessary to update specific departmental content. It is recommended that ongoing analysis of analytics and community feedback, and an ongoing focus on strong SEO, also be overseen by Communication as a cornerstone of the website’s continued development. Consideration should be given to broader promotion of the “Events in Grey County” calendar currently resident on the visitgrey.ca site – include in the “Residents” section of the corporate website and ensure community services/operations are aware of it.
7. Enewsletter: There is significant potential to bring useful information to an increased subscriber base through a revitalized and more heavily-promoted enewsletter. A consistently reliable (i.e., every first Tuesday at 3 p.m.) monthly enewsletter can provide highlights of County news and updates, good news stories, feature articles that reflect the County’s strategic goals, upcoming events, fun facts/figures and “have your say” survey links.
Revitalize the current eblast with a fixed footer and fixed delivery. Reintroduce the enewsletter with more prominent placement on the website homepage and strong advertising in County communications (such as a footer graphic on all email accounts or paid Facebook advertising).
174 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 40 of 46
As indicated in this Strategy’s Communication Strategies (see page 10), content should be provided in “layers”, with summaries only, and the full article available online with a simple click. This promotes effective search engine optimization (SEO), and allows Communications to analyse the open/click-through rate of individual articles to gauge effectiveness and popularity of different content.
A limited number of newsletters can be exported, printed and made available as print versions at key County/municipal facilities.
8. Video: Video is the perfect messaging medium – it is exciting, engaging and popular amongst audiences. It is an effective way to share important information and to inspire. It has a huge following and is highly expressive. The County does not currently manage a YouTube channel (only Grey County Tourism does), which should be an avenue of future exploration as efforts to develop video are streamlined and increased. Potential video opportunities may include timely program interviews with key County staff/spokespeople, Council sessions, tours (i.e. social housing), community contest (most beautiful spot in Grey), etc. Effective and increased use of video would need to be supported by a substantial increase in the use and/or placement of screens in community hub areas (see page 38).
9. Surveys: Consider ongoing online surveys on the website and social media, changed approximately every month, to encourage brief input and participation in dialogue about current issues (i.e. “what do you feel about ATVs on County roads?” or “what is your favourite spot in Grey County?”, etc.). Communications can encourage departments to also provide survey content/questions in support of their service delivery.
A more comprehensive, yearly survey on the state of communications, similar to that completed in support of this Strategy, can also be employed, supported by online promotion and paper copies in County facilities.
10. Provide apps: Public survey responses indicated a significant interest in the introduction of a mobile app in support of County communications. Ranging from straightforward access point for recent County news, to applications specific to certain services (i.e. day out in Grey, Find It at Grey app, etc.), they are a great means of engaging with people where they live, work and play.
However, apps are time and resource-heavy undertakings of significant expense. Careful planning must be ensured and strong value readily apparent. Through close collaboration with IT and fulsome engagement with staff, consider integrating an app to further engage stakeholders and that provides quantifiable information that can be communicated back to Council and staff for strategic planning.
Collateral
11. Consistently apply visual brand: With the introduction of a bright, bold and appealing logo, adoption is made that much easier. To ensure continued usage, a clear and consistent application of the corporate visual identity is important to assist the public in recognizing, accessing and assessing communications on the policies, programs, services and initiatives of the County. It is essential that Communications lead this consistent usage. It can also serve as a “policing arm”, gently noting improper usage to the responsible parties.
12. Update “Year in Review”: A revitalized report/newsletter is recommended, delivered/mailed on a structured basis once a year. Content should be expanded to include those brand supports recommended in this Strategy such as a brand voice/identity, staff award, engagement framework examples, survey results, etc. In addition, it is recommended that an invitation be made to all departments to promote their services and achievements.
175 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 41 of 46
These reviews will serve as excellently-done signature pieces for the County that can be broken up and catalogued for wider promotion via other channels (i.e., social media). It is recommended that the review be no more than 16 pages, and succinctly and boldly communicate staff – and citizen – achievements.
Programs/Campaigns 1. Speaker series: There is opportunity for Grey County to become and be known as a best practice promotor and a strategic municipal operations leader by serving as a hub of knowledge sessions. These yearly events can invite national or international, high-profile experts (i.e. Richard Florida on urban studies) for community planning and design, capacity, urban development, etc. sessions. Topics should be sharp, current and engaging – open invitations should be sent to staff, Council, municipalities and neighbouring counties, as well as residents when appropriate.
2. Implement youth advisory programs: It is recommended that Communications employ targeted methods to reach out to and engage more often with County youth to generate interest in and understanding of County operations, ensure their voice is heard in strategic planning, and allow for their greater role in communications:
i. Summer projects: Engage with students, via Launch Pad to plan and implement projects (i.e. social media campaign, on-location public surveys, videos, designing poster for launch event, etc.). Draft and promote these engagements as case studies for wider PR efforts. ii. Youth advisory committee: Create a monthly youth committee to inform and shape and support community outreach and engagement efforts with youth (i.e. granting temporary social media access, honing messaging, etc.). Ensure there is fair representation across County municipalities.
3. Communications Strategy launch campaign: It is recommended that an adopted Grey County Communications Strategy be launched internally to staff as a means to encourage adoption and as a first, bold example of communicating “internally-first”. This helps to get staff on-board at the outset, encourages enthusiasm for initiatives that may be challenging or perceived as such by some. It also ensures that staff involvement – how the Strategy will affect them – is made clear, and expectations and best practices established at the beginning. This can be accomplished through a lunch and learn session with the CAO and Communications, a SMT information Q&A session and in-building signage (“have you communicated today?”) for awareness-building.
4. Brand awareness staff campaign: The “Colour It Your Way” branding is bold, smart and strategic. But it hasn’t enjoyed the adoption and greater public awareness that are desired. In addition, it isn’t “lived” on a consistent basis by staff. It is recommended that the brand be re-launched with a strong staff focus that offers tight, clear messaging (“Colour It Your Way” is inspirational and aspirational, but can be construed many ways) and real examples of how it is or can be effected in their day-to-day work – what staff ideas and initiatives have helped to shape Grey’s vision of “taking care”? Source out and collect these stories via County staff events (with hand-held video, staff meetings and Grey’p Vine. Promote in enewsletters, staff award program, Year in Review, etc. over a five to six-month period.
With County staff taking the initiative to “live the brand” and the subsequent promotion, greater understanding, recognition and adoption by the wider community is anticipated.
5. Know Your County campaign: Foster greater awareness and understanding of the Grey branding and voice (“We take care”) and its role in a two-tier system through a widespread, multi-tier and dedicated information campaign. Distribution can be made via County staff, the community engagement framework, partners and channels, media, Council and municipalities. Recommended deliverables include:
176 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 42 of 46
i. Infographic (showing operations/services of tiers). ii. Factsheet (for mailing to households by municipality). iii. Stories/anecdotes from each department on “we take care” theme: For enews, social media, Grey’p Vine and website promotion, post a rotating series that profiles each department and their operations (i.e. “Did you know that Housing, in addition to managing 888 residential units, also oversees all of the County facilities?”, etc.). iv. Ad series: Highly-visual social and local media placements (“Snow removal: We do that” (at Grey County Housing), “Historical preservation”: We do that” (at Grey Roots).
6. Find It campaign: The 211 telephone service is a critical and citizen-first-focused service. Awareness of it remains low. Provide dedicated promotion of the service to increase engagement and positive opinion on County services. Support the campaign through a graphic element (ad) on the website and social media, and a dedicated spot on municipal websites. Provide graphic and supporting information (one-page factsheet or email) to municipalities, key community partners and channels, and media.
7. Hone advertising efforts: Significant advertising budget is required to make the necessary impressions, and even with this, it is still difficult to stand out amongst a sea of ads. Infrequent or one-off ads are low-yield and generally ineffective. Advertising should largely be only one of many communications tactics to support a need, for example to promote attendance at an event or to encourage enewsletter subscriptions. It is also recognized that ad spends, in general, can sometimes be linked to greater editorial coverage, a practice that is unfortunate, but a reality, although it is not indicated that local media engage in this practice. A modest advertising budget is recommended to maintain the County’s profile and communication commitments, strengthen its brand, and support important/unforeseen needs as specific situations arise:
i. Facebook: These placements are highly customizable (cost-per-click selection and budget limits). Once budget is determined, robust engagement with site sales personnel is recommended to determine the most effective placement positions, frequencies and costs. ii. Print (mandated): As identified by Municipal Act, some updates, notices or changes are required advertisements in local media. iii. Print and online (event and brand support): Engage with the top two print and radio media on having a set County update section. Content should be information/update based and strongly limit “self promotion”. iv. Print (seasonal): Place “collective” ads from County on a whole for particular celebrations (holidays or key partner anniversaries) and thank you ads (i.e. volunteers, etc.). The current practice is for many different departments to create and place their own.
177 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 43 of 46
C. OPERATING MODEL AND RESOURCES Grey County – PROPOSED (population 94,000)
CAO
Manager Strategic communications planning, oversight, senior management meetings, social media planning and strategy, large-scale public engagement, municipal liaison, select department portfolio, material approvals
Communications Officer Strategic consulting/planning, project coordination, copywriting, low-level public engagement, ad planning, event facilitation, manage designer and digtial specialist, ad placements, vendor management, social media, AODA
Graphic Designer* Digital Specialist* Brand management, design/layout, production management Animation, video, website content management, social media
Tourism: Independent to Housing Information Technology Social Services/Children's Services support operations, specialized audience needs
County Clerk/Council Long Term Care Transportation Services Services Grey Roots: Independent to support operations, fundraising needs Finance Paramedic Services Economic Development
Planning and Development Provincial Offences Human Resources Administration
* Could be combined into one position for years three-five if graphic design request178 as less significant than anticipated. Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 44 of 46
Communications Department Structuring Notes No centralization of County-wide communications is recommended; each municipality would continue to manage their needs with support from Grey as needed in strategic planning and issues management. It is recommended that the County’s communications be centralized under a resourced and separated Communications Department (reporting directly to the CAO’s office), but that the Tourism Department and Grey Roots service continue to operate independently. These two exceptions currently maintain experienced and specialized staff to manage their unique communication needs which should continue until strategic impetus and the natural realignment of staff resources allows for smart and successful integration. To the decentralized exceptions noted above (Grey Roots and Tourism), there should be yearly/twice-yearly planning meeting to identify areas of cross-promotion or other opportunity.
Budget/Resources It is recommended that a restructured Communications department be supported by an annual budget to facilitate development of centralized communications as proposed herein including additional staffing, print sourcing, media buys and other related expenses. This will result in:
o Volume efficiencies o Skills efficiencies o Strategic, lower-cost tactics o Reduced outsourcing o Increased services delivery o Less follow-up
Implementation (Phased) Phase 1 – Manager and graphic designer critical immediate needs for Plan rollout Phase 2 – Digital specialist
179 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 45 of 46
D. MEASUREMENT Evaluating the success of communication activity is important to gauge the effectiveness of the program as a whole and individual activity. It informs and supports strategic planning, and strengths community perception. Growth also motivates staff and promotes the value and effect of their contributions.
1. Overall communication goals: Develop a measurement dashboard, reflective of overall communication goals and review progress, on a yearly basis against previous results:
i. Greater awareness of County services ii. Audiences are quickly and easily able to find information iii. Council and County staff are better informed on services iv. Staff supported by a sufficiently-resourced Communications department v. Staff spend less time on communications and more on service delivery vi. Stronger municipal relationships vii. Increased presence in municipalities and media viii. Communications have a positive and successful impact ix. Increased likelihood of key audiences engaging x. Audiences feel their input is valued xi. There is a greater level of readiness/preparedness to address issues xii. Communications are proactive xiii. Increased staff integration and morale xiv. Consistent image, voice and graphic look to communications xv. Fluid and frequent communications xvi. A friendly brand that attracts and engages
2. Tracking/Measurement: In order to substantiate the recommended strategies, additional and reallocated resources, and supporting tactics – to demonstrate benefits and results – both qualitative and quantitative measurements are recommended:
i. Website: On a weekly basis, monitor website traffic patterns, identifying major trends – growths, dips – and understanding the most-used areas to guide content development (number of visits, user location, what pages are visited, length of visit, last pages viewed, etc.). ii. Facebook/Twitter: On a bi-weekly basis, review social media follows, likes, shares and commentary; evaluate which posts/tweets get the most visibility. Track percentages of positive, negative and neutral commentary by users. iii. Enewsletters (public): On a monthly basis, track sign-up, open and bounce rates; evaluate which articles/features are most read and enhance future communication themes accordingly. iv. Staff CAO update and Grey’p Vine: On a monthly basis, track opens, click-throughs, downloads. v. Media: On a monthly basis, collect and evaluate media coverage in terms of number of stories, type of coverage (positive/negative) and how on-message/on-brand they are. vi. Engagement: Keep record of and measure on a quarterly basis, growth in the number of inquiries from citizens, Council, municipalities, media, partners and other target audiences as a result of a direct communication; monitor themes and tone of inquiries. vii. Staff and public surveys (yearly). viii. Events: Track number of events and on a yearly basis, evaluate attendees and event feedback (through at-event survey).
180 Grey County: Communications Strategy September 2016 Page 46 of 46 ix. Departmental: On a yearly basis, evaluate increase in requests of Communications, adoption of Communication templates and recommendations (via downloads from Grey Docs and general policing by Communications department); monitor themes and tone of inquiries. x. Training: On a yearly basis, evaluate number of sessions, attendees and event feedback (through at- event survey). xi. Partners: Connect with key partners yearly to gauge effectiveness of activity
181 By-law 4949-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY BY- LAW NO. 4949-16
A BY-LAW TO ESTABLISH DEVELOPMENT CHARGES FOR THE COUNTY OF GREY (COUNTY-WIDE ROADS AND RELATED CHARGES)
WHEREAS Subsection 2(1) of the Development Charges Act, 1997 provides that the council of a municipality may by by-law impose development charges against land to pay for increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from the development of the area to which the by-law applies;
AND WHEREAS Council has received a report entitled “Development Charges Background Study, County of Grey”, dated August 3, 2016, prepared by Hemson Consulting Ltd. (the “Study”);
AND WHEREAS Council gave notice to the public and held a public meeting pursuant to Section 12 of the Act on September 6, 2016, prior to which the Study and the proposed County-wide development charges by-law were made available to the public and Council heard comments and representations from all persons who applied to be heard (the “Public Meeting”);
AND WHEREAS following the Public Meeting, Council afforded the public an additional period of time for the submission of further written representations;
AND WHEREAS Council has further considered the Study and the By-law in light of the further written representations received;
AND WHEREAS Council has provided notice of intent to enact the proposed County-wide development charges by-law;
AND WHEREAS Council has indicated that it intends to ensure that the increase in the need for services attributable to the anticipated development will be met as set out in the Capital Programs contained in Appendices B and C of the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has expressed its intention that excess capacity identified in the Study shall be paid for by development charges or other similar charges;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the County of Grey has given consideration of the use of more than one development charge by-law to reflect different needs for services in different areas, also known as area rating or area specific DCs, and has determined that for the services, and associated infrastructure proposed to be funded by DCs under this by-law, that it is fair and reasonable that the charges be calculated on a municipal-wide uniform basis;
182 By-law 4949-16
AND WHEREAS the Development Charges Background Study dated August 3, 2016 includes an Asset Management Plan that deals with all assets whose capital costs are intended to be funded under the development charge by-law and that such assets are considered to be financially sustainable over their full life-cycle.
AND WHEREAS Council will give consideration to incorporate the asset management plan outlined in the Development Charges Background Study within the County’s ongoing practices and corporate asset management strategy.
AND WHEREAS Council hereby adopts the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has determined that no further public meetings are required under Section 12 of the Act;
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
Definitions
1. In this By-law,
“Act” and “Development Charges Act, 1997” means the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c.27;
“agricultural use” means lands, buildings, or structures, excluding any portion thereof used as a dwelling unit, used, designed or intended to be used for the purpose of a bona fide farming operation including, but not limited to, animal husbandry, bee keeping, dairying, fallow, field crops, fish farming, forestry, fruit farming, horticulture, livestock, market gardening, pasturage, poultry keeping, the growing, raising, packing, treating, storing, and sale of produce produced on the premises, and other activities customarily carried on in the field of agriculture;
“air-supported structure” means an air supported structure as defined in the Building Code Act;
“apartment” means any dwelling unit within a building containing more than three dwelling units where the units are connected by an interior corridor;
“board” means a board of education, public school board, secondary school board, Catholic school board, Protestant school board, or a board as defined in Subsection 1(1) of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.2, as amended;
“building or structure” means a structure occupying an area greater than ten
183 By-law 4949-16 square metres consisting of a wall, roof, and floor or any of them or a structural system serving the function thereof including an air- supported structure, or a wind turbine, excluding a farm building;
“Building Code Act” means the Building Code Act, S.O. 1992, c.23, as amended, and all Regulations thereto including the Ontario Building Code, 1997, as amended;
“Capital cost” means costs incurred or proposed to be incurred by the municipality or a local board thereof directly or by others on behalf of, and as authorized by, the municipality or local board,
(a) to acquire land or an interest in land, including a leasehold interest;
(b) to improve land;
(c) to acquire, lease, construct or improve buildings and structures;
(d) to acquire, lease, construct or improve facilities including,
(i) rolling stock with an estimated useful life of seven years or more,
(ii) furniture and equipment, other than computer equipment, and
(iii) materials acquired for circulation, reference or information purposes by a library board as defined in the Public Libraries Act, 1984, R.S.O. 1990, P.44, and
(e) to undertake studies in connection with any of the matters referred to in clauses (a) to (d);
(f) to complete the development charge background study under Section 10 of the Act;
(g) as interest on money borrowed to pay for costs in (a) to (d);
required for provision of services designated in this by-law within or outside the municipality.
“commercial building” means any building that is used for a purpose of non- residential use and that is not an industrial building or an institutional building;
“commercial resort unit” means one room or a group of rooms in a
184 By-law 4949-16 building used or designed or intended to be used by one or more persons, as a single commercial accommodation unit within a commercial resort unit complex (i) in which food preparation and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons; (ii) which has a private entrance from a common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building; (iii) which is part of a rental or lease management program which consists of a minimum of ten such units in one building or group of buildings; (iv) which is not used or designated as a principal residence; and (v) which has been established to provide accommodation for gain or profit; but does not mean or include a hotel unit, a motel unit, an inn unit, a lodge unit, a dormitory unit, or a hostel unit. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units are residential use;
“commercial resort unit with separate designated lock off unit” means a commercial resort unit having a single adjacent room or suite with a shared door in the common wall between the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with a private entrance from the common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building for each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite designated as separate condominium units in accordance with a declaration and description, and where the gross floor area of the adjacent room or suite does not exceed 46.5 square metres. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit are residential use;
“Council” means the Council of the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“County” means the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“development” means any use or proposed use in respect of land that requires one or more of the actions referred to in Section 7 of this By- law, including the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land or the making of an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the size or usability thereof, and includes redevelopment;
“development charge” means a charge imposed pursuant to this By-law;
“dwelling unit” means a room or suite of rooms used, or designed or intended for use by, one person or persons living together, in which culinary and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons, or a commercial resort unit with or without separate designated lock off unit;
“farm building” means a building or structure actually used as part of or in connection with a bona fide farming operation and includes barns, silos, and
185 By-law 4949-16 other buildings or structures ancillary to a bona fide farming operation, but excluding a residential use;
“floor” includes a paved, concrete, wooden, gravel, or dirt floor;
“grade” means the average level of proposed or finished ground adjoining a building or structure at all exterior walls;
“gross floor area” means the sum total of the total areas of all floors in a building or structure, whether at, above, or below grade, measured between the exterior faces of the exterior walls of the building or structure or from the centre line of a common wall separating two uses, or from the outside edge of a floor where the outside edge of the floor does not meet an exterior or common wall, and:
(a) includes the floor area of a mezzanine and air-supported structure and the space occupied by interior walls partitions;
(b) excludes any parts of the building or structure used for the parking and loading of vehicles;
(c) excludes the floor area of a hallway directly adjacent to a Commercial Resort Unit; and
(d) where a building or structure does not have any walls (except as expressly provided in paragraph (a) above, there is deemed to be no gross floor area;
“hotel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“industrial building” means a building used for or in connection with,
(a) manufacturing, producing, processing, storing or distributing something;
(b) research or development in connection with manufacturing, producing or processing something;
(c) retail sales by a manufacturer, producer or processor of something they manufactured, produced or processed, if the retail sales are at the site where the manufacturing, production, or processing takes place;
186 By-law 4949-16
(d) office or administrative purposes, if they are,
(i) carried out with respect to manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distributing of something, and
(ii) in or attached to the building or structure used for that manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distribution.
"institutional building" means a building or structure or portions thereof used or designed or intended to be used for a purpose which is classified as a Group B pursuant to the Building Code Act;
“institutional church use” means land, buildings or structures used, designed, or intended to be used for a place of worship or for the purpose of a cemetery or burial ground and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
“local board” means municipal service board, municipal business corporation, transportation commission, public library board, board of health, police services board, planning board, or any other board, commission, committee, body or local authority established or exercising any power under any general or special act with respect to the affairs or purposes of the County, but excluding a board, a conservation authority, and any municipal business corporation not deemed to be a local board under O. Reg. 168/03 made under the Municipal Act, 2001, S. O. 2001, c.25, and any corporation created under the Electricity Act, 1998, S. O. 1998, c. 15, Schedule A;
“mezzanine” means a mezzanine as defined in the Building Code Act;
“motel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“non-residential use” means land, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, designed or intended to be used for a purpose other than for residential use and not including wind turbines;
“owner” means the owner of land or any person authorized by such owner to make one or more applications described in Section 7 of this By-law for the development of such land;
“other multiple residential buildings” mean residential buildings not including
187 By-law 4949-16 single detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, row dwellings or apartments;
“protracted” means in relation to a temporary building or structure the persistence of its construction, erection, placement on land, alteration or of an addition to it for a continuous period exceeding eight months;
“Public Works” includes, but is not limited to, lands, buildings, structures, equipment and vehicle fleet;
“redevelopment” means the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land where all or part of a building or structure has previously been demolished on such land, changing the use of a building or structure from residential to non-residential or from non-residential to residential or changing a building or structure from one type of residential development to another or from one type of non- residential development to another;
“residential use” means lands, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, or designed or intended for use as a home or residence of one or more individuals, and shall include a single detached dwelling, a semi- detached dwelling, row dwelling, a multiple dwelling, an apartment dwelling, the residential portion of a mixed-use building or structure and, for the purposes of this by-law:
(a) commercial resort units; and
(b) commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit;
“Roads & Related Works” include, but are not limited to, land, bridges, culverts, structures, drainage ditches, highways, roadways, sidewalks, signal lights, storm sewers and street lights;
“semi-detached dwellings or row dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contains a single dwelling unit, that have one or two vertical walls, but no other parts, attached to other buildings;
“services” means services designated in this By-law and listed in Schedule A to this By-law or in agreement under Section 44 of the Act, or both;
“single detached dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contain a single dwelling unit, that are not attached to other buildings;
188 By-law 4949-16
“temporary building or structure” means a building or structure constructed or erected or placed on land for a continuous period not exceeding eight months, or an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the gross floor area thereof for a continuous period not exceeding eight months; “wind turbine" means any wind energy conversion system with a name plate capacity greater than 300 kilowatts, that converts wind energy into electricity for sale to an electrical utility or other intermediary.
Rules
2. For the purpose of complying with Section 6 of the Act:
(a) the area to which this By-law applies shall be the area described in Section 3 of this By-law;
(b) the rules developed under paragraph 9 of Subsection 5(1) of the Act for determining if a development charge is payable in any particular case and for determining the amount of the charge shall be as set forth in Sections 4 through 16, inclusive, and Section 27 of this By- law;
(c) the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits provided for by such rules shall be the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits set forth in Sections 17 through 23, inclusive, of this By-law, the indexing of charges shall be in accordance with Section 14 of this By-law, and there shall be no phasing in of development charges as provided in Subsection 15 (1) of this By-law except as provided in Subsection 15 (3) and Subsection 15 (4); and
(d) the redevelopment of land shall be in accordance with the rules set forth in Section 20 of this By-law.
Lands Affected
3. This By-law applies to all lands in the geographic area of the County, whether or not the land is exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended.
Designation of Services
4. It is hereby declared by Council that all development within the area to which this By-law applies will increase the need for services.
189 By-law 4949-16
5. The development charge applicable to a development as determined under this By-law shall apply without regard to the services required or used by an individual development.
6. Development charges shall be imposed for the following categories of services (but excluding ineligible services as set forth in Section 2 (4) of the Act) to pay for the increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from development:
(a) Roads and Related Works;
Approvals for Development
7. Development charges shall be imposed against all lands, buildings or structures within the area to which this By-law applies if the development of such lands, buildings or structures requires any of the following approvals:
(a) the passing of a zoning by-law or of an amendment to a zoning by- law under Section 34 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(b) the approval of a minor variance under Section 45 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(c) a conveyance of land to which a by-law passed under Subsection 50(7) of the Planning Act or successor legislation applies;
(d) the approval of a plan of subdivision under Section 51 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(e) a consent under Section 53 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(f) the approval of a description under the Condominium Act or successor legislation; or
(g) the issuing of a permit under the Building Code Act or successor legislation in relation to a building or structure.
8. No more than one development charge for each service designated in Section 6 shall be imposed upon any lands, buildings or structures to which this By-law applies even though two or more of the actions described in
190 By-law 4949-16
Section 7 are required before the lands, buildings or structures can be developed.
9. Notwithstanding Section 8 and Section 13, if two or more of the actions described in Section 7 occur at different times, additional development charges shall be imposed in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by that action.
10. If a development does not require a building permit but does require one or more of the approvals described in Section 7, then the development charge shall nonetheless be payable in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by such approval and shall be paid prior to the granting of the approval required under section 7.
11. Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of an agreement under Section 51 or Section 53 of the Planning Act, that the owner, at his or her own expense, install such local services related to a plan of subdivision or within the area to which the plan relates, as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time, or that the owner pay for local connections to storm drainage facilities installed at the owner’s expense, or administrative, processing , or inspection fees.
Basis for Calculation of Development Charges
13. (1) Subject to the provisions of this By-law, development charges in the County shall be imposed, calculated and collected in accordance with the base rates designated for the use of the development set out in Schedules B and C, which relate to the services set out in Schedule A.
(2) The development charge with respect to the development of any land, buildings or structures shall be calculated as follows:
(a) in the case of residential use development, or the residential portion of a mixed-use development, the sum of the product of the number and type of dwelling units multiplied by the corresponding total amount for each dwelling unit, as set out in Schedule B;
(b) in addition to the development charge determined under section 13 (2)(a), in the case of commercial resort development, or the commercial resort portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of the non-residential portion of the development, in which the development occurs multiplied by the corresponding
191 By-law 4949-16
amount as set out in this by-law as applicable;
(c) in the case of non-residential development, or the non- residential portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of such development, and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in in this by-law as applicable; and,
(d) in the case of wind turbines, the sum of the number of wind turbines multiplied by the corresponding amount for each wind turbine as set out in Schedule C.
(e) in the case of a type of development not described above, based upon the number of units and/or gross floor area portions of such development and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in Schedules B or C as applicable.
(3) Notwithstanding subsections 13(1) and (2) of this By-law, development charges shall not be imposed on industrial buildings.
Indexing of Development Charges
14. The development charges set out in Schedules B and C hereto shall be adjusted without amendment to this By-law annually on January 1st in each year, commencing on January 1st, 2018, in accordance with the Statistics Canada Quarterly, Construction Price Statistics (catalogue number 62-007) based on the preceding twelve month period ending September 30th.
Phasing, Timing of Calculation and Payment
15. (1) The residential development charges set out in this By-law are subject to phasing in as identified in Schedule ”B” hereto and are payable in full, subject to the exemptions and credits herein, from the date this By-law comes into force.
(2) The development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be payable on the date the first building permit is issued in relation to a building or structure on land to which the development charge applies unless sections 10 and 11 apply in which case the development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be payable on the dates determined pursuant to those sections.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection 15(1), development charges imposed on
192 By-law 4949-16
wind turbine development pursuant to this By-law are n o t being phased-in and are set out in Schedule C of this By-law. The development charge shall be that charge in force at the time that all the requirements for a building permit have been satisfied and the building permit is ready to be issued.
Payment by Money or the Provision of Services
16. (1) Payment of development charges shall be by cash or by cheque.
(2) In the alternative to payment by the means provided in Subsection (1), the County may, by an agreement entered into with the owner under Section 38 of the Act, accept the provision of services in full or partial satisfaction of the development charge otherwise payable provided that:
(a) if the County and the owner cannot agree as to the reasonable cost of the work performed, the reasonable cost of the work shall be determined by the County’s Treasurer; and
(b) if the credit exceeds the amount of the development charge for the service to which the work relates,
(i) the excess amount shall not be credited against the development charge for any other service, unless the County has so agreed in an agreement under Section 38 of the Act; and
(ii) in no event shall the County be required to make a cash payment to the credit holder.
(3) Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of any approval given under the Planning Act that the owner, at the owner’s expense, install such local services as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time.
Rules for Exemption Relating to the Creation of Additional Dwelling Units
17. This By-law does not apply with respect to approvals related to the residential development of land, buildings or structures that would have the affect only,
(1) of permitting the enlargement of an existing dwelling unit;
(2) of creating a maximum of two additional dwelling units in or attached to
193 By-law 4949-16
an existing single detached dwelling where the total gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit or units is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit;
(3) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to an existing semi-detached dwelling or row dwelling where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit; or
(4) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to any existing other residential building where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the smallest existing dwelling unit.
Categories of Exempt Uses
18. The following categories of uses are hereby designated as being exempt from the payment of development charges:
(1) land, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a municipality and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(2) lands, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a board and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31;
(3) buildings or structures used as public hospitals governed by the Public Hospitals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.40, as amended;
(4) land, buildings or structures used for institutional church use and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(5) farm buildings;
(6) buildings or structures used for and devoted solely to accommodation of temporary or seasonal agricultural labourers which may contain their own culinary facilities and sanitary facilities;
(7) industrial buildings; and
(8) non-residential uses.
194 By-law 4949-16
Temporary Buildings or Structures
19. (1) Subject to Subsections (2) and (3), temporary buildings or structure shall be exempt from the payment of development charges.
(2) In the event that a temporary building or structure becomes protracted, it shall be deemed not to be nor ever to have been a temporary building or structure, and the development charges required to be paid under this By-law shall become payable on the date the temporary building or structure becomes protracted.
(3) Prior to the issuance of a building permit for a temporary building or structure, the County may require an owner to enter into an agreement, including the provision of security for the owner’s obligation under the agreement, pursuant to Section 27 of the Act providing for all or part of the development charge that would be required by Subsection (2) if the temporary building or structure became protracted, to be paid. The terms of such agreement shall then prevail over the provisions of this By-law.
Rules for the Redevelopment of Land
20. (1) Despite any other provision of this By-law, where as a result of the redevelopment of land, a building or structure existing on the same land has been demolished in order to facilitate redevelopment, or converted from one principal use to another principal use on the same land, the development charges otherwise payable with respect to such redevelopment shall be reduced by the following amounts:
(a) In the case of a residential building or structure, an amount equivalent to the applicable development charge for the unit type of the existing dwelling that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(b) In the case of a non-residential building or structure, an amount calculated by multiplying the applicable development charge by the Gross Floor Area that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(c) In the case of a mixed-use building or structure, by an amount calculated by the unit type for the existing residential use portion and by gross floor area for the non-residential use portion, of the
195 By-law 4949-16
unit that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use.
(2) The amount of any reduction or credit permitted shall not exceed, in total, the amount of the development charges otherwise payable with respect to the re-development.
(3) Any reduction or credit applicable hereunder shall only apply provided that a building permit for the re-development has been issued within five years of the date of the issuance of a permit for the demolition of any building or structure on the same lands.
(4) For greater certainty, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no credit shall be allowed where the demolished building or structure or part thereof prior to the demolition or conversion would have been exempt from the payment of development charges pursuant to this By- law (ie temporary structures).
Rules with Respect to Existing Agreements
21. If there is a conflict between this By-law and an agreement made between the County and the owner or former owner of land before the coming into force of this By-law and the owner or former owner of the land agreed to pay all or a portion of a charge related to development under the agreement with respect to the land or provided services in lieu of payment, then the provisions of the agreement prevail over the By- law to the extent of the conflict. The extent of the conflict shall be determined on a service by service basis. Notwithstanding the allocation of total development charges within an existing agreement, the development charges may be reallocated by the County to services set out in this By-law.
Reserve Funds
22. (1) Monies received from payment of development charges under this By- law shall be maintained in separate reserve funds as per the service set out in Schedule A.
(2) Monies received for the payment of development charges shall be used only in accordance with the provisions of Section 35 of the Act.
(3) Where any development charge, or part thereof, remains unpaid after the due date, the amount unpaid shall be added to the tax roll and shall
196 By-law 4949-16
be collected as taxes.
(4) Where any unpaid development charges are collected as taxes under subsection (3), the monies so collected shall be credited to the development charge reserve funds referred to in subsection (1).
(5) The Treasurer of the County shall, in each year commencing in 2017 for the 2016 year, furnish to Council a statement in respect of the reserve funds established hereunder for the prior year, containing the information set out in Section 12 of O.Reg. 82/98.
(6) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the County may borrow money from a reserve fund and repay the amount used plus interest at a rate not less than the Bank of Canada rate updated on the first business day of every January, April, July, and October.
Interest
23. The County shall pay interest on a refund under Subsection 18(3) and Subsection 25(2) of the Act at a rate equal to the Bank of Canada rate on the date this By-law comes into force.
Front Ending Agreements
24. The County may enter into agreements under Section 44 of the Act.
Schedules
25. The following Schedules to this By-law form an integral part of this By- law.
Schedule A Designated Services
Schedules B-1 and B-2 Residential Development Charges
Schedule C Wind Turbine Development Charges
By-law Registration
26. A certified copy of this By-law may be registered in the by-law register in the Land Registry Office against all land in the County and may be registered against title to any land to which this By-law applies.
Date By-law Effective
197 By-law 4949-16
27. This By-law comes into force on January 1, 2017.
Date By-law Expires
28. This By-law expires five years after the date on which it comes into force.
Headings for Reference Only
29. The headings inserted in this By-law are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this By-law.
Severability
30. If, for any reason, any provision, Section, Subsection or paragraph of this By-law is held invalid, it is hereby declared to be the intention of Council that all the remainder of this By-law shall continue in full force and effect until repealed, re-enacted or amended, in whole or in part or dealt with in any other way.
ENACTED AND PASSED this 4th day of October, 2016.
WARDEN: Alan Barfoot CLERK: Sharon Vokes
198 By-law 4949-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule A
Designated Services
1. Roads & Related Works
The designated services listed above exclude in each case ineligible services as set forth in section 2(4) of the Development Charges Act, 1997.
199 By-law 4949-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule B-1
Residential Development Charges
Effective date of By-law passage – December 31, 2017
Residential Charge By Unit Type (1) Service Percentage of Singles & Rows & Other Apartments Charge Semis Multiples
Roads & Related Works $4,954 $3,449 $2,928 100.0%
TOTAL CHARGE PER UNIT $4,954 $3,449 $2,928 100.0%
(1) Based on Persons Per Unit Of: 2.60 1.81 1.54
200 By-law 4949-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule B-2
Residential Development Charges
Effective January 1, 2018 – date of By-law expiry
Residential Charge By Unit Type (1) Service Percentage of Singles & Rows & Other Apartments Charge Semis Multiples
Roads & Related Works $6,100 $4,246 $3,605 100.0%
TOTAL CHARGE PER UNIT $6,100 $4,246 $3,605 100.0%
(1) Based on Persons Per Unit Of: 2.60 1.81 1.54
201 By-law 4949-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4949-16
Schedule C
Wind Turbine Development Charges
Effective date of By-law passage
Wind Turbine Service Charge per Turbine
Roads & Related Works $2,345.72
TOTAL CHARGE PER TURBINE $2,345.72
202 By-law 4950-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY BY-
LAW NO. 4950-16
A BY-LAW TO ESTABLISH DEVELOPMENT CHARGES FOR THE COUNTY OF GREY (COUNTY-WIDE GENERAL SERVICES CHARGES)
WHEREAS Subsection 2(1) of the Development Charges Act, 1997 provides that the council of a municipality may by by-law impose development charges against land to pay for increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from the development of the area to which the by-law applies;
AND WHEREAS Council has received a report entitled “Development Charges Background Study, County of Grey”, dated August 3, 2016, prepared by Hemson Consulting Ltd. (the “Study”);
AND WHEREAS Council gave notice to the public and held a public meeting pursuant to Section 12 of the Act on September 6, 2016, prior to which the Study and the proposed County-wide development charges by-law were made available to the public and Council heard comments and representations from all persons who applied to be heard (the “Public Meeting”);
AND WHEREAS following the Public Meeting, Council afforded the public an additional period of time for the submission of further written representations;
AND WHEREAS Council has further considered the Study and the By-law in light of the further written representations received;
AND WHEREAS Council has provided notice of intent to enact the proposed County-wide development charges by-law;
AND WHEREAS Council has indicated that it intends to ensure that the increase in the need for services attributable to the anticipated development will be met as set out in the Capital Programs contained in Appendices B and C of the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has expressed its intention that excess capacity identified in the Study shall be paid for by development charges or other similar charges;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the County of Grey has given consideration of the use of more than one development charge by-law to reflect different needs for services in different areas, also known as area rating or area specific DCs, and has determined that for the services, and associated infrastructure proposed to be funded by DCs under this by-law, that it is fair and reasonable that the charges be calculated on a municipal-wide uniform basis;
203 By-law 4950-16
AND WHEREAS the Development Charges Background Study dated August 3, 2016 includes an Asset Management Plan that deals with all assets whose capital costs are intended to be funded under the development charge by-law and that such assets are considered to be financially sustainable over their full life-cycle.
AND WHEREAS Council will give consideration to incorporate the asset management plan outlined in the Development Charges Background Study within the County’s ongoing practices and corporate asset management strategy.
AND WHEREAS Council hereby adopts the Study;
AND WHEREAS Council has determined that no further public meetings are required under Section 12 of the Act;
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
Definitions
1. In this By-law,
“Act” and “Development Charges Act, 1997” means the Development Charges Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c.27;
“agricultural use” means lands, buildings, or structures, excluding any portion thereof used as a dwelling unit, used, designed or intended to be used for the purpose of a bona fide farming operation including, but not limited to, animal husbandry, bee keeping, dairying, fallow, field crops, fish farming, forestry, fruit farming, horticulture, livestock, market gardening, pasturage, poultry keeping, the growing, raising, packing, treating, storing, and sale of produce produced on the premises, and other activities customarily carried on in the field of agriculture;
“air-supported structure” means an air supported structure as defined in the Building Code Act;
“apartment” means any dwelling unit within a building containing more than three dwelling units where the units are connected by an interior corridor;
“board” means a board of education, public school board, secondary school board, Catholic school board, Protestant school board, or a board as defined in Subsection 1(1) of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.2, as amended;
“building or structure” means a structure occupying an area greater than ten
204 By-law 4950-16 square metres consisting of a wall, roof, and floor or any of them or a structural system serving the function thereof including an air- supported structure, or a wind turbine, excluding a farm building;
“Building Code Act” means the Building Code Act, S.O. 1992, c.23, as amended, and all Regulations thereto including the Ontario Building Code, 1997, as amended;
“Capital cost” means costs incurred or proposed to be incurred by the municipality or a local board thereof directly or by others on behalf of, and as authorized by, the municipality or local board,
(a) to acquire land or an interest in land, including a leasehold interest;
(b) to improve land;
(c) to acquire, lease, construct or improve buildings and structures;
(d) to acquire, lease, construct or improve facilities including,
(i) rolling stock with an estimated useful life of seven years or more,
(ii) furniture and equipment, other than computer equipment, and
(iii) materials acquired for circulation, reference or information purposes by a library board as defined in the Public Libraries Act, 1984, R.S.O. 1990, P.44, and
(e) to undertake studies in connection with any of the matters referred to in clauses (a) to (d);
(f) to complete the development charge background study under Section 10 of the Act;
(g) as interest on money borrowed to pay for costs in (a) to (d);
required for provision of services designated in this by-law within or outside the municipality.
“commercial building” means any building that is used for a purpose of non- residential use and that is not an industrial building or an institutional building;
“commercial resort unit” means one room or a group of rooms in a
205 By-law 4950-16 building used or designed or intended to be used by one or more persons, as a single commercial accommodation unit within a commercial resort unit complex (i) in which food preparation and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons; (ii) which has a private entrance from a common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building; (iii) which is part of a rental or lease management program which consists of a minimum of ten such units in one building or group of buildings; (iv) which is not used or designated as a principal residence; and (v) which has been established to provide accommodation for gain or profit; but does not mean or include a hotel unit, a motel unit, an inn unit, a lodge unit, a dormitory unit, or a hostel unit. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units are residential use;
“commercial resort unit with separate designated lock off unit” means a commercial resort unit having a single adjacent room or suite with a shared door in the common wall between the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with a private entrance from the common hallway or entrance either inside or outside the building for each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite, with each of the main part of the unit and the adjacent room or suite designated as separate condominium units in accordance with a declaration and description, and where the gross floor area of the adjacent room or suite does not exceed 46.5 square metres. For the purposes of this by-law commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit are residential use;
“Council” means the Council of the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“County” means the Corporation of the County of Grey;
“development” means any use or proposed use in respect of land that requires one or more of the actions referred to in Section 7 of this By- law, including the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land or the making of an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the size or usability thereof, and includes redevelopment;
“development charge” means a charge imposed pursuant to this By-law;
“dwelling unit” means a room or suite of rooms used, or designed or intended for use by, one person or persons living together, in which culinary and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of such person or persons, or a commercial resort unit with or without separate designated lock off unit;
“farm building” means a building or structure actually used as part of or in connection with a bona fide farming operation and includes barns, silos, and
206 By-law 4950-16 other buildings or structures ancillary to a bona fide farming operation, but excluding a residential use;
“floor” includes a paved, concrete, wooden, gravel, or dirt floor;
“grade” means the average level of proposed or finished ground adjoining a building or structure at all exterior walls;
“gross floor area” means the sum total of the total areas of all floors in a building or structure, whether at, above, or below grade, measured between the exterior faces of the exterior walls of the building or structure or from the centre line of a common wall separating two uses, or from the outside edge of a floor where the outside edge of the floor does not meet an exterior or common wall, and:
(a) includes the floor area of a mezzanine and air-supported structure and the space occupied by interior walls partitions;
(b) excludes any parts of the building or structure used for the parking and loading of vehicles;
(c) excludes the floor area of a hallway directly adjacent to a Commercial Resort Unit; and
(d) where a building or structure does not have any walls (except as expressly provided in paragraph (a) above, there is deemed to be no gross floor area;
“hotel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“industrial building” means a building used for or in connection with,
(a) manufacturing, producing, processing, storing or distributing something;
(b) research or development in connection with manufacturing, producing or processing something;
(c) retail sales by a manufacturer, producer or processor of something they manufactured, produced or processed, if the retail sales are at the site where the manufacturing, production, or processing takes place;
207 By-law 4950-16
(d) office or administrative purposes, if they are,
(i) carried out with respect to manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distributing of something, and
(ii) in or attached to the building or structure used for that manufacturing, producing, processing, storage or distribution.
"institutional building" means a building or structure or portions thereof used or designed or intended to be used for a purpose which is classified as a Group B pursuant to the Building Code Act;
“institutional church use” means land, buildings or structures used, designed, or intended to be used for a place of worship or for the purpose of a cemetery or burial ground and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
“local board” means municipal service board, municipal business corporation, transportation commission, public library board, board of health, police services board, planning board, or any other board, commission, committee, body or local authority established or exercising any power under any general or special act with respect to the affairs or purposes of the County, but excluding a board, a conservation authority, and any municipal business corporation not deemed to be a local board under O. Reg. 168/03 made under the Municipal Act, 2001, S. O. 2001, c.25, and any corporation created under the Electricity Act, 1998, S. O. 1998, c. 15, Schedule A;
“mezzanine” means a mezzanine as defined in the Building Code Act;
“motel unit” means one or more habitable rooms used, designed or intended to be used as a sleeping accommodation unit by one or more persons, and may be used by the travelling or vacationing public or for recreational purposes, but not containing its own culinary facilities;
“non-residential use” means land, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, designed or intended to be used for a purpose other than for residential use and not including wind turbines;
“owner” means the owner of land or any person authorized by such owner to make one or more applications described in Section 7 of this By-law for the development of such land;
“other multiple residential buildings” mean residential buildings not including
208 By-law 4950-16 single detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, row dwellings or apartments;
“protracted” means in relation to a temporary building or structure the persistence of its construction, erection, placement on land, alteration or of an addition to it for a continuous period exceeding eight months;
“Public Works” includes, but is not limited to, lands, buildings, structures, equipment and vehicle fleet;
“redevelopment” means the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or structures on land where all or part of a building or structure has previously been demolished on such land, changing the use of a building or structure from residential to non-residential or from non-residential to residential or changing a building or structure from one type of residential development to another or from one type of non- residential development to another;
“residential use” means lands, buildings or structures or portions thereof used, or designed or intended for use as a home or residence of one or more individuals, and shall include a single detached dwelling, a semi- detached dwelling, row dwelling, a multiple dwelling, an apartment dwelling, the residential portion of a mixed-use building or structure and, for the purposes of this by-law:
(a) commercial resort units; and
(b) commercial resort units with separate designated lock off unit;
“Roads & Related Works” include, but are not limited to, land, bridges, culverts, structures, drainage ditches, highways, roadways, sidewalks, signal lights, storm sewers and street lights;
“semi-detached dwellings or row dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contains a single dwelling unit, that have one or two vertical walls, but no other parts, attached to other buildings;
“services” means services designated in this By-law and listed in Schedule A to this By-law or in agreement under Section 44 of the Act, or both;
“single detached dwellings” mean residential buildings, each of which contain a single dwelling unit, that are not attached to other buildings;
209 By-law 4950-16
“temporary building or structure” means a building or structure constructed or erected or placed on land for a continuous period not exceeding eight months, or an addition or alteration to a building or structure that has the effect of increasing the gross floor area thereof for a continuous period not exceeding eight months; “wind turbine" means any wind energy conversion system with a name plate capacity greater than 300 kilowatts, that converts wind energy into electricity for sale to an electrical utility or other intermediary.
Rules
2. For the purpose of complying with Section 6 of the Act:
(a) the area to which this By-law applies shall be the area described in Section 3 of this By-law;
(b) the rules developed under paragraph 9 of Subsection 5(1) of the Act for determining if a development charge is payable in any particular case and for determining the amount of the charge shall be as set forth in Sections 4 through 16, inclusive, and Section 27 of this By- law;
(c) the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits provided for by such rules shall be the exemptions, partial exemptions and credits set forth in Sections 17 through 23, inclusive, of this By-law, the indexing of charges shall be in accordance with Section 14 of this By-law, and there shall be no phasing in of development charges as provided in Subsection 15 (1) of this By-law except as provided in Subsection 15 (3) and Subsection 15 (4); and
(d) the redevelopment of land shall be in accordance with the rules set forth in Section 20 of this By-law.
Lands Affected
3. This By-law applies to all lands in the geographic area of the County, whether or not the land is exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended.
Designation of Services
4. It is hereby declared by Council that all development within the area to which this By-law applies will increase the need for services.
210 By-law 4950-16
5. The development charge applicable to a development as determined under this By-law shall apply without regard to the services required or used by an individual development.
6. Development charges shall be imposed for the following categories of services (but excluding ineligible services as set forth in Section 2 (4) of the Act) to pay for the increased capital costs required because of increased needs for services arising from development:
(a) Land Ambulance;
(b) Public Works – Buildings & Vehicle Fleet;
(c) Provincial Offences;
(d) Employment Resources;
(e) General Government;
(f) Trails;
Approvals for Development
7. Development charges shall be imposed against all lands, buildings or structures within the area to which this By-law applies if the development of such lands, buildings or structures requires any of the following approvals:
(a) the passing of a zoning by-law or of an amendment to a zoning by- law under Section 34 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(b) the approval of a minor variance under Section 45 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(c) a conveyance of land to which a by-law passed under Subsection 50(7) of the Planning Act or successor legislation applies;
(d) the approval of a plan of subdivision under Section 51 of the Planning Act or successor legislation;
(e) a consent under Section 53 of the Planning Act or successor
211 By-law 4950-16
legislation;
(f) the approval of a description under the Condominium Act or successor legislation; or
(g) the issuing of a permit under the Building Code Act or successor legislation in relation to a building or structure.
8. No more than one development charge for each service designated in Section 6 shall be imposed upon any lands, buildings or structures to which this By-law applies even though two or more of the actions described in Section 7 are required before the lands, buildings or structures can be developed.
9. Notwithstanding Section 8 and Section 13, if two or more of the actions described in Section 7 occur at different times, additional development charges shall be imposed in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by that action.
10. If a development does not require a building permit but does require one or more of the approvals described in Section 7, then the development charge shall nonetheless be payable in respect of any increased or additional development permitted by such approval and shall be paid prior to the granting of the approval required under section 7.
11. Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of an agreement under Section 51 or Section 53 of the Planning Act, that the owner, at his or her own expense, install such local services related to a plan of subdivision or within the area to which the plan relates, as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time, or that the owner pay for local connections to storm drainage facilities installed at the owner’s expense, or administrative, processing , or inspection fees.
Basis for Calculation of Development Charges
13. (1) Subject to the provisions of this By-law, development charges in the County shall be imposed, calculated and collected in accordance with the base rates designated for the use of the development set out in Schedule B, which relate to the services set out in Schedule A.
(2) The development charge with respect to the development of any land, buildings or structures shall be calculated as follows:
212 By-law 4950-16
(a) in the case of residential use development, or the residential portion of a mixed-use development, the sum of the product of the number and type of dwelling units multiplied by the corresponding total amount for each dwelling unit, as set out in Schedule B;
(b) in addition to the development charge determined under section 13 (2)(a), in the case of commercial resort development, or the commercial resort portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of the non-residential portion of the development, in which the development occurs multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in this by-law as applicable;
(c) in the case of non-residential development, or the non- residential portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the gross floor area of such development, and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in in this by-law as applicable; and,
(d) in the case of a type of development not described above, based upon the number of units and/or gross floor area portions of such development and the type of development multiplied by the corresponding amount as set out in Schedule B as applicable.
(3) Notwithstanding subsections 13(1) and (2) of this By-law, development charges shall not be imposed on industrial buildings.
Indexing of Development Charges
14. The development charges set out in Schedule B as applicable hereto shallbe adjusted without amendment to this By-law annually on January 1st in each year, commencing on January 1st, 2018, in accordance with the Statistics Canada Quarterly, Construction Price Statistics (catalogue number 62-007) based on the preceding twelve month period ending September 30th.
Phasing, Timing of Calculation and Payment
15. (1) The residential development charges imposed on residential development pursuant to this By-law are not being phased-in and are set out in Schedule B of this By-law. The development charge shall be that charge in force at the time that all the requirements for a building permit have been satisfied and the building permit is ready to be issued.
(2) The development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be
213 By-law 4950-16
payable on the date the first building permit is issued in relation to a building or structure on land to which the development charge applies unless sections 10 and 11 apply in which case the development charge shall be calculated as of and shall be payable on the dates determined pursuant to those sections.
Payment by Money or the Provision of Services
16. (1) Payment of development charges shall be by cash or by cheque.
(2) In the alternative to payment by the means provided in Subsection (1), the County may, by an agreement entered into with the owner under Section 38 of the Act, accept the provision of services in full or partial satisfaction of the development charge otherwise payable provided that:
(a) if the County and the owner cannot agree as to the reasonable cost of the work performed, the reasonable cost of the work shall be determined by the County’s Treasurer; and
(b) if the credit exceeds the amount of the development charge for the service to which the work relates,
(i) the excess amount shall not be credited against the development charge for any other service, unless the County has so agreed in an agreement under Section 38 of the Act; and
(ii) in no event shall the County be required to make a cash payment to the credit holder.
(3) Nothing in this By-law prevents Council from requiring, as a condition of any approval given under the Planning Act that the owner, at the owner’s expense, install such local services as Council may require in accordance with the local service policies of the County in effect at the time.
Rules for Exemption Relating to the Creation of Additional Dwelling Units
17. This By-law does not apply with respect to approvals related to the residential development of land, buildings or structures that would have the affect only,
(1) of permitting the enlargement of an existing dwelling unit;
(2) of creating a maximum of two additional dwelling units in or attached to
214 By-law 4950-16
an existing single detached dwelling where the total gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit or units is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit;
(3) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to an existing semi-detached dwelling or row dwelling where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the existing dwelling unit; or
(4) of creating a maximum of one additional dwelling unit in or attached to any existing other residential building where the gross floor area of the additional dwelling unit is less than or equal to the gross floor area of the smallest existing dwelling unit.
Categories of Exempt Uses
18. The following categories of uses are hereby designated as being exempt from the payment of development charges:
(1) land, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a municipality and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(2) lands, buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a board and exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31;
(3) buildings or structures used as public hospitals governed by the Public Hospitals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.40, as amended;
(4) land, buildings or structures used for institutional church use and exempt from taxation under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.A.31, as amended;
(5) farm buildings;
(6) buildings or structures used for and devoted solely to accommodation of temporary or seasonal agricultural labourers which may contain their own culinary facilities and sanitary facilities;
(7) industrial buildings; and
215 By-law 4950-16
(8) non-residential uses.
Temporary Buildings or Structures
19. (1) Subject to Subsections (2) and (3), temporary buildings or structure shall be exempt from the payment of development charges.
(2) In the event that a temporary building or structure becomes protracted, it shall be deemed not to be nor ever to have been a temporary building or structure, and the development charges required to be paid under this By-law shall become payable on the date the temporary building or structure becomes protracted.
(3) Prior to the issuance of a building permit for a temporary building or structure, the County may require an owner to enter into an agreement, including the provision of security for the owner’s obligation under the agreement, pursuant to Section 27 of the Act providing for all or part of the development charge that would be required by Subsection (2) if the temporary building or structure became protracted, to be paid. The terms of such agreement shall then prevail over the provisions of this By-law.
Rules for the Redevelopment of Land
20. (1) Despite any other provision of this By-law, where as a result of the redevelopment of land, a building or structure existing on the same land has been demolished in order to facilitate redevelopment, or converted from one principal use to another principal use on the same land, the development charges otherwise payable with respect to such redevelopment shall be reduced by the following amounts:
(a) In the case of a residential building or structure, an amount equivalent to the applicable development charge for the unit type of the existing dwelling that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(b) In the case of a non-residential building or structure, an amount calculated by multiplying the applicable development charge by the Gross Floor Area that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use; or
(c) In the case of a mixed-use building or structure, by an amount
216 By-law 4950-16
calculated by the unit type for the existing residential use portion and by gross floor area for the non-residential use portion, of the unit that has been or will be demolished or converted to another principal use.
(2) The amount of any reduction or credit permitted shall not exceed, in total, the amount of the development charges otherwise payable with respect to the re-development.
(3) Any reduction or credit applicable hereunder shall only apply provided that a building permit for the re-development has been issued within five years of the date of the issuance of a permit for the demolition of any building or structure on the same lands.
(4) For greater certainty, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no credit shall be allowed where the demolished building or structure or part thereof prior to the demolition or conversion would have been exempt from the payment of development charges pursuant to this By- law (ie temporary structures).
Rules with Respect to Existing Agreements
21. If there is a conflict between this By-law and an agreement made between the County and the owner or former owner of land before the coming into force of this By-law and the owner or former owner of the land agreed to pay all or a portion of a charge related to development under the agreement with respect to the land or provided services in lieu of payment, then the provisions of the agreement prevail over the By- law to the extent of the conflict. The extent of the conflict shall be determined on a service by service basis. Notwithstanding the allocation of total development charges within an existing agreement, the development charges may be reallocated by the County to services set out in this By-law.
Reserve Funds
22. (1) Monies received from payment of development charges under this By- law shall be maintained in separate reserve funds as per the service set out in Schedule A.
(2) Monies received for the payment of development charges shall be used only in accordance with the provisions of Section 35 of the Act.
217 By-law 4950-16
(3) Where any development charge, or part thereof, remains unpaid after the due date, the amount unpaid shall be added to the tax roll and shall be collected as taxes.
(4) Where any unpaid development charges are collected as taxes under subsection (3), the monies so collected shall be credited to the development charge reserve funds referred to in subsection (1).
(5) The Treasurer of the County shall, in each year commencing in 2017 for the 2016 year, furnish to Council a statement in respect of the reserve funds established hereunder for the prior year, containing the information set out in Section 12 of O.Reg. 82/98.
(6) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the County may borrow money from a reserve fund and repay the amount used plus interest at a rate not less than the Bank of Canada rate updated on the first business day of every January, April, July, and October.
Interest
23. The County shall pay interest on a refund under Subsection 18(3) and Subsection 25(2) of the Act at a rate equal to the Bank of Canada rate on the date this By-law comes into force.
Front Ending Agreements
24. The County may enter into agreements under Section 44 of the Act.
Schedules
25. The following Schedules to this By-law form an integral part of this By- law.
Schedule A Designated Services
Schedule B Residential Development Charges
By-law Registration
26. A certified copy of this By-law may be registered in the by-law register in the Land Registry Office against all land in the County and may be registered against title to any land to which this By-law applies.
Date By-law Effective
218 By-law 4950-16
27. This By-law comes into force on January 1, 2017.
Date By-law Expires
28. This By-law expires five years after the date on which it comes into force.
Headings for Reference Only
29. The headings inserted in this By-law are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this By-law.
Severability
30. If, for any reason, any provision, Section, Subsection or paragraph of this By-law is held invalid, it is hereby declared to be the intention of Council that all the remainder of this By-law shall continue in full force and effect until repealed, re-enacted or amended, in whole or in part or dealt with in any other way.
ENACTED AND PASSED this 4th day of October, 2016.
WARDEN: Alan Barfoot CLERK: Sharon Vokes
219 By-law 4950-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4950-16
Schedule A
Designated Services
1. Land Ambulance 2. Public Works – Buildings & Vehicle Fleet 3. Provincial Offences 4. Employment Resources 5. General Government 6. Trails 7. Health Unit
The designated services listed above exclude in each case ineligible services as set forth in section 2(4) of the Development Charges Act, 1997.
220 By-law 4950-16
THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY
BY-LAW NO. 4950-16
Schedule B
Residential Development Charges
Effective date of By-law passage
Residential Charge By Unit Type (1) Service Percentage of Singles & Rows & Other Apartments Charge Semis Multiples
Land Ambulance $142 $99 $84 30.2%
Public Works - Buildings & Vehicle Fleet $0 $0 $0 0.0%
Provincial Offences $20 $14 $12 4.3%
Employment Resources $0 $0 $0 0.0%
General Government $162 $113 $96 34.3%
Trails $8 $6 $5 1.7%
Health Unit $139 $97 $82 29.5%
TOTAL CHARGE PER UNIT $471 $329 $279 100.0%
(1) Based on Persons Per Unit Of: 2.60 1.81 1.54
221 Corporation of the County of Grey By-Law 4951-16 A By-law to Establish Certain lands in the Municipality of Meaford (geographic Township of Sydenham) Described in Schedule ‘A’ as Part of the County Highway Upon Which the Lands Abut
WHEREAS Section 11 of the Municipal Act 2001, as amended provides that an upper tier municipality may pass by-law respecting highways, including parking and traffic on highways under its jurisdiction;
AND WHEREAS Section 31 of the Municipal Act 2001, as amended provides that a municipality may by by-law establish a highway and that if a municipality acquires land for the purpose of widening a highway, the land acquired forms part of the highway to the extent of the designated widening;
AND WHEREAS it would appear that Part Lot 33 Concession B, Instrument Number 12287 and Part Lot 34, Concession B, Instrument Number 12260, R-Plan 872 was obtained by the County but not joined to the road system by by-law;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF GREY HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: 1. The lands described in Schedule ‘A’ attached hereto laid out and established as part of the common public highway upon which they abut under the jurisdiction of the Corporation of the County of Grey. 2. The Warden and Clerk are hereby authorized to execute all documents necessary to complete the joining of the lands authorized in Section 1. ENACTED AND PASSED this 4th day of October, 2016.
______WARDEN: Alan Barfoot CLERK: Sharon Vokes
222 Corporation of the County of Grey Schedule ‘A’ to By-law 4951-16
Part Lot 33 Concession B, Instrument Number 12287, R-Plan 872
(Keeling to Corporation)
Part Lot 34 Concession B Instrument Number 12260, R-Plan 872.
(Vanwyck to Corporation)
223
224 225