Owen Sound Committee - Corporate Services Meeting Transcript — April 9, 2026

00:00:23 SPEAKER_009: So it is five thirty p.m., and I call the meeting to order.

00:00:27 SPEAKER_009: At number two, before I jump to number two, just. a quick update.

00:00:31 SPEAKER_009: Member Councillor Middlebrooke would be joining us shortly, and Member Monica Dale is joining us remotely on Teams.

00:00:39 SPEAKER_009: Other than that, all members and council members are present.

00:00:43 SPEAKER_009: So, on item number two, call for additional business.

00:00:48 SPEAKER_009: Anybody?

00:00:50 SPEAKER_009: Seeing none.

00:00:53 SPEAKER_009: At number three, we have declarations of interest.

00:00:57 SPEAKER_009: Looking to our left.

00:00:58 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my left, looking to my right, none.

00:01:00 SPEAKER_009: Seeing none.

00:01:02 SPEAKER_009: Move on to item four, which is the confirmation of minutes of the Corporate Services Committee being held on March twelfth, two thousand and twenty-six.

00:01:11 SPEAKER_009: Do I have a mover to move the minutes?

00:01:16 SPEAKER_009: Okay, Member Greg.

00:01:23 SPEAKER_009: At number six, public forum.

00:01:28 SPEAKER_009: Sorry.

00:01:30 SPEAKER_009: Going back to number four, I call the question to order.

00:01:35 SPEAKER_009: All in favour?

00:01:37 SPEAKER_009: And I'm just going to look at Member Dale.

00:01:42 SPEAKER_009: Perfect.

00:01:42 SPEAKER_009: I see her hand go up, and all in favour.

00:01:44 SPEAKER_009: It is moved.

00:01:47 SPEAKER_009: At number six, I have public forum.

00:01:49 SPEAKER_009: Anybody in the public?

00:01:51 SPEAKER_009: Does I don't see anyone.

00:01:53 SPEAKER_009: Anybody online?

00:01:54 SPEAKER_009: Christina, do you have any questions?

00:01:57 SPEAKER_009: Seeing none, we move on to item seven, that is the correspondence received for which direction is required.

00:02:05 SPEAKER_009: There is none on today's agenda.

00:02:10 SPEAKER_009: Moving to item number eight, which are the reports of the city staff.

00:02:14 SPEAKER_009: At item eight a, we have report CR twenty six zero two zero from the deputy clerk regarding animal control two thousand and twenty five year in review.

00:02:23 SPEAKER_009: Welcome.

00:02:24 SPEAKER_009: Interview.

00:02:27 SPEAKER_009: Welcome, Stacy.

00:02:27 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Madam Chair, and good evening, everyone.

00:02:29 SPEAKER_042: This report provides a comprehensive review of the city's animal control services provided in 2025.

00:02:34 SPEAKER_042: Some key highlights include the animal control contractor retained $57,910 in fees for the adoption and sale of animals.

00:02:43 SPEAKER_042: The city retained $74,327 in fees for reclamation, maintenance, failure to license pet, release of ownership. dog and cat licenses, late fees, revenue from other municipalities utilizing the own sound animal shelter, and donations.

00:03:00 SPEAKER_042: The donations are used to help offset the operating expenses for the animal shelter, including spay and neutering services,

00:03:05 SPEAKER_042: and any surplus amount for the year is placed in a reserve to help pay for future capital expenditures.

00:03:11 SPEAKER_042: The city paid $161,696.41 for services and expenses, including spay and neutering, veterinarian costs, cremations.

00:03:19 SPEAKER_042: a tip-tap machine, insurance, utilities, garbage disposal, minor building repairs, snow removal, monthly contractor fee, and the doggy pet service fee.

00:03:31 SPEAKER_042: Two hundred thirty-three cats were brought into the shelter, with two hundred forty-nine being adopted and eight being reclaimed by the owner.

00:03:37 SPEAKER_042: And one hundred sixty-nine dogs were brought into the shelter, with one hundred forty-four being adopted and eighteen being reclaimed by the owner.

00:03:44 SPEAKER_042: Four thousand one hundred eighty-three inquiries and seventy-nine complaints were received by the contractor, and the contractor conducted. seventy-nine investigations.

00:03:52 SPEAKER_042: With respect to community outreach and events, the contractor provided numerous educational sessions with schools and community organizations, media programs to promote pet adoption events, including food drives and fundraisers,

00:04:02 SPEAKER_042: and maintained an online presence that generated one hundred and fifty-eight five hundred ninety-one website interactions.

00:04:09 SPEAKER_042: In two thousand and twenty-five, the city completed its first full year operating with DocuPet, an animal licensing service provider.

00:04:15 SPEAKER_042: Increasing licensing compliance was a key objective of the. program.

00:04:18 SPEAKER_042: And animal licenses sold increased from 563 in 2024 to 730 in 2025, representing a 30% increase.

00:04:27 SPEAKER_042: In 2025, a total of 345 licenses were sold at the service on sound counter in City Hall, representing 47% of all licenses.

00:04:36 SPEAKER_042: Staff report that many individuals who purchased licenses in person had already created a DocuPen account and begun the online purchase process.

00:04:43 SPEAKER_042: However, upon discovering a 2.9% credit card processing fee. percent credit card processing fee and a 30 cent convenience fee.

00:04:48 SPEAKER_042: They abandoned the online process and completed their purchase at City Hall.

00:04:51 SPEAKER_042: So to address this, the city is now absorbing these transaction fees, and DocuPet will provide a monthly invoice for fees previously charged to customers.

00:04:59 SPEAKER_042: Staff will track in-person sales to determine whether this change reduces the number of customers completing their purchases at City Hall,

00:05:05 SPEAKER_042: and will include this information in the 2026 annual control year-end review report planned for spring 2027.

00:05:12 SPEAKER_042: Overall, the implementation of DocuPet in 2025 is significant.

00:05:14 SPEAKER_042: In two thousand and twenty-five, has significantly improved licensing compliance and lays the groundwork for potential staff time savings as more residents complete transactions online.

00:05:21 SPEAKER_042: The recommendation of the report is that the Corporate Services Committee recommends that City Council receive the report for information purposes.

00:05:27 SPEAKER_042: And with that, Madam Chair, I'd be happy to take any questions.

00:05:32 SPEAKER_042: Thank you, Stacey.

00:05:33 SPEAKER_042: Any questions?

00:05:36 SPEAKER_042: Go ahead, Councilor Button.

00:05:39 SPEAKER_042: Through you, Chair.

00:05:41 SPEAKER_043: First time, I'm happy to make the motion. to accept this report for information, and I do have a question.

00:05:48 SPEAKER_043: So, 2026 will be a pilot year to not charge for the credit card fee.

00:05:57 SPEAKER_043: I'm wondering if there, if you have a rollout or communication plan, not only to advise those who did previously license through DocuPad, or to encourage additional individuals for the year 2026.

00:06:12 SPEAKER_043: For the year two thousand and twenty-six, if they haven't used it to initiate this as a process, through you, Madam Chair, to Councillor Merton,

00:06:20 SPEAKER_042: we are working on a media release that should be going out within this month, I believe, about Jockey Pet, reminding people that they can purchase them online,

00:06:28 SPEAKER_042: and then also in that we're going to include information that that those fees will now be absorbed by the city,

00:06:34 SPEAKER_042: so encouraging people to purchase online because there will no longer be an additional cost to purchase online versus in person. and then we're also going to work with DocuPet about because they can send out

00:06:44 SPEAKER_042: email reminders to everyone that already has a license.

00:06:46 SPEAKER_042: So working with them to send out communication to everyone about those annual renewals that they can do it online and it's no extra fee.

00:06:57 SPEAKER_042: Any other questions?

00:06:59 SPEAKER_042: Go ahead.

00:07:00 SPEAKER_042: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:07:03 SPEAKER_042: Oh, my name doesn't pop up here.

00:07:04 SPEAKER_042: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:07:04 SPEAKER_042: And I have no questions.

00:07:07 SPEAKER_044: I was just going to highlight on the fact that I think. it's really important for it to be known that starting in two thousand and twenty-six,

00:07:14 SPEAKER_044: the new arrangements are going to have this capital contribution coming from other municipalities that have been an agreement with our contractor.

00:07:20 SPEAKER_044: I think that's really important to highlight.

00:07:22 SPEAKER_044: That alone is going to add about another twenty-one thousand five hundred dollars annually to the capital projects that could happen at that facility.

00:07:29 SPEAKER_044: So I think that is a fantastic thing that staff have worked on getting that into the contracts,

00:07:34 SPEAKER_044: so that way we can start really start putting some work. on the cap or a capital focus on that facility that needs some extra love.

00:07:42 SPEAKER_044: I know that council has and staff have allocated money over the next five years to continue to do that.

00:07:46 SPEAKER_044: But twenty-one thousand five hundred dollars additionally offsets some of those or absorbs some of the costs that we were bearing before.

00:07:55 SPEAKER_044: I think is pretty important.

00:07:56 SPEAKER_044: We should be highlighting on that as well.

00:07:58 SPEAKER_044: So thank you.

00:08:00 SPEAKER_044: Any other questions?

00:08:01 SPEAKER_044: Go ahead, Mema Neil.

00:08:05 SPEAKER_044: That's for you, Chair.

00:08:06 SPEAKER_044: Through you, Chair, this great report.

00:08:07 SPEAKER_044: What's the difference between an inquiry and a complaint?

00:08:15 SPEAKER_042: Through you, Madam Chair, to Member McCutcheon.

00:08:17 SPEAKER_042: Inquiry could be someone inquiring about adopting an animal, or they could just be calling to say, "I found this lost dog," or so it could just be anything about the animal shelter in general.

00:08:28 SPEAKER_042: Where the complaint is, there is a dog running at large, or a dog bite, or. any of those types of noise.

00:08:36 SPEAKER_042: If there's dogs excessively barking, they'll go and follow up on those complaints with regard to the noise bylaw.

00:08:42 SPEAKER_042: So that's the distinction between the two.

00:08:47 SPEAKER_042: Go ahead.

00:08:49 SPEAKER_047: Just one more question.

00:08:50 SPEAKER_047: I'm not a pet owner, so I might know this if I was.

00:08:54 SPEAKER_047: Do you, if you get a license, is that for lifetime?

00:08:58 SPEAKER_047: And I just one thing I know is there's a huge difference between the number of dogs and the number of cats.

00:09:02 SPEAKER_047: I'm just wondering, has has that something to do with it?

00:09:03 SPEAKER_047: How long the license is for?

00:09:07 SPEAKER_042: Through you, Madam Chair, to Member McCutcheon.

00:09:08 SPEAKER_042: A cat license is for its life, and dogs are annually, and it's 365 days.

00:09:14 SPEAKER_042: So before we had DocuPet, it would be every January.

00:09:17 SPEAKER_042: You had to come in and purchase a new license, and even if you purchase it in August, you still had to come back in January.

00:09:23 SPEAKER_042: Now with DocuPet, it's a 365 renewal, so you can purchase it any time in the year, and it's good for another 365 days before you have to renew again.

00:09:32 SPEAKER_042: Thank you.

00:09:33 SPEAKER_042: Go ahead.

00:09:34 SPEAKER_042: Through you, Madam Chair.

00:09:36 SPEAKER_042: It says the report shows that two hundred and forty-nine cats were adopted, but only twenty-seven licenses were issued through the entire city.

00:09:42 SPEAKER_042: Are they new adoptions licensed already, or is that just?

00:09:46 SPEAKER_042: Or what's the reason for that gap?

00:09:50 SPEAKER_042: Through you, Madam Chair, to Member Fletcher.

00:09:53 SPEAKER_042: They will ensure when they're adopting an animal, if the person lives and owns sound, that they are directing them to buy a license through.

00:10:00 SPEAKER_042: Doggy Pet, so a lot of those could be cats that are being purchased by people who do not live in Old Sound,

00:10:06 SPEAKER_042: and then at that point they would have to go to that township to purchase a license if their township requires it.

00:10:14 SPEAKER_009: Any other questions?

00:10:16 SPEAKER_009: Seeing none.

00:10:16 SPEAKER_009: The recommendation has already moved by Councillor Merton.

00:10:20 SPEAKER_009: All those in favour?

00:10:23 SPEAKER_009: And I'm just looking online, and Member Monica has her hands up.

00:10:28 SPEAKER_009: So. it's carried.

00:10:29 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Stacey, for a wonderful report.

00:10:36 SPEAKER_009: Moving on to 8A2, we have a report CR26027 from the Manager of Legislative Services regarding policy review of Project 2026 Annual Update.

00:10:49 SPEAKER_009: Welcome.

00:10:51 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Chair Kukrada.

00:10:53 SPEAKER_009: Good evening, members of the committee.

00:10:55 SPEAKER_009: My name is Kristen.

00:10:56 Christine Gilbert: I'm the manager of Legislative Services for the city, and one of the areas of work that fall under my purview is the policy review project.

00:11:05 Christine Gilbert: I'm here today to give a brief annual review, but I understand there's some new members on the committee, so I'd like to take the opportunity to present a brief overview of the project as well.

00:11:18 Christine Gilbert: The purpose of this project, in a nutshell, is to get a handle on the city policies so that they're well managed and useful for the organization.

00:11:24 Christine Gilbert: With respect to the vision, we want to reduce the time spent searching for policies, create a collaboration model for policy development, have a review and approval process that staff understand,

00:11:36 Christine Gilbert: and a policy stock that reflects our current position on policy issues.

00:11:41 Christine Gilbert: The two primary goals are to have a reliable repository and a reliable system for policy development and management.

00:11:48 Christine Gilbert: All city policies are in scope for the project, but it does not include organizations that have their own boards. such as the police services or the library.

00:12:01 Christine Gilbert: This project began in 2023 when the city had more than 400 policies on the books.

00:12:07 Christine Gilbert: At that time, many policies were outdated, difficult to find, and sometimes, when they were located, they weren't actually a policy at all.

00:12:14 Christine Gilbert: There was no person or team managing policies at that time, so there was no coordination amongst staff, meaning a policy could be set and then forgotten. because it was everyone's responsibility.

00:12:25 Christine Gilbert: It was effectively no one's responsibility.

00:12:27 Christine Gilbert: Within that decentralized model, each division used to create its own policies, resulting in duplication, inconsistencies, and a lack of policy reviews.

00:12:41 Christine Gilbert: Since 2023, I've been working with staff on this project.

00:12:45 Christine Gilbert: For policy development, I work primarily with content experts to help identify their important messages and make sure. that the messages are clear, so that the policy can be read and interpreted by a layperson.

00:12:56 Christine Gilbert: And I focus on both the content and the form.

00:12:59 Christine Gilbert: My colleague Desiree, as the Information and Privacy Coordinator, manages the policies as records, ensuring that they're properly approved, protected, and organized.

00:13:08 Christine Gilbert: Each year in this project, one department analyzes its policy stock to determine what policies are no longer needed,

00:13:15 Christine Gilbert: and schedules reviews of the remainder of the policies on a five-year review cycle. a few of the benefits of the project include eliminating a lot of policies that we do not need,

00:13:28 Christine Gilbert: so that our policy stock is manageable; implementing review dates so that our policies remain current; organizing our policies differently than they were before, so that they can be found more easily,

00:13:39 Christine Gilbert: both by staff and by the public; and centralizing the process so that changes to organizational structure do not impact access to important information.

00:13:48 Christine Gilbert: The overarching benefit is that the city has a process with ownership and accountability, so the situation that we were in in 2023 will not recur.

00:14:00 Christine Gilbert: Turning briefly to review of last year, in 2025, the divisions in Public Works and Engineering analyzed their policy stock,

00:14:07 Christine Gilbert: which means that this year some of those policies that need to be reviewed are in the annual review cycle.

00:14:13 Christine Gilbert: We originally had 45 reviews scheduled for 2024.

00:14:16 Christine Gilbert: Five reviews scheduled for 2025, which was admittedly a very ambitious schedule, and that schedule was set before we fully grasped the impact of service review, which took precedence.

00:14:26 Christine Gilbert: In the end, we completed 20 full reviews last year, which involve staff discussions, research, review—sorry, reviews of comparator policies, editing, reporting, and then a rollout.

00:14:39 Christine Gilbert: I would estimate for you that a simple policy review, the simplest policy review, is about 10 hours of work.

00:14:45 Christine Gilbert: at least.

00:14:49 Christine Gilbert: Now, in two thousand and twenty-six, we have already done the divisional review with Community Services Department.

00:14:55 Christine Gilbert: We usually do that later in the year, in the summer, when we're on a break from council and have a little more time.

00:15:00 Christine Gilbert: But this year, we've done it early so that staff can load all of the planned projects for the next five years, including policy reviews, into the Project Team platform.

00:15:10 Christine Gilbert: Project Team is a project management software that's being used. to organize the project work of city staff, including the policy reviews in this platform, is going to assist staff in prioritizing their policy review work.

00:15:23 Christine Gilbert: In addition to that, this year we have approximately twenty policy reviews scheduled.

00:15:30 Christine Gilbert: Also, starting this year, we've transitioned to DocuSign, so the city manager policy approvals can be digitally recorded, which reduces paperwork and improves our efficiency.

00:15:40 Christine Gilbert: And through the two departmental. policy reviews we've undertaken in 2025 and 2026, we have identified 101 additional policies to remove from our records.

00:15:52 Christine Gilbert: If approved, a bylaw will be introduced to repeal those policies.

00:15:56 Christine Gilbert: However, they will remain in the master policy index so that we can track when they were in effect and when they were repealed.

00:16:02 Christine Gilbert: If the policies in tonight's report are repealed, our policy stock will have been reduced over the past four years from 400 policies. to approximately 125 policies.

00:16:17 Christine Gilbert: Lastly, the recommendation for the committee is that you recommend to council to bring forward a bylaw to repeal the policies outlined in Appendix A to the report.

00:16:25 Christine Gilbert: And with that, I'm happy to take any questions.

00:16:30 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Christine.

00:16:31 SPEAKER_009: I open the floor for discussion.

00:16:33 SPEAKER_009: Any questions?

00:16:34 SPEAKER_009: Go ahead, Member Orreses.

00:16:40 SPEAKER_009: Through you, Madam Chair.

00:16:42 SPEAKER_050: Just concerning that, about 101 policies have been proposed to repeal, which brings the the proposed talk to around 125.

00:16:49 SPEAKER_050: How do we ensure that the operational guidance is not lost when the older policies are repealed or it's converted into procedures?

00:17:02 SPEAKER_050: Through you, Chair.

00:17:03 SPEAKER_050: Go ahead.

00:17:09 Christine Gilbert: Once more, through you, Chair Krajca, that is an excellent question, and I just want to make sure that I understand.

00:17:16 Christine Gilbert: You want to know how we're making sure that there are no operational holes as we are repealing all of these policies.

00:17:22 Christine Gilbert: Great.

00:17:22 Christine Gilbert: Okay.

00:17:23 Christine Gilbert: So the work that we do involves sitting down with the director and the managers of each division.

00:17:28 Christine Gilbert: So when we repeal policies, we do it in a collaborative process so that we understand what's being repealed, and we. are checking to make sure that we're not leaving a hole behind.

00:17:38 Christine Gilbert: The items that we're bringing to you to be repealed right now are being brought forward because they're either obsolete, meaning that there's not any use for them anymore;

00:17:46 Christine Gilbert: they're redundant because we have brought them into possibly a bylaw, a more recent policy, or some sort of strategy document.

00:17:55 Christine Gilbert: I've just lost my train of thought.

00:17:58 Christine Gilbert: I apologize.

00:17:59 Christine Gilbert: One moment.

00:18:02 Christine Gilbert: I'm sorry. and then we take all of the policies before they are repealed to the senior management team to make sure that there is not a siloed approach to this,

00:18:17 Christine Gilbert: but that the entire corporation is aware of what's happening.

00:18:20 Christine Gilbert: It is possible that we will leave a hole.

00:18:21 Christine Gilbert: We did, in fact,

00:18:22 Christine Gilbert: find a policy just before we brought this report forward that was on the repeal list that we wanted to take back and keep in our stock until we had a better policy to replace it

00:18:31 Christine Gilbert: with.

00:18:32 Christine Gilbert: So that's sort. of the idea.

00:18:33 Christine Gilbert: Anything that we don't need, we're getting rid of now.

00:18:36 Christine Gilbert: And then anything that we want to keep on the books that's not really effective, we're hanging onto until we are able to update it.

00:18:48 Christine Gilbert: Go ahead, member.

00:18:51 Christine Gilbert: Through you, Madam Chair.

00:18:52 Christine Gilbert: Thank you.

00:18:53 SPEAKER_051: I found myself in a kind of a similar situation when I was reading through the the list of what was being repealed, what was obsolete.

00:19:01 SPEAKER_051: I think I was craving maybe like a comment beside it, so I could you know rationalize why this is happening or what it was replaced with.

00:19:09 SPEAKER_051: So I think that would have answered my questions and gave me more confidence to make the recommendation.

00:19:17 SPEAKER_051: Go ahead, Christie.

00:19:22 Christine Gilbert: Thank you, Chair.

00:19:23 Christine Gilbert: That's a great piece of feedback, and I will think keep that in mind for our annual report next year.

00:19:29 Christine Gilbert: The policies are. broken down into the ones that are rationalized through being obsolete, ones that are rationalized through being redundant, and ones that are rationalized through being better served as a procedure.

00:19:40 Christine Gilbert: So that's how they were organized for you in that chart.

00:19:44 Christine Gilbert: But I can take a better look next year to try and get that information to you in a way that's easier for you to take in.

00:19:52 Christine Gilbert: Councilor Dodd, did you have a question, Councilor Martin?

00:19:57 SPEAKER_043: Through you, Chair.

00:19:59 SPEAKER_043: First of all, I want to say thank you.

00:20:01 SPEAKER_043: This has to be one of the most challenging tasks any organization can do.

00:20:08 SPEAKER_043: Consistent, sustained effort, and and just over time.

00:20:13 SPEAKER_043: You've been at it for a few years.

00:20:14 SPEAKER_043: You've still got some work to do, obviously.

00:20:17 SPEAKER_043: And I notice you've added five new ones to come.

00:20:20 SPEAKER_043: So the fountain can fill.

00:20:23 SPEAKER_043: So thank you to you and everyone who's worked so diligently. which would be all of the team on this, it is an important piece of work, but it is challenging and it takes great effort.

00:20:35 SPEAKER_043: So, I'd like to ask about the legalities around decisions that have been made when policies were in place.

00:20:49 SPEAKER_043: So, the policies you're asking us to repeal are these arch.

00:20:55 SPEAKER_043: Are these archived?

00:20:56 SPEAKER_043: Should there ever be any legal challenge about decisions that were made while those policies were in place?

00:21:02 SPEAKER_043: What happens in those circumstances?

00:21:07 SPEAKER_043: Through to Councilor Martin, excellent question.

00:21:10 Christine Gilbert: A policy, when it is approved by bylaw, gets put in the vault in the condition it was in on the day it was approved.

00:21:21 Christine Gilbert: So we keep that time.

00:21:22 Christine Gilbert: That timestamp, so that if we ever have to go back to see what the policy was at the time something happened, we are able to do that.

00:21:30 Christine Gilbert: Admittedly, when I started this project in 2023, those records were not fulsome,

00:21:35 Christine Gilbert: but we have made a real concerted effort on a go-forward basis to capture all that information and hang on to it in in a spreadsheet that is accessible and that we update regularly.

00:21:47 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my right, Mame Nil, do you have a question?

00:21:51 SPEAKER_009: Any questions?

00:21:52 SPEAKER_009: All right.

00:21:53 SPEAKER_009: Seeing none, no questions.

00:21:55 SPEAKER_009: Do I have a move?

00:22:00 SPEAKER_044: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:22:01 SPEAKER_044: And yeah, I'll move the recommendation as as it's contained within the report.

00:22:05 SPEAKER_044: I would highlight a lot of the things that we we do and go through.

00:22:08 SPEAKER_044: As Kristin had highlighted, those could have been included.

00:22:12 SPEAKER_044: I'm looking at one of the options was regarding laser pointers in facilities.

00:22:17 SPEAKER_044: That would just be covered in another report and other.

00:22:20 SPEAKER_044: Report another, or another plan somewhere on facilities, so a lot of them would have already been just kind of picked up and placed in another discussion, whether it's the master, another master plan,

00:22:29 SPEAKER_044: or somewhere else.

00:22:30 SPEAKER_044: So, you would the challenges that clerks would go through to try to track down, go through four hundred policies, or for council or members of the public to keep track of what that is,

00:22:43 SPEAKER_044: for some dating back to the tree shrub planting in Greenwood Cemetery that has no date the year was created.

00:22:50 SPEAKER_044: Those do need to be updated to ensure that they're still accurate and reflect the current conditions that we're in today.

00:22:55 SPEAKER_044: Some of the conditions back from one thousand, nine hundred and eighty-four might not be still as as prevalent today.

00:23:02 SPEAKER_044: So, one hundred percent, always.

00:23:03 SPEAKER_044: I think you're doing a great job, and I appreciate to make it the new policies that do come in play a lot more user friendly.

00:23:13 SPEAKER_044: They're not the thou shall thy whatever. it is, more directed at common language, so people can have a direct interpretation of what that is.

00:23:22 SPEAKER_044: So appreciative of that.

00:23:28 SPEAKER_009: We do have have a recommendation on the floor, and thank you, Christine.

00:23:32 SPEAKER_009: This is an excellent report, and I think policies and procedures need to be reviewed after a couple of years.

00:23:37 SPEAKER_009: Doesn't mean something that was in existence in one thousand, nine hundred and eighty would still be in existence now, right?

00:23:43 SPEAKER_009: So it's a great work.

00:23:44 SPEAKER_009: Requires a lot of planning. manpower, coordinating.

00:23:48 SPEAKER_009: But thank you for an excellent report, and it was great to see the changes that are coming up in this report.

00:23:54 SPEAKER_009: So thank you for that.

00:23:55 SPEAKER_009: And with that, we do have a recommendation on the floor.

00:23:57 SPEAKER_009: All in favor?

00:24:00 SPEAKER_009: So I see all hands up, and I see Member Dale's hands up as well.

00:24:04 SPEAKER_009: So it is moved unanimously.

00:24:06 SPEAKER_009: Thank you so much.

00:24:14 SPEAKER_009: That gets us. through eight B. At eight C, we have corporate and facility services.

00:24:22 SPEAKER_009: Eight B one report CR twenty six zero three three from corporate facilities project coordinator, regarding Billy Bishop Museum front veranda replacement, budget amendment and project authorizations.

00:24:38 SPEAKER_009: Good evening, Madam Chair, members of committee.

00:24:40 SPEAKER_054: This report presents this report presents a budget amendment. and project authorization for the Billy Bishop Museum front veranda replacement project.

00:24:48 SPEAKER_054: The project was originally approved in 2023 and 2027 capital plan for a budget of $80,000.

00:24:54 SPEAKER_054: Due to the building's heritage designation, a heritage architect was retained in 2025 at a cost of $21,400 to complete the detailed design work.

00:25:05 SPEAKER_054: The resulting class D estimate came in at $110,000, including a 15% contingency to account for. potential hidden deterioration.

00:25:14 SPEAKER_054: Based on updated costs, the total required project budget is now $131,400.

00:25:19 SPEAKER_054: This resulting in a funding shortfall of $51,400.

00:25:23 SPEAKER_054: Staff are proposing to address this shortfall through $21,200 in surplus funds from previous Billy Bishop Museum interior rehabilitation projects, and $30,000, $30,200 from the capital. reserve.

00:25:42 SPEAKER_054: This approach does not introduce new funding, but rather realocates existing approved funds.

00:25:48 SPEAKER_054: The veranda has been identified as the highest priority capital need for the facility.

00:25:53 SPEAKER_054: Its current condition presents both functional concerns, heritage preservation risks.

00:25:57 SPEAKER_054: Advancing this project supports the city's commitment to asset management, public safety, and long-term stewardship of heritage properties.

00:26:05 SPEAKER_054: Some interior work, some interior rehabilitation work.

00:26:08 SPEAKER_054: Habitation work planned for 2027 and 2023 may be deferred or reprioritized.

00:26:13 SPEAKER_054: However, these adjustments remain within the overall approved capital funding envelope.

00:26:18 SPEAKER_054: Council approval is required under the purchasing policy as the project exceeds $100,000 and the approved budget by more than $25,000.

00:26:27 SPEAKER_054: Tendering is anticipated for this spring in 2026, with the construction planned for late summer, early fall of 2026.

00:26:38 SPEAKER_054: In closing, we are recommending approval to increase the project budget to one hundred and thirty-one thousand dollars.

00:26:44 SPEAKER_054: Reallocate the twenty-one thousand two hundred in surplus funds.

00:26:50 SPEAKER_054: Allocate thirty thousand two hundred from the capital reserve.

00:26:55 SPEAKER_054: This ensures the project can proceed in a timely and fiscally responsible manner.

00:26:58 SPEAKER_054: And I'd be happy to answer any questions.

00:27:01 SPEAKER_054: Okay.

00:27:02 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Sean.

00:27:02 SPEAKER_009: I open the floor for discussion.

00:27:04 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my right, any. questions?

00:27:08 SPEAKER_009: Go ahead, Member Fletcher.

00:27:10 SPEAKER_048: Through you, Chair.

00:27:11 SPEAKER_048: With the measures in place to maintain, what measures will be in place to maintain safe public access to the museum's front entrance,

00:27:17 SPEAKER_048: and will this impact the museum's program fall and summer while it's being done?

00:27:23 SPEAKER_054: Project is due to commence construction the second of September.

00:27:27 SPEAKER_054: Once the volumes, the numbers drop down, for the attendees, and they will have access through the accessible entrance at the rear of the museum.

00:27:38 SPEAKER_054: Any questions?

00:27:39 SPEAKER_054: Go ahead, member.

00:27:41 SPEAKER_050: Through you, Madam Chair.

00:27:42 SPEAKER_050: I have a twofold question, so I'll just put across.

00:27:46 SPEAKER_050: Is there a risk for more more cost escalations once the tendering is complete?

00:27:54 SPEAKER_050: So that's my first question.

00:27:56 SPEAKER_050: And my second question is, just in case, if the interior rehabilitation is deferred.

00:28:03 SPEAKER_050: Does that create any meaningful future cost pressure or a building risk?

00:28:12 SPEAKER_054: So, for the first question, I'm sorry.

00:28:15 SPEAKER_054: Could you repeat the first question again?

00:28:19 SPEAKER_050: Yeah, the first question was: Is there a risk for more cost escalation once the tendering process is completed?

00:28:29 SPEAKER_054: That risk always persists in any of our facilities. but we do have a 15% contingency amount, hopefully capturing any future deterioration to mitigate that risk.

00:28:39 SPEAKER_054: Second question.

00:28:41 SPEAKER_050: Yeah, the second question is, just in case, if the interior rehabilitation is deferred, does that create any meaningful future cost pressures or building risk?

00:28:57 SPEAKER_054: Currently, we are caught up. with the interior rehabilitation for the facility, the facility is hoping to seek out grants for the kitchen renovation project, which comes at a cost from their group,

00:29:12 SPEAKER_054: not from the city.

00:29:21 SPEAKER_054: Okay.

00:29:22 SPEAKER_054: Any other questions?

00:29:24 SPEAKER_054: Yep.

00:29:24 SPEAKER_054: Go ahead, Member Greg.

00:29:26 SPEAKER_051: Three, Madam Chair.

00:29:28 SPEAKER_051: Through you, Madam Chair, it just might be me.

00:29:29 SPEAKER_051: I'm kind of a visual person.

00:29:31 SPEAKER_051: I was hoping to see the current and then the future state, as far as renderings, maybe of what you're planning to achieve here.

00:29:41 SPEAKER_054: We can certainly present that.

00:29:43 SPEAKER_054: I can provide that through Christine, I believe.

00:29:51 SPEAKER_054: Any other questions?

00:29:54 SPEAKER_054: Go ahead, Constable Dodd.

00:29:55 SPEAKER_054: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:29:56 SPEAKER_054: I'm.

00:29:56 SPEAKER_044: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:29:57 SPEAKER_044: I've noticed that everything is being charged back into tax levy, and that's going to be my question.

00:30:00 SPEAKER_044: Does any of that apply to the CIP facade or any kind of the heritage funding?

00:30:10 SPEAKER_044: Don't need an answer right now if you don't have it, but that was just my only question.

00:30:14 SPEAKER_044: It has already been approved in our twenty.

00:30:17 SPEAKER_044: It's been approved in the five-year capital plan, so this would just be a further increase on it.

00:30:22 SPEAKER_044: But just curious, Bill, why it's all tax?

00:30:27 SPEAKER_006: Through you, Madam Chair, currently it is contemplated to be funded through the capital levy, which is funded fully through tax.

00:30:34 SPEAKER_006: If we were to contemplate using a CIP grant, which are also funded by tax, we could certainly look into that to see if it would be eligible.

00:30:44 SPEAKER_006: And again, that would just make sure that some money is retained back in the capital reserve.

00:30:49 SPEAKER_006: But I can certainly look into that with our planning crew.

00:30:55 SPEAKER_009: Any other questions?

00:30:57 SPEAKER_009: Seeing none, could I have a call for a mover to move the recommendation?

00:31:01 SPEAKER_009: All right, Member Fletcher has moved the recommendation as it is in front of us.

00:31:05 SPEAKER_009: So, all those in favour?

00:31:10 SPEAKER_009: I see Member Dale's hand up as well.

00:31:14 SPEAKER_009: So it is approved unanimously.

00:31:16 SPEAKER_009: Thank you.

00:31:17 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Sean.

00:31:22 SPEAKER_009: That. carries us through a business for 8B.

00:31:25 SPEAKER_009: At 8C, we have taxes and revenue, and the report that we have is 8C1, report CR26030 from the Deputy Treasurer regarding 2026 fees and charges update for corporate services.

00:31:40 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:31:42 SPEAKER_055: So the 2026 corporate service fees and charges update comes to committee and council annually in the spring. the new bylaw typically takes effect or takes effect on July 1st.

00:31:56 SPEAKER_055: Committee feedback is going to be considered and incorporated into the final proposed fees and charges schedule that gets presented to council in May.

00:32:05 SPEAKER_055: Excuse me.

00:32:06 SPEAKER_055: User fees and charges generate approximately 10% of the revenue considered in the city's 2026 operating budget.

00:32:15 SPEAKER_055: In 2025, as part of the service review project for.

00:32:19 SPEAKER_055: Service Review Project 4C3.

00:32:20 SPEAKER_055: All fee schedules were divided into three annual cyclical review cycles.

00:32:25 SPEAKER_055: So this approach ensures every fee is reviewed at least once every three years, while also considering staff capacity,

00:32:30 SPEAKER_055: allowing for more in-depth review of fees. 2026 is the first year of reviewing fees through the review cycles, as previously all the fees were reviewed every single year.

00:32:42 SPEAKER_055: The three-year cycle establishes a minimum review frequency, not a fixed limit, so fees can still be. identified by staff or committees for a more fulsome review at any time due to operational changes, service offerings,

00:32:54 SPEAKER_055: council direction, or changes in legislative requirements.

00:32:59 SPEAKER_055: Some highlights or some updates of the of the changes.

00:33:03 SPEAKER_055: Animal control.

00:33:05 SPEAKER_055: So in the earlier report through Stacy, there she mentioned the DocuPet admin fees.

00:33:11 SPEAKER_055: So the increase.

00:33:12 SPEAKER_055: We're going to increase the replacement tag fees to offset the processing fee that's been implemented.

00:33:16 SPEAKER_055: Processing fees that's been implemented by DocuPat.

00:33:18 SPEAKER_055: All general business license fees are set to increase approximately three percent annually in 2026, 2027, and 2028.

00:33:26 SPEAKER_055: Business license fees were last increased in 2023, so increasing by three percent annually is going to help avoid another large increase in future years.

00:33:35 SPEAKER_055: Mobile food business license fees are set to increase approximately ten percent annually in 2026, 2027, and 2028.

00:33:42 SPEAKER_055: These are one-time fees for business licenses. licenses they're not renewed annually, but this is just better to align with the fees for mobile food business licensing in neighboring and comparative municipalities.

00:33:55 SPEAKER_055: Not really a lot of big changes other than those.

00:34:01 SPEAKER_055: Each of the three standing committees is going to be receiving the fees and charges review report in April, in this month, and so then following these meetings,

00:34:09 SPEAKER_055: the committee feedback will be incorporated into the final fees and charges report. which will be presented to Council for approval in May of two thousand and twenty-six.

00:34:18 SPEAKER_055: The two thousand and twenty-six fees and charges bylaw comes into effect July one st, and then in future years, we're going to begin reviewing these fees in the fall,

00:34:29 SPEAKER_055: and take a more fulsome deep dive into them.

00:34:32 SPEAKER_055: And we want to we want to make sure it's more of a cost recovery for for the cost of the service we're providing,

00:34:38 SPEAKER_055: and we want to make sure that we're recovering that cost so that the burden doesn't. fall on the tax on the tax base.

00:34:45 SPEAKER_055: The the recommendation is, you know, staff is hoping that the Corporate Services Committee will accept the report as presented.

00:34:58 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, David, and I'll open the floor for any discussions.

00:35:01 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my right, any questions?

00:35:03 SPEAKER_009: Go ahead, Councillor Miraboo.

00:35:05 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Dave.

00:35:06 SPEAKER_009: Do you know what the mobile food?

00:35:10 SPEAKER_002: Permit cost was prior to this update.

00:35:23 SPEAKER_002: Sorry.

00:35:25 SPEAKER_002: Oh, thank you, Christina.

00:35:36 SPEAKER_001: Sorry, the fee for twenty. twenty five isn't on there, but I believe it was two hundred and fifty dollars.

00:35:50 SPEAKER_002: Okay, just looking at what the neighboring municipalities' range was, like just over two hundred up to seven hundred dollars.

00:35:59 SPEAKER_002: I feel like we're kind of still at the low end, and I'm just thinking, like as a business owner, like we pay the the licensing fee, but we also have to. pay a sign fee,

00:36:08 SPEAKER_002: and if we change locations, then we have to pay a change location fee.

00:36:13 SPEAKER_002: I just feel like maybe we're at the low end of this, and I'm just wondering if anyone on committee would have an appetite for increasing that.

00:36:24 SPEAKER_002: Go ahead, Member Greg.

00:36:27 SPEAKER_051: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:36:28 SPEAKER_051: I'm I'm actually of the exact opposite opinion on that.

00:36:32 SPEAKER_051: I when I was reading this, I was slightly disheartened. by it, and I'll give you my reasons why.

00:36:40 SPEAKER_051: The mobile business, food businesses that are in town, are, I guess, for me they improve my quality of life in Owensmouth.

00:36:49 SPEAKER_051: They're a joy, really, right?

00:36:51 SPEAKER_051: They bring a whole different atmosphere, a whole different selection of options to us, right?

00:36:56 SPEAKER_051: Like a Ted and Grace's, for example, is amazing.

00:36:59 SPEAKER_051: It's a destination for my family as far as somewhere to go to eat, right?

00:37:03 SPEAKER_051: So. looking at these true entrepreneurs as I see them, who are out there hustle and trying to make it, I realize this is a nominal change.

00:37:11 SPEAKER_051: Right?

00:37:12 SPEAKER_051: It's not going to be a make or break.

00:37:13 SPEAKER_051: But in the same way, we were on the low end, and I saw that as a good thing.

00:37:17 SPEAKER_051: I saw that as you could view it as a competitive advantage.

00:37:22 SPEAKER_051: We're essentially saying to these vendors, City of On Sound embraces you.

00:37:26 SPEAKER_051: Right?

00:37:26 SPEAKER_051: We're not going to charge you seven hundred dollars because we kind of don't want you around.

00:37:30 SPEAKER_051: It kind of sets that tone.

00:37:31 SPEAKER_051: Tone that that was my kind of take on it.

00:37:33 SPEAKER_051: Where I was thinking a lower fee embraces these entrepreneurs and and you know lets them know that Owen Sound is a place for them,

00:37:41 SPEAKER_051: and for me that improves my enjoyment of all the good food they're making.

00:37:47 SPEAKER_051: Right, so that was kind of my take on it.

00:37:50 SPEAKER_051: I understand where we're going with that.

00:37:51 SPEAKER_051: On this committee, I have observed that the the justification for making changes based on what other municipalities are doing is sometimes Are doing is something that we kind of we lean on.

00:38:04 SPEAKER_051: I think a bit too much, right?

00:38:05 SPEAKER_051: I agree with your rationalization and justification for the increase, if that exists, right?

00:38:12 SPEAKER_051: So it's a cost recovery.

00:38:14 SPEAKER_051: Therefore, we're going to do X. But I think we need to have that justification beyond just kind of following the crowd of we're low,

00:38:22 SPEAKER_051: so we're just going to increase it to kind of stay mid level.

00:38:25 SPEAKER_051: What's the strategic vision of that?

00:38:28 SPEAKER_051: Like, what are we saying by?

00:38:29 SPEAKER_051: doing that?

00:38:34 SPEAKER_051: Okay, go ahead, Tim.

00:38:37 SPEAKER_011: Through you, Chair, to Councillor Middlebro and and and Member Milburn.

00:38:44 SPEAKER_011: I think we, as staff, try to balance that out because we look at whether it's a food festival or a food truck.

00:38:52 SPEAKER_011: When those businesses set up, we're balancing that against the local eateries that pay. property tax all year and other things to be at a location, and so again, when a mobile food truck comes in,

00:39:05 SPEAKER_011: and doesn't matter what what they have, generally there's going to be a brick and mortar, probably similar location in the city, maybe not exactly,

00:39:14 SPEAKER_011: but you can get similar food at a brick and mortar location.

00:39:17 SPEAKER_011: And there was brick and mortar locations, then when they see a lot of food trucks again, from a staff perspective, we balance those calls of because they're calling, saying, "What you allow this food truck?"

00:39:27 SPEAKER_011: just up the street from me, and I pay my city taxes each year, so it's both are very relevant.

00:39:31 SPEAKER_011: All I'm saying is both are very relevant points.

00:39:34 SPEAKER_011: So we just sort of have a, I think, a modest approach to that food licensing thing, and it is true we do look at comparator municipalities,

00:39:45 SPEAKER_011: and maybe in some things it's not quite as as magnified, but when you look at the rental of ice time and other things, and you say.

00:39:55 SPEAKER_011: "Hey, prime time ice in the city of Owen Sound, let's say, is $600 an hour."

00:39:59 SPEAKER_011: I'm hypothetical.

00:40:00 SPEAKER_011: I don't know it off the top of my head, but they look at a neighboring municipality and that prime time ice is $400.

00:40:06 SPEAKER_011: That you know, so we have to look at those things and weigh them out to compare to things.

00:40:10 SPEAKER_011: Food trucks, again, maybe you know, we're trying to promote business, etc. But it's just a fine line of balance.

00:40:15 SPEAKER_011: Just to give some context of what we as staff hear from local businesses and local establishments, also.

00:40:24 SPEAKER_011: Thank you, Tim.

00:40:25 SPEAKER_011: Councillor Merton, through you, Chair.

00:40:31 SPEAKER_043: I'd like to go back to the comparator and how the committee does comparators.

00:40:39 SPEAKER_043: My question is to staff.

00:40:44 SPEAKER_043: There is the balance between cost recovery and revenue generation, and when you started with the presentation.

00:40:52 SPEAKER_043: You commented about a 10% revenue.

00:40:58 SPEAKER_043: Is there an overall threshold, goal, target, overall, with the fees that we charge to strive for, because it does offset the demand on the tax base and to residents as well.

00:41:17 SPEAKER_043: As I look at this and look at comparators, you know, we're doing well.

00:41:20 SPEAKER_043: We charge.

00:41:21 SPEAKER_043: You know we're doing well.

00:41:21 SPEAKER_043: We charged this before, and now we're charging this.

00:41:23 SPEAKER_043: And how does it compare?

00:41:24 SPEAKER_043: My question is: overall, do you have a target?

00:41:27 SPEAKER_043: Do you have a threshold on what you want to bring in through the fees and charges bylaw?

00:41:34 SPEAKER_043: Something to strive for as we move forward and continue to look at these.

00:41:41 SPEAKER_055: Through you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Councillor Merton.

00:41:43 SPEAKER_055: That's a great point, and that's also why we're going to be doing a more fulsome dive into. this in the fall.

00:41:51 SPEAKER_055: It's the fees are supposed to be cost recovery.

00:41:53 SPEAKER_055: There's supposed to be, you know, no extra expense to the taxpayer for the fee, right?

00:42:00 SPEAKER_055: So for whatever we're doing, whether it's using equipment or staff time, or you know,

00:42:05 SPEAKER_055: we need to make sure the fee is covering the cost of of doing the the service or the you know license or or whatnot.

00:42:14 SPEAKER_055: I don't know if Kate wants to add anything to that though.

00:42:19 SPEAKER_006: I think the biggest thing is transparency, and that's there will always be times when it's not a full cost recovery.

00:42:25 SPEAKER_006: But we want to be able to communicate to council what understanding of what that true cost is, how much we're able to cover through fees,

00:42:32 SPEAKER_006: and then how much is ultimately subsidized for those services through the tax rate.

00:42:36 SPEAKER_006: There's lots of services that we provide which we're never going to be able to fully cost recover.

00:42:41 SPEAKER_006: Transit being a huge one, but across the board. facility rental fees.

00:42:48 SPEAKER_006: We do not recover the full cost of those services, but we will be doing a better job at presenting what the true cost of that is, how much we're recovering,

00:42:57 SPEAKER_006: and some justification as to why we've settled on that.

00:43:02 SPEAKER_006: Through you, Chair.

00:43:04 SPEAKER_043: Thank you for that.

00:43:05 SPEAKER_043: So your philosophy is still primarily, whenever possible, cost recovery, not revenue generation.

00:43:16 SPEAKER_006: We are not a profit-oriented corporation, so there would be very few services that we provide that are revenue generation.

00:43:25 SPEAKER_006: That's not to say there aren't some.

00:43:26 SPEAKER_006: The campground, for example, is one where we aim to earn revenue over and above our costs on an annual basis.

00:43:31 SPEAKER_006: So it really is service-specific.

00:43:36 SPEAKER_009: Any other questions?

00:43:37 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my left.

00:43:39 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my right.

00:43:41 SPEAKER_009: Go ahead.

00:43:44 SPEAKER_051: Just one more comment before I move off of this mobile food.

00:43:49 SPEAKER_051: Part of the reason I wasn't really necessarily in favor of the increase as well was on the heels of our surplus, which is significant as well.

00:43:59 SPEAKER_051: I was just thinking the optics of that maybe didn't look great.

00:44:06 SPEAKER_055: Sorry, through you, Madam Chair.

00:44:07 SPEAKER_055: Just on on the food trucks, it's a one-time fee, right?

00:44:10 SPEAKER_055: Like it's a one-time license that they. pay, so they don't have any ongoing property tax bills or or cost other than just the license for the food truck.

00:44:18 SPEAKER_055: And I think that's an important thing to to to clarify, right?

00:44:21 SPEAKER_055: Because it's not a.

00:44:23 SPEAKER_055: I mean, it's a one-time fee.

00:44:26 SPEAKER_055: I'll leave it at that.

00:44:29 SPEAKER_055: Masterdog.

00:44:31 SPEAKER_044: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:44:32 SPEAKER_044: And just again, not to hit on mobile food businesses, but that fee of two hundred and fifty dollars has been in place since two thousand and twenty-two.

00:44:39 SPEAKER_044: So just the basics of. inflation alone would have increased that that that cost to where we're talking about now by increasing by twenty five dollars for a one time fee.

00:44:48 SPEAKER_044: I don't think that's again we're we're still in the very low portion of that in a comparable municipality.

00:44:54 SPEAKER_044: I don't think the twenty five dollars is going to really jeopardize a food mobile food business from not using On Sound.

00:45:02 SPEAKER_044: I agree with you.

00:45:03 SPEAKER_044: If it was seven hundred dollars, I'd probably be something that they defer to.

00:45:07 SPEAKER_044: But if this has been going a standard fee that's been in place since 2022.

00:45:11 SPEAKER_044: I think it's just common with inflation that that would kind of increase.

00:45:15 SPEAKER_044: So, so that's my only thought on that.

00:45:19 SPEAKER_044: I I agree that you know there's the we'll get into surplus in in the next report, but right now I'm going to move the recommendation as it is with the the current fees as listed.

00:45:34 SPEAKER_009: So we do have a recommendation on the floor.

00:45:36 SPEAKER_009: All those in favor.

00:45:37 SPEAKER_009: On the floor, all those in favour.

00:45:40 SPEAKER_009: I do see Member Dale's hand up, so it's carried unanimously.

00:45:44 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, David, for the wonderful report.

00:45:49 SPEAKER_009: That carries us through 8C.

00:45:51 SPEAKER_009: At 8D, we are up for accounting, and at 8D1, we have a report CR twenty six zero C seven from the Director of Corporate Services regarding 2025 Year End Budget.

00:46:06 SPEAKER_006: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:46:07 SPEAKER_006: And if you don't mind, after this report, I'm just going to loop back quickly to the update for Billy Bishop Museum because I did get an answer to Travis's question.

00:46:17 SPEAKER_006: But I'll start here.

00:46:19 SPEAKER_006: This is our annual year-end report that comes through committee every year, summarizing our operations from an operating perspective.

00:46:27 SPEAKER_006: Our capital levy and our capital budget is sort of an ongoing program, and any surplus. or deficit that results from capital is just held within that capital reserve.

00:46:39 SPEAKER_006: I'll also clarify that the results I'm presenting here today include those departments that are overseen by this committee.

00:46:49 SPEAKER_006: I do include the results of Owen Sound Police Services.

00:46:52 SPEAKER_006: However, I have not discussed anything contributing to those variances, because the expectation is those discussions would come through their minutes as they're discussed at their board.

00:47:03 SPEAKER_006: Similarly, you won't see any discussion of library operations here.

00:47:08 SPEAKER_006: They are a somewhat arm's length organization with their own management board, and again, any discussion around their own operations would come through those minutes.

00:47:18 SPEAKER_006: We are reporting a surplus this year in the neighborhood of $390,000.

00:47:21 SPEAKER_006: I will put a little asterisk to that—that this is an unaudited report, so we are just starting our year-end audit,

00:47:29 SPEAKER_006: and there are likely to be. some non-cash type adjustments that the auditors recommend that will still affect our surplus.

00:47:38 SPEAKER_006: If they adjust an inventory balance or anything like that, it could be applied against this number.

00:47:43 SPEAKER_006: But this just reflects our strict operations.

00:47:47 SPEAKER_006: The drivers really haven't changed, and I've linked in the previous report authority the first and second term updates that were provided through this committee.

00:47:57 SPEAKER_006: So there really are two major drivers in our favor. the WSIB rebate—that's a one-time rebate that the province paid out to all of its scheduled-to employers—and so we don't really have a choice but to

00:48:12 SPEAKER_006: recognize that as a surplus,

00:48:13 SPEAKER_006: and it's not something that I would budget for in future years because it doesn't apply in those years.

00:48:18 SPEAKER_006: And then, contrary to that, or offsetting that, is the deficit we had this year in winter control, and you'll see that variance show up not just in the pure winter control. accounts,

00:48:29 SPEAKER_006: but there's other accounts that also capture the impact of winter control.

00:48:34 SPEAKER_006: For example, parking being over budget by around sixty thousand would relate to winter control for parking lots and snow removal in the downtown.

00:48:43 SPEAKER_006: The police, the Oxnard Police Services building, the overage there was related to snow removal in their parking lot as well.

00:48:52 SPEAKER_006: So winter control is more than just the winter control department, and you see the impacts of it throughout. our total budget.

00:48:58 SPEAKER_006: I won't walk through the entire report.

00:49:01 SPEAKER_006: I will highlight that if you were just to look at the general city operations, we were actually in a deficit position of around $170,000.

00:49:08 SPEAKER_006: Police brought in a surplus of $255, so that brought our net operating service surplus into a positive of $90,000.

00:49:18 SPEAKER_006: And then we have sort of what I call our general revenues.

00:49:21 SPEAKER_006: Those are our tax adjustments, interest, penalty, and interest on. taxes that aren't necessarily department specific, and those generated a surplus of well as around three hundred zero.

00:49:33 SPEAKER_006: So, when you combine all that together, is how we get to the three hundred and ninety.

00:49:38 SPEAKER_006: Attached to the report are a number of appendices.

00:49:42 SPEAKER_006: The first one is the detailed variances by department, and I try to present that in the same format that we present budget.

00:49:50 SPEAKER_006: So you'll see a tab for each department, just like we have. budget broken down in the same way,

00:49:56 SPEAKER_006: the reserve and reserve funds balances is something that obviously has to be presented to council every year.

00:50:02 SPEAKER_006: But the auditors rely on this too to ensure that council has not had an opportunity to look at those transfers specifically any unbudgeted transfers,

00:50:11 SPEAKER_006: and that's one of the recommendations in the report that that's approved specifically.

00:50:16 SPEAKER_006: I would look at that appendix, appendix C and appendix D all together.

00:50:21 SPEAKER_006: Altogether, so while we do have the reserve and reserve fund balances which have grown, we also carry something referred to as unfinanced capital balances.

00:50:30 SPEAKER_006: So those are projects which are still underway, but we have yet allocated the funding to them, and ultimately they will draw down those reserve fund balances.

00:50:38 SPEAKER_006: So you would offset one against the other to come up with what our total reserves are or available capital.

00:50:45 SPEAKER_006: And then the treasurer statement is one that I provide each year, just certifying that the balances.

00:50:50 SPEAKER_006: That the balance of our development charges reserve is accurate, and that the money has been allocated accurately in line with our bylaw.

00:50:58 SPEAKER_006: And finally, for your interest, although it doesn't necessarily affect our year-end position, I've included all of our outstanding debt balances, including the annual payments and when each of those pieces of debt mature.

00:51:13 SPEAKER_006: So, with that, I won't go through any of the other details in here.

00:51:15 SPEAKER_006: But if you have any questions, I'm happy to take them.

00:51:20 SPEAKER_009: Thank you for the report, and I open the floor for discussion.

00:51:22 SPEAKER_009: Any questions?

00:51:24 SPEAKER_009: Go ahead, Member Franklin.

00:51:27 SPEAKER_009: Through you, Madam Chair.

00:51:29 SPEAKER_050: Just curious, can staff clarify which parts of the two thousand and twenty-five surplus is recurring versus one-time?

00:51:39 SPEAKER_050: Particularly given the WSIB rebate, which is there.

00:51:43 SPEAKER_006: I'd like to say. everything is one time, and if it is something that looks like it's going to persist, we aim to capture that in future year's budget.

00:51:57 SPEAKER_006: So if we're seeing a trend in something external, I'll use an example of of a maintenance cost or where maintenance costs are going up.

00:52:06 SPEAKER_006: We try to increase those maintenance budgets to slowly accommodate that.

00:52:11 SPEAKER_006: But things like salary gapping. we do budget for full complement of staff, and we also consider that we will have some positions vacant throughout the year.

00:52:26 SPEAKER_006: So we always carry a contingency, sort of offsetting that, to reflect that we do have vacancies.

00:52:32 SPEAKER_006: But as you can see here, we still had salary gapping over and above that amount in the range of three hundred thousand dollars,

00:52:40 SPEAKER_006: and that's even after we were able to accrue a little bit more to ensure we had enough to fully. fund the fire arbitration decision that report's coming on Monday's agenda, so those are one-time things.

00:52:53 SPEAKER_006: We aim to fill those positions.

00:52:54 SPEAKER_006: We don't hold them vacant, and if they are being held vacant, we would certainly take them out of the budget.

00:53:00 SPEAKER_006: So I would say, for the most part, I'd like to say these are all one-time things, but there's always that we're never right on budget.

00:53:06 SPEAKER_006: Everything is always over or under, and it's a matter of just balancing everything and hoping that by the end of the year,

00:53:11 SPEAKER_006: when you bring it all together. we're somewhere close to what we what we levied.

00:53:16 SPEAKER_006: I'd rather present to committee a small deficit every year than a surplus, because technically a surplus means we've collected more in taxation than we needed to fund our operations this year.

00:53:28 SPEAKER_006: But a three hundred thousand dollar at the end of the year day variance is less than one percent, I believe, where we where we landed.

00:53:35 SPEAKER_006: So I think that's pretty close to where we thought we would be when we set our budget at the beginning of the year.

00:53:44 SPEAKER_006: Any other questions?

00:53:47 SPEAKER_009: Seeing none, do I have a mover for the recommendation?

00:53:51 SPEAKER_009: All right, Member Greg has moved the recommendation as presented in the report.

00:53:55 SPEAKER_009: All those in favour?

00:53:58 SPEAKER_009: And I see Member Dale's hand go up as well.

00:54:00 SPEAKER_009: So it is carried unanimously.

00:54:02 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Kate, for an awesome report.

00:54:09 SPEAKER_009: Moving ahead. at eight e we have no reports for fire.

00:54:13 SPEAKER_009: Eight f none for human resources.

00:54:16 SPEAKER_009: Eight g none for information technology.

00:54:19 SPEAKER_009: Eight h none for parking and bylaw enforcement.

00:54:24 SPEAKER_009: At number nine we have matters postponed, and there are no matters that were postponed.

00:54:28 SPEAKER_009: But before that, I just remembered and realised there was an update that the director had made.

00:54:33 SPEAKER_009: My apologies.

00:54:34 SPEAKER_009: I'll go back to that.

00:54:37 SPEAKER_006: Thanks, Madam Chair.

00:54:38 SPEAKER_006: I was able to reach. out to her, the Director of Community Services, and she reminds me that a few years ago, committee asked that our CIP program be changed,

00:54:46 SPEAKER_006: and that we not use those grants to fund city facility projects.

00:54:50 SPEAKER_006: So in that case, this project would not be eligible for any CIP grant.

00:54:56 SPEAKER_006: And I also, I should have started the meeting with this too.

00:54:59 SPEAKER_006: I did want to take an opportunity to introduce to a couple of our new staff.

00:55:04 SPEAKER_006: Obviously, most of you know David Crane.

00:55:06 SPEAKER_006: He used to sit on this committee.

00:55:08 SPEAKER_006: He's he's taken on the role of manager of finance or manager of revenue, deputy treasurer.

00:55:15 SPEAKER_006: Jason Hoffman is here as well.

00:55:17 SPEAKER_006: He is our new manager of corporate services.

00:55:20 SPEAKER_006: He's taking over where Brady Carbert left.

00:55:23 SPEAKER_006: And then Sean is not new, but this is his first time coming to committee, so it's a good opportunity to introduce to you as our corporate facility coordinator.

00:55:36 SPEAKER_009: Thank you, Kate, for introducing the three lovely members that we have today, and welcome, Jay.

00:55:41 SPEAKER_009: Welcome, Sean, and welcome, David.

00:55:43 SPEAKER_009: Once again, so it's great to have you guys here.

00:55:45 SPEAKER_009: You should join the meetings more often.

00:55:48 SPEAKER_009: It's good to have some audience.

00:55:50 SPEAKER_009: All right.

00:55:52 SPEAKER_009: So moving ahead, at number nine, there are no matters postponed.

00:55:56 SPEAKER_009: Number ten, there are no notices of motion that were previously given.

00:56:01 SPEAKER_009: At eleven, there are no correspondence items being. presented for information.

00:56:06 SPEAKER_009: At number twelve, there is no discussion of additional business.

00:56:10 SPEAKER_009: At number thirteen, notices of motion.

00:56:13 SPEAKER_009: Do we have any notice of motion?

00:56:15 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my right.

00:56:16 SPEAKER_009: Looking to my left.

00:56:17 SPEAKER_009: None.

00:56:18 SPEAKER_009: So at number fourteen, it is 6:20.

00:56:23 SPEAKER_009: I need glasses.

00:56:24 SPEAKER_009: It's 6:28, and we adjourn the meeting.

00:56:28 SPEAKER_009: Thank you so much, and thank you everyone for attending.