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Clerk’s Report to Council – February 17, 2021

Clerk Glenn Martin presented a General Report to Council concerning activities, accomplishments, and completed tasks for the previous six months. The Council accepted the report at the Council Meeting of February 17, 2021. The following is the contents of this report.

February 17th 2020

GENERAL REPORT TO COUNCIL

I would like to thank council for the absolute support they have given staff during these unusual times. Since coming on board as Clerk for Johnson Township in September there has been no shortage of challenges or work.  Your guidance and availability have been much appreciated.

With the long period of HR and staffing issues that preceded my arrival in September, the workload and timeliness of reporting had fallen behind to a point of concern. Additionally, we have changed Audit firms and have had the Admin Assistant resign and our long-standing Treasurer has retired.

However, I am pleased to report to council that we are current on ALL outstanding reporting and reconciliations.  We have completed the 2018 audit, the 2019 audit and are on track to have the 2020 audit done within the Ministries timelines. I have also met with the Municipal lawyer and we have dealt with several files that were dormant.

Significant changes have been made in the office that I believe will permit better tracking and reporting of information and allow us to continue to be much more efficient with less staff.

A new accounting software has been put in place effective January 1st along with a new tax and utility program.  The old comprehensive software that was being used, although it collected very detailed information, was very cumbersome to operate and tracked a copious amount of information which added to the difficulty of establishing budget costs and actuals. The new software programs are also less expensive and provide a substantial saving.  We have changed Audit firms for a considerable savings and have ended the exercise of paying a third-party to challenge assessments. We have stopped paying out overtime in the office and have a clear policy for roads when they must accumulate over-time. The installation of an onsite server has allowed staff to continue to work from home during these COVID lockdown periods.  A new phone system and answering policy under normal conditions will make the office more accessible to the public.

I believe we have excellent staff currently working for the Township in all departments. I’m impressed with the desire to do better and the openness and commitment of all of our staff.

Council has had to make some tough decisions and I appreciate the effort and thoughtfulness they have shown each time. Closing the arena for the winter months was a very difficult choice; sadly it would seem with the continuous lock-downs and provincial restrictions it was the right choice financially for this winter.  It is hoped we can be back to normal next year.

Our roads department wants to make changes and have embraced the huge challenges facing them. We have been working on establishing a 5-10-year Ditching Program along with a 5-10-year General Roads Plan. Once these plans are further developed they can be posted and residents will be able to see when work will be planned for their road.

Council supported staff’s recommendation to purchase a rubber-tired Excavator for the purpose of ditching and culvert installation. With approximately 110 miles of ditches to clean-out, brush and/or dig and hundreds of culverts to maintain, an aggressive and flexible program is needed. We anticipate this is by far the cheapest method for approaching this lifelong obligation and will re-evaluate from time to time as we go along.

As council instructed, staff have prepared a Strategic Plan to help focus councils of today and into the future and encourage long range planning and preparation.  The Strategic Plan is a basic simplified version of typical Plans and has been reviewed by Ministry of Municipal Affairs.  The Ministry is intrigued by the approach council has taken with this plan and want staff to keep the Ministry informed on how it works with the intent that it may be a guide for other municipalities to adopt.

This Strategic Plan is a wish list of any and everything that council and residents might want.  It will shortly be posted to the website for residents to view and we ask that they provide feedback and ideas of what they would like to see. If the plan works as hoped it will guide councils and inform residents of what steps are necessary to achieve the goals set out on this Municipal wish list.  I strongly believe that without a plan little can be achieved.

Staff have applied for funding under two funding programs. We are waiting to hear if we have been successful.

The first program is COVID funding and offers 100K dollars for renovation/additions and barrier installations in the office.

The second program is 100% funded to meet Accessibility needs in the Township. We have applied for the installation of ramps for access to the sidewalks to make them wheelchair accessible and senior and handicap friendly.  We have also included a request for benches to be placed in and around the Hamlet for the benefit of all including seniors and disabled, as well as benches for the path at the Natural Playground that is proposed on the old school property. In this application is an additional request for the construction of a Gazebo at each Cemetery. The idea behind the Gazebo at each cemetery is to provide a sheltered and accessible area for elderly to sit for a service or simply when visiting. It also provides an area out of the sun and rain during a service.

These two programs are fully funded and will not include any tax dollars. Staff will continue to watch for any funding and grant opportunities that can benefit residents.

In the next few months we will be bringing to council a number of by-laws and policies to review. One of Councils goals is to encourage development and growth in the Township, to increase assessments and hopefully allow better flexibility over the tax rates. The request to review all fees and charges will hopefully reduce some user fees as we consider the taxes being paid should support many of them.

Currently we are working with Laird, Tarbutt and Macdonald Meredith and Aberdeen Additional (Echo Bay) as members of the Desbarats to Echo Bay Planning Board, to develop a joint Official Plan.  Following the adoption of a new Official Plan we will begin to revise our Zoning By-Law.  Both of these reviews are mandated by the Province and both will be made available to the public for comment and input before adoption.

Council has asked staff to look into ways to encourage development and growth in the Hamlet as a means to better support its self.  If we can attract interest in the Hamlet and over time increase the market value of properties, the Hamlet can better support its own infrastructure.  The Hamlet is here, the infrastructure for it is in place, we cannot get rid of it, so we need to plan to grow the Hamlet so that it can be self-supportive.

Currently a Facility Assessment of Municipal Buildings is underway.  It is important with the trends in how grants and funding opportunities are presented with such quick turn around time to apply, that we have shovel ready projects sitting on the shelf ready to go when funding is available.

We have launched a new Municipal website to meet our accessibility requirements. Today we ran some tests on it and it has proven to be 98% accessible which is better than required.

At this time new funding has just been announced and staff will aggressively pursue these opportunities. Staff will be seeking Councils input and guidance on the best approach to take with regard to these recent funding announcements.

Council had asked that staff advertise and seek suggestions for development on the school property. What response we received back clearly indicated a desire to see some type of seniors housing built and enhancement to a green space.  We have a private individual that is interested in working with the Township to develop a senior’s complex on a portion of the school property and wishes to meet with council to discuss moving forward.

Glenn Martin, Clerk