HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-18-019 - KW Joint Services Innitiative Committee 2018 UpdateREPORT TO:Council
DATE OF MEETING:December 17, 2018
SUBMITTED BY:Kathryn Dever,Director Strategy & Corporate Performance,
519-741-2200 ext. 7370
PREPARED BY:Kathryn Dever, Director Strategy & Corporate Performance,
519-741-2200 ext. 7370
WARD (S) INVOLVED:All Ward(s)
DATE OF REPORT:October 25, 2018
REPORT NO.:CAO-18-019
SUBJECT:K-W Joint Services Initiative Committee 2018 Update
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RECOMMENDATION:
Forinformation.
BACKGROUND:
The cities of Kitchener and Waterloo have an established history of undertaking cooperative
initiatives on an ad hoc basis. A formalized approach to joint initiatives was put in place and
named the Kitchener-Waterloo Joint Services Initiatives Committee (JSIC) in 2006. Since then
the two cities have worked closely to identify common servicesand look at ways to streamline
them to benefit residents in both cities; maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of resources
and service delivery; identify and complete strategic joint initiatives; and learn from
best practices.
An annual program of joint projects are identified which align to three basic principles:
Accessibility: Each service and program must be citizen-focused; residents in both cities
must be able to understand the purpose of the project -and the benefits provided.
Accountability: Each project must represent the needs of both communities and clearly
identify areas of responsibility.
Affordability: Each project must maximize cost efficiencies where possible, without
sacrificing the benefits to residents.
This report providesCouncil with an update on recent and upcoming initiatives.
REPORT:
Annual initiatives are identified in June of each year, to span through to the following June. Input
is sought from both municipalities on project opportunities, which are scoped with preliminary
activities for the 12-month period. Opportunities are reviewed and discussed at the annual
meeting of the JSIC,which is made up of the CAOs and senior leadership teams for each city.
***This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance.
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The JSIC considers the following criteria in setting the priority joint initiatives for the upcoming
year:
Enhances the ability of either city to deliver or develop a service or program outside of
its resources,
Creates service-level improvements, while either maintaining costs or producing future
savings opportunities,
Provides operational and/or capital opportunities, and/or
Features best practices of both organizations.
2017-2018Joint ServicesInitiative Highlights
Sanitary Sewer Rebate Program:The goal of this initiative was to collaborate on reforming
sanitary sewer rebate programs in both municipalities, and work towardconsistent practices
regarding eligibility criteria, methods for verifying rebatesvolumes, and potentially reduce
operational support to monitor programs for each City.
Coordinated changes to new programs to ensure consistency, harmonized the rebate
programs, and agreed on a consistent 2019 start date to avoid disruption during 2018.
Consistently communicated the new program to internal staff and external customers of
both cities.
Planned feedback review and process debrief for late 2018 to identify lessons learned.
Stormwater Management Design and Operations:This initiative looked at opportunities to
sustain our collective leadership role in this ever-evolving industry, through collaboratingon
stormwater issues,particularly around flood risk mitigation, climate change adaptation,
communication, emergency preparedness and contract services.
Information sharing is occurring and established regular quarterly meetings will be
moving forward.
Communication and education strategieshave been discussed, mostly related to the
SWM credit program.
Key areas of interest for coordination have been established, including Stormwater
Master Planimplementation,disaster mitigation, Low Impact Designcontrols for site.
plan developmentand for municipal properties/activities, credit programs, and customer
communication strategies.
Election Equipment/Services:In preparation for the 2018municipal election,collaborate to
achieve cost-effective procurement on election equipmentand services,including laptops,
printing, and voter notification cards(any electionequipment/services already contracted such
as tabulatorswere excluded).
Secured laptops, scanners and LTE(high speed wireless) through
Voting Technology Sharing Program,realizing a savings of approximately $10,000 for
that equipment.
Arranged rental of tabulators through Elections Ontario, resulting in a savings of
approximately $7,200 rather than renting direct from the vendor (Dominion).
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Assessment Management:This initiative focused on identifying methods toreview and inspect
vacancy applications,and seek ways to improve the flow of information from Municipal
Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)to ensureproperty assessments are accurate and
fairly captured in ourgrowing communities.
It was determined there was sufficientassessment-related work inKitchener to require
dedicated positions;2positions have been established.
Waterloo has contracted with an external company to assist with assessment
management, including access to specialized software andto represent their interests
at Assessment Review Boardhearings.
Both municipalities willdiscussandshare practices on an ongoing basis, and propose
formal shared assessment management initiatives in the future should an opportunity
arise.
2018-2019Joint Services InitiativesUnderway
Speed Limit Review:BothCities, along with other regional partners are undertaking a review of
the uniform speed limit of 50km/hour. This review willevaluate benefitand feasibility of
reducing the uniform speed limitto 40km/hourin an effort to enhance roadway safety.
Investigation of New Stormwater Grant Program Private Stormwater Enhancement:
Investigate the potential for a new stormwater grant for private property owners. The potential
grant would enable private property owners to enhance stormwater management on their
properties, reducingrunoff to municipal systems.
Joint :This program provides
a $40 grant to homeowners toward their purchase ofa naturalization kit for a landscaped area,
with the goal of reducing stormwater runoff to municipal systems. Along with the potential grant
management, dating back to the 2011 creation of our respective utilities.
Inclusionary Zoning Affordable Housing:Assess the impact of Provincial legislation requiring
the inclusion of affordable housing units in new residential development projects, and the option
for municipalities to implement such zoning. The assessment will include exploringopportunities
to combine resources to conduct a study and implement Inclusionary Zoning, sincebased on
enactedlegislation, significant staff capacity isrequired to generate
dataand prepareamunicipal assessment report as a precursor to implementing Inclusionary
Zoning. Pending possible changes to the legislation, long-term resource/cost sharing may be
required to develop, implement and report on new zoning provisions.
Corporate Fleet Training & Best Practice Information Sharing:was
awarded the top mid-sized fleet in North America by the 2018 Government Fleet Expo. Sharing
best practices between the two cities will be done with the goal to ensure consistencyin
corporate fleet training programs,includi
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Sidewalk and Road Inspection Programs:Develop a shared program for annual inspections
programs for sidewalks and road right-of-ways. Based on changes to maintenance standards,
the need for enhanced inspectionprograms is increasing above the current pavement condition
inspection program conducted every other year. More frequent inspections will identify condition
issues sooner, establish resource requirements to address, and minimize risks.
:There is a growing desire by
residents for real-time access to information including knowing where the plows are and when
their street will be plowed. This initiative will explore the cost and risks to implement a Wh
My Plow app and investigate the opportunity to leverage the Digital Kitchener Innovation Lab/
Opportunities for Broader Collaboration
Recognizing the merits of broader collaborationthe JSIC is committed to including other area
municipalities as project partners, where applicable. While the work of the JSIC focuses
--Waterloo initiatives (initiatives within the jurisdiction for
lower tier municipalities), there is also-
lower tier and upper tier jurisdiction. The JSIC has identified that the most appropriate channel
to pursue these opportunities is in collaboration withthe areas CAOs, who discuss region-wide
opportunitiesas part of their regular meetings.
Recent examplesof local-regional initiativesinclude:
Smart Cities Phase 1 Expression of Interest:Earlier this year, the Region and local
municipalities submitted a Phase 1 Expression of Interestto Infrastructure Canada
Cities Challenge, which encourages new technology or data opportunities can improve local
quality of life. With a combined population of over 500,000 Waterloo Region was eligible to
compete for a $50 millionprize; our submission focused onhealthy children and youth was
successful.Identifying a solution(s) to this challenge statement will be the focus of the phase 2
applicationlater in 2018/early 2019.
WREPNet Network Upgrade: The Waterloo Region Education and Public Network(WREPNet)
is a long-standing partnership providing a shared high-speed fibre optic network to local
municipalities, the Region of Waterloo, school boards, public libraries, Conestoga Collegeand
other local organizations. Over the summer, equipment supporting this valued network was
upgraded with minimal impact to users. This upgrade positionsthe partnership to continue to
enjoy reliable, fast and affordable network connectivity into the next decade.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
the delivery of core service.
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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting.
Both Cities maintain current information about active shared service initiatives and upcoming
joint projects at: www.kitchener.ca/jointservicesand www.waterloo.ca/jointservices
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Dan Chapman, Chief Administrative Officer
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