HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-2023-542 - K-W Joint Services Initiative Committee 2023 Update
Chief www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Committee of the Whole
DATE OF MEETING: December 11, 2023
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 Wards
DATE OF REPORT: November 30, 2023
REPORT NO.: CAO-2023-542
SUBJECT: K-W Joint Services Initiative Committee 2023 Update
RECOMMENDATION:
For information.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
The report provides Council an update on Joint Services Initiatives between Kitchener and
Waterloo.
Of 4 joint initiatives undertaken over the last year, 2 were completed and 2 will continue in
2024; 2 new initiatives will begin in 2024.
There are no financial implications associated with this report.
The community was informed by posting of the report to t
in advance of the Council meeting, and current information on the joint services page of the
This report supports the delivery of core services.
BACKGROUND:
This report provides Council an update on Joint Services Initiatives between Kitchener and
Waterloo. The two Cities have an established history of collaboration, and a formalized approach
through the Kitchener-Waterloo Joint Services Initiatives Committee (JSIC) for over 15 years.
The initiative seeks to maximize effectiveness and efficiency of resources and service delivery,
complete joint strategic initiatives, and build capacity from best practices all to benefit residents
in both cities. Over 80 joint initiatives have been undertaken, with some formally completed and
others continuing as part of ongoing operations and service delivery. Staff track progress of the
initiatives including service improvements, efficiencies and cost savings achieved, which are
reported to Council annually.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
REPORT:
Annual joint initiative opportunities are identified in the fall for the upcoming year by the JSIC
(the CAOs and senior leadership teams of each municipality) by selecting several initiatives
which best:
Enhance the ability of either city to deliver or develop a service or program outside of its
resources,
Create service-level improvements, while maintaining costs or producing future savings,
Provide operational and/or capital opportunities, and/or
Feature best practices of one or both organizations.
2023 Joint Services Initiative Accomplishments
Two initiatives were successfully completed and 2 will continue into 2024; key accomplishments
and progress updates are highlighted below.
Affordable Housing Strategy: Completed, with collaboration to continue as part of
ongoing operations and core service delivery.
This initiative began in 2022 and focused on collaborating on program development and
implementation to address housing challenges in the community,
Housing For All Strategy and sharing best practices to inform development of
first Affordable Housing Strategy.
Collaboration included information-sharing through regular forums including housing and
homelessness municipal leads, refugee housing working group, and municipal affordable
housing incentives working group.
Reports, resources and fact sheets related to housing incentives were shared or co-
developed, some in partnership with the Region, creating efficiencies and reducing
workloads.
Once Waterloo completed its Affordable Housing Strategy in March, this formal joint
initiative was concluded; ongoing collaboration will continue between the Cities and other
local partners.
Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) Expansion: Completed, with
collaboration to continue as part of ongoing operations and core service delivery.
This initiative
parking tickets out of the provincial court system, to include provincial offence notices for
other offences including noise, backyard fires, dumping, and dogs off leash.
The scope was expanded to include Cambridge, and an external consultant with local
knowledge was retained for a cost-effective approach that ensured consistent by-law
language between the municipalities.
Bylaws were drafted , with supporting processes and system
improvements put in place; Waterloo launched the expanded program in mid-2023 and
Kitchener will launch in spring 2024.
Cost savings, while difficult to measure, will be seen through a reduction of staff time
and overtime appearing in court through a more efficient process which is also more
efficient for residents.
Inclusionary Zoning Affordable Housing: Continuing into 2024.
This multi-year initiative is assessing, through a coordinated approach, the impact and
opportunity of legislation requiring inclusion of affordable housing units in new residential
developments, and the option for municipalities to implement such zoning.
Work in 2023 focused on engaging Councils on a policy and program discussion paper,
retaining an external consultant to update a financial analysis, and drafting
implementation guidelines and Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments
Continued collaboration in 2024 will include finalizing detailed policy and program
development, with a target to complete the project in Q1 2024
Estimated cost savings of
consultants, peer review work and communications materials.
Vision Zero: Continuing into 2024.
Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing
safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all; this joint initiative is about adopting the philosophy
of Vision Zero and implementing strategies focused on engineering, evaluation and
education.
Kitchener, Waterloo and other partners released two street safety videos as a part of
shared public education campaign, relaunched the Selective Traffic Enforcement
Program with Waterloo Regional Police, and launched targeted street safety
improvements at locations identified through a network screening tool developed with the
University of Waterloo.
Continued collaboration in 2024 will see both Cities continue implementing, installing and
posting neighbourhood/reduced speed limits as approved by each Council; as well as
additional educational campaigns and ongoing project meetings with key stakeholders.
Over $100,000 in savings is anticipated over the life of the initiative through cost sharing
on research and educational campaigns/videos, and through grant contributions.
New Joint Services Initiatives to Begin in 2024
In addition to the two continuing initiatives, JSIC added two new initiatives to the formal
program; updates will provided in the next annual report.
Official Plans Comprehensive Review: The Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo are both
undertaking comprehensive reviews and updates to their respective Official Plans. These key
enabling land use planning strategies will guide future growth and development across the
communities and there is an opportunity to pursue them in a coordinated manner and toward
consistent frameworks and outputs. The work will include addressing anticipated downloading
of planning responsibilities from the Region, approval processes, creating a clear planning
framework for developers; and will focus on priorities such as Bill 23 impacts, zoning and other
key policies identified as priorities for alignment between the two Cities.
Sport and Recreation Joint Service Committee: Kitchener and Waterloo both liaise with a
variety of community, sport and recreation groups and organizations to deliver programming and
services to residents. During the Covid-19 pandemic several positive practices were
implemented which allowed for alignment between the municipalities in managing protocols to
ensure a dependable level of service delivery for community groups. There is an opportunity to
bring consistency to the approach of sport and recreation service delivery through information
sharing, understanding best practices, joint training and development, and maximizing resources
with the potential for the initiative to expand beyond the two Cities to include other local
municipalities; staff leads will scope this out once the initiative is underway.
Broader Collaboration
Outside of the formal JSIC program, both municipalities collaborate informally with one another
and with other area municipalities and the Region of Waterloo as project partners. Recent
examples of local municipal collaboration outside the formal annual JSIC program include:
Information-sharing on area municipal Strategic Plan development including community
engagement approaches, aligning around key goal areas, and approaches to
implementation and monitoring.
Participation in the Reconciliation Action Partnership, a collaborative group of
municipal representatives working to coordinate efforts to support Indigenous-centred
initiatives across Waterloo Region.
Collaboration on housing and homelessness to address challenges and identify
locations for service providers to keep members of our vulnerable population safe.
Harmonized approach to green development standards for all urban-area
municipalities in the region, in partnership with a wide range of local stakeholders.
Developing standard municipal facility accessibility guidelines for design and
renovation of City buildings, providing common expectations to architects, designers and
contractors (also includes Cambridge).
Review of cricket facilities and programming to respond to growing local interest and
participation in this sport (also includes Cambridge).
Consistent public safety communication content and timing to local residents for, e.g.,
severe weather event declarations and emergency preparedness week.
Development of guidelines for honoraria and compensation for advisory and quasi-
judicial committees.
Government relations and advocacy on a number of projects including delegation
meetings at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference and continued
advocacy to the Province on legislative priorities.
Area municipal CAOs identify broader collaboration opportunities to improve service
effectiveness and efficiency for citizens, with an emphasis on enhanced collaboration
between the Region and local municipalities.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports the delivery of core services.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Capital Budget The recommendation has no impact on the Capital Budget.
Operating Budget The recommendation has no impact on the Operating Budget.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM vance of the
council / committee meeting. Both Cities maintain current information about active joint service
initiatives and upcoming projects at: www.kitchener.ca/jointservices and
www.waterloo.ca/jointservices.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
There are no previous reports/authorities related to this matter.
APPROVED BY: Dan Chapman, Chief Administrative Officer