PERIOD REPORT
DATE: September 10, 2018 Report No. ADM-18-027
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Anja Nurvo, Director of Corporate Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Corporate Services - 2018 Second Period Report
Body
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Corporate Services Department from May 1, 2018 to August 31, 2018.
• DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Corporate Services
• Staff completed the following:
o 30 meetings: preparation of notices, newspaper notifications, agendas, and minutes for Regular, Special and In Camera meetings of Council and Committee of the Whole, including posting on website, preparation of late items, action reports and completion of all required follow up
o 6 proclamations prepared and posted, including on website
• Corporate Officer and Deputy Corporate Officer completed 9 electronic registrations at Land Title Office, and commissioned 23 documents for members of the public
• Corporate Officer responded to 8 requests for access to records under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (YTD 19); two appeals to Office of the Information Privacy Commissioner were completed and additional redacted records were subsequently released to the applicant in accordance with the investigator’s decision
• Corporate Services staff continued with implementation of pilot electronic records structure for Departmental records, transferring existing files and preparing new files into the new electronic structure
• Executive Assistance coordinated registration and all arrangements for travel and accommodation for 2018 Conferences for Council, as well as organizing 3 Mayor’s Open Door meetings, 1 Police Board meeting, and coordinated compilation and drop off of new resident packages
• Executive Assistant provided ongoing assistance to and acting as backup for Communications Specialist
• Executive Assistant organized and promoted Heart & Stroke Foundation Big Bike Ride, with several staff participating in the Ride
• Staff coordinated several post-election meetings, including Joint New Council Orientation, Inaugural Council meeting, and in-house Council Orientation
• Chief and Deputy Election Officers continued with arrangements for the 2018 local government election, including statutory notices, advertising, preparation of Nomination Packages, and liaising with neighbouring municipalities on cost sharing opportunities. Substantial staff time was spent on completion of the Voters’ List. This is the first time that the Township has used the Provincial Voters’ List as opposed to Voting Day Registration, as directed by Council. During this period, in excess of 90 hours of staff time was required for preparation of the finalized Voters’ List which was available for distribution to candidates and for public inspection upon request.
• Administrative Assistant/Deputy Corporate Officer continued with courses towards a Diploma in Public Administration, completing 2 required courses; and is in the process of obtaining her Certified Municipal Clerk designation through the International Institute of Municipal Clerks, which is associated with LGMA of BC
2. Communications
• Revisions and final design of Esquimalt’s Official Community Plan, as well as communications support for OCP review
• Completion of 2017 Annual Report
• Worked with Mayor on a variety of writing assignments, including monthly Victoria News columns, speeches and presentations
• Continued with program of news releases and media advisories, posting 35 news items to the website and issuing one release using the regional news media contact list
• Assisted with promotion of community events and media photo opportunities, posting 34 event announcements to the corporate website
• Coordinated editorial in the August 2018 “Experience Esquimalt”, a quarterly feature page in the Victoria Times Colonist, showcasing Ribfest as well as other community events
• Managed communications for the McLoughlin Amenity Funds Working Group
• Photography for internal and external news, events and website content
• Website home page refreshing of content and working with various departments on revising and adding web content
• Daily media monitoring using Google alerts, media websites, and social media, forwarding information to senior staff when appropriate; a total of 41 news items were posted to the internal staff website (The Bridge) during the period
• Daily home page updating of The Bridge with information of interest to staff, including announcements, staff moves, news items, videos and photo galleries
• Liaised with advertising representatives from print, broadcast and online media on advertising and digital opportunities
• Preliminary work on summer/fall 2018 “Current” newsletter
• Designed and coordinated production of presentation folder for newcomer’s welcome package
• Communications support for Tillicum Corridor Improvement Project
Communications Analytics for the Period:
• Website Google Analytics
o 236,339 page views (258,330 page views last period)
o Top three page views: 1) Home page, 2) Parks and Recreation, 3) P and R drop-in schedules
• Daily monitoring of social media sites and posting of information (last period in brackets)
o 139 (132) tweets and retweets posted to Twitter
o 70 (311) new Twitter followers added during the period
o 141 (123) new timeline posts to Facebook
o 71 (139) new Facebook likes during the period
Note: Compared to other municipalities in the CRD (not including Victoria), the Township of Esquimalt is ranked #1 in Twitter followers and #3 in Facebook likes.
• Legistar Analytics (last period in brackets)
o 1050 (1160) total page views (all pages in the Granicus system)
o 541 (550) total visits (total number of times visitors came to the site
o 454 (476) total unique visitors - individual views of the site
o 88% (73%) desktop, 12 % (27%)
3. Archives
Statistics:
• 784 Volunteer Hours by 5 volunteers
• 42 Requests for Information Received
• 26 Visitors (including a couple from Essex, England)
• 509 Brochures Distributed (Walking Tours - 425 and Macaulay - 84)
• 4 donations of archival material (including a mounted display of WWI and WWII medals from the Herald Family)
• 14 New collections of archival material accessioned
• $125 in Financial Donations Received (as of July 2018 there was $3393 in Archives Trust Fund)
• 6 photos taken of old buildings prior to demolition permits being issued.
Highlights:
• New Archivist/Records Coordinator, Jessica Nichol, started work on August 7th, splitting her time between Records Management in Corporate Services and Archives on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
• Volunteers continued processing and/or creating finding aids for significant collections such as the Esquimalt Arts and Crafts Society collection; one new volunteer started in August and is currently sorting and organizing clippings, as well as replacing vertical files.
• Other notable events and activities included:
o Volunteer Archivist attended and/or participated in various events including the Hallmark Awards Ceremony, Neighbourhood Days, and Fort Macaulay Day, as well as acting as an escort to Her Honour Lt. Gov. Janet Austin, OBC during the Candlelight Tribute Service
o Volunteer Archivist collaborated with the Base’s public affairs staff to develop a history of Veterans’ Cemetery God’s Acres and did a related video interview <https://www.facebook.com/EsquimaltBase/videos/gods-acre-the-first-grave/1927417493944609/> that was shared nationally
o Archivist/Records Coordinator visited View Royal and Saanich’s archives and discussed their policies, successes, and ongoing challenges with their staff
o Archives staff provided assistance to two authors, Mary Conley and May Wong, researching Esquimalt’s art deco houses and the Japanese Gardens respectively
o Collaborated with Lookout & Base Museum to identify buildings in an old Yarrows photo
o Volunteer Archivist provided photos and wrote article about Buccaneer Days for Victoria News
o Participated in Old Cemeteries Society’s tour of Ross Bay Cemetery that highlighted Confederation politicians, including John Nicholson and Duncan Ross of Esquimalt
4. Human Resources
Recruitment (Regular Positions)
There were 3 regular positions posted and filled, and 5 in progress at the end of August:
Completed:
• Archivist/Records Coordinator (Corporate Services)
• Planning Technician (Development Services)
• Lounge Supervisor (RPT Seasonal - Parks & Recreation)
In Progress:
• Building Maintenance Worker (RPT - Parks & Recreation)
• Community Development Programmer (Parks & Recreation)
• Office Administrator (Engineering & Public Works) - reposted
• Public Works Supervisor (internal)
• Building Maintenance Worker (RFT - Parks and Recreation)
Labour Relations
Collective Bargaining:
IAFF: Preparations for collective bargaining with IAFF has begun, with three dates currently scheduled with IAFF: September 20, 21 and October 30th.
CUPE: Collective Bargaining with CUPE has not occurred since May 3, 2018; however another date has been set for September 7th.
Grievances:
IAFF: There were two IAFF policy grievances in the period, one regarding the way the Township pays for a call-out, and the other regarding vacation scheduling. The grievance regarding call-out was withdrawn, and the vacation scheduling grievance is now scheduled for arbitration for early 2019.
CUPE: There were two CUPE grievances in the period, one of which has been withdrawn.
Staff Training
May 18, 2018: In-house seminar provided by the Employer’s Advisor’s Office: “Claims Management 2: Stay at Work/Return to Work”. There were 24 staff in attendance which included supervisors, managers, directors, and human resources and payroll staff.
General
• Human Resources developed and implemented a Management Policy regarding Criminal Records checks, which outlines the current process the Township currently follows.
• A draft Drug and Alcohol policy is currently in the development stage and will be implemented prior to the legalization of cannabis in October, 2018.
• With the assistance of an independent consultant, a review of the current Council remuneration was completed, with changes to Council policies regarding Council remuneration being approved.
• COMMITTEES
• Staff acted as Recording Secretary and prepared notice, agenda, and minutes of one Environmental Advisory Committee meeting and one Labour Management meeting during this period.