Belleville Corporate Services Department

Key Initiatives

Comprehensive Parking Study

The City’s Strategic Plan identifies Infrastructure as one of the main Strategic Themes of the Corporation with an objective to plan for and invest
in new or expanded infrastructure to establish sufficient capaCity to provide for growth of our community.

An additional Strategic Theme is City Centre Sustainability which focuses on improving the image of the City, countering urban decay and creating an environment that will stimulate investment, creating job opportunities and strengthening the City’s regional role.

Parking Services provides parking operations, administration, maintenance and enforcement services for residents, businesses and visitors
to the municipality. The goal of Parking services is to ensure that parking is available in an equitable, affordable and safe manner.

Specific objectives of Parking Services include: managed parking rates with hours of use conducive to turnover and to the needs of the business,
supporting business, commercial, institutional and entertainment patrons by optimizing the availability of on-street parking for short visits,
and providing supplemental, off-street parking for longer visits, balancing the availability of residential street parking between the needs of
the residents and the needs of the greater community, and equitable enforcement of parking by-laws to ensure compliance and safety for the
community.

• Timeline: 2024-2026
• Strategic Plan Theme(s): Infrastructure and City Centre Sustainability
• Budget: 2023 Operating Issue #D6-1 ($50,000)

Land Acquisitions and Dispositions Processes

• Implementation of processes to support real property needs of the Corporation as it relates to acquisitions and dispositions (purchases, sales,
  leases, etc.) as these transactions are often critical to the timely completion of departmental projects contributing to maintaining compliance
  with Council approved budgets.
• Timeline: 2024
• Strategic Plan Theme(s): Infrastructure and Growth & Housing
• Budget: Included within existing Corporate Services budget.
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• Implementation of a number of modern digital tools and upgraded platforms to support all City departments to improve data reporting, allow service enhancements and efficiencies, and improve IT infrastructure security, as well as enhance the City’s ability to efficiently and effectively communicate and provide services to the public and their ability to use those services and communicate with the City.
• Timeline: 2024
• Strategic Plan Theme(s): All
• Budget: 2023 Operating Budget Issue #D5-1 & D6-1 ($190,000). Further budget approvals to be determined.

Goals & Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Strategic

Continued improvement and enhancement of the City’s ability to provide parking services within a reasonable distance to people’s destination,
at a competitive and reasonable rate and with a variety of convenient payment options while also delivering an efficient and effective municipal
service that meets the needs and levels of service expected by the residents.

2024 Key Performance Metric – The Parking reserve fund ratio (reserve fund/target) will measure the adequacy of the fund relative to its planned
use, potentially triggering a need to re-evaluate future fund contributions and relative budgetary impacts in the short, medium, and long term
(1, 3, and 5 years).

Operational

Departments will continue to develop operational initiatives throughout the year and work with the City’s Departmental Performance Standards
Committee to develop SMART Key Performance Indicators to properly evaluate performance and provide reliable, relevant, and accountable
performance metrics to the community.

Performance

Department Plans and their performance reports were first introduced in the 2024 Operating Budget. Performance will be published in 2024 once sufficient data is collected to accurately assess the department’s performance and provide meaningful insights.

Budget

The proposed 2024 Corporate Services Operating Budget is $4,198,000 in gross expenditures and $2,999,200 in net expenditures supported from
the general tax levy. This represents a 0.57% increase over the 2023 budget.

In 2024, significant investments are being made in the various IT platforms and service agreements which has increased costs of service delivery. Additionally, expense allocations to other departmental areas have reduced expenditures providing only a small net increase in the corporate services portfolio.

Achievements

2023

• Improvement and approval of a corporate policy to regulate Real Property Acquisition & Disposition.
• Enhanced efficiency and continuation of automation of a number of departmental business processes including; continued transition to online process of parking services, online marriage licences, Agenda and Minutes process and procedures.
• Awarding and progressing through Comprehensive Parking Study to ensure service is appropriate and viable.
• Awarding and progressing through City-wide Information Technology Service Review.
• Completed Corporation’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (MAP) 2023-2027.
• Progressing through Transit Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (TMAP) 2023-2027.
• Implementation of a number of City-wide IT system enhancements including the implementation of Office 365, enhanced security measures, launch of improved internal & external facing GIS applications

Team

The Corporate Services department is comprised of twenty-three (23) highly motivated and skilled staff who provide professional customer service to external and internal clients, advice, analysis, processing, and management of resources essential to the successful operation of the municipal corporation:

• Director – Matt MacDonald
• Governance Support – Administrative Coordinator, Council Services Assistants, CSRs (4)
• Parking Administration, Business Licensing, Insurance Claims Management, MFIPPA Administration – Deputy
  Clerk, Licensing Officer, Administrative Assistant, Parking Maintenance Technician, CSRs (5)
• IS Administration & Management – Manager, Technical Services Supervisor, Senior Project Supervisor, Senior
  Applications Analyst, Senior Services Analyst, Senior Systems Analyst, Information Systems Coordinator, GIS
  Supervisor, GIS Technician, Web Services Technician, Information Services Assistant (11)
• Realty & Property Administration – Manager of Property & Property Services (1)
• Corporate Accessibility Compliance – Accessibility Coordinator (1)

Responsibilities

Corporate Services provides administrative oversight and governance guidance to internal and external stakeholders to ensure that programs and services are delivered to citizens in accordance with Council’s priorities in an efficient and effective manner.

The department provides operational support to Council related to legislated processes and statutory responsibilities while fulfilling all statutory duties of the office of the Clerk.

In addition, the department has provided centralized support corporately though the provision of Information Systems as a partner and a service provider to all stakeholders. This division has recently moved out of Corporate Services and is now a standalone department.

Realty and Property Services as a part of the department provides professional real estate services to internal and external stakeholders related to municipal real estate transactions.

• Internal stakeholders: Council, City departmental staff
• External stakeholders: Federal and Provincial Government, Boards & Committees, Ratepayers, Municipal Partners

Governance

Municipal guiding documents and plans that govern the work of the Corporate Services department:

• Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 – Governs the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Municipality.
• Municipal Elections Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 32 – Governs the rules, regulations, manner and general terms in which
  municipal elections are conducted.
• Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.56 – Provides the framework for the public right of access to and protection of information in possession of the municipality.
• Land Titles Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.5 – Provides a system whereby documents are reviewed for legal effect confirming legal
  ownership prior to transfer of title rights from one party to another.
• Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33 – Establishes a system to prosecute non-criminal charges such as traffic offences, trespassing charges, environmental charges, and liquor licensing violations.
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 11 – Establishes a process for developing and enforcing accessibility standards.

Trends

Legislative/Governance

• Legislation from the provincial government, including Bill 109 More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022; Bill 3, Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act,
  2022; Bill 23 More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022; and Bill 39 Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022.
• Accessibility legislation through the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) impacting municipal service levels and budgets.
• Provincial deficit resulting in pressures on municipal budgets.
• Open Government legislation that requires further openness and transparency by municipalities and our continued transition to meet these
  standards and the related resource requirements both technological and staff time.

Economic

• Impact of legislative service requirements on municipality related to matters affecting real property, housing, planning, and development.
• Ability of residents to pay based on performance of the economy and the impact on service delivery and local decision making of Council.
• Municipality’s ability to continue to rely on local service providers (community groups) to provide services and remain fiscally viable
  (potential result in costs shifting to municipality).

Technology

• Technology will be at the forefront driving change with new options providing efficiencies internally and front facing.
• Rapid development in technologies transforming the way that municipalities work and the way that residents interact with the municipality,
  businesses and each other.
• Harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a core piece of the organization’s strategy moving forward.
• Balancing system capaCity/capabilities and access and with appropriate controls to maintain privacy and security