Council Updates
Council met on Wednesday, October 11th – Committee of the Whole (CoW) and Regular Meetings of Council. The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and three Councillors were in attendance at all meetings. Full reports can be found at https://tiny.civicweb.net/Portal/
Council Meeting Wednesday October 11th, 2023.
Mayor’s Ad Hoc Task Force on Community Wellness
The following individuals were appointed to the Mayor’s Ad Hoc Task Force on Community Wellness: Christine Patenaude, Jane Little, Penny Russell, Sandra Cusato, Terry Janssen-Hudson, Kim Tran, Sheila Webb, Deborah Clyne, Doug Lorriman
Perkinsfield Water Meters
Council was advised that the 2023 Budget includes the installation of water meters in residences on the Perkinsfield Water System which was awarded to ARC Plumbing.
Installations have started. Ultimately the Perkinsfield Water System needs to be added to the water provision bylaw to make installation mandatory for unwilling participants.
Similar to the Wyevale system, Perkinsfield users will remain on the flat flee for the 2024 calendar year. They will receive mock bills which will indicate their usage and the hypothetical fee they would pay under the pay-per-usage billing. This will allow them to find any leaks they may have and adjust their usage during that time. They will be transferred to the metered water rate in 2025.
The project was awarded to Allan Wright Water Wells for a price of $72,600 + HST.
Drilling of a New well at pumphouse 1 Rue de Parc
The 2023 Budget includes funds for the drilling of a new well at Pumphouse 1 to replace the existing well that was drilled in 1967. This is part of a larger project that will de-commission the pumphouse and connect the new well to Pumphouse 14. The Director of Public Works advised that this was critical given this well contains no nitrates and is used to blend with the other wells to keep nitrate to acceptable levels in the Lafontaine water system.
Procedure By-law
With the amendments to the Procedure By-law approved by Council, all in camera meetings will be scheduled ahead of the Regular Meeting of Council which will now start at 5:30 pm. This will negate the clearing of attendees from chambers.
Committee of the Whole Meeting Wednesday October 11th, 2023 (Councillor Brunelle in the Chair)
Scheduled Deputations
Lorenzo Biondi and Toms Lokmanis – Request to Purchase a Portion of Closed Road Abutting 1504 & 1506 Tiny Beaches Rd. N.
A request to purchase a portion of the triangle off Tiny Beaches Rd. N. (TBRN) in front of 1506 & 1508 TBRN & adjacent to 1504 TBRN, that forms the unserved closed road that provides access exclusively to 1504 & 1506 TBRN and serves no other purpose. Staff to review and will report back in three weeks.
Louise Moreau – Township Fence on Bow Road
Ms. Moreau requested that the township fence between her property and Bow Road be removed to be replaced with shrubs by the owner for ease of maintenance. She suggested that the planting of shrubs in place of the fence would cover the delineation objectives, and the recently added township parking signs as well as the hydro poles and trees should provide guidance for the snow removal operations. Staff to review and report back in three weeks.
Samantha Barnett, Township of Tiny Volunteer Firefighter – Movember Campaign
Ms. Barnett gave an overview of the campaign and their targets for 2023. She requested in kind contributions of meeting space and promotion which was approved by council.
Status of Official Plan Amendment Appeal (STR’s)
Sarah Hahn, Barriston Law, confirmed that the Good Neighbour’s Tiny group has formally withdrawn its appeals of both the Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and zoning instruments, and the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has accordingly closed its file in respect of the OPA appeal. As a result, the Township Official Plan is in full force. The portions that were under appeal are effective as of August 22, 2023. The OLT will proceed to process appeals filed by the Tiny Township Association of Responsible STR Owners with the file remaining open.
2024 Draft Budget Preparation and Preliminary Status Report
The process to prepare the 2024 Operating and Capital Budgets has begun. In late September, Finance reviewed the initial collection of information from Department Heads/Managers and outside sources to understand any major variations (from 2023) for the upcoming year and any market pressures that will affect the base budget that will be proposed for 2024.
In October, a line-by-line review with each Budget Manager in conjunction with the Director of Corporate Services/Deputy CAO and CAO will take place in order to ensure Staff have minimized the impact of their budgets and looked for efficiencies or alternative revenue sources where possible.
Preliminary budget submissions and a review of significant market pressures and requests have resulted in the need to inform Council ahead of budget discussions of the impact of some noteworthy items which will be incorporated into the budget.
The purpose of this report is to provide Council and the Public with:
1. Proposed budget timeline
2. Update on market pressures, proposed reserve funding levels changes, and proposed significant operating budget changes known at the time of writing this report
3. A multi-year budgeting plan
4. Investment requirements of the updated Asset Management (AM) plan in relation to the 2024 Capital being proposed into the 2024 draft budget
5. Funding to Organizations
6. 2023 Municipal Tax Rate comparison
While requests may be adjusted, added or eliminated at this stage, bringing items forward to the next phase does not confirm their inclusion in the final council ratified 2024 budget.
1. Proposed Budget Timeline
– November 14, 2023, Special Meeting #1 – Funding Requests presentations – approvals for inclusion in Budget
– Week of December 4, 2023, Concurrent Special Meetings (#2 – #4) – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
• Base Operating Budget with direction from staff report (Oct 11th) on service level changes
• Staffing level reviews (if new positions proposed)
• Asset Management and Capital Plans
• Reserve Funding
• Funding Gap
– December 18, 2023, Special Meeting #5 (if required) – or final budget presentation and adoption
– January 22, 2024, Special Meeting #6 (if required) – or final budget presentation and adoption
In line with Tiny’s Asset Management Plan, proposed capital will be provided to Council and a high-level 10-year capital plan will be presented during budget deliberations.
IMPLEMENTATION AND STAFFING COSTS for STRs:
At the August 11, 2022 Council Meeting, the Licence Fee was set at $1,500/year with 294 applications received so far generating a Revenue of $441,000. From an expense perspective, it would appear that the staff estimated costs appear to be as anticipated and on track to be break-even. However, more time is needed to review actual revenue and expenses to ensure assumptions are correct.
Licensing Fees:
The Licence Fee, Revenue and Expenses will be reviewed in greater detail through a future report to better determine if the fee(s) need to be adjusted for the 2025 Licence renewal.
Implementation Plan and Timelines:
Existing properties operating as a Short-Term Rental before the by-law passage could apply for a license. All property owners applying for a license will be allowed to continue operations with the expectation that they will follow the Township By-laws and diligently complete the application/inspection process and obtain a License.
A number of STR Applicants did follow this process and obtained a Licence and Green symbol on the map as promptly as possible. However, several applicants have not promptly supplied information and are the subject of additional actions. In some situations, there were delays because of building department records, inspections, approvals regarding Open Building
Permits or lack of building permits for new bedrooms or decks, all requiring additional follow up.
Moving forward into 2024 and future years, STR applicants will only be permitted to
operate once all associated paperwork, approvals and a licence has been issued. This will mean that existing Applicants who still have a Yellow symbol and have not completed all approvals will be prohibited from operating for 2024, will be charged if they do so and will now need to apply to be on the waitlist.
Report on Georgian Heights Plan 943 – Jim McIntosh – Barriston Law
Mr. McIntosh outlined the work he had done on investigating the ownership of the common areas designated OS1 located on Plan of Subdivision 943 in Georgian Heights.
The subdivision was built by the late Arthur and Frederick Webster and the heirs to the property have now been located. It was discovered that no taxes have been paid on the property which currently stand at $300,000 +. The Township has directed counsel to seek a vesting order to assume the property.
Simcoe County 2024 High Level Draft Budget Assumptions
As outlined during the 2023 Budget presentation, the County’s operating balance has reduced significantly over the last few years due to efforts to provide modest tax rate increases. This has increased the gap between funding and cost inflation. In addition, cost increases are significant in many areas such as construction, supplies, insurance etc. which add to the need for additional funding to meet growing service and capital project demands. To enable staff to present a responsible, prudent, but forward-thinking budget to County Council for their review, staff requested that they be permitted to present a draft budget with a Tax Levy increase in the range of 2% for asset management and 3% for operating expenses for a combined increase of approximately 5% for 2024. This is after some significant efforts to reduce impacts. A number of other municipalities in Ontario have communicated similar needs and pressures in developing their 2024 budget request.
On September 26, 2023, following County Council deliberations, they approved the budget assumptions, which directs staff to incorporate the proposed rates into the 2024 County of Simcoe draft budget. The budget review process will begin with Council receiving the proposed draft budget during a special budget meeting and then they will have opportunities to review and recommend changes if desired. Budget approvals will follow these discussions in late 2023.
Policy for Handling Unreasonable Customer Behaviour
In an effort to address unacceptable behaviour from some members of the public and to lessen their impact on the Corporation, the Senior Leadership Team staff have brought forth for Council’s review a draft Policy for Handling Unreasonable Customer Behaviour. The proposed Policy will be utilized as a guide to assist staff, Senior Leadership, and the CAO, in identifying and mitigating these types of requests in a fair and equitable manner.
Purpose:
Vexatious, frivolous, and/or unreasonably persistent requests may compromise the Township’s ability to deliver exceptional customer service in an equitable, efficient, and effective manner. These situations may require the Township to put limits on the contact which customers have with the Corporation. These actions will ensure that Township resources are used effectively and efficiently, while still maintaining a high level of customer service and responsiveness.
The Policy will guide staff to identify situations that meet the criteria of vexatious, frivolous, and/or unreasonably persistent and the associated actions that may be undertaken in such circumstances. The aim of the Policy is to contribute to the overall intent of dealing with all customers in ways which are consistent, fair, and reasonable while acknowledging that there may be a need to shield staff from unreasonable behaviour.
Dynamic Beach Management Strategy Cost Estimate
Council supported staff’s recommendation to proceed with Aqua Solutions 5 Inc to develop Tiny’s Dynamic Beach Management Strategy for $160,000+HST.
At the March 15, 2023 COW meeting, staff was directed that due to the social and environmental impacts of development on the shoreline, to investigate and report back on the options to manage alterations to the shoreline. Also, that considerations include environmental impacts, infringement of traditional beach use and shoreline alteration By Laws as adopted by other municipalities.
Based on this direction, staff engaged Aqua Solutions 5 Inc (AQS5) to develop a review and presentation for Council. The resulting report provided direction for Council to consider for the future direction of shoreline management and how this relates to the preservation of a dynamic beaches for the environmental impacts and usage of this resource in Tiny.
The next step, as directed by Council, was to develop a cost summary for the development of a Dynamic Beach Management Strategy (DBMS) as follows:
Phase 1:
• Review all existing Township of Tiny by-laws and the Official Plan as it relates to the Dynamic Beach Hazards to include developing revised approaches and documents to support the Management of Dynamic Beach Hazards for the Township of Tiny.
• Assess the implications of Bill 23 (More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022) for the Township of Tiny from a Management of Dynamic Beach Hazards perspective.
Phase 2:
• Develop in conjunction with the engineering and planning aspects, the implementation of a risk assessment and risk matrix approach as this will assist the Township of Tiny in determining the legal implications and the most effective approach for legislating the Management of Dynamic Beach Hazards. Within this report staff will work with AQS5 to develop a costing summary for the development of the DBMS as detailed in Appendix 1.
Currently the Township of Tiny has an Interim Control by-law to manage dynamic shoreline activity which will expire in May 2024.
In summary, the cost for AQS5, legal and planning will be $160,000 plus HST to provide a report for assessment and analysis on the existing OP and By Law 22-075, along with the development of a new by-law under the Municipal Act. The final report will include the specific legislation approaches recommended for the Township of Tiny to address/manage the activities that are occurring in the Dynamic Beach Hazard.