Last year was full of developments for Perth County.
That’s according to an annual report prepared by county staff, highlighting many of the achievements and work that staff undertook.
The report, included in county council’s Thursday meeting agenda, is split into five categories that reflect the corporate strategic plan, which began an update-process in January 2023.
They are growth and economic development, customer service excellence, community development and planning, regionalization and service effectiveness, and corporate sustainability.
On the growth and economic development side, the county:
- Re-launched business retention and expansion activities that were postponed or cancelled as the result of the pandemic including business tours, business visitation, and business features.
- Rolled out a Workforce Attraction and Retention Toolkit (WARET), promoting the new online resource of best practices to local employers and across the province.
- Developed a PC Connect testimonial campaign that showcases the impact that PC Connect has had on local residents.
- Achieved recognition awards from the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) for the the Perth County Farms to Stratford Tables marketing campaign (which was also a finalist for the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario Awards) and the Perth County Full House Tour housing information tour.
For regionalization and service effectiveness, the county:
- Produced an updated and improved County Road Map that accurately represents the road network and geographic features of the county.
- Published through the archives 64 local history articles for area newspapers and created a Perth County Heritage: Did You Know poster for all county libraries to celebrate Family Literacy Day.
- Completed an analysis of workflow needs and processes in court services to support the addition of a court services clerk to maintain standards of service.
- Completed an in-depth analysis of the potential to introduce an Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) in the county.
- Broadened the Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) program and strengthened community partnerships, conducting visits and potentially reducing the need for emergency department visits from January to September 2023.
- Approved the EMS cooperative purchasing, purchasing with Medavie Health Services (MHS), optimizing resource utilization.
- Had legal advice provided to council and department staff regarding litigation issues, contract law matters, procurements, and planning issues.
- Drafted contracts and renewals of key service agreements, including PC Connect, forestry, and prosecutions.
- Assessed the feasibility of introducing an AMPS program and implementing school bus arm cameras, independent of AMPS. I
- Implemented continuous service enhancements for PC Connect including schedule, route, and bus stop updates.
For customer service excellence, the county:
- Successfully transitioned to a new manager of court services in provincial offences administration (POA).
- Relocated the POA court room while providing uninterrupted service.
- Responded to repeated POA court closures and addressing scheduling backlog.
- Through the Archives reference and research services, provided prompt and professional responses to requests for information and copies of photographs and documents from municipal staff and the public on a daily basis, while digitizing over 6,000 local newspapers for public access.
- Navigated significant staffing changes and shortages in the planning department during one of the busiest years, while maintaining a high level of customer service and processing applications in a timely fashion.
- Upgraded the entire internal telephone system software on all servers, desktop clients, and 94 telecom hardware devices.
- Upgraded the entire fleet of leased multi-function printing (MFP) devices spread across five office locations throughout the county.
For community development and planning, the county:
- Continued to advance the Official Plan Review with the delivery of a draft to county council.
- Undertook housekeeping amendments to zoning bylaws to increase municipal planning process efficiencies.
- Developed a new stewardship program.
- Expanded the tourism marketing and advertising campaign for tourism attraction into the greater Toronto area.
- Grew the Discover More Adventures experiential tourism program by reinvesting in existing signature experiences and adding new signature experiences.
- Completed and published the Perth County Joint Accessibility Plan (2023- 2027). This project is provincially legislated and required interdepartmental collaboration, lower-tier input, and council presentations prior to final approval.
- Completed the development of the Economic Development, Tourism and Transportation Strategy and Action Plan
- Completed the first full year of an updated Cultivating Opportunity Grant Program and policy. Four organizations were awarded $2,500 for various community projects.
For corporate sustainability, the county:
- Expanded the current leadership development program to all management staff to further develop organizational capacity.
- Maintained focus on organizational safety, including offering CPR/first aid training to all non-union staff, updating workplace policies/practices, situational awareness training for customer-facing staff.
- Was a finalist for the National Safety Award for "Canada's Safety Public Sector/NonProfit Employer."
- Hired additional staff within the finance division to maximize service delivery and output to better support the organization.
- Rolled-out the Provincial Incident Management System (IMS) training program for all members of the Municipal Emergency Control Groups (MECGs), including IMS-100 & IMS-200 for over 45 staff from the county and lower-tier municipalities.
- Extended recruitment outreach for hard-to-fill positions through social media outreach and participation in external recruitment fairs.
- Initiated a paramedic advisory committee to foster improved culture and refine operational procedures.
- Completed a refresh of the county's corporate strategic plan, including input from management, council, and community.
- Created the five municipal emergency control groups (MECG), including development of the tools and checklists necessary to operate any one of the five emergency operation centres (EOCs).
- Rewrote a new, county-wide comprehensive emergency response plan, applicable to the county and lower tier municipalities.
- Completed the courthouse elevator project.
- Completed road and infrastructure projects on time and under budget.
- Started the Courthouse Connecting Link and Campus construction projects.
- Enhanced Paramedic Services coverage to the north end of the county and successfully reduced vehicle movements enhancing operational efficiency.
- Created a comprehensive collections policy for the archives which was approved by county council.
- Arranged and described all City of Stratford council and administration archival records, 1853- 2022, completing a multi-year project.
The 2023 report is the third time the county put out an annual report.
It serves to be “an important communications tool by increasing transparency and educating the public about the operations and strategic priorities of the municipality,” according to the staff report.
