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Staff Report
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Report To: Council
Date of Meeting: March 23, 2020
Reviewed By: Andrew C. Allison, CAO
File Number:
Report Subject: COVID-19 Update
Recommendations:
1. That Report CAO-011-20 be received; and
Report Number: CAO-011-20
By-law Number: 2020-023
Resolution#: C-143-20, C-145-20,
C-150-20
2. That the By-law attached to Report CAO-011-20, as Attachment 1, be approved.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CAO-011-20
Report Overview
Page 2
This Report is intended to provide a high-level summary to all members of Council regarding
actions taken to date in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But more importantly, it will
provide an overview of some of the challenges that lay ahead.
1. Background
1.1 We have taken the steps described below to protect the health and safety of both staff
and residents. Details respecting these matters (and many other related matters) are
contained in communications to staff and the public (see Section 2 below).
• March 13 - closed our recreation facilities and cancelled our March Break programs
and other programming until Monday, April 6, 2020.
• March 16 — closed all Municipal facilities to the public until Monday, April 6, 2020.
• March 16 — imposed self -isolating restrictions on staff who have travelled outside of
the country or may have been exposed to the virus.
• March 17 — developed and implemented a protocol respecting public access to all
Municipal buildings in exigent circumstances.
• March 17 — developed and implemented protocols to protect the health of staff who
are working in the community.
• March 18 — developed and implemented a protocol to allow some staff to work from
home.
• March 19 — physically relocated workstations to create social distancing in the
workplace for those employees whose jobs are not conducive to working from
home.
• March 19 — for those employees who cannot work from home, made flex hours
available.
1.2 Currently, all full-time staff are working their regular number of hours and being paid.
Part-time employees have been assured that they will be paid for all scheduled hours
from March 14, 2020 to April 5, 2020 inclusive. We are attempting to deploy as many
part-time staff as possible into areas outside of their usual places of work where their
regular duties are not required as a result of facility closures.
1.3 Operationally, there are dozens of adjustments that have been made in every
Department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have stepped up cleaning
efforts in our buildings and changed our HR policies to facilitate social distancing. As an
example of how detailed our approach to the issue of safety in the workplace has been,
and social distancing in particular, we have limited the number of staff in our vehicles.
Municipality of Clarington Page 3
Report CAO-011-20
We continue to work on repurposing staff throughout the organization (including
deploying staff to assist at Cedar Crest Beach and to assist Feed the Need in its food
drive next week). We have altered several normal business procedures to reflect current
circumstances (e.g. changes to our tendering procedures, removed ice pads weeks
ahead of schedule, relaxed by-law enforcement of parking, and implemented a hiring
freeze (other than fire suppression)).
2. Communications
2.1 Communications during this evolving public -health situation have been fluid to help
respond to the daily and sometimes hourly changes. The Communications Division is
tracking the latest global news and developments to try and ensure that all messaging is
up-to-date and reflects the current local, provincial, federal and global situation. Below is
an outline of the key actions to date.
External Communications
2.2 To provide up-to-date information on Municipal services, closures and the impact on
residents as a result of COVID-19, Communications created a dedicated web page,
www.clarington.net/COVID-19. This page is updated at 4 p.m. daily. These updates are
communicated through our news module in a variety of ways to maximize our audience;
they are also shared on social media and posted to 10 external community Facebook
pages run by external groups, including:
• Burketon Station, Ontario Canada
• Courtice Community Connect
• Enniskillen Community Board
• Hampton Community Hall — Hampton Community Association
• Newcastle Ontario
• North Courtice Neighbourhood Association
• Official Bowmanville Community Group, Ontario Canada
• Orono Ontario
• Rural Clarington Counts
• What's New in Clarington
2.3 As we are made aware of new Facebook community groups, we are adding them to the
list. Starting today, we will be adding South Courtice Neighbourhood to the list. It is
important to note that some of the Facebook page administrators are not approving our
shared communications. We are doing our best to reach as many members of the
community as possible.
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Report CAO-011-20
2.4 We are focused on providing our community with the best possible information and
messages from trustworthy and reliable sources. Communications is also creating and
developing Clarington public service announcement content for social media. One of the
key messages developed is `Know Your Source.' It focuses on letting residents know to
access content from reliable and trustworthy sources. Other messages include shop
responsibly, social distancing, COVID-19 symptoms (based on CDC information), safe
cleaning (don't mix household cleaners), closing of playgrounds, and how to watch for
scammers. We are also sharing information about mental health during this time as
people are stressed and perhaps need some assistance to cope.
2.5 We are sharing social media and messaging developed by Public Health agencies across
Canada, Durham Region Health Department, the Government of Ontario as well as the
Public Health Agency of Canada.
2.6 Every senior employee is in constant communication with their peers in Durham Region
to share information and messaging.
2.7 The Fire Chief, wearing his hat as Clarington's Community Emergency Management
Coordinator (CEMC), is in daily contact with the Province's Emergency Operations
Centre.
Internal Communications
2.8 Internal communications are key to keep Council and staff informed on all work -related
and health and safety developments. The following communication protocols have been
put in place:
Daily updates from CAO to staff (started March 13)
Daily internal Council updates including Municipal page information and latest
infection numbers (started March 14)
Daily updates from the Mayor to Members of Council (started March 17)
2.9 Communications has developed a new internal staff SharePoint website dedicated to
COVID-19 updates, https://claringtonnet.sharepoint.com/sites/COVID-19. It launched on
March 20. To access this site, staff will have to sign in to their Off ice.com accounts with
their computer ID (i.e. Br00) and password. The page will contain CAO updates and any
pertinent staff information and resources to help facilitate information sharing and support
those people working remotely. We have also established a Staff hotline that will have
pre-recorded information and updates for staff. Moving forward, this hotline will be
updated as needed.
Municipality of Clarington
Report CAO-011-20
3. Future Challenges
Page 5
3.1 If businesses and schools reopen on April 6, 2020, we will be ready to reboot operations
and return to working in much the same way as before the pandemic. But if that does not
happen, we will have some difficult decisions to make. Some decisions may be made for
us by higher levels of government between now and April 6, 2020.
3.2 We have made numerous temporary decisions on the assumption that we will resume
regular operations at some point in time. The challenge is knowing when that time will
come. At the risk of oversimplifying, every temporary decision that has been made to
date will have to be revisited. Listed below are some to the questions that may have to
be asked and answered as we approach April 6, 2020.
a. Should our recreation facilities reopen?
b. Should other Municipal buildings reopen?
c. Whose advice do we rely upon when making those decisions?
d. What are the financial impacts of not reopening?
e. How long can we continue to repurpose/deploy staff throughout the
organization?
Should staffing levels be temporarily reduced?
g. Should service levels be temporarily reduced?
h. Should we be scaling back to "essential" services which the City of Toronto
defined to mean services that (a) are required to meet legislative
requirements; (b) support employee and public health and safety; (c) enable
critical community services and supports; (d) support services necessary to
keep essential services operating; (e) protect and operate vital infrastructure;
and (f) fulfill critical legal and financial obligations?
Should we be scaling back to "core services" which are defined in our
Emergency Plan as "a service or function that when not delivered creates an
impact on the health and safety of individuals"; and "a service and/or function
that may lead to the failure of a business unit if activities are not performed
within a specified time period"?
Should we be waiving or reducing some of our fees and charges? (Report
FND-007-20 addresses one such issue)
k. Should we declare a local state of emergency?
Municipality of Clarington
Report CAO-011-20
Page 6
3.3 In order to prepare for the possibility that things may not return to normal on April 6, 2020,
Department Heads will be preparing business continuity plans. We will attempt to provide
answers to the questions set out above and address many related issues.
3.4 Unfortunately, staff cannot provide Council with any professional advice on any public
health -related aspects of the decisions that we will have to make, including whether to
reopen any of our facilities. We can only provide information respecting such matters.
4. Standing Authority
4.1 The urgency of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires many swift decisions to
be made about Municipal programs, facilities and staff. In response to this situation,
several Ontario municipalities, including Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa, have chosen to
delegate some of their Council powers to individuals to eliminate delay. The typical
approach in those municipalities that has been taken is to delegate all authority over
administrative and operational issues to the CAO, and to delegate the legislative powers
of Council to the Mayor alone.
4.2 With respect to the administrative and operational decisions made or contemplated thus
far, Council has already authorized the CAO to make these decisions by virtue of By-law
98-171. The scope and generality of By-law 98-171 provides all the authority necessary
for the CAO to make any and all administrative decisions necessary, particularly in a
situation of urgency. This is not a responsibility I take lightly. As such, I would only
deviate from consulting with Council about significant administrative decisions in
situations requiring immediate action. Council will have the opportunity to provide input
and direction about significant administrative decisions where it is at all possible.
Specifically, it is my intention to report to Council to seek direction with respect to the
decisions regarding possible temporary reductions in service which could translate to a
reduction in staffing levels.
4.3 1 can also advise that the powers of the CAO are clearly restricted to administrative
matters, and do not include the ability to legislate (i.e. to enact, amend or repeal by-laws).
That is why FND-007-20 is before Council.
4.4 With respect to the delegation of legislative authority to the Mayor, I recommend that
Council proceed with this step immediately by enacting the draft by-law included as
Attachment 1. This would grant to the Mayor the power to enact, amend or repeal certain
Municipal By-laws that could be required when it would be difficult or time-consuming to
go through the ordinary process of convening a special meeting of Council. For example,
it is a realistic possibility that some elements of the Procedural By-law might have to be
modified to expedite a Council meeting or decision. Another example might be our Parks
By-law. If a matter is urgent, it may be prudent to dispense with some of the formal
elements of Council's procedure. It is impossible to foresee all circumstances where the
Municipality of Clarington Page 7
Report CAO-011-20
Mayor might be called upon to exercise this legislative authority, and it is in part this
uncertainty that requires this step to be taken at this time.
4.5 It is my opinion, the enactment of the attached by-law is an appropriate next stage in the
escalation of the Municipal response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Concurrence
Not Applicable.
6. Conclusion
It is respectfully recommended that this Report be received for information.
Staff Contact: Andrew Allison, CAO, 905-623-3379 ext. 2002 or aallison@clarington.net.
Attachment:
Attachment 1: Draft By-law
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Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131.
The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
By-law 2020-023
Being a By-law to delegate legislative authority to the Mayor to expedite municipal
decisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
WHEREAS in accordance with Section 270 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001,
Chapter 25, Council of The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington has established
a policy to delegate its powers and duties to persons or bodies, subject to restrictions
set out in the Act;
AND WHEREAS Council deems it prudent to temporarily delegate the legislative
powers of the Municipality to the Mayor to ensure timely decisions during the COVID-19
pandemic;
NOW THEREFORE, the Council of The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
hereby enacts as follows:
DELEGATION
Subject to sections 23.1 to 23.5 of the Municipal Act, 2001, and the provisions of
this by-law, Council hereby delegates to the Mayor the authority to enact, repeal,
or revoke a by-law or policy of the Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington.
2. The legislative authority delegated under this by-law shall only be exercised if:
(a) it is reasonably necessary in order to mitigate harm or damage in connection
with COVID-19;
(b) impacts are minimized, to the extent possible, with respect to degree,
geographical scope, and duration; and
(c) it is not practical in the circumstances to delay the matter until the next regular
or special meeting of Council.
3. In the event of conflict, this by-law shall prevail over any other by-law or policy of
the Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington.
EFFECTIVE DATE
4. This by-law shall come into force and take effect on the date it is enacted and
shall be repealed upon the sooner of a declaration of emergency by the Mayor
pursuant to The Emergency Management By-law 2018-010 or the cessation of all
declarations of emergency by the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the Premier
of Ontario with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passed in Open Session this 23rd day of March, 2020.
Mayor Adrian Foster
C. Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk