Draft 2021 North Perth Combined Operating and Capital Budget

General Administration: Operating Overview 2020 Review and 2021 Outlook General Administration: Municipal operations in 2020 continued to be fast-paced as North Perth continued to grow and develop. Additionally, the strong ability of municipal operations and staff to adapt to changing circumstances was demonstrated in the Municipality’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As North Perth’s growth and COVID-19 response and recovery efforts continue, the number of municipal and private projects/initiatives continue to stretch municipal staff and financial resources.

The North Perth Strategic Plan was adopted by Council in January 2020. Following adoption of the plan, staff focused on the developed of the implementation plan and business plans for each department. The proposed 2021 Business Plans were presented to North Perth Council on December 7, 2020. As noted above, the work to be completed in 2021 outweighs staff capacity in every Department (i.e. approximately 25,000 hours of planned work are over and above total Departmental capacity). Solutions will be discussed during the 2021 Operating Budget Meetings.

North Perth’s online engagement platform Your Say North Perth continued to be used widely throughout 2020 to increase and collect public input on the Municipality’s initiatives. Items that were posted in 2020 included a COVID-19 Recovery Survey, Transportation Master Plan Survey and Mapping Activity, Urban Chickens Survey, Resident Experience Survey and the 2021 Budget Survey.

The Manager of Programs full-time position was created and approved by Council in late 2020 as part of the Municipality’s Organization Re-Structure. The position will begin in 2021 and salary expenses have been included in the General Administration operating budget for the time being. Once the Organization Re-Structure is complete, these expenses will fall under the Programs operating budget.

The operating budget also reflects the municipal commitment of $50,000 to the CT scanner at Listowel Memorial Hospital. This is the last year of the five-year commitment.

OMPF: In 2021, the Province is providing the Municipality of North Perth with $1,445,300 in funding through the OMPF, which is the equivalent of $254 per household (compared to the 2020 allocation of $1,367,200). 2021 OMPF revenue has been distributed amongst the department operating budgets.

Economic Development: A major focus for Economic Development in 2020 was business support and recovery in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included sharing of supports, resources and regulations for business, teleconferences with Business and Agriculture stakeholders, participation in the CRAG Economy Sub-group, development of www.ShopLocalNorthPerth.ca,