Douro Dummer hosted its first open forum in regards to their Building, Planning & Economic Development Service Review last week.
Earlier this year, the township entered into this review which is being executed by Triton Engineering.
According to a report, the township requested a service delivery review of its current Building, By-law and Planning Services, and an assessment of whether an economic development service might be considered in the future. The project will deliver a quantifiable and forward-looking strategy for its building, by-law, planning and economic development services by reviewing current services levels and delivery methods, evaluating internal processes and budget allocations, and assessing legislative obligations.
The open forum was part of stage two, of a four stage process.
During the forum, Bill White of Triton Engineering gave a presentation to the audience on the project.
During the presentation White went over details such as economic context for the township, building permit summaries and planning application numbers as well as comments received through an online questionnaire.
The summary of questionnaire comments included:
• A lot of discussion of the service by word of mouth
• 21 of 30 respondents familiar with building service and planning service
• More dissatisfaction than satisfaction with building service, most respondents are neutral
• Slightly more satisfaction than dissatisfaction with planning service, most respondents are neutral
• Economic Development issues are encouraging investment, supporting agriculture, promotion, attracting business, reducing red tape
• 80% believe reducing red tape is good for the economy, less than one-third are familiar with County Economic Development
• Little appetite for more delegation of Council authority to staff, some interest in shared planning or building services with County or Townships
• Respondents were involved in construction field with some responding as contractors, developers
• Customer service, consistency, red tape, seasonal rentals, lack of clarity, comply with Code timelines, excessive studies
After the presentation, the audience had the chance to voice their concerns, questions, and comments in a round-table format.
White said that most of the comments revolved around communication, transparency, follow-up, and consistency from staff.
Moving forward, White will be analyzing all the comments received from the public, township staff, and stake holders. He will then create a background report which will appear on a council consent agenda at a future date.
The final stage will include:
• creating a draft service delivery review framework report
• create a service analysis report for the Building Planning, By-law and economic development departments
• provide recommendations to improve responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness
• hosting a final public meeting for comments
• updating the draft service delivery review with Summary of Preliminary Recommendations
• final presentation and report to council for approval will come forward on June 30th
To learn more about the ongoing service delivery review, visit the township website at dourodummer.ca/building-and-planning/douro-dummer-building-planning-economic-development-service-review/.
