Vol. 3 - Issue 27
December 11, 2020
  • 2021 Budget Approved
  • Mayor Participates in Vaccine Rollout Strategy Meeting
  • Council Meeting on December 14
  • Specialized Transit Plan Survey
  • Seniors Services Delivery Review – Hillsview Active Living Centre
  • Mayor Directs Donation to Crime Stoppers to Fight Hate Crimes
  • Concussion Prevention and Management Policy
  • Ice/Floor User Group Rate Relief
  • Upper Canada College Trail: Memorandum of Understanding
  • Low Carbon Transition Strategy Follow Up
  • Mayor’s Message
  • Mill Street Neighbourhood Study Preferred Design Report
  • Local Culture Days Celebration Achieves Top 10 National Ranking
  • Job Opportunities
  • Stay Current on Coronaviru
2021 Budget Approved
The 2021 Budget was approved by the Budget Committee on December 7 and will get ratified at the December 14 Council Meeting. A local tax increase of 3.9 per cent is expected to result in a final blended tax rate increase of 2.4 per cent when combined with the forecasted tax changes that will be made at the Halton Region and the school board levels. Using MPAC’s 2016 Current Value Assessment (CVA) of $623,500 for the average resident.
Mayor Participates in Vaccine Rollout Strategy Meeting
Managing the impacts of COVID-19 continues to dominate the public sector agenda. On December 8, 2020 Mayors across Ontario participated in a call with Premier Ford, Deputy Premier & Minister of Health Elliott, Solicitor General Jones, Minister Clark & retired General Hillier.

Mayor Bonnette was among the 442 participants. “I want this community to know that we are engaged and keeping apprised as to the development and delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine,” he said.  
Town Council Meeting on December 14
The Town will hold a Council meeting on December 14 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. In our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to protect all individuals, public attendance at Council meetings will not be permitted at this time. 

Members of the public who would like to submit feedback, please email your comments to clerks@haltonhills.ca prior to the meeting. Comments submitted will be circulated to Council Members in advance of the meeting and will be part of the public record. 
Specialized Transit Plan Survey
The purpose of this survey is to get the Town's customers and the community engaged in the development of the Specialized Transit Plan to provide feedback on the ActiVan service. The survey focuses on:
  • understanding the customer experience (from booking a trip to riding on our vehicles to customer service);
  • understanding how customers use ActiVan services; and 
  • gathering feedback about our proposed service standards.

The results from this survey will stay anonymous and will inform the required service improvements in the second phase of the Specialized Transit Plan.
Seniors Services Delivery Review - Hillsview Active Living Centre
In June 2018, Town staff was directed to complete a financial and service delivery review with the Hillsview Active Living Centre to provide recommendations of best practices to address the needs of older adults today and into the future.

The purpose of this report is to update members of Council on the status of the Seniors Services Delivery Review (SSDR), and to seek approval in principle for the final recommendations.
Mayor Directs Donation to Crime Stoppers to Fight Hate Crimes
The latest incident of racism in Halton Hills has prompted a donation by the municipality to Crime Stoppers of Halton Inc. Leading the charge is Mayor Rick Bonnette, who directed that $2,000 be used to assist in the investigation of hate crimes – including the swastika graffiti found at George Kennedy Public School.
Concussion Prevention and Management Policy
The Recreation and Parks Department has developed a new policy and procedure to reduce the likelihood that a program participant will suffer a concussion while participating in a recreation program, and to ensure that staff manage any injuries that do occur appropriately.

The Concussion Prevention and Management Policy (CPMP) and procedures will help staff provide a safer program experience for residents. Any costs associated with implementing these changes will be covered through approved operating budgets.
Ice/Floor User Group Rate Relief
The impact of COVID-19 has affected the ability of minor ice and floor user groups to financially support the hourly rate of Town facilities for their return to sport.

Staff is recommending that the Town reduce the registered ice and floor rental rate by 50 per cent for the 2020 - 21 season. This recommendation is based on ice and floor user groups' capacity to respond and adhere to Provincial guidelines and the Town's desire to support the continued viability of sports groups through community rebuilding efforts.

Assuming restrictions are lifted over the next year, rental fees will return to full rate as per the Town annual rate report.
Upper Canada College Trail: Memorandum of Understanding
The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Upper Canada College (UCC) to outline the basic terms for the development of a public use trail on UCC lands.
Low-Carbon Transition Strategy Follow Up
Visit the Low-Carbon Transition Strategy (LCTS) page on the Town’s consultation platform Let’s Talk Halton Hills to watch the recording of the virtual kick-off event held on December 1, 2020. Answers to all the questions that were asked prior to and during the event are also posted.

Mayor's Message
Check out the Mayor's December State of the Town address.
Make sure to subscribe and have messages delivered directly to your inbox.
Mill Street Neighbourhood Study Preferred Design Report
Associated Engineering (Ont.) Ltd., in partnership with SGL Planning and Design/Fotenn, was retained by the Town of Halton Hills to complete the Mill Street Neighbourhood Study (MSNS).

The report represents the final deliverable for this study and documents the selection of the preferred improvements and designs from the multiple alternatives evaluated in this study.
Culture Days logo
Local Culture Days Celebration Achieves Top 10 National Ranking
This year, Culture Days expanded into a month-long festival offering free arts and culture activities across Canada, from September 25-October 25.

Building on last year’s fifth place ranking for “Mid-size Cities” based on the number of activities registered, Halton Hills presented 75 activities earning a fourth place finish in the same category.

Additionally, for the first time ever, Halton Hills appeared on the top 10 overall list, placing fifth among 215 participating communities from coast to coast.
Job Opportunities
Applications are being accepted for the following vacancies:
Stay Current on the Coronavirus
Information on Town operations, facility closures, mandatory masks and more can be found on the Town's COVID-19 web page.
For health-related information, visit Halton Region.
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