The Town of Cobourg has many “Master Plans” detailing what should be done on various assets and areas.  I count eleven multi-year Master plans that describe what to do about Downtown, Heritage, Culture, the Tannery Property, Transportation (including Transit), Parks, Tree coverage (Urban Forest), the Waterfront, Downtown parking, Fire and Accessibility.  The plans include goals and timelines intended to guide staff over multiple years but in general, there are no regular reports on whether the goals are being met or indeed if there is any progress.  The Operational Plan recently established includes reports on KPIs but there seem to be few if any references to Master Plans.  I have made a list of the plans and where they can be… Read complete articleCobourg Master Plans

With a goal of ultimately approving a budget before the start of the budget year, the first step is to ask citizens what they want. At the recent Council meeting, a timetable was approved (full details in special Cobourg internet page – see Resources below) and today (August 1), the first item has been implemented – an online survey. The survey starts by asking demographic information (how long have you lived in Cobourg, age, income, etc.) then moves to the importance of various issues. But we are told that if current services are maintained, the budget must go up by the amount of inflation (3%) or services must be cut. So the next set of questions asks which services should… Read complete articleTown Asks for Budget Input

In 2020, Council contracted with KPMG to do an organizational review. Then in 2021, Council directed CAO Tracey Vaughan to prepare an “Organizational Review Implementation Plan” to spell out specific actions. The first step, in 2023, was to decide the “Strategic Vision” so the “Strategic plan for 2023-2027 and Beyond” was developed. Tracey has now delivered the implementation plan which revolves around actions and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). In addition, there is now an online measurement report on the KPIs. (Go to “Operational Plan – Program Dashboard” at the link in Resources). There are three sets of KPIs based on the Strategic Plan’s Priorities/Pillars: 1) Sustainability;  2) Service Excellence and 3) Thriving Community.  Each set has 4 “Strategic Actions” and 2… Read complete articleTown of Cobourg Operational Plan for 2024

I have been following Council meetings for a number of years but last night’s was the longest – it finished at 12:27 am. That’s right, after midnight. The reason of course is because the next meeting will be in September – no longer are there regular meetings in summer. A number of items needed to be passed, and they were, although the issue of stormwater fees triggered a long debate with a large public gallery. Other major items passed included the non-union salary increases, delegation of powers to staff, the new customer service strategy, the non-core asset management plan, a new “operational plan”, approval of an $8M debenture required by waterworks, and more – see a list below. Mayor Cleveland… Read complete articleLongest Council meeting – 26 June

In 2012, the Province decreed that if a municipality wanted provincial funding, they would have to demonstrate how any proposed project fits within a detailed asset management plan. This also applied to receiving the Federal Gas Tax. The requirement was for three phases: (1) core assets, (2) non-core assets and finally: (3) Proposed Level of Service, Lifecycle Management and Financial Strategy. The first one has been done and the plan for non-core assets will be presented to Council at their meeting on June 26. Why do we care? When an asset management plan was done for stormwater (part of core assets), a shortfall was discovered which led to the imposition of the stormwater fee. The basic intent of an asset… Read complete articleAsset Management Plan – Part 3

One of the goals in Cobourg Council’s current Strategic Plan is “Service Excellence” and it’s planned to implement this by building on the Customer Service Strategy as outlined in the report by consultant CSPN in May of 2023. Part of this includes a “Service Desk” in the lobby of Victoria Hall. The idea being that questions from the public in person, by phone or email would all be first directed to a Customer Service Representative. But there’s more to the Strategy than that – Staff have reviewed the consultant’s report and at their next regular meeting, Council will be asked to approve a Customer Service and Implementation Plan. Details are below but one major item is the implementation of KPIs… Read complete articleCustomer Service Gets New Emphasis

One of the items to be considered at the very busy Council meeting on June 26 is a review of Stormwater fees.  There are several issues in contention: 1) it’s a tax not a fee; 2) it’s not appropriate for large rural properties (e.g. farm land and cemeteries) that don’t use any of the Town’s Infrastructure; 3) it’s excessive for residences on acreages (such as is common in the west end of Cobourg); 4) properties on town owned land like Northam Industrial park are exempt and 5) there is no incentive to mitigate run-off.  When asked to review the issue, Director Laurie Wills elected to hire the original consultant to do the work.  Their report is on the agenda at… Read complete articleStormwater Rate Review

It’s no secret that the Town is having a problem hiring staff – particularly in the Planning department.  Last I looked, as well as the Director position being vacant, there were 7 vacancies in planning plus 2 other vacancies.  One of the reasons given for the problem (and it is a problem) is that salaries are too low.   So late last year, the Town hired a consultant to review all 40 “non-union” salaries and they delivered their findings at a special Council meeting on June 19.  Like many employers, the Town uses a grade structure with levels inside grades – see below.  The current grades attempt to set salaries at the 50th percentile of the amounts paid by comparable Towns… Read complete articleCobourg Staff to get salary Increase