Major changes are being proposed to the operations of New Westminster City Hall as part of the city’s 2024 budget.
In recent weeks, city council has held a number of workshops to discuss the 2024 operating budget, the five-year capital plan, and utility rates. In nine memos recently presented to council as part of the 2024 budget, staff outlined the various changes being proposed, how they fit with council’s strategic priorities and the resources needed to put implement those changes.
After receiving staff reports and presentations at a Nov. 20 workshop, council voted in favour of receiving the information and analyzes from the nine memos and asking that the financial implications from the proposed changes be considered as part of the budget and utility rates processes.
Council also directed the senior management team and the finance department to evaluate the funding requests and to provide property tax rate options and alternate funding stream options for council’s consideration at its Dec. 11 workshop on the operating budget.
As part of the 2024 budget process, staff have proposed restructuring some of the departments at city hall. A staff report stated the new council strategic priorities plan is an opportunity to evaluate the city’s organizational structure to ensure appropriate alignment between departments’ divisions and functions in order to effectively and efficiently advance the strategic priorities and enhance service delivery.
“The city has experienced significant growth over the past decade as many work functions and priorities have been established or expanded,” said the report. “As such, the organizational and reporting structures need to be updated and modernized in order to reflect, and effectively respond to, the evolving and emerging needs, interests and expectations of our growing city.”
Some of the changes being proposed as part of the 2024 budget include:
- Creating a housing division to expedite housing permits and units. This is intended to address council’s goal of increasing homes and housing options, as well as responding to new provincial requirements related to planning for, approving and servicing housing.
- Creating a two-year crisis response team pilot project to address the homelessness, mental health and substance use crises that are affecting New Westminster.
- Restructuring the electrical department by integrating the city’s climate action staff into a newly named energy and climate action department. Its mandate would be to drive innovation and implementation of the climate and environment lens of council’s strategic plan.
- Creating a new community services department, which would incorporate divisions now operating in the chief administrative officer’s office and the parks and recreation department. It would restructure “community-focused” functions and divisions – such as economic development, conference services, community arts and theatre services, museums and heritage services, arts and technology, filming, special events, public engagement and communications services – into one department.
The Record will be posting stories about some of these changes and other aspects of the budget. More to come.
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa said the memo format belies how much work staff put into the planning of the changes being proposed, including some initiated by the city, some initiated by the province, and some initiated by need.
“I see a lot of really big changes actually in these memos, even though they were very digestible. I appreciate that so much,” she said. “I guess I would say that just overall, I saw a lot of really good stuff in there.”
Coun. Tasha Henderson said the proposals provide some “exciting opportunities” via restructuring, additions and efficiencies to respond to requests from the community about addressing challenges happening in the region.
“We keep hearing … the community wants us to do something around making sure that we are prepared in all-weather events and emergency responses,” she said. “They want us to address the homelessness and mental health crisis. They want us to increase the community services. They want us to support small businesses. They want us to maximize the revenues.”
Henderson said she appreciates the focus on human resources in the budget.
“They want to make sure that we're quickly hiring and retaining the staff that do all of the things that they do in the city, whether it's hanging a flowerpot or fixing a streetlight or picking up waste,” she said. “And so we need the staff to do that.”
The five strategic priorities adopted by city council are: community belonging and connecting; homes and housing options; a people-centre economy; safe movement of people; and asset management and infrastructure.
