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photo of outside of council chambers inside the OCAB building

County Council meetings are broadcast live at www.oxfordcounty.ca/livestream. To download the full County Council agenda or view past recordings of council meetings, visit www.oxfordcounty.ca/council. 

 

Update on $10-day child care

County Council will receive an update next meeting on the new Canada Wide Early Learning & Child Care (CWELCC) agreement that will bring licensed child care to Oxford families at an average of $10 per day by September 2025. Parents and caregivers will begin to see incremental decreases before then, starting with a 25% reduction retroactive to April 2022, followed by a 50% decrease to be implemented by the end of December 2022.  CWELCC is funded by the Ministry of Education and delivered by licensed child care providers in a community, including licensed home child care providers.

HS 2022-06 - Canada Wide Early Learning Child Care Agreement

 

Additional residential units in Oxford’s rural areas

County Council is being asked to consider amendments to the Official Plan that would provide direction on establishing additional residential units (ARUs) in Oxford’s five rural townships (Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Norwich, South-West Oxford and Zorra). ARUs are smaller, secondary dwelling units that are inside, attached to, or on the same property as a primary single detached, semi-detached, or townhouse dwelling. These policy amendments will provide the basis for each of the five townships to establish local zoning and other requirements that allow residents to establish ARUs in rural settlements and on rural residential and agricultural lots, where appropriate. Ontario’s More Homes, More Choices Act amended the Planning Act to direct municipalities to enact policy and zoning changes for ARUs as one way of addressing the housing shortage. More information is available at www.oxfordcounty.ca/speakup.

CP 2022-332: Proposed Amendment to the Official Plan (OP 22-16-9) Additional Residential Units in Rural Areas

 

County turnover and workload trends

In a year when Statistics Canada noted the highest quarterly job vacancies on record (957,500), a staff report on employee turnover and workload is showing that Oxford County is experiencing similar staffing challenges. The County’s voluntary turnover rate, which represents employees who have resigned or retired, is estimated to be 12.5% this year compared to 7.8% in 2018 and 5.3% a decade ago (2012).

The report notes that since the COVID-19 pandemic there has been an increase in retirements, staff moving to other parts of the country or province, and competition from remote work opportunities. Also referenced in the report are the results of a 2022 management-level survey that showed 72% (29 out of 40) of supervisors and managers are currently or have been experiencing “burnout”, attributed in part to workload and staff turnover. The County will continue to monitor this trend and will use information from an upcoming employee engagement survey to develop a strategy for employee attraction and retention, as well as overall employee engagement, satisfaction and wellbeing.

HR 2022-06 - Employee Turnover and Workload Data

 

Other reports and presentations

 

Questions or comments?                                                                   

Council this Week highlights Council activities for the public, employees and community partners. Please send your questions and comments to communications@oxfordcounty.ca