Provincial funding update, comments on Bill 97, employee engagement and more

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

Provincial funding announcements

County Council receives an update next council meeting on updated provincial funding impacting the 2023 Budget. Oxford County is receiving an additional $4.99 million in provincial funding over estimated to support:

• staffing, training, resident programs, and the Family Transition Program at Woodingford Lodge;
• early learning and child care programs; and,
• the County’s green fleet infrastructure.

The funding will directly offset $486,061 from the County levy, the amount it collects for taxation. Additional funding support is also expected in 2023 for community paramedicine programs, infection prevention and control measures at Woodingford Lodge, and homelessness prevention.

CS 2023-15: Provincial Funding Announcements 2023-2024

County comments on Bill 97 and Provincial Policy Statement

Oxford County staff is presenting to Council preliminary comments on Ontario’s Bill 97 - Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023, and the review of the Provincial Policy Statement, which serves as Ontario’s guideline for land use planning. For the Provincial Policy Statement, the report notes that while some of the wide-ranging changes are positive, others are confusing or even concerning, such as those that could reduce Oxford’s agricultural lands or that impact how, when and where the community will continue to grow, including the expansion of municipal infrastructure. The report notes that Bill 97 addresses some, but not all, of the outstanding issues created by Bills 23 and 109, including making further changes to requirements for additional residential units.

Staff is seeking Council’s direction to prepare and submit initial comments as part of the Province’s public consultation process, a step to be taken in collaboration with other municipal government partners and advocacy groups that share Oxford’s concerns. 

CP 2023-126: Review of A Place to Grow and Provincial Policy Statement | Presentation

Employee engagement survey results

County Council will hear results of the 2022 Employee Engagement Service to see progression from the results of previous surveys in 2017 and 2014. The 2022 survey show a slight decrease since 2017 in the degree to which employees are engaged in both their jobs and the organization, although Oxford’s results are in line with those of other, comparable municipalities. It is expected that the COVID-19 pandemic, and increasing employee turnover, has had an impact on employee engagement.

HR 2023-04: 2022 Employee Engagement Survey Results and Resulting Actions | Presentation

Other reports and presentations

• Delegation: Oxford County Situation Table
• Public meeting and report CP 2023-142: Application for Official Plan Amendment OP 22-28-8 – 2733153 Ontario Inc. and 2774487 Ontario Inc.
• CP 2023-137: Application for Draft Plan of Condominium and Exemption from Draft Plan Approval CD 22-03-8 – Southside Construction Management Inc.
• PW 2023-26: 2022 Water Quality Management System Update
• HR 2023-05: Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Performance Evaluation Policy

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