THE FIRST COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT OF

THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF MARKHAM IN THE YEAR 2003

 

 

Civic Centre                                                                                             July 8, 2003

 

Attendance

 

Regional Councillor F. Scarpitti

Councillor J. Heath, Chair

Councillor D. Horchik

 

 

 

J. Livey, Chief Administrative Officer

T. Webster, Strategy, Innovation & Partnership

M. Rebane, Corporate Communications

C. Harrison, Corporate Communications

B. O’Connor, Reed Jones

J. Kosch, Council/Committee Secretary

 

 

 

 

The Communications Committee meeting convened at the hour of 2:10 p.m. with Councillor J. Heath in the Chair.

 

 

1.                  REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL – DETAILED REVIEW OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS (12.2 & 7.0)

 

Councillor Heath asked for a brief overview on the RFP for the Review of Corporate Communications Operations and called on J. Livey to provide details.  J. Livey provided a review of the functions of Corporate Communications and then asked T. Webster to review the actual RFP.  T. Webster reviewed the terms of reference and questioned whether communications role was doing what it should be; what direction should it take; and what other options could be considered.  T. Webster stated that through the RFP the Mayor and Council will be consulted to obtain their input as to how well communications is working throughout the Corporation and beyond.  Meanwhile, surveys have been done of approximately 266 residents, how well received were they; were residents willing to participate.  It was through the Core Services process that the need for this type of review was established. The suggestion was made that the cultural venues should also be included in the review process. However, it was explained by staff that Culture is no longer part of the Corporate Communications Department - it now resides in the Recreation Services area - and any review of the Cultural Communications would be a separate undertaking.

 

Other changes to the RFP included ensuring that Human Resources were included in the review of job descriptions, skill sets and staffing resources; the review of communication delivery strategies also include the private sector as well as 5 or 6 larger municipalities similar to Markham; under the Deliverables component, the point relating to gaps in staffing or skills sets be deleted in its entirety.

 

T. Webster asked for Committee’s endorsement of this report.  The revised RFP will be circulated and it was agreed that a meeting be set up for later in July or the early part of August to review the short-listed consultants before award of the contract.  When the interviews are being set up, Council members should be notified and attend the interviews if possible.  The RFP will also be more specific in what is required from this review.  Regional Councillor F. Scarpitti asked that a PowerPoint presentation be made at the next meeting to show the current organization chart of the department; the budget of the department; also would like to hear from the staff themselves before getting the consultant’s report.  The Chair of the Standing Committee should be involved in the process. 

 

2.         LETTER FROM REGION OF YORK – UPDATE OF ROAD SIGNS
IN AREA MUNICIPALITIES  (5.10)

M. Rebane reviewed the letter received from the Region of York and their request to update the population figures across the Region; she has spoken to Development Services and they have provided a population estimate of 235,000.  J. Livey will follow-up with the Region to establish when Markham will hit 250,000.  It was agreed that population figures should be updated yearly; also there should be changes done to all the entry signs into Markham; and this issue was referred back to the next Committee meeting for further discussion relative to the signs put up by the Region – rationalization.

3.         INFORMATION FLOW TO COUNCIL (12.2 & 7.0)

M. Rebane provided a hand-out of the proposed news brief to be circulated on a routine basis to all of Council along with the CAO and Commissioners; with incorporating the revisions as discussed, the publication should be available by Friday, July 11.

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

The Communications Committee meeting adjourned at the hour of 3:00 p.m.

 

 

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