City Council approves two of the four pillars of Mississauga’s COVID-19 Recovery Framework

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Published July 17, 2020 at 2:35 pm

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Mississauga City Council has approved the Corporate and the Financial Pillar Recovery Plans, two of the four pillars outlined in the City’s overall COVID-19 Recovery Framework.

On May 13, Council received the COVID-19 Recovery Framework, which provides a plan for what recovery operations will look like for the City.

The Recovery Framework focuses on four key areas: Community, Economic, Financial and Corporate. Each pillar of the Framework will be presented to Council for review and approval before the end of July.

“Mississauga’s COVID-19 recovery plan is thoughtful, thorough, inclusive, and identifies the short and long-term actions we need to take to help our City rebound from this crisis while preventing a second wave. “Residents and businesses have all felt the impacts of the pandemic over the last five months, and it’s time for us to move forward,” Mayor Bonnie Crombie said in a news release.

“Recovery won’t happen overnight, and I ask that residents and businesses be patient as we work to adjust to our new normal. Our strengths as a world-class city when it comes to recovery and financial planning, innovation in technology and our willingness to adapt will be vital in our efforts to successfully recover from this crisis.  Mississauga is strong, ready and prepared to overcome any challenges before us,” she continued.

The City has been working closely with Peel Public Health to ensure the Framework follows public health directions as well as to ensure the City can restore services safely.

“The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work, interact and engage with residents and businesses. Through the Pillar Recovery Plans, our goal is to return the city and community to normal or near normal operations,” Paul Mitcham, City manager and chief administrative officer, said in the same release.

“Recovery actions are likely to last months or even years, but we continue to adapt, improve and innovate, so we can support our local residents and businesses on our path to recovery,” he continued.

On July 8, the Corporate Recovery Pillar, and the Financial Recovery Pillar, led by Gary Kent, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, were approved by Council.

The Corporate Recovery Pillar considers the impacts of COVID-19 on the reopening of City facilities, it includes:

  • Restoring full operations while keeping employees and customers safe and following public health directives as City workplaces reopen
  • Business units and facilities will be opened based on priorities of service
  • Incorporate positive changes and efficiencies such as moving the service counters to the ground floors to improve customer service
  • Managing in-person services by appointment through a new app
  • Expand online services
  • Screening of staff and members of the public when entering facilities
  • More frequent cleaning of areas such as doorknobs and service counters

The Financial Recovery Pillar considers the financial impact of COVID-19 on the City, it includes:

  • Seven financial principals have been established to eliminate the 2020 deficit and reduce the echo effect of 2022 and beyond
  • Cost cutting options will be analyzed over the summer and discussed with Budget Committee in October 2020
  • Staff will continue to work with Council to refine the budget and look for ways to trim the proposed increases
  • The City will continue to look for cost-saving measures
  • The City will continue to advocate to higher levels of government for financial assistance

The remaining two pillars, the Economic Recovery Pillar, led by Andrew Whittemore, Commissioner, Planning and Building; and the Community Recovery Pillar, led by Shari Lichterman, Commissioner, Community Services, are scheduled to be brought before Council on July 22.

The Economic Recovery Pillar considers the economic impacts of COVID-19 on the business community, it includes:

  • The City will play a key role in helping the economy and supporting businesses and community to grow and prosper through a Build Back Better campaign
    • The campaign will include the themes: buy local, a focus on the airport and preparing for a second wave
  • The City will  encourage participation and collaboration with industry and business stakeholders to take into account the needs of the entire business community through the newly formed Economic Resiliency Task Force
  • To assist with Mississauga’s economic recovery, the City will continue to advocate for financial relief and incentives from other levels of government
  • The reduction in transit ridership has resulted in significant revenue losses. The City will continue to request financial assistance from the provincial and federal governments to help fund operations and maintain appropriate service levels. This initiative, under the Economic Pillar, will be led by Geoff Wright, Commissioner, Transportation & Works

The Community Recovery Pillar focuses on the services, tactics and programs that are public-facing, and impact Mississauga’s residents directly, it includes:

  • Plans for restoring and reopening City services, including Recreation, Parks, Libraries, Arts & Culture, Events, Sports and other facilities and programs
  • Continued engagement and consultation with the community to understand the impacts of this crisis, both short and longer term, to respond with programs and services to support resident and community group recovery
  • Leveraging partnerships with other levels of government and community organizations to advance recovery and re-engage our residents in our vibrant municipal life

Cover photo courtesy of Bonnie Crombie via Twitter

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