The devil is in the details, or lack thereof for Bradford’s new events strategy draft report.
That was the response from several councillors following a report from recreation and client services manager Nick Warman, as well as a presentation from Justin Rousseau of Expedition Management Consulting, during committee of the whole June 4.
“We’ll kick over some more rocks,” Rousseau said in assuring council he would try to answers to as many of their questions as possible, but “if the data doesn’t exist, you’re not going to get it.”
That followed his explanation of how the town could change the way it delivers public events like the annual Canada Day celebration and Carrot Fest over the next decade.
That’s based on the proposed events strategy which focuses on six goals:
- Increase human resources — Recommends the town hire three new positions: Community event facilitator, event marketing and revenue generation specialist, and an administrative assistant
- Encourage third-party delivery — Recommends the town outsource community event operation to third-party organizations “wherever practical”
- Evaluate which events the town will invest in — Determine whether each is meeting the strategy’s intended outcomes, and reduce, remove or expand programming based on core outcomes identified in the strategy
- Increase municipal investment in event production — Suggests town consider increasing annual investment in events in order to keep pace with rising costs
- Increase event revenues — Suggests town consider increasing admissions, vending commissions and more to generate additional revenue
- Improve evaluation processes — Recommends the town maintain ongoing evaluations of the return on investment, including from social, economic and environmental perspectives.
Rousseau explained that even as some workload is outsourced to third parties, the town would still need to hire more staff because, while some of those groups might be more professional, some are also likely to be smaller community groups in need of support, without which “it usually doesn’t work very well.”
While he praised staff for the work they do on town events, Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine gave his “full support” for involving third parties.
“We cannot rely on our municipality (staff) to be doing it all themselves. It’s not sustainable,” he said, adding that the town would likely still remain responsible for staple events like Carrot Fest.
That sentiment was echoed by Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney who emphasized the value of having cultural events hosted by members of those cultures and community groups.
“Culture is who we are,” she said.
Some councillors were more hesitant, though.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper had concerns with the strategy, comparing Bradford to municipalities like Whitchurch-Stouffville, Aurora and Newmarket, which in 2021 had populations of 49,864, 62,057 and 87,942, respectively. Each hosted 22-23 community events delivered by municipal staff, according to the report.
For the same time, Bradford was listed as having a population of 42,880 and hosting 18 events delivered by municipal staff.
Harper also wanted to see more comparisons on how much other municipalities are spending to facilitate third parties and what levels of satisfaction they accomplished.
“How do we know it actually works?” he asked.
Mayor James Leduc also took issue with the comparisons chosen and asked to see their strategic plans to better understand how the new approach could work.
The mayor also emphasized the importance of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library and its role as a cultural centre, which might be able to act as a “support system” to “enhance our service” without hiring new employees.
“We run multiple programs out of here ... and we have people here that are actual event providers,” he said.
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott summed up the concerns around the council table.
“The devil’s going to be in the details of how we implement it,” he said. “I don’t want to lose what we do well today to chase something new.”
The proposed new direction comes in response an organizational structure which “is not sufficient” to handle rising costs and increased expectations for community programming that have come with “rapid population growth,” coupled with “unclear roles” for staff and a lack of resources and strategic planning, according to the draft strategy.
“The current situation is not sustainable and if left unchecked, there is a risk of staff burnout, low resident satisfaction or even greater risks to safety, infrastructure, and the environment,” says the strategy.
According to Warman’s report, work on the strategy began in October of last year, and after a future 30-day public consultation period, Rousseau said a final version of the strategy is expected to be presented to council sometime this fall, ahead of public budget deliberations anticipated in mid November.
Committee recommended council receive the report and presentation for information only, but asked for more information before the final version comes forward.
Recommendations from committee of the whole are considered for approval at the next regular council meeting.
