When it comes to the ability to engage with Civic officials these days of COVID-19 response have provided for some confusing messages of late from civic officials, with the main theme that of limited access for the most part.
Please make an appointment, to make an appointment. City Hall sees large volume of calls as new public access procedures move forward
The City of Prince Rupert's 'new normal' will feature less physical contact with the public
City hall functions for public may shift to by Appointment Only basis
Early on in the city's Covid response we learned that access to City Hall would be limited to an appointment only basis, a process that for the most part owing to a large volume of calls, meant that residents could either leave a message for a return call, or try their luck at reaching a civic official later.
With June one of the busiest of times in the year for City Hall, residents have been urged to call and book an appointment, or turn to on line options to address their needs.
That has seemingly meant that some of the city's residents have missed steps in accessing the Home Ownership grant, a theme reviewed Monday by the City's Financial Officer Corinne Bomben, who noted an unusually high number of unclaimed grants this year.
"We are finding though that many who have paid online, have missed the part where they need to apply for the homeowner grant. Normally people who would come to City Hall would be prompted by our customer service staff, to fill out the application found at the bottom of their tax notice. Given that people are now paying a different way and there is no one prompting a homeowner to fill in the application, it is easy to understand why this step is being missed" -- Chief Financial Officer Corinne Bomben
On Monday, Ms. Bomben did note that city staff were reaching out to those identified with the home owner grant balance still listed as outstanding for this year to seek to resolve that status.
Her presentation to Council did seem to highlight the shift if focus away from direct contact with the civic offices on Third Avenue West and some of the challenges that the lack of direct engagement may be providing for residents.
As far as the Home Grant concerns go, residents can also confirm with city staff to confirm that their payments and applications have been received by city staff by calling 250-627-9060, though patience is requested as the lines are apparently rather busy these days.
Ms. Bomben's presentation and tutorial on tax payments can be viewed from the City's Video archive starting at the seven minute mark.
When it comes to the call for comments from the public by the Mayor on Monday, the reason that no one approached the microphone could be that there has been no clear guidance from the City as to how many residents can attend the regular Council meetings and what protocols may be in place for any attendance.
In fact, as recent as the day of this weeks Council session, the advice found on the City Website indicated that the COVID restrictions were still in place, with no indication as to what the parameters on the limitations on physical attendance are.
The main focus for residents it seems one which continues to direct would be participants towards the preference of the online stream and to submit any comments in writing.
The latter an option that has at least served the city well this past Monday with one resident submitting his comments through that format, with the Corporate Administrator reading them out at Monday's Council session.
The topic of communication with the public during COVID made for a Council discussion topic in early May, considering that there still seems quite a bit of confusion on access, the city's elected officials may want to ramp up that communication engagement to better get the message making across.
With City Council now on its summer schedule of just one meeting a month, the Mayor, Council and city staff have at least a month to get the word out as to how the public meetings will move forward and how many of the city's residents may be allowed to drop in and watch civic democracy in motion.
Hopefully they make use of all their information streams to make the rules clear for all, providing for clear and concise advice as to how the community can continue to engage with their municipal government.
For more notes related to Monday's Council Session see our Council Timeline Feature here.
A wider overview of Council discussion themes can be explored here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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