We need your voice for the next strategic plan / What does Clerk's do? / Photo of the month: Comic Con

Issue 24: March 2023

What kind of community do you want to build?

Contributor: Ross Howey

We need your voice on the Internal Staff Engagement Team

We have begun an important project that shapes all of our work: creating the new 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. Your voice is vital in this process. You know your team and workplace best, we need your help reaching your colleagues, so we can hear from each and every staff member at the Region of Waterloo.

Learn how you can be part of the Internal Staff Engagement Team.

Tales of two departments: A Q&A with Commissioners Jennifer Rose and Mathieu Goetzke

Contributor: Mary Jo Milhomens

The Transportation and Environmental Services department split into two departments late last year, and that gave us an opportunity to welcome commissioners for each new department. Jennifer Rose leads Engineering and Environmental Services, and Mathieu Goetzke is at the helm of Transportation Services. I caught up with the two commissioners recently to talk about their first impressions, their visions, and a few other things you might be surprised to know!

Read Jennifer and Mathieu's Q&A .

What do they do?

Council Administrative Services ("Clerk's")

Contributor: Sherry Morley

“If we have a 12-hour meeting and no one notices we’re there, we did great.”

That’s how Deputy Clerk Tim Brubacher measures his team’s success in their support role at Regional Council meetings. Council Administrative Services or “Clerks” helps with procedural questions, minute taking, and drafting motions for major decisions, all while running a live broadcast.

“There is a lot that can go wrong and the team does a wonderful job responding in real time while making sure that the meeting continues undisturbed. I find it especially stressful when motions get crafted by Council on the fly, everyone is watching you type. Who likes people watching them type? It turns out, there are a lot of words I don’t know how to spell that I rely on autocorrect for.”

“There’s pressure,” says Julie Hale, Council/Committee Support Specialist. “You’ve got to be on sometimes for 10 hours straight, it’s not like a zoom call and you can phase out. You have to be engaged the whole time.”

They say the role also feels rewarding.

“We are around the table for all of the major decisions,” says Tim. “When ION got approved, when the CTS site was approved in Kitchener, all of those public input meetings. It’s the pride of knowing you’re helping make democracy work.”

“It can be rewarding when you get a successful meeting,” says Julie. “We also have to predict the time frame for the day and when we’re right on the money it feels good, but other times when we’re way behind schedule it hurts your soul.”

In the lead up to meetings, Clerk’s helps with Council reports and building agendas. They recently began using a digital program called eScribe to make the process easier and less time consuming. Writers draft their council reports in the program, and then it pulls the information into an agenda. Other benefits include live closed captioning for meetings, which is compliant with accessibility legislation. Councillors can also request to speak through the eScribe app, which is especially helpful during hybrid meetings.

New hybrid buses join the GRT fleet

Contributor: James Wood

Grand River Transit customers will ride in brand new wheels this year. A set of 29 hybrid buses have arrived at GRT garages. The vehicles were built by Nova Bus in Saint-Eustache, a Montreal suburb. The buses will replace buses from 2007 and 2008 – most of them fueled by diesel. The new vehicles are part of GRT’s move to a hybrid-electric fleet.

Oswald Resendes, Assistant Manager of Production and Transit Fleet explains the steps involved in getting a bus on the road.

STEP #1: Pre-build meeting

GRT provides the specifications, including paint colours and seat layouts, needed for the new buses before they are assembled.

STEP #2: Save the date

Nova Bus sends a detailed package showing how the vehicles will look after production. With the package agreed on, a production date is set and assembly begins.

STEP #3: First look

When vehicles come off the production line at Nova’s facility in Quebec, GRT management and technicians travel to inspect the buses and make sure they meet the specifications.

STEP #4: Delivery day!

Couriers bring the buses from Quebec to GRT garages in Kitchener and Waterloo. On arrival, they’re inspected to make sure they’re in top shape.

STEP #5: Safety first

Buses are formally handed over and Ministry of Transportation inspections are completed. GRT installs final touches like the radio system, farebox, driver barrier, cupholders, interior decals and custom exterior decals like the new hybrid bus stripe.

STEP #6: Road ready

With everything completed, the bus receives a final safety check and is formally released for use in transit service. Resendes says the entire fleet management and management support team takes great satisfaction in seeing new vehicles get out on the road.

“We have an amazing team here,” said Resendes. “Acquisition is a multi-step process, and you get an amazing result at the end. With the high demand for transit in the Region and the growth we have ahead of us, everyone here wants to get the new vehicles on the road. I’m just happy to be a part of it."

Portraits of Our People

More than just a hole in the ground: How a cell at the landfill is engineered to protect the environment

Contributor: Sherry Morley

During International Women's Month, we're profiling two engineers in Waste Management who are working on a landfill project that ensures our drinking water and storm water ponds are protected.

Video profiling two engineers in waste management

Enhancing Learning at work offerings based on your input

Contributor: Chris Wilker

Thank you to the 535 employees who completed the Learning at Work survey! We launched this survey last November to get further insight on what you wanted to learn and how you wanted to learn, to help identify the top training needs of our employees and leaders.

We heard you and we better understand your learning needs. We are refocusing our 2023 Learning at Work catalogue so our courses further reflect our overall organizational and employee needs. For example, as one of the top learning needs is communication skills, we are offering courses on Candid Conversations and Conflict Management in the first half of the year. We know you want to learn more about Excel so we are offering additional Excel courses for you. We are also expanding our online course offerings with additional courses from our content partners, including courses on Data Literacy.

We will share the survey results this spring. In the meantime, we encourage you to check out the Learning at Work catalogue (full version, or sorted by sub-category) for the most current course offerings as we are adding classes throughout the year. We know it may not be easy to search for the courses you are looking for, so we are finding options that improve the search functionality to make it easier for you. Stay tuned via Learning at Work!

Name change for PHE reflects staff expertise

Contributor: Gina Alderman

In February, Public Health and Emergency Services changed their department title to Region of Waterloo Public Health and Paramedic Services.

“This ensures that the term Paramedic Services, which better describes the broad scope of skills and expertise of our modern Paramedic Services colleagues, is displayed clearly in our departmental name,” said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Medical Officer of Health.

The acronym PHP is now used internally to identify the department.

Photo of the month

Do you have a photo of staff to share? Send your photo to us with a short caption, and we will try to include it in a future issue!

Commissioners Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang and Jennifer Rose attended Comic Con together. As Jennifer stated, "We both love science fiction. She loves Star Wars and I love Star Trek. We’ve both wanted to go but never been able to find someone who would dress up with us."

(Photo taken by Jennifer's husband, Mike Westwood)

Share your story here or at a town hall

We are looking for stories that show how we serve people in different ways, and how staff are working together to achieve our vision. Email us with yours!

Our strategic focus areas

Icons representing the Region of Waterloo's strategic focus areas.

This issue is lovingly prepared by communicators across the organization.

Design by Creative Multimedia Services.