If you had to guess, what do you think is the main reason Collingwood residents call town hall?
At their meeting on Nov. 4, councillors got a look at both the third-quarter operational plan, and the third-quarter financial report. Both reports, when read together, paint a picture of what subject is at the forefront of the minds of Collingwood residents.
Turns out, it's parking.
In 2024 so far, town hall has fielded 22,000 inquiries to their customer service department.
The top 10 inquiries are:
- Waterfront Parking: 3,960 inquiries
- Taxes: 3,465
- Downtown Parking: 2,465
- Parks, Recreation and Culture: 1,751
- Public Works and Engineering: 1,072
- Switch Board: 1,008
- Transit: 948
- Bylaw: 697
- Dog Tags: 669
- Commissioned Signatures: 529
The average time it takes for the town’s customer service department to resolve cases is 13.7 days. This number doesn’t include interactions completed in the moment at the front counter of town hall.
An emailed customer satisfaction survey after cases are closed shows a 7.5/10 satisfaction rate. The Happy-or-Not Kiosk at town hall showed 92 of people left very satisfied.
As part of the town’s financial update, town staff are noting a substantial gain in parking revenue this year. The town had expected to bring in $201,000 through parking tickets in 2024. Year to date, the town has already brought in $489,000.
“The first and third ones have to do with parking,” said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin. “We’re ahead on our parking revenue.”
Hamlin noted she had received calls to her office from residents who felt bylaw officers were waiting at their cars when the metres ran out.
“(They said) parking enforcement staff have been particularly rigorous this year,” she said. Acting manager of bylaw services Adam Harrod noted that he is aware of the recent criticism, but responded that officers will give a 20-minute grace period when a metre expires.
“We do strive to mitigate these concerns,” he said.
