KENILWORTH – Wellington North will use about $12,000 from the province’s Municipal Modernization Program to purchase a mail folding/stuffing machine and for work on redesign of the township’s municipal office here.
A March 22 report to council from finance director Adam McNabb notes the township annually issues approximately 16,000 pieces of mail associated with taxation alone.
“This practice has historically been a completely manual process, which is time consuming, repetitive and costly,” notes McNabb in the report.
The report also states the move to an automated process will “significantly reduce the likelihood of township staff developing musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), which can occur suddenly or develop gradually over weeks, months or even years when individuals are subject to fixed or awkward postures and/or repetition.”
Such disorders are the number one type of lost-time work injury reported to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ontario.
The report indicates the township can purchase a “fully refurbished and warrantied” folding/stuffing machine that “will streamline the process significantly” for $6,000.
However, since the mailroom at the Kenilworth administrative office does not have the physical space needed for the machine in its current format, staff recommended reconfiguring the space to accommodate the new device.
Reconfiguration – removal of old filing cabinets and the design, build and installation of custom shelving and table space – is also expected to cost around $6,000.
Staff recommended the projects be funded from the Municipal Modernization allocation received in March 2019.
Wellington North received $618,175 from the program and placed much of it in reserves for future projects aimed at improving efficiency.
However, the report notes there is an annual maintenance agreement of approximately $1,100 for the machine that will be funded from future operating budgets.
Staff anticipate the annual cost will be “more than offset” by savings in staff labour directly attributed to the previous manual processes.
Council approved the expenditure.
