West Kelowna Q4 hiring during pandemic tops 2019
More employees were hired by the City of West Kelowna during the last three months of 2020 than in the same period a year earlier.
Fourteen new staffers were hired between October and December, compared to five who were brought on board in the last quarter of 2019. The city now has 256 full-time equivalent positions, according to information to be presented to city council on Tuesday.
The regular operations update also indicates that $120.3 million worth of new construction was approved last year, down from $140.3 million in 2019.
However, the report says the 2020 values were on par with recent years, with 2019 being an “anomaly with a large proportion of construction values coming from large multi-family units”.
There was “no significant decrease” in building associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the report says. In fact, total planning applications rose slightly last year, to 76 from 67 in 2019.
A total of 504 new business licences were issued by the City of West Kelowna last year, compared to 362 in 2019. There was an increase in “home-based business applications in 2020”, the report says.
Total “bylaw activities” last year were put at 5,418, up from 5,381 in 2019. “Despite COVID-19, overall workload has not decreased,” the bylaw report says. Bylaw officers respond to calls about neighbour disputes, building infractions, traffic calls, zoning issues and undesirable behaviour in parks and public spaces.
From October through December, city bylaw “activities” included 175 public health orders, the report says. These are described as consisting of “complaints and pro-active inspections of businesses, parks, and trails.’”