My City at Work

Provides fire suppression and medical response, fire prevention and public education, specialty rescue response, training and dispatch services to keep the community safe. In 2020:

• Responded to approximately 5000 incidents
• Communications Centre answered approximately 25,000 calls
• 6 fire stations plus headquarters and Training centre with multi-level fire training tower for training City firefighters plus renting out to other municipalities.
• Richmond Hill Fire and Emergency Services staff participated in 31,000 hours of training.

Did you know? The City’s Fire and Emergency Services Communications Centre dispatches calls for Aurora, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, Stouffville and Georgina in addition to Richmond Hill. They dispatch to approximately 15,000 incidents each year.

Maintains roads and sidewalks as well as stormwater ponds to ensure they are in good condition and safe.

• Inspect, monitor and repair 1079 km of local roads including road surface, curbs, storm drains, catch basins
• Responsible for 16,879 street lights and 800 km of sidewalks
• Operates more than 85 stormwater ponds, 650 km of storm sewers and 18,000 catch basins

Did you know? Richmond Hill maintains all sidewalks in the City, but York Region maintains regional roads like Major Mackenzie Drive, Leslie Street, Bathurst Street, Elgin Mills Road, 16th Avenue and portions of Yonge Street.

• Includes citywide snow windrow clearing service to all local, residential driveways 
• For each winter event (snowfall):
  • 1079+ kms roads salted/plowed
  • 800 kms sidewalks salted/plowed
  • 43,490 windrows cleared
  • 32 km trails salted/plowed (16.5 km added in 2021)
• The City has 141 staff trained for winter events, plus 24 road plows, 35 sidewalk plows and 35 windrow machines.

• Maintained waste collection service throughout the pandemic
• Temporarily increased the garbage limit during the initial phase of the pandemic
• Introduced garbage tags and bins online purchase and curbside pick-up

Provide assistance for general inquiries, responds to questions or concerns regarding City programs and services, including an online portal to report a problem with a service and translation services. In 2020:

• Transitioned to a fully virtual environment for phone and email service while City buildings remain closed
• Extended service to 7 days per week for the initial months of the pandemic to address significant increases in public inquiries due to COVID-19
• Assisted over 79,350 residents over the phone
• Responded to over 15,940 emails and 4,330 web inquiries

Help to bring the community together through local and citywide events, plus recreation programming across the city. In 2020:

• Provided fun, safe, virtual events to celebrate Canada Day and First Night
• Hosted drive-thru Santa Claus parade and drive-in concerts to entertain the community safely
• Created popular activity kits to keep residents’ creative minds busy
• Continue to offer virtual programs and online fitness classes plus free resources for ideas on how to stay active at home during the pandemic

Provide a wide variety of facilities for community use including unique options such as The Wave Pool, Eyer Homestead Ropes Challenge and the Richmond Green Sports Dome.

• Operate 11 community centres, with pools, fitness centres and meeting space
• Offer 5 arenas, including the new NHL-sized ice pad at Ed Sackfield Arena
• Present wide variety of shows at Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

*facilities were closed or operating at limited capacity for portions of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions

Richmond Hill Public Library provides in-person and digital services for the entire community through four locations, as well as access to learning apps, eBooks and more through our catalogue and website. 

• Served the community through 1.1 million in-person visits, 1.4 million electronic visits, 709,116 social media visits (2019)
• 59,093 active cardholders (2019)
• Loaned 1.2 million print items, 197,369 audio visual items and 678,217 electronic materials (2019)
• Offered 3,993 programs on a variety of subject areas and interests, which were attended by over 70,000 adults, teens and children (2019)  

Provide parks, trails and open spaces for Richmond Hill residents to get outside for fresh air and fun.

• Maintain 147 parks, 150 kms of trails and 544 hectares of natural areas including 32 km of trails maintained (salted/plowed) through the winter
• Offer the Richmond Green skate trail, a 250 metre outdoor, looped trail 
• Maintained trails and parks for safe, physically-distanced use during the pandemic
• Offered 15 safe and fun splash pads to beat the heat, including the 2020 opening of the new splash pad at David Hamilton Park

Did you know? Richmond Hill parks and trails are beautiful places to see the fall colours? Visit 6 Instagram-worthy Places to See Fall Colours in Richmond Hill to learn more. 

Our environmental programming provides residents opportunities to learn about the environment and participate in initiatives to make Richmond Hill stronger and healthier. In 2020: 

• Launched our Climate Change Framework which positions the City to manage climate change more effectively
• Partnered with local schools, businesses and community groups to plant 8,800 trees and shrubs and restore 5 hectares of land in parks and natural areas through the Community Stewardship Program
• Distributed 915 trees and shrubs, 2,350 wildflowers, 350 rain barrels and 300 backyard composters purchased by residents for their property at an affordable cost through the annual Healthy Yards Program
• Gave out 200 free Monarch-friendly plant kits to residents to help restore butterfly habitat by planting a pollinator garden on their property
• Launched the City’s first Urban Forest Management Plan this year, strengthening our ability to maintain a healthy urban forest until 2040
• Continued work on the creation of the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) by bringing together staff, key stakeholders and the public through Resilient RH public engagement activities

Key services like human resources, communicating City business to residents, Mayor and Council Office expenses, procurement, accounting and property tax administration all fall within Administration and Other Services. In 2020:

• Removed late payment fees and interest on property taxes and water bills from April until the end of 2020, to help those struggling financially due to COVID-19
• Transitioned to electronic Council and Committee meetings to ensure continued accountable and transparent government during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Confirmed the Council Strategic Priorities 2020-2022
• Achieved a platinum-level certification for ISO 37120 that measures indicators for City services and quality of life
• Launched a monthly e-newsletter and bi-annual direct mail communication for all Richmond Hill households to give residents more ways to learn what’s happening at the City  
• Supported local businesses with the Recover Richmond Hill Action Plan and drove economic recovery through innovation 
• Reorganized to deliver more effective and efficient services  

Richmond Hill is in a unique position, poised for considerable residential and commercial growth now and well into the future. Planning and development ensure new buildings and land use are safe and appropriate to our growing City. In 2020:

• Introduced online building permit and tree permit applications to modernize operations and improve customer service
• Launched an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) System to effectively manage the maintenance of the City’s 50,000 traditional infrastructure assets, 45,000 street trees and nearly 700 hectares of natural forest
• Implemented Phase 1 of the Planning and Regulatory Management (PRM) System to facilitate operational efficiency and delivery of e-services
• Began work to update Richmond Hill’s Official Plan

This small portion of your property tax bill goes toward capital projects including the repair or replacement of existing infrastructure, such as roof replacements and other repairs at various City facilities, parks revitalization (playgrounds, artificial turf replacement, etc.) and repairs and reconstruction of local roads (not including regional roads such as Bayview Avenue and Major Mackenzie Drive). In 2020:

• Celebrated the opening of two modernized community facilities: Ed Sackfield Arena expansion featuring an NHL-sized ice rink, fitness centre and the City’s first indoor walking track and David Hamilton Park including a new splash pad
• Launched the Lake Wilcox Boardwalk, a suspended 130 metre long and 3 metre wide crescent shaped pedestrian walkway constructed in Lake Wilcox that connects to the existing promenade 
• Grand opening of the state-of-the-art Oak Ridges Library, a two-storey, 19,000 sq ft facility with meeting rooms, a children’s program room, computer room, Maker Space room, expanded library collection and dedicated areas for children, tweens, teens and adults

In the modern world, it’s crucial for the City to stay up-to-date on information technology, including cyber security to protect City assets and the private information of residents.

• Completed eight Digitization Program Projects in 2020 including Water Bill Payment, online request and payment forms for Waste Bins and Garbage Tags, Tree Permits, Engineering Drawings and Tow Truck Licence Renewals

The Community Standards division upholds Richmond Hill’s by-laws to ensure the whole community can enjoy our City. In 2020:

• Introduced pay parking at Lake Wilcox Park for non-residents to ensure all park users contribute to maintenance
• Implemented new Noise and Idling By-laws to better reflect modern life