Richmond Hill Officially Becomes a City
Council passed By-law 56-19 to officially change Richmond Hill’s name to The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill. With the change, Council reinforced Richmond Hill’s position in York Region and the Province as an urbanized and competitive municipality. The change in status does not change Richmond Hill’s status as a lower-tier municipality. It also does not affect the amount of funding available to Richmond Hill from other levels of government or agencies. For more information, please refer to Richmond Hill’s news release of March 26, 2019, Richmond Hill Becomes a City, the original Member Motion or contact Mayor Dave Barrow at 905-771-2493 or dave.barrow@richmondhill.ca. 

Integrity Commissioner Contract Extension
ADR Chambers Inc. will continue to serve as Richmond Hill’s Integrity Commissioner for an additional one-year term. The Integrity Commissioner is responsible for providing advice to Members of Council on ethical issues and conducting investigations of possible breach of the Council Code of Conduct. Under the Municipal Act, 2001, which was revised March 1, 2019, all municipalities are required to appoint an Integrity Commissioner to promote accountability and transparency between Members of Council and the public. Richmond Hill has retained the services of an Integrity Commissioner since 2010. The initial contract between Richmond Hill and ADR Chambers Inc. was a one-year term and included a provision that allowed Council to extend the contract for a maximum of four additional one-year terms. For more information, contact Stephen M.A. Huycke, Director, Legislative Services/City Clerk, at 905-771-2529 or stephen.huycke@richmondhill.ca.   

Richmond Hill Wins Three Environment Awards
Richmond Hill received three awards for a range of environmental initiatives, including the International Society of Arboriculture Gold Leaf Award and the Tree Canada Public Education Award for Richmond Hill’s Community Stewardship Program and the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) Project of the Year Award in the Environment category for Richmond Hill’s Elgin Mills Greenway project. The International Society of Arboriculture Gold Leaf Award recognizes outstanding landscape activities that have made a significant impact within a community over a number of years. The Tree Canada Public Education Award recognizes excellence in public education initiatives that broaden the public’s understanding of the value of the urban forest. The third award was received from the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) in the Environment category for a new stormwater management system and trail network within the Elgin Mills Greenway. For more information, contact Terry Ricketts, Director, Corporate Asset Management and Environment Services, at 905-747-6504 or terry.ricketts@richmondhill.ca.

Richmond Hill Honoured for its Events  
Richmond Hill received two awards from Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO). The first award, a “Top 100 Festivals and Events Ontario” award recognized the City’s Canada Day celebrations, which attracted over 15,000 people from York Region and the GTA. It is Richmond Hill’s largest, single-day festival. Richmond Hill was also awarded “Municipality of the Year” in the over 150,000 population category. This award acknowledges the finest municipalities in Ontario in terms of leadership and civic partnerships. FEO, which is the leading professional organization for the festival and events industry, helps members to produce unique, quality festivals and events through education, professional development and networking. Its membership includes festivals, events, suppliers, municipalities, schools, students, BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) and more. For more information, contact Christine Morgan, Manager, Event Services, at 905-771-5507 or christine.morgan@richmondhill.ca.