Agenda Index City of Vancouver

TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT: New Position: Manager, Filming and Special Events

RECOMMENDATION

COUNCIL POLICY

Council approves all regular full time staffing positions.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to update Council on the reorganization of the Film and Special Events Office as approved last year and to seek approval for the creation of a new full time regular exempt position, Manager, Filming and Special Events.

BACKGROUND

The mandate of the Film and Special Events Office, as originally approved by Council in 1980, is to meet the needs of the City's film and special event clients while ensuring that the residents and businesses of Vancouver impacted by the activities are not faced with an unreasonable level of disruption. Over the years the filming and event requests have become more numerous and complex and this office has grown from a staff of one EA IV in 1980, to six regular full time positions in 2000, supplemented by temporary help as needed.

On July 6, 1999 staff reported to Council on the status of the filming industry in Vancouver and recommended that the Film and Special Events Office undergo some structural changes to reflect the need to service the filming industry. At that time Council approved four new regular full time positions: one Engineering Assistant III, two Engineering Assistant II's and a Clerk I, while discontinuing the same number of temporary positions.

Since then our statistics have shown that 1999 was the busiest year in our history, with a 43% increase over the previous year. A February 8, 2000 press release announced that B.C. film production exceeded $1 billion last year and if last month's statistics are any indication, 2000 will be as big. Below is a graph showing historical volumes of film work for this office. In March of this year Council approved the special events calendar for the year 2000. This activity has also increased with a total of 242 events compared to 141 last year. The purpose of reporting these statistics is to show that the recent phenomenal growth is continuing in explosive proportions.

DISCUSSION

Pat Fry, the senior member of the staff in the Film and Special Events Office has recently been promoted to another position in Engineering Services, leaving the EA IV position vacant. With Ms. Fry's departure, the film industry has expressed significant concern aboutthe future management of the Office. Given the volatile nature of the industry, the enormous rate of growth, the seasonal nature of their activity, and the need for the Office to be able to respond to the demands of the industry in a timely manner, they are advocating for the creation of an exempt position to manage the Film Office. Staff have given this idea serious consideration and agree that it is an appropriate response to the City's current needs.

Management responsibility for the Film and Special Events Office is now placed with the Projects and Community Liaison Engineer, under the direction of the Deputy City Engineer. These managers have a number of other areas of responsibility, and can only deal with this office on a part time basis. As the requirements for this area have grown to the point where full time management of the Office is needed, the creation of a new position to take on these responsibilities is warranted.

The management responsibilities proposed for the position are as follows:
· Employee relations: hiring, promotion, evaluation and disciplining of staff
· Monitoring and adjusting for appropriate staffing levels for a greatly cyclical and growing workload
· Initiating and implementing policies related to filming and the use of street space.
· Facilitating and mediating competing interests between City departments, film companies, event organizers and the public.
· Overseeing the FEST (Festival Expediting Staff Team) committee.
· Setting and administering budgets and filming fees
· Representing the City with industry groups such as the Director's Guild of Canada, the BC Film Commission and the Community Marketing Group.
· Preparing and presenting reports to City Council

In particular, timely judgements on the hiring and management of temporary staff for this greatly fluctuating workload is key to the success of this operation. This has been difficult to manage on a part time basis.

Industry Support

The B.C. Film Commission, the Directors Guild of Canada and the Community Marketing Group strongly support the creation of this new position. They see it as an affirmation of the commitment from the City that began with the restructuring of the Office last year. It recognizes the need for the City to grow with the industry and to meet its needs as well as those of the public.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Due to the continued growth in this area and the potential for additional staffing in the future, it is proposed that the existing EA IV position not be eliminated but remain unfilled at this time. The new position will be funded from existing Filming and Special Events budgets with any shortfall be funded from filming application and schedule fees.

CONCLUSION

In light of the need for the City to grow with the film industry and to respond to the operational requirements that spring from this growth, staff recommend that a new exempt position, Manager, Filming and Special events be created. The Manager will be responsible for employee relations, including hiring, promotion, discipline and evaluation of staff, as well as interpretation of the collective agreement and its application to this work group. This position is also responsible for budgets, policy decisions and liaison with the media, industry, the public and other City departments. Classification and compensation for the position will be determined upon review by the Director of Human Resources.

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