Executive summary
The City of Burlington has faced emergencies before; yet none with the significant impact on staff and the community. Our new reality is a world with COVID; we have adapted and adopted to working in this environment. Through the efforts and determination of Council and City management and staff, the City of Burlington continued to deliver services. The results of the 2021 community survey revealed a 95% satisfaction rating with the overall quality of services in the City; a testament to City staff’s commitment throughout this difficult period.
Climate implications
The effect of the actions taken by the City as it re-designed services to ensure the continued protection of the health and safety of the Burlington community and City of Burlington staff and to limit the spread of CoVID-19 pandemic resulted in reductions of fossil fuel use and other environmental impacts of facility and vehicle/ equipment operations. In 2020, the City experienced a reduction in consumption of electricity, natural gas, water and fleet fuel in some areas as the lockdowns, reduction in services and remote work took hold. Some areas of operation remained unaffected in their operation by COVID-19, including winter maintenance, street and traffic lighting, and fire stations. As the City experienced the gradual re-openings in 2021, there was a slight increase in the consumption of electricity, natural gas, water and fleet fuel. Details of the overall impact were reported in Corporate Energy & Emissions Management Plan progress report ES-06-22).