Qualicum Beach council honoured its information technology staff for innovations that have garnered the town some prestigious awards.
Mayor Teunis Westsbroek highlighted the innovations, created internally by IT staff and planning personnel at the town council's regular meeting on June 18, that received two major awards.
The 2024 Spirit of Innovation Award was presented at the Municipal Information Systems Association (MISA) BC Fall Conference, for the town’s Public Inquiry System. This user-friendly, AI and automation enhanced solution streamlines how residents connect with municipal services by automatically routing inquiries to the appropriate department, reducing response times, and allowing users to track requests. This system is not only integrated into the town’s website and available online, but also accessible by emailing qbtown@qualicumbeach.com
The Award of Excellence, presented at the GeoConnect 2025 Conference, further recognized the excellence of the Public Inquiry System, along with the Development Tracker, and the Tree Removal Permit Application. The Development Tracker is a web map-based portal where the public can browse, submit, and manage land use applications from the Development Tracker webpage. The Tree Removal Permit Application offers a fully digital process that simplifies submissions, reduces paperwork, and supports sustainable urban forestry management. This service is available through the Town’s Tree Removal Permit webpage.
Town council formally recognized IT manager Reno Sun and information systems analyst Jason Froats, who are at the heart of the town's award-winning digital transformation. They were honoured for their outstanding work.
“We’re proud of the in-house innovation that made these tools possible and grateful for the recognition of our efforts to better serve the community through digital transformation," said Westbroek.
Wesbtoek said they plan to build a display case at the town hall lobby to showcase the awards for the public to see.
He pointed out that the rationale is "not to brag but just to say we're proud of our staff and we're proud of what we do and how well we do it."
