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Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique Minutes 13 / Procès-verbal 13
Tuesday, 4
September 2007, 10:00 a.m.
le mardi 4
septembre 2007, 10 h
Champlain Room,
110 Laurier Avenue West
Salle
Champlain, 110, avenue Laurier ouest
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Present / Présent : Mayor / Maire L. O’Brien (Chair / Président)
Councillors
/ Conseillers S. Desroches (Vice-Chair / Vice-président),
R. Bloess, G. Brooks, R. Chiarelli, D. Deans, E. El-Chantiry, P. Hume,
R. Jellett, M. McRae, M. Wilkinson
CONFIRMATION OF
MINUTES
RATIFICATION DU
PROCÈS-VERBAUX
Minutes 12 and Confidential Minutes 5 of the Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee meeting of Monday, 27 August 2007 were confirmed.
confirmed
Declarations of Interest
dÉclarations d’intÉrÊt
Mayor O’Brien declared a potential, indirect pecuniary interest on item
4 - Professional and Consulting Service Contracts With a Cumulative Total Value
of $100,000 or More, Sponsorship & Advertising, Legal Outsourcing Costs,
and Related Purchasing Activity for 2006, as a company on which he served on
the Board of Directors, Calian Technologies, had been awarded contracts during
the period of this report.
CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS
MOTS D’OUVERTURE DU PRÉSIDENT
Mayor O’Brien made some opening remarks in
which he noted that last fall, voters had overwhelmingly elected him for his
business background and to transform the way the City did business. He referenced e-mails and phone calls from
supporters urging him to continue in his efforts to control spending at City
Hall. He discussed the budget process
and the way in which spending decisions were made through the year and he
advised of his intention to seek additional oversight with respect to staffing
and spending decisions. In closing, he
indicated he would be introducing a Notice of Motion at the end of the meeting
to amend the Delegated Authority By-law for approving the posting of employment
opportunities and the approval of consulting contracts in excess of $10,000 and
to ask that this authority be shared jointly by the Mayor and the City Manager
from October 1 to December 31, 2007. A
copy of the Mayor’s speaking notes are held on file with the City Clerk.
At this juncture, Mayor O’Brien left the room and in his absence,
Councillor Desroches chaired the meeting.
ADVISORY COMMITTEES
COMITÉS CONSULTATIFS
EQUITY AND DIVERSITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
COMITÉ CONSULTATIF SUR L’ÉQUITÉ ET LA DIVERSITÉ
1. EQUITY AND DIVERSITY PROGRAMME OR
MEASURES
Programmes ou mesures POUR L'équité et LA diversitÉ
ACS2007-CCV-EQD-0003 city-wide
/ À l’Échelle de la ville
Mr. E. Hamed, Chair of the Equity and Diversity
Advisory Committee (EDAC), introduced himself and provided an overview of the
above-noted report, which had resulted from a motion adopted by the EDAC. He advised that a similar policy existed at
the federal government level, noting that in discussing the matter, EDAC had
decided to dilute the requirements somewhat to recommend that the City
“encourage” its suppliers to have an equity program rather than “requiring” it
of them.
Responding to a question from Councillor McRae,
Mr. Hamed confirmed that an information session had been held with respect to the City’s procurement process but that, because it was held in the afternoon
rather than the evening, it had not been a total success. He hoped the next one would be scheduled
differently, resulting in better attendance.
Councillor McRae indicated it was her
understanding that the EDAC had requested the meeting
be held in the evening but that it
had been held in the afternoon because of staff availability. She noted that another meeting was planned
for this year and, in order to ensure it was held in the evening when people
would be able to attend, she asked that the City Manager instruct staff to make
themselves available. Mr. Kirkpatrick
responded in the affirmative.
In response to a question from Councillor
Wilkinson on
the staff comment contained in the report with respect to undertaking “further
research before endorsing”, Mr. Hamed expressed some concern over the comment
and wondered what more staff wanted before they could encourage suppliers to
have an employment equity program.
Councillor Wilkinson indicated she had been
surprised by the comment and she asked staff to elaborate on it. Mr. P. Andrews, Manager of Supply, explained
that as staff read the motion and looked into the federal and provincial
policies, they found that the federal policy set a higher threshold than 50
employees but that the provincial policy was much less clear. In light of these differences, he submitted
that staff was uncertain whether the municipality would care to take the lead
in this and therefore suggested doing a little more analysis. However, he indicated staff was very much in
favour of
encouraging the City’s suppliers to be in line with this policy.
Responding to a further question from
Councillor Wilkinson, Mr. Andrews confirmed that, if Council approved this
recommendation, staff would not need to do any research in order to provide
information to vendors.
In light of this response, Councillor Wilkinson suggested that Committee and Council simply approve this motion and direct staff to move forward without the extra research.
Although he understood the Councillor’s
perspective and agreed with the direction, Mr. Kirkpatrick submitted that there
might be some issues in terms of the criteria with respect to the number of
staff. He suggested that Committee make
the recommendation to Council and, prior to the matter being considered at
Council, staff would look at whether the criteria should be set differently and
present that information at Council.
However, he re-iterated staff’s support for the intent of the motion.
Responding to questions from Councillor Jellett
with respect to how staff would interpret the intent of this recommendation,
Mr. Kirkpatrick noted that the recommendation spoke to “encouraging” vendors to adopt an
equity and diversity program and stopped short of requiring it. Therefore, it would not become part of the
evaluation criteria. However, it could
form part of the kits provided to potential vendors in terms of providing
information about the goals of such a policy and advising
that it was the City’s desire to
encourage its suppliers to consider such a policy with those goals in
mind. He maintained this would not form
part of the evaluation criteria, which was specifically outlined in requests
for proposals and tender documents.
Responding to questions with respect to the intent,
Mr. Hamed indicated the EDAC initially wanted a firm requirement but that, in discussing
the matter, members agreed on a somewhat diluted recommendation; that the City
could start by encouraging its suppliers so they would become accustomed to the
idea that the City was looking at this with a view to eventually making it a
requirement.
In response to a request from Councillor
El-Chantiry, Mr. Kirkpatrick confirmed that staff could report back to
Committee and Council in one year on the results of this new initiative.
A discussion ensued with respect to the
requirement for suppliers to “demonstrate” that they
had a policy.
Councillor Wilkinson proposed revised wording
for the recommendation; to remove the reference to “demonstrate” and replace it with a request
to “provide a simple report back to the City” that they had established an equity
and diversity program or measure. Mr.
Hamed expressed agreement with the amendment.
Councillor Desroches indicated his
understanding was that staff would be bringing forward some further details on
the criteria threshold and with respect to how this would be operationalized.
Councillor Jellett asked that the recommendation be
split for the purpose of voting: on encouraging suppliers to have a policy; and
on asking that they report back to the City.
A brief discussion ensued on the wording of the
recommendation and what would constitute a report back to the City.
Councillor Jellett expressed support for the
intent. However, he had concerns with
having suppliers report back to the City and with what would then be done with such information. Therefore, he re-iterated his request to
split the motion.
Committee then voted on the recommendation, in two parts.
That the Equity and Diversity Advisory
Committee recommend that the Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee recommend Council:
1. Encourage
its suppliers, which have 50 employees or more, to establish an equity and
diversity programme or measures; and
CARRIED
2. Provide a simple report back to the City
confirming that they have done so.
CARRIED with Councillors G. Brooks and R.
Jellett dissenting
LONG RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN
SUB-COMMITTEE
SOUS-COMITÉ DU PLAN FINANCIER à
LONG TERME
2A. REPORT
ON THE Fiscal Framework
RAPPORT SUR LE Cadre financier
acs2007-cmr-fin-0025 city-wide / À
l’Échelle de la ville
Committee discussed items 2A and 2B simultaneously. For a summary of the discussion, please see Minutes under item 2B.
1. That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
table this report on 04 September 2007, to be discussed at its 18 September
2007 meeting and forwarded to City Council for consideration thereafter; and
2.
Pursuant to a motion adopted by
the Long Range Financial Plan Sub‑Committee, that the Corporate Services
and Economic Development Committee recommend City Council approve that the
enactment of the City's Fiscal Framework require a 2/3 majority of all members
of City Council present and voting; and that the City's Fiscal Framework
require a 2/3 majority of members present and voting to amend at any subsequent
review at City Council.
TABLED
2B. 2008 DRAFT BUDGET DIRECTIONS AND HIGH LEVEL FISCAL DIRECTIONS FOR 2008
AND 2010
ORIENTATIONS BUDGÉTAIRES PROVISOIRES POUR 2008
ET ORIENTATIONS FINANCIÈRES DE HAUT NIVEAU POUR 2009-2010
ACS2007-CMR-FIN-0026 city-wide
/ À l’Échelle de la ville
Responding to a question from Councillor
Desroches with respect to process, Mr. R. O’Connor, City Solicitor, suggested
that, because these reports were being tabled at today’s meeting for discussion
and public delegations at the next meeting, Committee should only pose
high-level questions on the presentation today and that any detailed questions
or discussions on the reports should be held to the next meeting.
In response to questions from Councillor
Cullen, Ms. M. Simulik, City Treasurer, confirmed that all of the Long Range
Financial Plan Sub-Committee’s recommendations, outlined in the reports, would
be up for discussion at the 18 September meeting, including recommendations
with respect to the budget process.
Ms. Simulik spoke to a PowerPoint presentation
in which she provided an overview of the recommendations arising out of the
Long Range Financial Plan (LRFP) Sub-Committee’s meetings, held over the summer
months. A copy of her presentation is
held on file with the City Clerk.
In response to questions from Councillor
Wilkinson, Ms. Simulik confirmed that staff would be making presentations at
Council on December 10 to launch the budget discussions. She indicated that, based on the
presentation made at the Long Range Financial Plan Sub-Committee and the budget
process being recommended by the Sub-Committee, there would not be public
delegations at Committee of the Whole on the budget in December. She noted that to compensate for this, an
additional week of public consultations had been added to the process;
therefore all consultations would be done at the Ward level.
Although she agreed with not having public
delegations at Committee of the Whole on the budget directions, Councillor
Wilkinson felt there would be time to have one or two days of public
delegations at Committee of the Whole on the budget, particularly given that a
full week had been set aside for budget debate in December. She noted that there would only be a limited
number of Councillors present at each of the public consultation sessions and
she felt it would be important to give all members of Council an opportunity to
hear presentations from City-wide groups and organizations, including the City’s
Advisory Committees. Ms. Simulik
suggested this would be an appropriate discussion to have on September 18, when
these reports would be back before Committee for discussion and approval.
Responding to questions
from Councillor Bloess, Ms. Simulik indicated that slides 21 and 22 of her
presentation showed Capital Formation at $0 for 2009 and 2010 because the
motion approved by the LRFP only dealt with 2008. However, she hoped this Committee would give staff some
high-level directions to fill that void with respect to 2009 and 2010.
In response to a further
question from Councillor Bloess, Ms. Simulik confirmed that growth revenues on
the operating side were used to offset operating expenses related to
growth. She noted that on the capital
side, there were Development Charges and funding principles related to them,
which were used to fund capital projects related to growth.
Councillor El-Chantiry
posed questions with respect to slide 26 of the presentation, and a reference
to the capital and operating budgets being presented together on a functional
basis in 2009. Ms. Simulik explained
that because of the City’s Centres of Expertise organizational structure and
the charge-backs this engendered between branches, it would take some time to
set-up a budget where all costs associated with a particular program or
function could be presented as part of the budget for that program or
function. Therefore, she maintained
this could not be done in time for the 2008 draft budget, to be tabled at
Council in mid-November.
Councillor Bloess referenced the
$100M target for management efficiencies identified in the staff
presentation. He wondered how realistic
this target was and he inquired as to the status of previous management efficiency
targets. Mr. Kirkpatrick, City Manager,
noted that staff had been reporting on management efficiencies for the past
couple of years. He believed the
previous three-year target had been in the range of $33M or $34M and that staff
had achieved 2/3 of this. He indicated
any short-fall in the previous target would be added to this one and he
acknowledged that it represented a significant challenge. He then briefly outlined the proposed
strategies for achieving the $100M target, as presented to the Long Range
Financial Plan Sub-Committee at its meeting of Tuesday, 14 August 2007. In particular, he noted one of the proposals
was to review the City’s procurement processes in an effort to achieve savings
in that area.
Councillor McRae noted that the presentation
referenced a $16M increase to the Ottawa Police Service’s (OPS) budget. She felt the City was taking for granted
that this would be the final figure coming from the Police Services Board
(PSB). She submitted that, depending on
what happened at the PSB, $16M may not be the final figure for the OPS
budget.
Responding to a question from Councillor McRae
with respect to the budget direction targets outlined in the presentation (i.e.
1.4% City, 1.6% Police and 2% Capital), the City Manager confirmed that this
would not preclude members of Council from bringing forward motions for further
savings during the budget deliberations.
In reply to a further question
from Councillor McRae, Mr. Kirkpatrick confirmed that, as in previous years, he
would be willing to meet with members of Council to discuss their ideas and
suggestions for potential savings. He
noted that on November 14, staff would be tabling a budget based on whatever
budget directions were approved by Council at the end of September.
Responding to a question with respect to
possible revenue sources, Mr. Kirkpatrick noted that there had been reference
made, at LRFP, to a potential increase in Hydro Ottawa dividends. However, he explained that what was before
Committee was based on the City’s primary revenue sources; taxation and user
fees as well as a recent announcement with respect to Provincial
uploading. He indicated he was not
aware of the potential for significant revenues over and above what was
outlined in the presentation.
With respect to funding from upper levels of
government for capital projects, Mr. Kirkpatrick referenced some Provincial
funding, which was earmarked specifically for Transit projects, and the Federal
Government’s Strategic Infrastructure fund, which required 1/3 funding from
each level of government (federal, provincial and municipal). Aside from these programs, Mr. Kirkpatrick
felt it was unlikely the City would see significant funding coming from either
federal or provincial tiers.
In response to questions from Councillor Desroches
with respect to the format of the budget documents and the level of details
provided therein, Ms. Simulik indicated the presentation of the budget was not
changing significantly from previous years; budgets would be presented by
branch and would identify costs associated with compensation, purchase of
services, transfers, capital and financial charges. However, she noted that additional information was provided at
the back of the budget books. In
addition, she advised that staff would provide a detailed list, for Council’s
consideration, with respect to recommendations to achieve the $27M in savings
identified in the presentation as “Other Solutions”. She suggested that if there was specific information the Councillor
would find useful, staff could provide it separately.
Responding to a further
question from Councillor Desroches with respect to the policy for any tax room,
Ms. Simulik outlined the three-pronged approach approved by the LRFP: that any
tax room would first be applied to eliminate any unsustainable revenue within
the budget; secondly, any tax room would be contributed to reduce the capital
infrastructure gap; and thirdly, once all unsustainable revenue within the
budget and the capital infrastructure gap had been eliminated, then any tax
room would be used to absorb other pressures within the budget. She submitted that although there may come a
time when uploading provided more tax room than what was needed, she did not
see it actually resulting in a tax decrease for many years to come.
Councillor Desroches asked why the costs of
funding strategic initiatives were being spread over three years instead of
five and what the impact would be of spreading them over a longer period. Ms. Simulik indicated that a three-year
spread was being recommended because that was the time remaining in this
Council’s term and any decisions made by this Council would not be binding on a
subsequent Council. However, she
acknowledged that spreading it over a longer period would reduce the annual
cost.
Following
these exchanges, Committee voted to table the report recommendations until its
18 September 2007 meeting.
1. That the Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee (CSEDC) table this report on 04 September 2007 and then to be
discussed at its 18 September 2007 meeting and forwarded to City Council for
consideration thereafter.
2. That the 2008 draft budget be developed in accordance with
the recommendations from the Long Range Financial Plan Sub-Committee as
detailed in this report.
3. That the 2009 and 2010 draft budgets be developed in
accordance with the fiscal directions from the Long Range Financial Plan
Sub-Committee as detailed in the report.
TABLED
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
BUREAU DU DIRECTEUR MUNICIPAL
CITY CLERK’S BRANCH
DIRECTION DU
GREFFE
3. RAPPORT SUR LES SERVICES EN FRANÇAIS
REPORT ON FRENCH LANGUAGE SERVICES
ACS2007-CMO-CCB-0016 city-wide
/ À l’Échelle de la ville
Councillor Legendre indicated he had held this item because
he wanted to highlight for Committee that this was a reasonably positive report
on the progress the City had made on this file since amalgamation and because
he wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate the French Language Services
Division and its staff. However, he
maintained that there was still a lot of progress to be made. In particular, he noted the number of senior
managers who, despite being in designated bilingual positions, were not
availing themselves of opportunities and therefore were not making any
progress. He referenced page 29 of the
agenda and the suggestion that French needed to be better integrated into the
format of all City event. He went
further, suggesting that French needed to be better integrated into the City’s
culture. He spoke to the bullets listed
in the report under “challenges” and advised that a member of Committee would
be moving a motion on his behalf so that henceforth, each City department be
required to provide an annual report on how they were going to improve the
service and that the report have a built-in evaluation mechanism and control
measures.
Speaking to the Councillor’s point with respect to senior
managers in designated bilingual positions, Mr. Kirkpatrick recalled that this
issue had arose earlier in the year, at which time he had discussions with the
City Clerk, the Manager of French Language Services and the senior management
team. He reported that these
discussions had led to a consensus that each senior manager, as part of their
individual contribution agreement, would identify their current status (the
requirement of their position and where they had tested) as well as a personal
development program.
Responding to questions from Councillor El-Chantiry, Mr.
P.G. Pagé, City Clerk, clarified what was intended by the report in terms of
“City events’ where French needed to be better integrated; major corporate
events. As examples, Mr. Pagé
referenced Heritage Day and Seniors’ Day.
In response to further questions from
Councillor El-Chantiry, Mr. Pagé indicated the City had a list of staff volunteers
who spoke different languages and could be called up to assist when residents
needed to be served in a language other than English or French. He indicated this information was available
to staff via the intranet. However, he
was not sure if it was publicly advertised.
In reply to questions from Councillor Wilkinson with respect to the
motion referenced by Councillor Legendre, Mr. Pagé noted this was already a
requirement of the City’s Bilingualism Policy; that reports would be prepared
at the Branch level and would come forward for each City Department. He indicated there were approximately 30
Branches across the City and that these reports would be prepared in-house with
existing resources.
Councillor Wilkinson noted made reference to
grants received from Canadian Heritage and, given that these represented an
important part of funding for French language services, she wondered what
efforts were being made to seek their continuation. Mr. Pagé advised that the Manager of the French Language Services
Division had been discussing the issue with the federal government and that the
Mayor had written to and met with the Minister. He indicated that negotiations were on-going, though he hoped
they would be finalized within the next month or so. He also reported that, this time, the City was seeking funding
for two years.
On the issue of the federal government grant,
Councillor Legendre noted one of the sticking points related to the fact that
the federal government wanted the Province to come on-side but that the
Province was resisting. He felt this
was perplexing given that the Province had benefited enormously from the fact
that the Nation’s capital was in Ontario.
He suggested that the upcoming Provincial election provided an
opportunity to raise this issue with candidates.
Councillor Brooks referenced the “Challenges” outlined on
page 29 and he wondered what had happened to the notion of “where
warranted”. Mr. Pagé maintained that
the Bilingual Policy was based on the notion of “where warranted” and if
members looked at the efforts since amalgamation, they had been “where
warranted”. He submitted the only thing
that had changed was the demography, noting that the francophone population had
increased in the western part of the City.
Therefore, as time went on, the City would be need to meet those
needs.
Councillor Brooks asked that the words “where
warranted” be added to the bullets listed under “Challenges”. Mr. Pagé responded affirmatively, noting
this did not require a motion from Committee.
He added that Council could also monitor the Division’s activities
through the budget process.
Following this exchange, Committee voted on the
motion, moved by Councillor Hume on behalf of Councillor Legendre, as well as
on the report recommendation.
Moved by Councillor P. Hume
That all municipal departments prepare an
annual action plan for the delivery of French language services, supported by
evaluation and control measures.
CARRIED
That the Corporate Services and Economic
Development Committee recommend Council receive the 2005-2007 Report on French
Language Services.
CARRIED
FINANCIAL SERVICES
SERVICES FINANCIERS
4. PROFESSIONAL AND CONSULTING SERVICE CONTRACTS WITH A CUMULATIVE TOTAL
VALUE OF $100,000 OR MORE, SPONSORSHIP
& ADVERTISING, LEGAL OUTSOURCING COSTS, AND RELATED PURCHASING ACTIVITY FOR
2006
CONTRATS
DE SERVICES PROFESSIONNELS ET DE CONSULTATION D’UNE VALEUR TOTALE DE
100 000 $ OU PLUS, COMMANDITES ET PUBLICITÉ, FRAIS LÉGAUX
D’IMPARTITION ET ACQUISITIONS CONNEXES EN 2006
ACS2007-CRS-FIN-0024 city-wide
/ À l’Échelle de la ville
(Tabled at CSEDC meeting of 27 August 2007 /
Déposé à la réunion du CSODE du 27 août 2007)
In light of his declaration of interest, Mayor
O’Brien ceded the Chair to Councillor Jellett for this portion of the meeting.
Speaking to the report in general, Mr. K.
Kirkpatrick, City Manager, reminded members of the Delegated Authority report
tabled with Committee at a previous meeting and referred to the Council Audit
Working Group (CAWG). He referenced the
recommendations arising out of the CAWG with respect to the need for more
detailed information in such reports.
He advised that the present report had not gone through that new filter
but that future iterations would be prepared in accordance with the CAWG recommendations. He noted that people often suggested the
City should outsource more in order to reduce costs and he suggested this
report was proof that the City outsourced a lot. He explained that when it was more cost-effective to purchase
services from external sources, staff did so.
Members posed a series of questions with
respect to Document 1 of the report.
The following summarizes staff’s responses.
•
Ms. M. Simulik,
City Treasurer, explained that the acronym DPO stood for Departmental Purchase
Order and that, in many cased, no details were provided with respect to DPOs
because these were not processed through Supply Manager, the division where the
present report had been prepared. She
further explained that there was a dollar limit of $10,000 for DPOs. She indicated that for future iterations of
this report, staff could endeavour to gather more details with respect to the
various DPOs.
•
With respect to
items where referenced was made to “Individual Invoice Payments”, Ms. Simulik
indicated staff would review these and provide details prior to this report
rising to Council.
•
With respect to
contracts pertaining to a facility at 25 Esquimault, Mr. G. MacNair indicated
this was a school where the City had a long-term lease. He advised that the Ministry of the
Environment had issued an order to deal with a contamination at that
address. Therefore, the referenced
contracts related to the City’s obligation to deal with that contamination
under an MOE order.
•
With respect to
contracts to Calian listed on page 52 of the agenda for ABAD development, Ms.
J. Harris-Campbell, Director of Information Technology (IT) Services, indicated
the acronym should be ABAP. She
explained that this was a software code used the sustainment of the City’s SAP
software. She further explained that
all the IT resources listed in this report were IT technical resources pulled
off a standing offer set up through Supply Management. She indicated the standing offer had been
well advertised and that all professional services companies had the
opportunity to get on the standing offer.
She reported that there were currently 52 companies listed on the
standing offer. She noted that in order
to ensure the City was getting best values for these contracts, a two-step
process had been set-up. Firstly, when
setting up the standing offer and building that list of 52 companies, staff set
out a threshold of 30% of the score used to put those companies on the list
related to price. So in addition to
being experts in the field and being able to do the work, they had to be able
to offer their services at a good price.
Secondly, she advised that when the department actually needed one of
those resources and went to the list of 52 companies, they targeted those
companies that indicated they had expertise in the particular area of the work
to be done and when those companies were called up, 40% of their score was
based on price. Therefore, she
summarized that in order to ensure the City was getting the best possible price
for work being done, companies were asked to talk money with staff at two
different stages in the standing offer process.
•
Mr. R. Hewitt,
Deputy City Manager of Public Works and Services, responded to questions with
respect to a contract listed on page 53 of the agenda for Engineering
Consulting Services related to the Plasco Project at Trail Road. He explained this was a specific case where
the City had some in-house project management work being done and that staff
member left the corporation. For
continuity sake, the department decided to keep that person involved with the
project, resulting in a consulting cost.
He further explained that this would not be charged back to Plasco
because it was work to ensure that the City’s requirements were met and that
the work in that area was not affecting other aspects of the site
•
Responding to
questions with respect to a retail market study for the Longfields community,
listed at the top of page 55 of the agenda, Mr. G. MacNair, Manager of Real
Estate Services, confirmed that this pertained to the development at
Longfields. He further advised that a
report would be coming forward at a subsequent Committee meeting dealing with
that development as well as the one at Centrepointe. He indicated the report would include details on the status of
the project, studies conducted to date, and costs incurred to date.
•
In response to
questions with respect to a contract listed at the bottom of page 55 of the
agenda for engineering consulting services to develop an operation manual for
the Lemieux Island Water Purification Plant, Mr. Hewitt indicated this was
actually a compilation and bringing together of policies and procedures, for
appropriate due diligence and in preparation for some new requirements under
Provincial legislation.
•
Responding to a
further question with respect to this cost, Ms. Simulik indicated it would not
be included when staff added up downloading costs because this was on the
water/sewer side and, in adding up downloading costs, the City only included
costs on the tax side.
•
Mr. S. Finnamore,
Executive Director of Business Transformation Services, indicated staff would
have to get back to Committee with details of the various contracts listed on
page 59 of the agenda to Excel Human Resources, totalling over $573,000.
•
Mr. W. Newell,
Director of Infrastructure Services, responded to questions with respect to a
$2.5M contracted for engineering consulting services for Manotick Village,
listed on page 65 of the agenda. He
confirmed that this was an area the City was looking to servicing and that
there had been a number of reports brought forward to Committee and Council to
have that project endorsed through the various stages. He indicated the project had been through
the Environmental Assessment (EA) stage and was moving forward to the
preliminary design stage. He further
noted that the project would be subject to the local improvement process. Therefore, project costs would ultimately be
collected back from the benefiting property owners.
•
With respect to a
study on the feasibility of relocation of Loretta Traffic Operations facility,
listed at the bottom of page 66 of the agenda, Mr. Hewitt believed that related
to a study of the entire site in terms of whether there were other uses it
might be put to and then, the possible relocation of that facility for future
use. He indicated this tied into the
possible utilization of the subject property in relation to the light rail
project.
•
Ms. Simulik
indicated the more than $352,000 cost of insuring light rail, listed on page 67
of the agenda, related to the City’s existing rail line.
•
With respect to a
contract to Municipal Tax Equity (MTE), listed on page 71 of the agenda, Ms.
Simulik indicated staff had gone through a competitive process to select this
organization to do a variety of work for the City through the year. She indicated that most significantly, the
work had to do with reviewing capping calculations, which were extremely
complex.
The following summarizes the information
provided by staff in response to questions with respect to Document 4 of the
report.
•
Responding to
questions with respect to a contract for additional SEP consulting services,
listed on page 85 of the agenda, which went from $197,221 to $865,936, Ms.
Harris-Campbell acknowledged that because of the way the information was
presented in the report, it looked like a dramatic increase in the scope or
size of the work, which could lead someone to think that the work was not very
well planned out at the beginning.
However, she indicated what was reflected in the report was a market
shortage of professional services in the SAP area. She explained that, as opposed to seeing a number of smaller
pieces of work put out on the staffing offer she described earlier, staff had
found that there were very few skilled SAP professionals who could do work on
an installation as large and as complex as what was in place at the City. Therefore, when staff found a resource with
the skills and background to do the work, they simply extended the work order
with that consultant, brought in through the standing offer, rather than going
back to the standing offer to seek a different consultant to do subsequent
work. In summary, she explained that
the increases reflected extensions of contracts or increases of scope, which was
consistent with supply practices.
•
With respect to a
contract listed on page 87 of the agenda for construction at the Millennium
Sports Park, Mr. B. Robinson, Acting Director of Real Property and Asset
Management indicated the $190,000 increase to the cost of the contract
reflected an increase in scope to attain an efficiency. He explained that the contract was on-site
working on the fields and the parking lot and so, going through Supply
Management, staff used the same contractor to work on the play structure at
that site. He further noted that this
related to the City’s partnership with the Kiwanis Club and the site plan work
associated with the playground structure and that all costs had been within the
budget approved by Council for that park.
•
Responding to
questions with respect to engineering contracts related to the North-South
Light Rail project, Ms. Schepers acknowledged that there were a number of them
related to the LRT project. She noted
that as the project unfolded, additional work was identified, additional
alternatives were identified and needed to be explored. Therefore, she maintained that typically,
the increases reflected those kinds of things, which came up as the City went
through the process and had to evaluate different proposals associated with the
LRT.
•
Mr. W.
Newell responded to questions with respect to a contract listed on page 91 of
the agenda with respect to the Glen Cairn biofilter. He indicated this was a long-standing project and that it was
unique, from a procurement perspective.
He explained that the project had been ongoing since prior to
amalgamation. The consulting firm was
originally hired by the former Regional Municipality, through a competitive
process, to undertake the facility’s design.
The project was put on hold for a number of years because of issues
related to the location of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario’s (MTO)
off-ramp. In the interim, the original
firm operated the existing facility on the City’s behalf, in conjunction with
another consulting firm. In discussing
this with Supply Management, staff felt it did not make any sense to bring in a
new firm at this point in time and therefore the increase reported in Document
4 represented a continuation of the services previously rendered.
•
With respect to a
contract listed on page 92 of the agenda for digestor expansion at the R.O.
Pickard Centre, Mr. Newell confirmed that this contract had been awarded to the
second bidder because the first bidder was not compliant with the requirements
outlined in the tender documents in terms of experience and technical
expertise. Therefore, moving forward
with the first bidder would have put the municipality at risk in terms of the
ability to construct the project in accordance with the MOE order that was upon
the City. He advised that the increased
costs related to an increase in scope.
He explained that when the City originally engaged the consultant to
undertake design work, it was difficult, at that point in time, to also assess
them for construction related costs because the design had not been
determined. Therefore, he maintained
that this related to engaging a firm through a full process; requests for
qualifications, requests for proposal, assessing them, engaging that consultant
firm with the intentions that there would be follow-up work.
Speaking to Document 4 in
general, Mr. Kirkpatrick highlighted that all of these extensions were done in
compliance with the Purchasing By-law, signed-off by Supply Management as being
compliant. He indicated that he enjoyed
the opportunity for staff to respond to members’ questions. However, he suggested the problem was that
the report left members of Council and the public with the perception that not
much thought was given to the original scooping of the various contracts. He maintained that this was not the case and
he advised that future iterations of this report would provide additional
details and explanations in order to avoid this incorrect perception. He explained that in all of these cases, the
City had retained consultants, were satisfied with their work, and had taken
advantage of provisions in their original contracts or purchase orders to
extend or increase their scope. He
re-iterated that all these contracts were compliant with the Purchasing By-law,
were processed through Corporate Supply and were within the budget envelopes
approved by Council for these purposes.
Otherwise, they would not appear in Document 4 of this report.
Moving on to Document 5, Councillor McRae
expressed concerns with purchases indicating non-compliance with the Purchasing
By-law and where the Description/Suggested Resolution column indicated
“Purchasing to investigate with the client”.
She maintained that the report was very vague in that it referenced the
Auditor General’s 2005 Annual Report and suggested that the results would be
presented to Council in 2007. She asked
for an explanation of these, using Frisby Tire Co., listed on page 97 of the
agenda, as an example. Mr. Andrews,
Manager of Supply, read the Auditor General’s recommendation, which led to
Supply Management staff putting together this report, and he acknowledged that
staff had struggled with this report.
He explained that, by definition, Payments Without Reference did not
flow through Supply Management.
Therefore, staff had to search through SAP to populate the report. With respect to the example of Frisby Tire,
he indicated the City had a standing offer with another tire company and that
he did not know why there had been three purchases to Frisby Tire. Therefore, he asked for the opportunity to
research these and come back to Committee with the answers.
With respect to staff, Councillor McRae felt this was not an acceptable
answer and she asked when Committee and Council could expect answers as to why
these purchases did not comply with the Purchasing By-law and what would be
done to ensure non-compliant expenditures would not occur in the future.
Mr. Kirkpatrick noted that in following Council’s direction in terms of
accountability, staff was reporting on how delegated authority had been used
and identifying cases where staff had not complied with the Purchasing
By-law. Having said that, he took the
Councillor’s point and he concurred that staff should report back on the
circumstances surrounding the non-compliant purchases and on whether or not
value for dollar had been achieved in those cases.
Councillor McRae further asked that the report on this matter include
some indication that the people who made these purchasing decisions had the
authority to do so and if there was correction action being taken, what that
would be. She also inquired as to the
timing of the report. Mr. Kirkpatrick
accepted the additional suggestions and committed to reporting back before the
end of the month.
Responding to questions from Councillor El-Chantiry, Mr. Kirkpatrick
suggested that this discussion was a good example of the accountability cycle
built into Council’s existing Delegated Authority By-law and Procurement
By-law. He noted that the current
discussion, and the previous example when Committee recently received a
Delegated Authority report, were the first times he could recall where there
were any questions from members about the reports but in front of them. Therefore, he felt this was a good step in
terms of governance and in terms of Councillors using the accountability
reports they had requested through the Delegated Authority By-law and the
Purchasing By-law. He re-iterated that,
where this report indicated the By-law had not been followed, staff would
report back to Committee, as indicated in response to Councillor McRae’s
questions. In terms of being able to
identify problems and address them in a timely fashion, Mr. Kirkpatrick
suggested these reports should be brought forward on a more frequent basis;
perhaps quarterly instead of annually.
This would allow Committee and Council to review them in a more timely
fashion and it would allow staff the opportunity, on a more frequent basis, to
demonstrate that the existing Delegated Authority By-law and Purchasing By-law
were working well.
In response to a further question from Councillor El-Chantiry, Mr.
Kirkpatrick advised that, in response to the Auditor General’s recommendations,
the Financial Services branch was creating a Financial Management Information
Systems unit, which would be responsible for reviewing compliance with
procurement policies and guidelines.
Ms. Simulik provided members with an update on the process of setting up
this new unit and an overview of what its responsibilities would include,
noting that the unit would be up and running by the end of the year and it
would be empowered to conduct systematic audits, throughout the Corporation, to
ensure compliance with all purchasing policies and procedures.
Responding to questions from Councillor Hume,
Mr. Hewitt confirmed that there had been some reviews undertaken to determine
when it was better to have in-house staff do work and when it was more
efficient to use external resources. He
noted that within the next several months, a report would be coming forward on
the competitive service delivery review, which would address this issue, among
other things.
In response to questions from Councillor
El-Chantiry with respect to the costs associated with SAP maintenance and upgrades,
Mr. Harris-Campbell indicated the City had been running on the initial R3
version of SAP that was installed when the software was first implemented but
that the first upgrade was planned for mid-November to the new version, which
would allow the City to continue to use vendor support and have the SAP company
keep the software up to date. However,
she acknowledged that there were costs, reflected in the branch’s capital and
operating budgets, associated with maintaining and keeping current with service
contracts, with maintaining the infrastructure needed to run the software and
with maintaining the operating centre, which supported users throughout the
Corporation.
Moved by Councillor M. McRae
That Professional and Consulting Service
Contracts with a Cumulative Total Value of $100,000 or More, Sponsorship &
Advertising, Legal Outsourcing Costs, and Related Purchasing Activity be
reported to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on a
quarterly basis.
CARRIED
Responding to a comment from Councillor
Wilkinson, Mr. Kirkpatrick acknowledged the complication created by the fact
that many of the expenditures reported in the current report were
cumulative. He indicated staff would
give this some thought and come back to Committee if they felt changes were
needed with respect to the frequency.
He submitted that perhaps quarterly reports on extensions and
adjustments and by-annual reports on total spending by firm might be more
appropriate.
Councillor Wilkinson referenced a contract
listed on page 49 of the agenda for a scoreboard replacement at the Orléans
Recreation Complex and she asked staff to get back to her with the details of
this contract.
Following this exchange, Committee voted on the
report recommendation.
That the Corporate Services and Economic
Development Committee receive and discuss this report and then forward it to
Council for information.
CARRIED
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION SERVICES
Services de
transformation des activités
Corporate Planning and Performance Reporting
PLANNIFICATION
MUNICIPAL ET ÉVALUATION DU RENDEMENT
5. QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT
TO COUNCIL - q2 April - june 2007
rapport de rendement
trimestriel présenté
au conseil POUR LE 2E TRIMESTRE - AVRIL - june 2007
ACS2007-BTS-EXD-0002 city-wide / À
l’Échelle de la ville
1. That the
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee receive the attached
report and refer it for further review and discussion at the following Standing
Committee meetings:
·
Transit Committee - 19 September
2007
·
Community and Protective Services
Committee - 20 September 2007
·
Planning and Environment Committee
- 25 September 2007
CARRIED
2. That
discussion of the report takes place at the next CSEDC meeting on 2 October
2007; and
3. That
Council receive the report for information on 10 October 2007, once it has been
reviewed by Standing Committees.
real property asset management
Gestion des
actifs des biens immobiliers
6. Sale
of land - 3479 St. Joseph Boulevard
vente de
terrain - 3479, boulevard st. joseph
ACS2007-BTS-RPM-0021 Orléans (1)
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
recommend Council:
1. Declare a
vacant parcel of land shown as Parcels A and B on Annex “A” attached,
containing approximately 457.8 m2
(4,927.9 square feet), subject to final survey, municipally known as
3479 St. Joseph Boulevard, described as Part of Lot 33, Concession 1, O.S.,
geographic Township of Cumberland being part of Part 2, Plan 50R-6091, in the
City of Ottawa, as surplus to the City’s needs;
2. Approve
the sale of the land detailed in Recommendation 1, subject to a grading
easement in favour of the City of Ottawa indicated as Parcel B on the attached
Annex “A” sketch and any other easements that may be required, to Bellevue
Mobile & Motor Homes Limited, for the amount of $9,600 plus GST, pursuant
to an Agreement of Purchase and Sale that has been received.
CARRIED
7. PagÉ
road stormwater management ponds /
East Urban Community feedermain
BASSINS DE
GESTION DES EAUX PLUVIALES DU CHEMIN PAGÉ / CONDUITE PRINCIPALE DU SECTEUR
URBAIN EST
ACS2007-BTS-RPM 0026 Innes (2)
That the Corporate
Services and Economic Development Committee recommend Council approve the
initiation of the expropriation process for all property requirements
associated with the construction of the Pagé Road Stormwater Management Ponds
and East Urban Community Feedermain, if necessary, as set out in this
report.
CARRIED
8. SALE
OF LAND - PART OF innes road
adjacent to 3843 innes road
vente de terrain
- PARTIE DU CHEMIN INNES
ADJACENTE AU 3843, CHEMIN INNES
ACS2007-BTS-RPM-0022 Innes (2)
Moved by Councillor R. Bloess
WHEREAS the subject land at 3843 Innes Road was initially conveyed
by the purchaser to the Region for the future widening of Innes Road for $1.00
as condition of severance;
AND WHEREAS the subject land is no longer required and has been
declared surplus to the City’s needs;
AND WHEREAS the property owner at the time of conveyance, Helene
Brault, wishes to reacquire the property;
AND WHEREAS the property owner has incurred costs of $5,688.00 for
the road closing application and $500.00 for consulting fees plus impending
legal fees for the land transfer and land transfer taxes;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the subject land be sold back to the
property owner, Helene Brault, for $1.00 plus the cost of the City’s appraisal
in the amount of $425.00 plus $1,000 for administrative costs for a total of
$1,426.00.
CARRIED
Responding to questions from Mayor O’Brien, Councillor Bloess confirmed the background with respect to this parcel of land, as outlined in the staff report.
Committee then voted on the item as amended.
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
recommend Council:
1.
Declare a parcel of land shown
hatched on Annex “A” attached, containing approximately 155.6 m2 (1674.9
square feet), described as being part of Innes Road, Part of Lot 27, Registered
Plan 905, in the City of Ottawa, subject to the road being stopped up and
closed by by-law, as surplus to the City’s needs;
2.
Approve the sale
of the land detailed in Recommendation 1, subject to an easement to the City
for an existing catch basin and drainage ditch and any other easements that may
be required, to Helene Brault, for the amount of $1 plus the cost of the
City’s appraisal in the amount of $425.00 plus $1,000 for administrative costs
for a total of $1,426.00.
CARRIED
as amended
9. SALE OF LAND - PART OF innes road
adjacent to 4275-4279 innes road
vente de terrain - PARTIE
DU CHEMIN INNES
ADJACENTE AU 4275-4279, CHEMIN INNES
ACS2007-BTS- RPM-0030 Cumberland (19)
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
recommend Council:
1.
Declare a parcel of land shown
hatched on Annex “A” attached, containing an area of 1103.9m2,
described as part of Lot A, part of Lot 1 and part of the Road Allowance
between Lots A and 1, Concession 11, geographic Township of Cumberland, now
City of Ottawa, as surplus to the City’s needs;
2.
Approve the sale
of the land described in Recommendation 1 subject to easements that may be required
to 2107851 Ontario Inc. for $100,000 plus GST, pursuant to an Agreement of
Purchase and Sale that has been received.
CARRIED
10. Property Acquisition FOR THE KANATA NORTH
RECREATION COMPLEX - 4101 Innovation Drive, Kanata - Northtech Land Developments
Inc.
Acquisition DE
TERRAINS POUR LA CONSTRUCTION DU COMPLEXE RÉCRÉATIF DE KANATA NORD - 4101,
PROMENADE Innovation, Kanata -
Northtech Land Developments
ACS2007-BTS-RPM-0025 KANATA (4)
Responding to a series of questions from Councillor Deans, Mr. A. Burry, Director of Parks and Recreation, indicated this particular project was next on the list of City priorities for major Parks and Recreation infrastructure in the West end. He explained that following this proposed land acquisition, planning and design work would be undertaken in 2008 with construction beginning in 2009. He advised that, although Council had approved an additional $2M for land acquisition, 80% of the cost of the facility would be funded from development charges. With respect to the costs outlined in the report, Mr. Burry clarified that the additional $2M approved by Council was to cover the additional costs of land acquisition, in recognition of escalating land values, and that costs related to design and construction had previously been approved by Council and were being funded from Development Charge revenues.
In response to questions with respect to the land values, Mr. G. MacNair, Manager of Real Estate Services, indicated the land market in Kanata had been quite active and that, of the four sites considered for this project, two had been in the range of $500,000 per acre whereas the land being recommended for purchase was approximately $287,000 per acre.
Following this brief exchange, Committee voted on the report recommendation.
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
recommend Council approve the fee simple acquisition of a vacant parcel of land
consisting of approximately 6.21 hectares (15.33 acres) owned by Northtech Land
Development Inc., described as Part of Lot 18 and 19, Concession 12, geographic
Township of March, former City of Kanata, shown hatched on the attached Annex
“A”, for the consideration of $4,400,000, subject to final survey and
adjustments on closing.
CARRIED
11. Rothbourne Road Re-alignment -
6288 Rothbourne Rd., City of Ottawa, 3006484 Canada LTD.
NOUVEAU
TRACÉ DU CHEMIN Rothbourne -
6288, CH. Rothbourne, VILLE D’Ottawa, 3006484 Canada LTD
ACS2007-BTS-RPM-0028 Rideau-Goulbourn
(21)
Responding to questions from Councillor Deans, Mr. G. MacNair, Manager of Real Estate Services, assured Committee that staff had been meeting with the owner of the subject property since February of this year and had explored all options prior to coming forward with the present request for authority to expropriate. Furthermore, he advised that staff would continue to explore all options and would only use the requested authority to expropriate if unsuccessful. He explained that, even through the expropriation process, the property owner’s rights would be protected under the Expropriation Act.
Councillor Deans referenced an e-mail from a resident, sent to all Councillors, in which it was suggested that the subject last was provincially significant wetland (PSW). Mr. MacNair confirmed that part of the property was designated as PSW and that this was part of the issue in negotiating with the property owner.
An e-mail submission from Mr. K. McRae dated 3 September 2007 was received and is held on file with the City Clerk.
Following this brief exchange, Committee voted on the report recommendation.
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
recommend Council approve the acquisition, by expropriation if necessary, of
the lands shown on Annex “A” to this report.
CARRIED
Planning, Transit and the Environment
Service de l’urbanisme, du transport en commun
et de l’environnement
Infrastructure
Approvals
Approbation
des demandes d’infrastructure
12. FRONT ENDING AGREEMENT FOR THE EAST URBAN
COMMUNITY STORMWATER MANAGEMENT POND# 1 AND OVER-SIZED TRUNK STORM SEWERS
ACCORD DE FINANCEMENT INITIAL VISANT LE BASSIN DE GESTION DES EAUX PLUVIALES
NO 1 DE LA COLLECTIVITÉ URBAINE EST ET LES ÉGOUTS PLUVIAUX
SURDIMENSIONNÉS
ACS2007-PTE-APR-0094 Cumberland (19)
That the Corporate Services
and Economic Development Committee recommend Council:
1. Authorize the City to enter into a Front
Ending Agreement with the Richcraft Group of Companies for cost reimbursement
for the design and construction of the East Urban Community (EUC) Storm Water
Management Pond #1 located south of Innes Road and east of Page Road, based
upon the principles set forth in Document 1, and Council approved Front
Ending Policy in Document 2 with the final form and content of the Front Ending
Agreement being to the satisfaction of the Deputy City Manager, Planning,
Transit, and the Environment Department and the City Solicitor.
2. Approve the expenditure of
$6,173,000.00 for land acquisition, update in the design, and the construction
of EUC Pond #1 be approved subject to the execution of the Front Ending
Agreement.
3. Authorize the City to
enter into subdivision agreements which provide for the remuneration of land
costs associated with Pond #1 and the reimbursement of trunk storm sewer
over-sizing in accordance with the principles set forth in Document 2.
4. Authorize the City to
increase existing internal order 900814 from $4,300,000 to $17,218,000 for the
Pond 1 land acquisition, design update, construction, and trunk storm sewer
over-sizing tributary to Pond #1.
CARRIED
MOTIONS OF WHICH NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN PREVIOUSLY
MOTIONS DONT AVIS A ÉTÉ DONNÉ ANTÉRIEUREMENT
COUNCILLOR / CONSEILLÈRE M. WILKINSON
13. MOTION - AWARD OF A GRANT TO
THE ROYAL OTTAWA HEALTH CARE GROUP
MOTION – ATTRIBUTION D’UNE SUBVENTION AUX
SERVICES DE SANTÉ ROYAL OTTAWA
WHEREAS
prior to 1997, Provincial legislation permitted municipalities to charge and
collect development charges for health care capital;
AND
WHEREAS in 1997, the Provincial government abolished development charges for health
care capital;
AND
WHEREAS at the time of cessation of such development charges, the Regional
Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton had collected and held in reserve approximately
$30 million in health care capital;
AND
WHEREAS since 1997, the RMOC, and after amalgamation of the region’s
municipalities, the City of Ottawa, awarded grants from the said development
charge health capital reserve to various health care capital projects such as
Hillel Lodge, Villa Marconi, The Glebe Centre, the Salvation Army Grace Manor,
and others;
AND
WHEREAS the sum of $64,000 has remained dormant in the said capital reserve
account for several years and the account has not been formally closed out;
AND
WHEREAS the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group is in need of completing its funding
requirement for the completion of construction at its Youth Mental Health
Treatment Centre;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that the CSEDC recommend Council approve the award of a grant of
the remaining funds in the Health Care Capital Development Charge Fund
(approximately $64,000) to the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group to be applied to
the capital cost of its Youth Mental Health Treatment Centre.
CARRIED
COUNCILLOR / CONSEILLÈRE M. McRAE
14. MOTION - Water Charges - Church of Perfect
Liberty
MOTION
- frais des services d’eau - organisation religieuse Perfect Liberty
WHEREAS the Church of Perfect Liberty located at 1016 Hunt Club Road
had a water connection that froze causing a water leak;
AND WHEREAS this water leak resulted in additional costs for water,
and interest charges in the amount of $11,900.12;
AND WHEREAS the Church of Perfect Liberty does not have sufficient
financial resources to pay these additional costs;
AND WHEREAS section 107 of the Municipal Act, 2001 provides that the
City may make grants on terms it considers appropriate to any person, group or
body for any purpose it considers to be in the best interests of the City;
AND WHEREAS, By-law No. 2003-141 which established the Water Reserve
Fund provides that the Fund may be used for such other purposes as may be
approved by the Council of the City of Ottawa;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Corporate Services and Economic
Development Committee recommend to City Council that a grant in the amount of
$12,689.52 be provided to the Church of Perfect Liberty from the Water Reserve
Fund provided that this grant be used to pay the water arrears owing to the
City.
CARRIED with Councillors E.
El-Chantiry, P. Hume and R. Jellett dissenting.
NOTICE OF MOTION (For Consideration at Subsequent
Meeting)
AVIS DE MOTION (pour examen lors d’une réunion
subséquente)
Mayor L. O’Brien
WHEREAS City
Council has undertaken a priority setting exercise that includes direction on
how budget priorities will be set, and Council has asked for a report outlining
changes to city governance including the use of delegated authority to be
introduced this Fall for the implementation in the new year;
AND WHEREAS
Bill 130 greatly expands City Council’s previous authority to delegate its
powers and duties under the revised Municipal Act, 2001, or any other Act, “to
a person or body” as set out in Section 23.1 of the statute;
AND WHEREAS
this discretionary authority permits City Council to delegate its various
legislative and quasi-judicial powers and duties “subject to any limits…and to
any procedural requirements, including conditions, approvals, and appeals”;
AND WHEREAS
City Council can choose to delegate non-core powers to individuals including
City staff if the power delegated is “of a minor nature”;
AND WHEREAS
the Corporation of the City of Ottawa wishes to minimize potentially wasteful
spending through the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007 and maximize
opportunities relating to the realignment of services as approved as part of
Council’s priority setting process;
AND WHEREAS
the City Manager has indicated he wishes to receive specific direction from
Council regarding sharing his Delegated Authority to provide the Mayor with
greater oversight on new hiring and granting of consulting contracts;
BE IT RESOLVED
THAT Council amend the Delegated Authority By-Law, as amended, and direct the
Mayor and the City Manager to jointly approve job postings, new employee
requests, filling of job postings and the authorizing of consulting contracts
in excess of $10,000 for the period of October 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007;
and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED THAT disputes between the Mayor and the City Manager regarding the
filling of job postings, new employee requests and authorizing of consulting
contracts in excess of $10,000 be brought to Council for final approval.
INQUIRIES
DEMANDES DES RENSEIGNMENTS
Mayor O’Brien referenced articles that appeared in the September 1, 2007 editions of The Ottawa Citizen and The Ottawa Sun with respect to the payment of guarantees to performers at the SuperEx (Ottawa Citizen article “City Pays Michael Bolton Not to Sing” and Ottawa Sun article “Cancellation Leaves City Singing the Blues”). He asked that staff provide a report so that Committee and Council could understand the details of the situation.
Councillor McRae further asked for information on the City’s policy in that regard and why the City was in the business of promoting concerts.
Councillor Deans further asked for information on the City’s involvement, given that SuperEx was a separate entity from the City.
CONFIDENTIAL AGENDA 7
ORDRE DU JOUR CONFIDENTIEL 7
Moved by Councillor E. El-Chantiry
That the meeting of
the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee move In Camera
pursuant to Section 13(1)
a), e)
and f) of the Procedure by-law – security of the property of the City,
litigation of potential litigation affecting the City, and the receiving of
advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.
CARRIED
Resuming in Open Session, Committee
adjourned the meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
LEVÉE DE LA SÉANCE
The Committee
adjourned the meeting at 2:50 p.m.
Original signed by Original
signed by
D. Blais Mayor L. O’Brien
Committee Coordinator Chair