May 12, 1998

  To:Corporate Services Committee

 From:Commissioner of Corporate Services

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Chief Administrative Officer Subject:Office Administration and Expenses of Members of Council

  Purpose:

 To comment on specific issues raised at the Corporate Services Committee meeting of

April 27, 1998, with respect to office administration and expenses of Members of Council.

 Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

 Approval of the staff recommendations will have no financial impact. Approval of recommendations not put forward by staff will result in expenditures other than those approved in the 1998 Budget.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that the policies and procedures as outlined in Appendix "A" entitled "Office Administration and Expenses of Members of Council" as submitted to the Corporate Services Committee on April 27, 1998, be adopted subject to the following amendments: (1)Section 2(I) - Corporate Credit Cards

 that corporate credit cards not be issued to City Councillors;

(2) Section 11(a) - Travel - Conference/Seminar and Business Travel

that invitations to speak at a conference or seminar be covered under Conference/Seminar and charged to the Councillor=s global budget;

(3)Section 11(b) - Conference/Seminar and Business Travel Approvals

 that prior to attending any conference/seminar (in or out of town) or business trip, Councillors complete a ARequest to Attend/Travel@ form and forward the request to the Clerk for processing/recordkeeping; and that the Mayor complete a similar form for any travel he undertakes and process the request through his office.

(4)Section 11(c) - Corporate Travel Agent

 that Councillors are encouraged to make their travel arrangements at the lowest possible cost either through the corporate travel agent or an independent agent of their choice.

Council Reference/Background/History:

 The Corporate Services Committee on February 16, 1998, received a communication

(January 15, 1998) from the City Clerk advising that City Council on January 2, 6, 8, and 9, 1998, had before it, amongst other things, a motion by Mayor Lastman and seconded by Councillor Ootes respecting the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team. Council referred all motions concerning the administration of staffing and salaries to the Corporate Services Committee.

 The Corporate Services Committee requested that the Commissioner of Corporate Services submit a report to the Committee on a policy governing the provision of extended disability, overtime, vacation, maternity/parental/adoption leave and severance allowances for Councillors' staff.

 The policies and procedures as contained in Appendix "A" entitled "Office Administration and Expenses of Members of Council" was presented to the Corporate Services Committee on

April 27, 1998. The Committee requested the Chief Administrative Officer, Commissioner of Corporate Services, and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer to review a number of issues and report back to the next meeting of the Committee.

 Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

 At its meeting on April 27, 1998, the Corporate Services Committee considered Appendix "A" entitled "Office Administration and Expenses of Members of Council" and raised a number of issues to be further reviewed by the Chief Administrative Officer, Commissioner of Corporate Services, and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. The issues raised at the meeting are detailed as follows:

 Appendix AA@ - Office Administration and Expenses of Members of Council

1. Global Budget Expenses

 Tickets for community and other events

A motion was put forward to delete the limitation of two (2) tickets per community and other events.

 The proposed policy states that the global budget does not cover expenses that are corporate in nature, such as sponsorships and donations, since these are similar in nature to grants and are considered by Council as a whole. The recommendation to put a limit of two (2) tickets per event is considered reasonable since, in most circumstances, Councillors attend community events either on their own or with a guest. The purchase of more than two (2) tickets could be viewed as a sponsorship or a donation to a community event and is not recommended.

 Use of personal automobile

 A motion was put forward to include Abusiness use of personal automobile@ as an expense covered under the Global Office Budget.

 Although the Legal Department has advised that there is no legal restriction on including business use of a personal automobile as an expense under the Global Budget, it was the past practice in the former municipalities comprising the City of Toronto to treat automobile expenses as part of the one-third tax free allowance.

 Should Council decide to include business use of a personal automobile as an expense under the Global Office Budget, it is recommended that it include the reimbursement of metreage only, and that reimbursement be subject to the same policy that currently applies to staff.

 2(f)Permitted Expenditures and General Requirements

 A motion was put forward that any overexpenditure of the global office budget would be recovered from the next year=s budget allocation subject to the Councillor being personally responsible for any overexpenditure at the end of the three year term of office.

The primary difficulty with this approach is that the Councillor may start a year with a significant amount of his or her global budget already committed in the absence of an approved budget for that year. If Council decides to reduce the global budget in the second or third year of a Council term, an individual Councillor, due to an overexpenditure in a previous year, may be placed in a situation where it would be very difficult to operate his or her office. It is also important to note that allowing Councillors to overspend could result in the overall Council budget being overspent in a given year. This amendment is therefore not recommended.

 2 (I)Corporate Credit Cards

 A motion was put forward to delete the provision for a corporate credit card for City Councillors.

 A corporate credit card is a method of paying for certain expenses such as corporate travel and business meetings. The proposal in the policy was an option for councillors to ease in the administration but not to detract in any way from proper documentation requirements. It should be noted, however, that the proposed policy on Office Administration and Expenses allows Councillors to request advances for travel costs not paid directly by the corporation. Business meeting expenses can also be reimbursed through petty cash or via a monthly expense report. Consequently, it does not appear that credit cards are necessary for Councillors.

 11(a)Travel - Conference/Seminar and Business Travel

 Two motions were put forward pertaining to invitations to speak or participation as a delegate at conferences and seminars such as AMO, FCM, IULA, WAMM, and OGRA:

 (3) It was moved that Section 11(a)(i) - AConference/Seminar@ be amended so that where Councillors are invited to speak at a conference or seminar, such expenditure could be covered under Conference/Seminar and charged to the Councillor=s global budget. The Chief Administrative Officer was also requested to submit a report to Corporate Services Committee on specific criteria related to invitations to speak.

 This amendment presents no difficulty as the Councillor=s global budget is intended to cover conferences attended by the Councillor which are not covered under Business Travel. This could include invitations to speak at a conference or seminar.

 (4) It was moved that Section 11(a)(ii) - ABusiness Travel@ be amended to provide that travel as a delegate to annual or general meetings of organizations such as AMO, FCM. IULA, WAMM, and OGRA be charged to the Council Business Travel Budget.

This amendment is not recommended. The Council business travel budget was established to cover association travel by Members of Council elected or appointed to the executive, board, section executive task force or/committee of FCM, AMO, IULA or WAMM. Such travel is restricted to Councillors who have an official position in the respective associations and their duties require them to travel on association business. This travel furthers corporate interests and has the support of

Council. Travel to specific venues, even if as a delegate, may not be considered in the same way, and consequently requires the prior approval of Council to access the business travel account.

 11(b)Conference/Seminar and Business Travel Approvals

 It was moved that Section 11(b)(i) be amended so that the Councillors and the Mayor shall notify the City Clerk in advance of plans to attend an event.

 This requirement is already met through current administrative practices. Councillors must complete a "request to attend/travel form" prior to attending any conference /seminar (in or out of town) or business trips and forward it to the Council Services Unit. The Mayor would complete a similar form for any travel he undertakes and process the request through his office.

 11(c)Travel Arrangements - Corporate Travel Agent

 It was moved that the requirement to use the corporate travel agent for travel arrangements be deleted.

 Councillors should be encouraged to make their travel arrangements at the lowest possible cost, either through the corporate travel agent or an independent agent of their choice. Accordingly, it may be appropriate to allow Councillors to use another agent if they can obtain travel services at a lower cost.

 11(c)Travel Arrangements - Insurance Coverage

 Committee requested clarification of whether Council Members are covered by the City of Toronto insurance plan, even when the travel is not specifically authorized by Council.

 The City of Toronto purchases three (3) types of insurance coverage which apply to travel. A Travel Accident Policy provides Council Members with a weekly accident indemnity benefit as well as a principal sum benefit in the event of accidental death, dismemberment or permanent disability for injury sustained while attending any meetings and/or conventions. This type of coverage includes travel to and from these events. The General Liability Policy provides coverage for third party damage, bodily injury and personal injury claims. The Non-Owned Automobile Policy provides coverage for third party liability (in excess of that provided by the owner) and legal liability for physical damage to vehicles rented during business trips. However, to minimize the risk to the City, it is recommended that the waiver deductible, covering collision damage, be purchased from the car rental company. In addition, Sun Life covers the payment of fees for medical or hospital services while travelling outside of Ontario up to the reasonable and customary charge.

All types of insurance coverage will apply, provided that Council Members are acting in the capacity as a Councillor, even in situations where Council has not specifically approved the travel.

 14(b)Overtime by Administrative Assistants

 It was moved that this section be amended to provide that overtime worked be included in the General Council Budget, subject to a limit, and that the Chief Administrative Officer and City Clerk report on a reasonable limit.

 In reviewing the past annual overtime expenses of administrative staff of the former municipalities, where such an expense was charged to the general Council or Clerk's budget, an upset limit of approximately two weeks pay per administrative position was the norm.

 If such an expense were to be provided, an additional $90,000 would be required in the General Council budget.

 Given that Councillors manage the workload of their staff, and that lieu time is the most common form of compensation for overtime worked, we recommend that any overtime expenses approved by Councillors for their staff be charged against the Councillor's individual global budget allocation, if funds are not available within the salary budget assigned to the Councillor.

 14(b)Vacation

 It was moved that vacation coverage be provided from the General Council budget up to the City standard.

 The City standard for vacation is, at a minimum, three (3) weeks after one (1) year of service. If Council chooses to provide replacement staff out of the General Council budget to cover up to three (3) weeks vacation for each staff member, an additional $446,100 would be required in the General Council budget.

 Given the corporate practice of not replacing staff who are on vacation and the cost of such a proposal, we do not recommend the provision of specific funds for this purpose.

Conclusions:

 This report responds to a number of issues raised by Committee regarding the administration of Council office expenditures. The City Clerk and City Auditor have been consulted in the development of this report and support its content and recommendations.

 Contact Name:

 Barbara McEwan

Interim Lead, Council Services and Administration

392-4373

Margaret RodriguesWanda Liczyk

Commissioner of Corporate ServicesChief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Michael R. Garrett

Chief Administrative Officer