May 5, 1998
To:Corporate Services Committee
From:City Clerk
Subject:Proposed Fee Structure for Documents and Services provided by the City Clerk=s Secretariat
Purpose:
To recommend appropriate charges for documents and services provided by the City Clerk=s Secretariat.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
The subscription rates for the Council-generated documents reflect appropriate costs associated with the increased volume
of material submitted while balancing the public=s right to information and participation in the governance process. This
report recommends that the City Clerk continue to provide free agenda material to resident and ratepayer associations and
non-profit community organizations and the media. In addition, all Council documents are accessible to the general public
on the Internet. Due to reductions in the printing budget, the subscription rates allow the Clerk=s Secretariat to recover
costs associated with this work process.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that: (1)the charges for copies of documents, certification and research assistance embodied in Appendix 1 of this report, be
approved;
(2)resident and ratepayer associations and non-profit community organizations be provided, free of charge, with agenda
lists only, on written request, and a single copy of any individual agenda item of interest, if necessary;
(3)the City Clerk be given authority to waive charges for copies of documents under exceptional circumstances;
(4)a by-law be introduced to permit the charging for documents, services, research assistance; and
(5)the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Council Reference/Background/History:
The Municipal Act allows a municipality to charge for copies of documents and other services.
This report reviews existing fees charged by the Clerk=s Departments from the former municipalities as well as reviewing
the current volume of materials produced to determine appropriate charges.
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
Copying and Research Fees.
The Municipal Act permits a municipality to pass by-laws imposing fees or charges for services or activities provided or
done by or on behalf of it. The Act also requires that copies be certified under seal, if required. All of the former
municipalities had fees/charges in place for copies of documents generated from the legislative process and for the
provision of certified copies of documents.
Given the demand for services, a review of current charges was undertaken. Appendix 1 depicts the proposed charges for
the subscription service for Council and Committee agendas and minutes, photocopying of documents and certification,
videotapes, information on computer diskettes and research assistance, based on the volumes experienced over the past
three months. The fee schedules from the former Municipalities of East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough,
Toronto, and Metropolitan Toronto, for Council documents and photocopying are on file in the Office of the City Clerk.
The former City of York did not have a formal policy in this regard.
It is recommended that an increase in fees from the former Metropolitan Toronto structure be introduced to more accurately
reflect staff and production costs and to reflect the increased volume of material as a result of the amalgamation of
municipalities. The volume of material produced for Council-related documents has increased by approximately 22 percent
from the 1997 levels for the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto.
The subscriptions shall be paid on an annual basis. The subscription rates include a standard mailing fee which reflects the
average mailing costs for documents of this size. Calculations of postage costs on an individual subscription basis is too
cumbersome and time-consuming.
The Secretariat recognizes the need to inform the public and promote public participation in the decision-making process. It
is recommended that resident and ratepayer associations and non-profit community organizations be provided with agenda
lists and copies of individual agenda items, on request, free of charge. Council and Committee documents are also
accessible on the City of Toronto Website.
The former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto by-law gave the Metropolitan Clerk authority to waive fees for copying
documents, under exceptional circumstances. It is recommended that the City Clerk be granted this authority. The
Secretariat will provide full agenda packages to the media, on written request, and reference libraries free of charge. In
addition, a complete set of agendas will also be available at City Clerk=s in each civic centre.
Once the Secretariat has permanently located at City Hall, consideration will be given to installing public access terminals
within the public area of City Clerk=s and adjacent to the Council Chamber to allow the public to conduct their own
on-line searches with or without assistance from staff. These terminals could be used for a full range of activities emanating
from the City Clerk=s responsibilities. A review is also being undertaken as part of the customer service initiative to install
similar terminals in the civic service centres. Libraries can potentially access Council documents upon the availability of
Internet access in the branches.
Conclusion:
This report addresses the necessity to introduce a uniform fee structure for charges of documents and services emanating
from the City Clerk=s Secretariat while balancing an individual=s access to information.
Contact Names:
Terry Fenton,
Interim Community Council Contact,
778-2002.
Marilyn Toft,
392-4364.
Novina Wong
City Clerk
Appendix 1
*the rates established in Column 2 under the heading A Proposed Fee Structure for City of Toronto@ do not include taxes
and any applicable sales, goods and services or other taxes shall be added thereto.
