April 16, 1998

To:Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team

From:Councillor David Miller

Chair, Special Committee

Subject:Public Consultations on the Roles and Responsibilities of Community Councils

Purpose:

This report describes the progress of consultations with the public regarding the roles and responsibilities of the Community Councils.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial impacts.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that this report be forwarded to Council for information.

Council Reference/Background/History:

On March 4, 5, and 6, 1998 Council adopted Clause No. 2 of Report No. 3 of the Special Committee, entitled ADraft Discussion Paper on the Roles and responsibilities of Community Councils.@ In adopting the Clause, Council directed that:

 (1)the discussion paper on Community Councils, as amended by the Special Committee, be referred to the Community Councils for consideration and community input, and report thereon to the Special Committee;

 (2)the discussion paper and a short questionnaire requesting public feedback be made available to the public through the City=s Civic Service Centres and libraries, be distributed to everyone on the Special Committee=s mailing list, be circulated to all Members of council for distribution to their constituents, and be posted on the City=s site on the Internet;

 (3)the Special Committee hold one or more focused workshops on Community Councils.

 This report outlines the progress to date in undertaking these consultation initiatives.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Distribution of the Consultation Document:

Following the March Council meeting, staff revised the discussion paper to incorporate the amendments that were adopted by Council. Subsequently, in late March the discussion paper was mailed to all individuals and organizations on the Special Committee=s mailing list. Multiple copies of the discussion paper were sent to all branches of the City=s library system and Access Toronto was requested to make copies available in each of the Civic Service Centres. Copies of the discussion paper, including a master copy suitable for duplicating, were distributed to all Members of Council.

The discussion paper included a letter from the Chair of the Special Committee requesting readers= comments on how they think Community Councils are working and what might be done to improve the role they play in the government of our City. The following five questions were provided to help focus the feedback:

 (1)How do you define the community in which you live or own a business?

 (2)What should be done to ensure that Toronto=s City government is responsive to the needs and priorities of individual communities like the one in which you live?

 (3)Do the present boundaries of the Community Councils make sense? If not, how should they change?

 (4)What is a good way to distinguish between matters of City-wide importance and matters of local community importance?

 (5)What is the best way to ensure that individual citizens and communities continue to have access to decision-makers?

The complete text of the discussion paper and the questionnaire were also placed on the City=s website on the Internet.

By April 15, twenty-four members of the public had faxed or e-mailed their comments. These are currently being reviewed by staff together with the motions and correspondence that have already been referred to the Special Committee.

The City's employees have a great deal of experience and viewpoints to share. Bulletins are being posted at all worksites inviting employees to read the discussion paper and submit their comments.

 Focus Group Discussions:

 The Special Committee sponsored three focus group discussions in early April. In view of the broad scope of the community consultation expected to be undertaken by the Community Councils, these sessions were organized with invited participants and concentrated on specific activities that are or could be within the realm of Community Councils= responsibilities.

On April 6, 1998 a focus group on the role of Community Councils in recreation services was held at Montgomery Inn Community Centre. Twenty-eight people, based on a reference group developed by the Parks Commissioners in the former municipalities, were invited to participate and seventeen attended the session. Senior staff from the City's Parks and Recreation Services presented a model for the division of responsibilities for parks and recreation matters between Community Councils and other Standing Committees. This presentation provided the launch pad for a discussion of issues and options. Councillor Saundercook attended this focus group.

On April 7, 1998 a focus group on the role of Community Councils in planning and development control was held at the Agincourt Community Centre. Twenty-five people representing, for example, developers, ratepayers and residents associations, transportation planners, organized labour and development lawyers were invited and fourteen attended. Senior planning staff presented models for Community Councils= roles in development control and the development of City-wide planning policy to begin the discussion.

On April 8, 1998 a workshop on the concept of Neighbourhood Report Cards was held at North Toronto Memorial Centre. This workshop was organized jointly with the Toronto Community and Social Planning Council. Sixty-four people representing a wide range of organizations, agencies and individuals from across the City were invited to participate. Forty-five people were able to attend. Councillor Moscoe attended this session.

 I chaired the first two focus groups and co-chaired the third workshop. The sessions allowed for an excellent exchange of ideas. The output from the three sessions is currently being reviewed by staff.

 Community Consultations by the Community Councils:

 The Community Councils have planned to undertake the following consultation initiatives.

 (1)East York Community Council has scheduled a public meeting at the East York Civic Service Centre on the evening of April 20, 1998.

 (2)Etobicoke Community Council will hold a public meeting at the Etobicoke Civic Service Centre on the evening of May 7, 1998.

 (3)North York Community Council will hold two workshops and a public meeting. At the time of writing, the dates of these sessions are yet to be confirmed but are expected to be during May 1998.

 (4)Scarborough Community Council will hold a public meeting at the Scarborough Civic Service Centre on the evening of May 7, 1998.

 (5)Toronto Community Council has an ongoing process involving a Working Group on Citizen Participation. The recommendations embodied in the Working Group=s First Report have already been before the Special Committee, which recommended their incorporation into the discussion paper on the roles and responsibilities of Community Councils. Toronto Community Council will also hold a public meeting. At the time of writing, the date of the public meeting was yet to be confirmed but it is expected to take place during May 1998.

 (6)York Community Council does not plan to hold a public meeting but has undertaken a direct mailing of the discussion paper to approximately 350 individuals and organizations and requested them to submit their comments directly to the Special Committee.

Conclusions:

This is a report on the status of consultations on the roles and responsibilities of Community Councils that Council requested the Special Committee and Community Councils to undertake. As noted above, the Community Councils have not yet completed their community consultations. It is also expected that more written submissions will be received from the public and employees. However, a number of themes and issues are apparent from the public feedback received to date and the focus group discussions. These include the following:

 -The roles, responsibilities and authority of Community Councils need to be considered within the broader context of citizen involvement in the City=s government and the overall Council-Committee structure.

 -Some issues, including Community Council boundaries, should be approached carefully and will take longer to resolve. This should not prevent the Special Committee from: proposing immediate changes to clarify the mandates of the Community Councils and their relationship to and distinction from other Committees of Council; identifying opportunities for greater delegation to Community Councils and, where appropriate, staff; and recommending a variety of procedural changes to make Community Council and general City business occur more accessibly, responsively, effectively and efficiently.

 -There is a strong desire for the City to have a real, visible and accessible physical presence in communities across the City. This applies equally to service delivery and political decision-making. The geographic decentralization of political decision-making through the Community Councils is a valued aspect of the new City government.

The Special Committee will prepare its recommendations on the roles and responsibilities of Community Councils upon completion of the various consultation initiatives described in this report. Given the schedule of Community Council consultations, it is likely that the Special Committee will be in a position to consider recommendations at its first meeting after mid-May. This is later than had been projected in the Special Committee=s workplan, but the input from the Community Councils following their public consultations is essential to the Special Committee=s deliberations on this important matter.

David Miller