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SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE FINAL

REPORT OF THE TORONTO TRANSITION TEAM

A G E N D A

Date of Meeting: Friday, June 26, 1998 Enquiry: Patsy Morris
Time: 9:30 a.m. Interim Contact
Location: Committee Room A 392-9151
2nd Floor, Metro Hall
55 John Street
Toronto

 

  DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PURSUANT TO

THE MUNICIPAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST ACT.

  CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES.

  DEPUTATIONS.The List will be available at the Meeting.

 COMMUNICATIONS/REPORTS.

 1.AMENDMENT TO THE TERMS OF REFERENCE OF

THE SUB-COMMITTEE FOR THE RELOCATION

OF ALL MEMBERS OF COUNCIL TO CITY HALL.

 (DEFERRED FROM PREVIOUS MEETING.)

 City Clerk.

(May 21, 1998)

 Advising that the Sub-Committee for the Relocation of All Members of Council to City Hall, recommended to the Special Committee that the Terms of Reference of the Sub-Committee be amended to permit the Sub-Committee to review the long term options for the Civic Centre proposal and its process.

   2.PROGRESS REPORT ON THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE=S WORKPLAN.

 Chief Administrative Officer.

(May 13, 1998)

 Recommending that:

 (1)the Special Committee take no further action on the recommendations of the Toronto Transition Team that deal with administrative and public policy matters, listed in Appendix A to this report;

 (2)the recommendations of the Toronto Transition Team that deal with administrative and public policy matters, listed in Appendix A to this report, be referred to the Chief Administrative Officer and Commissioners for information and consideration, if appropriate, in their respective areas of responsibility;

 (3)the Special Committee=s mandate continue for the remainder of 1998 to enable it to complete the outstanding items on its workplan;

 (4)the major focus for the Special Committee=s work in the coming months be on the review of governance, including the interconnected and complex issues related to citizen involvement and governance structures; and

 (5)the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

  3.THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMUNITY COUNCILS

IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COUNCIL-COMMITTEE STRUCTURE.

 (DEPUTATION ITEM.)

 Chief Administrative Officer.

(June 13, 1998)

 Recommending that:

 Clarification of Community Councils= Roles within the Current Council-Committee Structure:

 Transportation:

 (1)to simplify the political decision-making process and enable Community Councils to deal with matters related to the former Metropolitan roads in addition to community roads:

 (a)Council endorse the principle that, once Council adopts a consolidated road classification system and traffic operations policies, responsibility be delegated to Community Councils to deal with matters related to all roads within their area of jurisdiction, except for policies and matters delegated to the Urban Environment and Development Committee (UEDC);

 (b)the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services give priority to the preparation of a road classification system and associated traffic operations policies, for review by the UEDC and adoption by Council; and

 (c)the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services submit a report to the UEDC on how the Transportation Services Division will phase in the delegation of these responsibilities;

 (2)the UEDC continue to be responsible for policies and matters related to the road system which are of City-wide significance, such as the road classification system, traffic operations policies, road maintenance policies, right-of-way use and occupation policies, budgets prepared with input from the Community Councils, and all matters related to expressways;

 Planning and Development:

 (3)in response to Council=s request of June 3 and 4, 1998 that the City Clerk and the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services submit a joint report to the Special Committee on a protocol for the processing of planning matters, and to ensure that there is input from both the UEDC and the Community Councils:

 (a)the City Clerk and the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services report on the protocol for the processing of planning matters to the July 13, 1998 meeting of the UEDC for information and comments directly to the Special Committee meeting scheduled to be held on July 17, 1998;

 (b)the Special Committee forward the report and its comments to the July 22, 1998 meetings of the Community Councils for information and comments directly to the July 29, 1998 meeting of Council; and

 (c)in developing the protocol, the following principles be considered:

 (i)the guidelines should provide clarity in interpretation, yet allow for flexibility in application;

 (ii)if a City-wide interest cannot be established, then the matter should be considered a local interest by default and be processed through a Community Council;

 (iii)decisions regarding how planning matters are routed through Committees of Council should be made as early as possible;

 (iv)Community Councils should continue to have input in planning matters identified to be of City-wide interest; and

 (v)only one Committee of Council should make recommendations to Council on any given planning matter;

 Delegation:

 (4)to streamline Community Council and City Council agendas:

 (a)Council delegate final decision-making authority to:

 (i)the Chief Planning Official with respect to applications for permission under site plan control and ravine by-laws;

 (ii)the Director, Municipal Standards with respect to applications for permission under fence by-laws; and

 (iii)the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism with respect to applications for permission under tree by-laws,

 with the provision that ward Councillors will be notified about the applications and, if the applicant or a Member of Council is not satisfied with the proposed staff decision, staff will refer the matter to the appropriate Community Council to hear deputations and make a decision; and

 (b)the City Solicitor, in consultation with the City Clerk and the Commissioners of affected departments, submit a report to the Special Committee on additional matters, currently within the purview of the Standing Committees and Community Councils, that can be delegated to staff under current legislation;

 Parks and Recreation:

 (5)the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism submit a report to the Task Force on Agencies, Boards and Commissions on options for stakeholder and volunteer input to the Parks and Recreation Division;

 Relationship of Community Councils to City Council:

 (6)because City Council is the municipality=s Alegislature@ and should have the exclusive authority to legislate via the enactment of by-laws, Council not approve proposals to:

 (a)pursue legislative changes to empower committees of Council, including Community Councils, to pass by-laws; and

 (b)provide Community Councils with discretionary funding authority independent of City Council;

 (7)to explore Council=s options to delegate to Community Councils certain prescribed categories of final decisions involving the application of some discretion, the City Solicitor and the City Clerk, in consultation with the CAO and the Commissioners, submit a report to the Special Committee on the feasibility and legality of the delegation of the following responsibilities to another level within the legislative structure:

 (a)licensing and extension of boulevard cafes;

 (b)special occasion LLBO permits;

 (c)street name changes;

 (d)parking pad issues;

 (e)temporary road closures for special events;

 (f)installation of stop signs on local roads;

 (g)installation of speed bumps;

 (h)changes to parking prohibitions on local roads;

 (i)preliminary evaluation reports for planning applications;

 (j)regular contract awards to the lowest bidder where funding for the project has already been approved in the budget; and

 (k)appointments to local BIAs and recreation centre boards;

 (8)to reflect their geographic focus and status within the overall Council-Committee structure, the Community Councils be renamed so that they will now be known as the East York Committee, Etobicoke Committee, North York Committee, Scarborough Committee, Toronto Committee and York Committee;

 Community Council Boundaries:

 (9)to assess alternative approaches to ensuring that the City=s government has an effective geographic focus, the Special Committee=s examination of Council=s political decision-making structure should include consideration of:

 (a)the appropriateness of the current Community Council boundaries;

 (b) the process for defining geographic committees of Council; and

 (c)linkages to the ward boundary review being undertaken by the UEDC;

 Citizen Involvement in Government:

 (10)the CAO=s forthcoming report on citizen involvement in municipal governance explore more fully the experience of other jurisdictions in this regard and comment further on the potential of Citizens= Assemblies;

 Council-Committee Structure and Procedures:

 (11)to develop a made-in-Toronto, citizen-centred, political governance structure to come into effect for the second eighteen months of the Council term:

 (a)the CAO report to the Special Committee by October 1998 on new political decision-making structures and procedures of Council and its Committees that will:

(i)ensure that Council=s decision-making structures are sensitive to, accommodate and protect the diverse needs of all members of the community and unique character of all areas of the City;

 (ii)recognise the value of a geographic focus in the consideration of Council business;

 (iii)provide a visible, accessible and meaningful process for members of the community, Members of Council and City staff to participate in and respond to Council=s deliberations and decision-making process;

 (iv)ensure that the role, function, policies and decisions of Council and its Committees are clear and communicated effectively throughout the organisation and to the community;

 (v)assert Council=s policy direction and financial control over all parts of the organisation and its agencies, boards and commissions; and

 (vi)facilitate the efficient management of Council=s workload; and

 (b)a small workgroup of Members of the Special Committee, including the Chair, act as a reference group to staff in the review of the political decision-making structures and procedures of Council and its Committees;

 (12)Council not establish any new committees or task forces until the Special Committee brings forward its recommendations on political governance structures for the City, unless there are exceptional circumstances that cannot be accommodated within the existing Committee structure;

 General Recommendations:

 (13)authority be granted for the introduction of any Bills necessary to effect the foregoing; and

 (14)the appropriate City Officials be authorised to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

  3(a).City Clerk, Etobicoke Community Council.

(May 15, 1998)

 Advising that the Etobicoke Community Council:

 (1)referred the submissions received at a public meeting held on May 7, 1998, to hear deputations on the Role of the Community Council, to the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team; and

 (2)received the communication (March 12, 1998) from the City Clerk forwarding Clause No. 2 of Report No. 3 of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team, headed ADraft Discussion Paper on the Roles and Responsibilities of Community Councils@.

  3(b).City Clerk, Scarborough Community Council.

(May 11, 1998)

 Advising that The Scarborough Community Council, on May 7, 1998, directed that The Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team be advised that the Scarborough Community Council:

 (a)held a public meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, 1998, to obtain public input on The Roles and Responsibilities of Community Councils;

 (b)heard deputations from the following persons:

 -Ms. Doreen Lalor, Ward 13 resident;

-Mr. Andrew Schulz, The Community Resource Centre of Scarborough;

-Dr. Bob Frankford, Ward 13 resident;

-Mr. Sandy Grigg, President, Cliffcrest Community Association;

-Ms. Helen Jensen, Ward 13 resident; and

-Ms. Marike Nepaszing, Ward 17 resident; and

 (c)in addition to the foregoing, received written submissions from:

 -Mr. Alan Carter; and

-Mr. Bob Gazey;

 (d)directed that all written submissions be forwarded for the information of The Special Committee; and

 (e)reiterated its previous position, taken at The Scarborough Community Council meeting held on April 1, 1998, concurring in the recommendations of The Special Committee that Community Councils:

 (i)be permitted to establish sub-committees; and

 (ii)be permitted to record votes at meetings.

  3(c).City Clerk, East York Community Council.

(April 21, 1998)

 Advising that The East York Community Council on April 20, 1998:

 (1)recommended to the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team:

 (i)that a list of municipal functions/responsibilities be established by the Special Committee which reflect city-wide or broad municipal interest including the following:

 (a)the authority to pass by-laws;

 (b)the authority to restructure Community Council boundaries, alter ward boundaries or change councillor representation;

 (c)the authority to levy taxes;

 (d)the ability to issue debentures;

 (e)the power to expropriate land;

 (f)the power to enter into agreements, or to sue or be sued;

 (g)the ability to hold title to property;

 (h)the power to appoint municipal officers or to hire and fire staff; and

 (i)the authority to make grants;

 (ii)that any other municipal functions/responsibilities be deemed residual which shall be dealt with by the community councils;

 (iii)that Community Councils be granted the authority to carry out any policy or by-law adopted by City Council whereby the discretion shall be vested with the community council;

 (iv)that Community Councils be consulted during the standardization and consolidation process of all municipal by-laws;

 (v)that general acceptance of the recommendations and comments in Appendices 1 and 2 of the aforementioned report of the Special Committee with the exception of the following recommendations from Appendix 1 whereby concern was expressed:

 (a)Recommendation 2) (c) regarding many functions previously handled at the Metro level which could and should be devolved to the community councils, including many former Metro roads and all Metro parks and requesting Council to continue to review all its functions to allow for the maximum local delivery of service;

 (b)Recommendation 2) (d) regarding the linkage of functions into the existing community service infrastructure to allow citizens to enjoy cost savings and service integration;

 (c)Recommendation 2) (e) regarding community councils retaining responsibility for most of the areas they now oversee, including sewers, garbage, non-regional roads, parks, recreation centres, and planning matters other than regional planning and the Official Plan;

 (d)Recommendation 4 in its entirety regarding how community councils set and spend their budgets; and

 (e)Recommendation 5) (c) regarding the premise that all staff serving the functions managed by community councils would report to the community council;

 (vi)endorsement of the principle that a two-thirds majority vote by City Council be required to overturn recommendations made by community councils;

 (2)requested the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer to report directly to the Special Committee on the feasibility of granting discretionary funds to Community Councils; and

 (3)received the report (March 1998) of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team with respect to the draft discussion paper on the roles and responsibilities and requesting the East York Community Council to report to the Special Committee after receiving community input.

  3(d).City Clerk, Toronto Community Council.

(May 14, 1998)

 Advising that The Toronto Community Council:

 (1)recommended to the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Transition Team that the City=s delegates to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) national convention, particularly the FCM Board Members from the City of Toronto, urge the FCM to develop a comprehensive position and strategy to accomplish a constitutional amendment which will provide for municipalities to be autonomous orders of government within Canada=s governance structure;

 (2)urged the Special Committee to insist on the broadest possible interpretation of the powers which may be actually or essentially delegated to Community Councils and to be as creative as possible to provide for achieving these objectives. For example the following tools should be developed: a framework for a community council budget; a by-law delegating significant planning approvals to the Community Council;

 (3)recommended to the Special Committee that staff be requested to assist the Working Group on Community Consultation in drawing up a list of specific responsibilities (including specific by-law making powers and specific budgetary powers) which would be delegated to Community Councils, in keeping with the proposal from the Working Group endorsed by Toronto Community Council, and that this list be forwarded to the Special Committee as a model for the delegation of powers.

 The Toronto Community Council also:

 (1) adopted the following motion from Councillor McConnell:

 AWHEREAS the report of the Working Group on Citizen Participation called for the delegation of by-law powers, limited budgetary authority, staff direction and service management to the Community Councils; and

 WHEREAS the Toronto Community Council has already endorsed the report of the Working Group; and

 WHEREAS the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Transition Team will quickly be developing final, concrete proposals regarding the powers of Community Councils;

 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Toronto Community Council strongly encourage the Special Committee, and through it, City Council, to actively pursue the power to delegate by-law making authority to Community Councils, and;

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Toronto Community Council strongly urge the Special Committee, and through it, City Council, to reduce the burden of issues at Council by fully delegating matters that are clearly local in scope to the Community Councils;

 (2)received the report titled, ARoles and Responsibilities of the Community Councils - A Discussion Paper (March 1998)@ and thanked the members and Chair of the Special Committee for their efforts in this regard.

  3(e).City Clerk, North York Community Council.

(June 2, 1998)

 Advising that The North York Community Council on May 27, 1998, recommended to the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team that:

 (1)the Ontario Legislature be petitioned on an urgent basis to amend Bill 103 by deleting the current subsection 8(4) and substituting a provision substantially as follows:

 8(4)The City Council may, by by-law, assign to a Community Council, with respect to the part of the urban area that it represents, any function that City Council may carry out in respect of that part of the urban area; and

 8(4.1)Without limiting the generality of subsection (4), the City Council may assign to a Community Council the authority to make recommendations for by-laws which recommendations, subject to subsection (7), oblige the City Council to act under subsection (6); and

 this resolution be circulated to the other Community Councils in the City of Toronto;

 (2)the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer be requested to develop a model whereby the Community Councils would have budgets which could be used for discretionary spending to reflect local priorities, such budgets to be calculated on a per capita population basis;

 (3)the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism be requested to report on how heritage issues such as the designation and preservation of heritage properties can be dealt with by Community Councils;

 (4)there be staff from the Clerk's Department on site to service the Community Council exclusively;

 (5)responsibility for the payment of Councillors' office expenses be transferred from the Clerk's Department to the Finance Department;

 (6)a model be implemented whereby the City Council will deal with major issues such as of waste disposal, sewage treatment, water treatment, police, fire, etc., and that Community Councils be left to deal with community issues; and

(7)Community Councils determine their own procedural by-laws.

  3(f).City Clerk.

(May 21, 1998)

 Enclosing for information and any attention deemed necessary, Clause No.1 contained in Report No. 6 of The Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team, headed APreliminary Revisions to the Interim Procedural By-law@, which was adopted, as amended, by the Council of the City of Toronto on May 13 and 14, 1998, such Clause embodying the following recommendation:

 AIt is further recommended that:

 (a)the following procedure for hearing deputations from the public and from Councillors at Committee meetings who are not members of the Committee be forwarded to the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team for consideration:

 >(i)introduction by the Chair of the subject matter. (Ward Councillors are informed in advance of the meeting by the Committee Secretary with regard to items on the Agenda relating to his/her Ward to which requests have been communicated to the Clerk to appear before Committee.);

 (ii)deputant(s) appear before Committee on the subject matter;

 (iii)Committee Members and non-Committee Members may ask questions of deputant(s) through the Chair of the Committee;

 (iv)Non-Committee Members who wish to address the Committee are then permitted to speak as deputants;

 (v)subject matter is then considered and debated by Committee Members only and decision made; and

 (vi)public informed of Committee decision.@

  3(g).City Clerk, North York Community Council.

(April 14, 1998)

 Advising that the North York Community Council on April 1, 1998, requested that the Special Committee consider the matter of City Council referring back to Community Councils planning items on which public hearings have been held and whether City Council has the authority to refer such items back to Community Councils.

 4.PROCEDURAL BY-LAW AMENDMENTS -

APRESIDING MEMBER OF COUNCIL@.

 City Solicitor and City Clerk.

(May 19, 1998)

 Responding to the request of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of Toronto Transition Team, that the City Solicitor and City Clerk report on a proposal of Councillor Faubert concerning the use of a "presiding member of Council", and report further on a reference to be made in the Procedural By-Law for unprovided cases; and recommending that:

 (1)the status quo, recognizing the Mayor as the Chair of Council and appointing a Deputy Mayor as provided for in the Municipal Act, be maintained and that references to Second Deputy Mayor and Third Deputy Mayor in the Procedural By-Law be deleted; and

 (2)the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario be used in unprovided cases.

  5.PROCEDURAL BY-LAW AMENDMENT TO PERMIT

REQUEST FOR RECORDED VOTES AT MEETINGS OF

STANDING COMMITTEES AND COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL.

 Ms. Rhona Swarbrick,

Etobicoke Citizens for Effective Government.

(June 14, 1998)

 Advising that the Arequest for a recorded vore@ has recently been incorporated into the procedures for meetings of Community Councils; that what remains now is to amend the Procedural By-law to include the provision for a call for a recorded vote at all political meetings; and that the amendment to the Procedural By-law clarify that the results of recorded voates be included in the reports that go to Council as well as in the minutes of the committee meetings.

  6.TRANSITION TEAM=S RECOMMENDATION

RESPECTING ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.

 Chief Administrative Officer.

(June 10, 1998)

 Responding to the request from the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team that the Chief Administrative Officer report on how the new city should handle environmental issues from an administrative point of view; advising that the report is a progress report on the steps that the corporation is taking to implement the relevant parts of Recommendation No. 42 of the Final Report of the Transition Team; that there are no financial implications to this progress report; and recommending that the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team receive this report for information.

ANY OTHER MATTERS.

[Agenda index]

 

   
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