Status of Special Committees and Task Forces

The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee recommends the adoption of the report (July 21, 1998) from Mayor Lastman, subject to:

(1)amending Recommendation No. (1)(b) by adding at the end thereof:

"by a sunset date to be approved by Council in order to continue";

(2)amending Recommendation No. (2) by:

(a)deleting therefrom "the Miller Committee";

(b)striking out the words "report to Council" and replacing them with the words "recommend to Council"; and by

(c)adding "and that the World City Committee report to Council through the Economic Development Committee"; and

(3)adding a Recommendation (4) to read as follows:

"(4)(a)the members of the Assessment and Tax Policy Task Force be thanked for all their work;

(b)the Assessment and Tax Policy Task Force be disbanded, as its mandate is now completed; and

(c)in future, any matters related to tax issues be reported through the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee."

The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee submits the following report (July 21, 1998) from Mayor Mel Lastman:

Purpose:

This report proposes principles to guide the establishment of new task forces and recommends changes to the reporting relationships of certain special committees and task forces.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The recommendations in this report have no financial impact.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)before creating a special committee or task force, Council should ensure that:

(a)the work cannot be undertaken by an existing Standing Committee of Council;

(b)the mandate of the new special committee or task force is time limited;

(c)the special committee or task force will report to Council through a Standing Committee; and

(d)the staff and other resources required to support the work of the special committee or task force are identified and available within existing resources;

(2)the Miller Committee and Task Forces on Community Access and Equity, Agencies, Boards and Commissions and the Environment immediately report to Council through the SPPC in order to bring them into conformity with the principles in recommendation (1) above; and

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

Comments:

Since January, Council has created a number of Task Forces and Special Committees. Each of these committees is doing valuable work. However, as a Council, we must take care not to overwhelm staff and ourselves with committees and task forces. Therefore, I am recommending that Council adopt the following principles to guide the establishment of task forces and special committees in the future.

Before creating a special committee or task force, Council should ensure that:

(a)the work cannot be undertaken by an existing Standing Committee of Council;

(b)the mandate of the new special committee or task force is time limited;

(c)the special committee or task force will report to Council through a Standing Committee; and

(d)staff and other resources are available to support the work of the special committee or task force.

The attached chart lists the names, reporting relationships and completion dates of the main task forces and special committees. The majority of these special committees and task forces function in a manner that is consistent with the principles outlined above. Most will complete their mandates by the end of this year. Most also report to Council through Standing Committees. There is a proposal to have the World City Committee begin reporting to the Economic Development Committee which is now up and running.

The Miller Committee and Task Forces on Community Access and Equity, Agencies, Boards and Commissions and the Environment currently report directly to Council. To bring them into conformity with the principles, they too should report through a Standing Committee. As their mandates cut across several policy portfolios, I am recommending that these task forces and special committee report to Council through the SPPC.

Finally, I have requested the CAO to monitor the status of the task forces and special committees as part of the review of the committee structure that his staff are undertaking for the Miller Committee.

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Status Of Special Committees And Task Forces