November 2, 1999

To: Policy and Finance Committee

From: Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services

Subject: Expenditures for the Previous Task Force on Community Safety

Purpose:

This report responds to the request for information regarding expenditures for the previous Task Force on Community Safety.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial implications arising from this report. Implications for the ongoing work of the reconstituted Task Force on Community Safety have been identified in the report entitled "A Reconstituted Task Force on Community Safety" submitted by the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, deferred for consideration by the Policy and Finance Committee to its November 10, 1999 meeting.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Background:

At its meeting on October 14, 1999, the Policy and Finance Committee deferred consideration of a report entitled "A Reconstituted Task Force on Community Safety" submitted by the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services and requested that the Commissioner submit a report on the full cost to date of the work of the previous Task Force on Community Safety. This report is submitted in response to that request. Staff of the Chief Administrator's Office were consulted in the preparation of this report.

Comments:

The original Task Force on Community Safety was established by Toronto Council in 1998 to identify key safety concerns of communities across the city and to develop a comprehensive, coordinated and community-based safety strategy for the City of Toronto. The focus of its activities involved crime prevention research, best practices reviews and community consultations. A budget of $35,000.00 was set aside within the Clerks budget for the work of the Task Force on Community Safety, however a grant from the National Crime Prevention Centre brought the total available revenues to $47,000.00 for the work of the Task Force. In kind contributions were also made by the Healthy City Office. Task Force expenditures related to Task Force and community meetings, the City's safety conference, printing and distribution of the Task Force report, promotional materials, presentations, and related supplies.

Staff support for the Council-established Task Force came from the Healthy City Office who took a lead role in coordinating the work of the Task Force. Core staff support for the Task Force was the equivalent of a .75 FTE planner, with some administrative support from within the Healthy City Office and dedicated secretariat support from the City Clerk's Division of Corporate Services. The Task Force also had an inter-departmental staff work group acting as a resource to it. The staff resource group assimilated Task Force findings and ideas, and coordinated these with respective service and program planning within the City.

With the completion of the mandate of the previous Task Force on Community Safety, staff of the Healthy City Office have now redirected policy and planning support to new City initiatives which include the City's smog prevention and reduction strategy, support to the Toronto Inter-departmental Environment Team chaired by the Chief Administrative Officer and the development of the State of the City report for the new City. In addition, the Healthy City Office has been directed to expand its mandate and work across the whole City.

Staff Support for a Reconstituted Task Force on Community Safety:

The October 8, 1999 report on a Reconstituted Task Force on Community Safety identifies the transfer of core support responsibility from the Healthy City Office to the Social Development and Administration Division of Community and Neighbourhood Services. The report acknowledges that the transfer of the lead responsibility to Social Development and Administration has considerable resource implications for the Department as the focus of the initiative shifts from strategy development to implementation.

The Task Force's 35 wide-ranging recommendations, approved by Toronto Council at its March 2, 3 and 4, 1999 Council meeting, has implications for programs and agencies across the corporation, requiring extensive coordination and implementation support. In addition, the Healthy City Office of the former City of Toronto historically played the role of a community safety information clearinghouse for Toronto's communities and other jurisdictions, including international bodies. This expectation has also transferred to Social Development as policy staff continue to field questions from communities, organizations and other jurisdictions who expect the City to continue to provide information, advice and support to community safety initiatives.

The October 8, 1999 report identifies that while the Social Development and Administration Division has absorbed the policy development and project management functions through a reallocation of existing resources, there is no available administrative and clerical support within the division to meet the increased workload. In addition, the report outlines preliminary financial implications for the implementation of the City's community safety strategy, as reported back from affected city operations.

Conclusions:

In the development of City policies guiding the establishment of Council-initiated task forces, Council has acknowledged that such initiatives require the support of program staff. This support comes in the form of core lead support as well as broader staff resources to provide advice on the multi-disciplinary issues that arise in the course of task force work. This report provides an overview of resources provided for the previous Task Force on Community Safety and required resources for the reconstituted Task Force.

Contact:

Lydia Fitchko, Policy Development Officer

Tel: 392-5397

Fax: 392-8492

Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services