February 24, 1999

WORKS AND UTILITIES COMMITTEE:

The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee at its meeting on February23, 1999, had before it a report (February19, 1999) from the Chief Administrative Officer, recommending that:

(1)this report be forwarded to the Budget Committee for service level recommendations as part of the 1999 Operating Budget process:

(2)the shaded "Baseline Service Level" and options for the programs outlined in Tables 1 and2 have formed the basis for the 1999 preliminary Operating estimates, and be considered by the Budget Committee as part of the 1999 Operating Budget process;

(3)service level harmonization reviews within Departments continue through 1999 resulting in the determination of Baseline Service Levels and options for other programs and services;

(4)this report be forwarded to Community Councils and the respective standing committees;

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

The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee:

(1)endorsed the Recommendations embodied in the foregoing report; and

(2)requested the Works and Utilities Committee and the Urban Environment and Development Committee to convene a joint meeting, as soon as possible, to consider policy issues, and report their findings to the Budget Committee for inclusion in the 1999 Operating Budget.

City Clerk

P. Morris/in

Item No. 15

Sent to:Budget Committee

Works and Utilities Committee

Urban Environment and Development Committee

Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee

East York Community Council

Etobicoke Community Council

North York Community Council

Scarborough Community Council

Toronto Community Council

York Community Council

c.Chief Administrative Officer

Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services

Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services

Commissioner of Planning and Urban Development Services

February 19, 1999

To:Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee

From:Chief Administrative Officer

Subject:Service Level Harmonization

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to update the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee on the process undertaken by departments for the harmonization of various service levels for common programs inherited from the former municipalities, and provide a summary of the options submitted to the respective Standing Committees.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Harmonization of service levels will result in financial impact for some programs; the analysis of the range of impacts is still under development and on going by departments and will be reported separately as part of the 1999 budget process.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)this report be forwarded to the Budget Committee for service level recommendations as part of the 1999 operating budget process;

(2)the shaded "Baseline Service Level" and options for the programs outlined in Tables 1 and 2 have formed the basis for the 1999 preliminary operating estimates, and be considered by the Budget Committee as part of the 1999 operating budget process;

(3)service level harmonization reviews within departments continue through 1999 resulting in the determination of Baseline Service Levels and options for other programs and services;

(4)this report be forwarded to Community Councils and the respective standing committees; and

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

Council Reference:

At its meeting of November 25, 26 & 27, 1998, Council approved the Chief Administrative Officer's report on service level harmonization.

This report outlines the process undertaken to date by departments for service level harmonization for 1999, and provides a summary of the service level harmonization options submitted to the respective standing committees in relation to solid waste and collection, winter maintenance, public health and libraries.

Comments:

Background

During 1998, the status quo was maintained in relation to service levels and user fees for the various programs and services offered to the public. As a successor municipality, the City continues to provide services to its residents, while trying to rationalize and harmonize them from the perspective of the unified City. During 1998, amalgamating departments whose programs and services have been restructured, reviewed and assessed their respective programs for the harmonization of service levels, and consistent with CAO guidelines, submitted their 1999 service level harmonization options with financial impact to their respective standing committees during November 1998 to January 1999. The options presented to the respective standing committees are summarized with financial impacts in this report (attached Tables 1 and 2) in relation to solid waste and collection, winter maintenance and libraries.

As previously reported, the harmonization of services, service levels, and user fees have different aspects and a variety of processes were initiated in 1998 within departments based on specific circumstances. These initiatives within the departments fall into the following major categories:

(a)Operational Programs: Key programs and services were identified as harmonization candidates, by the Senior Management Team and previously reported by the Chief Administrative Officer. This report provides a status update on these key programs.

(b)Review of the harmonization of user fees for recreational programs was carried out through a public consultation process approved by the User Fee Committee established by Council in 1998, and separately reported on to the Economic Development Committee.

(c)Harmonization and rationalization of programs, services and facilities which may result in capital spending will be addressed through the City's capital works programs in 1999 and beyond.

Harmonization of other programs and services which will not have a material financial impact will be dealt with through the normal 1999 budget process.

Process for Harmonization of Service Levels

The Chief Administrative Officer provided department heads with guidelines for service level harmonization and requested departments to conduct an assessment pertaining to the analysis of variations in existing service levels between former municipalities; financial analysis relating to the total cost of service; cost implications of setting service standards at various levels; opportunities for cost reduction and potential savings; and special considerations i.e., legal commitments, equipment availability, and capital expenditures.

In conducting the service level harmonization review and options analysis, departments had to take into consideration:

·existing variations in service levels and the cost of delivering the services;

·unique needs and neighbourhood characteristics that may result in variations; and

·recommended baseline service levels and/or options as a result of the consolidation of the seven jurisdictions and the net impact on the 1999 operating and capital budget.

In recommending the service level options to the Standing Committees, departments adopted a "Needs Based Approach" resulting in (a) the establishment of a "Baseline Service Levels" accessible by all residents based on pre-determined principles; and (b) any variations to the Baseline Service Level be assessed taking into consideration: urban form, socio/economic factors, demographics, infrastructure maintenance, and, risk to life and property. Also, the City's ability to pay for such service levels would also be a critical consideration.

In striving to establish and recommend the appropriate baseline service level, departments were also required to adhere to a set of harmonization principles: compliance with legislated requirements and Council priorities; accessibility strategies; responsiveness to community needs; impact on other programs; detailed service cost analysis; analysis of demographic and geographic variables; and potential impact on low income groups.

From 1999 onwards, departments will also be required to develop multi-year program plans which will facilitate the determination of core and non core programs.

From November 1998 to January 1999, commissioners briefed their respective Standing Committees on the analysis, options, and financial impact for the harmonization of service levels, as outlined in tables 1 and 2.

Within the context of service level harmonization, "Baseline Service Level" refers to specific services and programs assessed by program staff to be at a sufficient level to meet the varying needs of the residential and commercial sectors, taking into consideration harmonization principles and financial constraints.

Service Level Harmonization Options

(a)Solid Waste Management (Table 1)

Service Level harmonization options for solid waste collection and recycling (table 1) were originally presented to the Works & Utilities Committee in November 1998, with preliminary cost impacts for each of the recommended options. Further analysis is also required to refine the cost impact estimates.

The following is a list of collection services that require harmonization:

·curbside garbage and recycling collection services;

·curbside yard waste collection services;

·rear and side yard collection service;

·provision of curbside recycling boxes;

·curbside collection services for medium density multi-unit residences;

·provision of bulklift bins; and

·service to small commercial and institutional properties.

Many variations exist among the former area municipalities with respect to the provision of waste and recycling collection services to low and medium density residential properties, small commercial properties, institutional properties and a small number of industrial properties. These variations consist mostly of differences in frequency and seasonal duration of services and, in the particular case of medium density residential, small commercial and institutional properties, eligibility for services.

Service level recommendations were submitted to the Works and Utilities Committee on January 13, 1999, and deferred by the Committee pending consideration of harmonization of services by Council, and the proposed strategic planning exercise by the CAO.

A summary of the options considered together with the Baseline Service Level is outlined in Table 1.

(b)Winter Maintenance (Table 2)

Many variations also exist among the former municipalities with respect to the provision of road and sidewalk winter maintenance and street cleaning in Transportation Services. There are four particular services in road operations that have varied service levels among the former seven municipal jurisdictions, and which are financially significant and very visible. These are:

a.Winter Maintenance

-salting/sanding and ploughing pavements

-removal of windrows of snow from driveways

-clearing of sidewalks

-senior and disabled person program

b.Street Cleaning

-sweeping and flushing pavements

-sidewalk litter removal

-leaf collection

The levels of service provided by the former municipalities in some cases were relatively similar, i.e., salting/sanding and ploughing pavements. Other service levels differed significantly, i.e., clearing of snow from sidewalks and driveway windrows.

The derivation and assessment of level of service options involves a number of basic questions including the following:

·defining minimum service levels with acceptable risk to the Corporation and/or that are commensurate with basic responsibilities of the Corporation;

·assessing public and political acceptability particularly for services that are elective and not safety related;

·defining what is affordable;

·deriving an acceptable balance between the apparent desire for uniform service levels versus the need for varied service levels depending on differing requirements; and

·ensuring that the respective implementation schedule for changes is realistic relative to constraints but is also sufficiently aggressive relative to corporate expenditure reduction objectives.

A Departmental report outlining the options was considered by UED Committee on November 3, 1998, and forwarded to the Budget Committee where it was deferred to 1999.

The summary of options assessed by the Department is presented in Table 2 together with the Baseline Service Level.

(c)Library

Currently, Sunday opening varies across the former cities. Sunday service is provided at 19 libraries in the former municipalities of East York, Etobicoke, North York and Toronto. No Sunday service is available in Scarborough or York. An equitable redistribution of Sunday hours would provide library service on Sunday to all areas of the city and can be accomplished within the existing budget.

A plan to provide Sunday service at the 17 district libraries and the two research and reference libraries has been approved by the Library Board. Each library would be open 28 Sundays for part of the day, commencing with the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and extending to the Sunday prior to the Victoria Day weekend. The harmonized schedule would begin in October 1999.

The Library Board has approved a new formula for the allocation of the annual library materials budget which begins the process of service harmonization and apportions the materials budget fairly across the new city.

The formula is based on multiple components to determine each branch's overall allocation. The components are: population, incidence of low income, tier ranking/size of branch, circulation, library visits, reference requests, turnover rate and registered cardholders.

(d)Public Health

The harmonization of public health programs is complicated by the Province's introduction of new program standards in December 1997 in parallel with both downloading and amalgamation. The new standards are considerably more detailed and prescriptive and are accordingly more costly to comply. The food safety, tuberculosis control and needle exchange programs discussed in the report to the Board of Health are the three priorities for 1999 and do not reflect all of the health programs requiring revisions or enhancements to bring them into compliance with the new provincial standards.

`Options have been developed that a) provide services based on the current level of funding, b) the minimum level of service as required by the Ministry of Health guidelines, and c) the optimal level of service.

Harmonization options for two local programs, dental treatment and food access grants, have also been provided. No funding for the food access grants program was provided in 1998 and the various options presented involve re-establishing this program that was provided for two years in the former City of Toronto. The dental treatment program refers to those treatment services that are not provincially mandated and are at the discretion of the Board of Health and the Council.

A summary of the options approved by the Board of Health was forwarded to Council for its meeting on February 2, 3 & 4, 1998, where it was deferred to the Budget Committee.

Because of the combined amalgamation and downloading impact on the total public health portfolio, it is recommended that a review of the public health program be conducted on a priority basis with specific reference to the City's role and mandate, service level standards, mandatory and non mandatory programs, provincial standards and requirements, and the protection of public interest.

Conclusion:

The Service Level options outlined in Tables 1 and 2 have been developed by Departments taking into consideration the harmonization principles, existing variations in service levels, plans for recommended service levels as a result of amalgamation, neighbourhood characteristics, financial constraints and the cost of proposed service levels. For each specific program, the "baseline service level" proposed in the options summary has been assumed for the purposes of preparing the 1999 Preliminary Operating Estimates.

As part of the 1999 budget process, the Budget Committee will review the proposed 1999 budgets and baseline service levels in the context of corporate budget pressures, pre-set expenditure targets, and competing priorities, and make a balanced assessment of the level of funding to be recommended. The recommendations of the Budget Committee will be forwarded to Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, and then to Council for consideration as part of the overall 1999 budget process.

In the final analysis, Council will have to assess the competing demands of different programs, historic differences among former municipalities, unique neighbourhood characteristics, special considerations, downloading of programs by the Province, mandatory programs, City wide priorities and budget pressures.

Contact Name:

Firoz Kara (392-8678)

Michael R. Garrett

Chief Administrative Officer