The Decision Document is for preliminary reference purposes only. Please refer to the Committee’s Report to City Council or to the Minutes for the official record.

The Executive Committee referred the staff protocol, contained in Appendix III of the report (January 18, 2010) from the Intergrity Commissioner, to the City Manager to reflect the amended Part 5, in Appendix I, in the Councillor protocol.

On November 24, 2009, Executive Committee considered several reports from the City Clerk regarding the 2010 municipal election.  These same reports were before City Council on December 2, 2009.   At those meetings a number of additional reports were requested for the February 1, 2010 meeting of Executive Committee.   This report is a consolidated response to the requests.

The Executive Committee, received for information, the report (January 18, 2010) from the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, entitled "Multi-Residential Apartment Building Audit Program".

This report advises Council that the University of Toronto has selected the 2009-2010 recipients of City of Toronto scholarships. 

Toronto City Council established a series of scholarships at the University of Toronto starting in 1984 with the Queen Elizabeth II Sesquicentennial Scholarship in Community Health Nursing. In 1985 the undergraduate scholarship in Women’s Studies was established.  Two aboriginal health scholarships were established in 1989. In 1997,  graduate scholarships for Women in Mathematics, Women’s Studies and Community Health Nursing were established

 The Executive Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council donate one ambulance per year between 2010-2013 from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the Caravan of Hope, which will transport the vehicle to El Salvador.

2.         City Council direct that EMS permit not-for-profit-organizations the first right to purchase decommissioned surplus ambulances based on fair market appraisal, as determined by the General Manager, Fleet Services.

At its meeting on January 4, 2010, the Executive Committee requested staff to report on a proposal by Councillors Mihevc, Moscoe, Fletcher and Vaughan to donate to El Salvador one ambulance per year for the next four years and to provide right of first refusal to the Caravan of Hope for up to 13 additional retired EMS vehicles per year for four years, to be purchased at a pre-determined price.

This report recommends that Council not proceed with the proposal, outlines the policy and operational impacts of the proposal and the current status of the Toronto-Soyapango partnership, part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Technical Partnership Program which will formally end in 2010.

The Executive Committee, received for information, the report (January 18, 2010) from the City Manager, entitled "Applications to FCM Green Municipal Fund".

This report provides information on recent applications from Toronto to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Fund.

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1          City Council authorize Corporate Finance Division staff to manage, jointly with the appropriate staff from the Region of York, the investment portfolio of the Move Ontario Trust.

2.         City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer to negotiate and execute the agreements required with the Region of York and the Move Ontario Trust to implement Recommendation 1 in the report (January 18, 2010) from the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, and address the issues as set out in this report on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer and the City Solicitor.

3         City Council direct that investment management fees received by the City from the Move Ontario Trust (MOT) be allocated to the City’s non-program interest/investment earnings account.

This report requests authority to jointly manage the fixed income investment portfolio of the Move Ontario Trust (“MOT”) with the Region of York.

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council approve the sale of the Toronto Hydro Promissory Note to the City’s debt issuance syndicate managers, RBC Dominion, CIBC Capital Markets and Scotia Capital who will place the Note(s) with investors.

2.         City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer to negotiate the terms for the sale of the Toronto Hydro Promissory Note with the City’s debt issuance syndicate managers (the “Sales Agreement”), including the pricing of the Note and commission payable based upon current interest rates and capital market conditions prevailing at the time of the sale, and to enter into the Sales Agreement on behalf of the City.

3.         City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer to assign the Toronto Hydro Promissory Note and to sign any necessary documents to give effect to the assignment, on behalf of the Holder.

4.         City Council direct that the City obtain a fairness opinion from a qualified third-party financial expert stating that the City has received a fair and equitable market price for the Note with the fee being deducted from the gross proceeds of the monetization.

5.         City Council authorize the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer to transfer funds from the Strategic Infrastructure Partnership Reserve Fund (XR1714) during 2010 to the Interest Income – Hydro Note Account in the Non-Program budget from the proceeds of the sale of the Note, equal to the difference between the interest payments payable from the Note and $29,946,055.67 that has been included in the 2010 preliminary operating budget.

6.         City Council approve the withdrawal of $600 million from the Strategic Infrastructure Partnership Reserve Fund during 2010 and the deposit of the $600 million into the City Sinking Fund to be used to prepay the Sinking Fund debentures identified in Appendix A of the report (January 19, 2010) from the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer.

7.         City Council request the Sinking Fund Committee to retire or pay down the balances remaining in the outstanding debentures as listed in Appendix A of the report (January 19, 2010) from the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, using the proceeds received from the Note monetization.

8.         City Council approve the repeal of the borrowing by-laws identified in Appendix A of the report (January 19, 2010) from the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, at such time as the following conditions have been met:

a.           Recommendation 6 has been implemented; and

b.           the City’s external auditor has audited the sinking fund balance and has in writing confirmed to the DCM/CFO that the balance, including any estimated revenue, is or will be sufficient to entirely repay all or part of the sinking fund debt for which the Sinking Fund was established as identified in Appendix A of the report (January 19, 2010) from the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, on the date or dates the principal on such debt becomes due.

9.         City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce bills to Council to give effect to Recommendation 8 in the report (January 19, 2010) from the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, at such time as the conditions set out in Recommendation 6 of the report have been met.

 This report recommends the sale of the Toronto Hydro Promissory Note (“Note”) to the City’s debt issuance syndicate who will place the Note with investors and provide the City with the net proceeds of the sale.  This action results from Council’s approval on December 8, 2009 of a debt restructuring strategy as part of the adopted 2010-2019 Capital Budget and Plan.

This report recommends one-time allocation of $350,000 from the year-end 2009 Toronto Water Operating budget surplus to cover Toronto Water’s cost for the water connection to service the Thackeray Park Cricket Pitch.  Existing protocol is that water service connections be installed by the City at the expense of the owner.  Thackeray Park cricket pitch will provide numerous social and recreational benefits to the community and at-risk youth groups.  The project has gained momentum and community stakeholders have secured additional funding towards the completion of the Park. 

The Executive Committee, received for information, the report (January 18, 2010) from the Treasurer, entitled "Revenue Collected from Hydro Corridor Lands and Payments for Leasing these Lands by the City and its ABC's."

This report provides information on the amount of revenue collected by the City from lands used as hydro corridors, and payments made for leasing these lands by the City and its Agencies, Boards and Commissions (ABCs) for providing municipal services.

The Executive Committee, received for information, the report (December 31, 2009) from the General Manager, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, entitled "Toronto 175 Anniversary Celebrations."

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council direct that the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer in consultation with the Chief Corporate Officer, develop and implement eligibility criteria, consistent with the criteria currently in place with necessary modifications, to address the characteristics of the Multi-family Residential sector, for the use of Sustainable Energy Funds for privately owned buildings that are undertaking comprehensive retrofits leading to significant energy savings and green house gas emission reductions.

2.         City Council direct that the total repayable loans to privately owned multi-family apartment sector participants be limited to totals of $5 Million from the Toronto Energy Conservation Fund and $5 Million from the Toronto Green Energy Fund for an overall total of $10 Million, until December 31, 2012.

3.         City Council direct that the purpose of the Toronto Green Energy Reserve Fund be amended to include its use as a revolving fund to provide support for renewable energy installations and to accommodate expansion of eligibility criteria to include privately owned multi-family residential buildings (4 stories or greater and a minimum footprint of 600 square metres) that are undertaking comprehensive retrofit projects.

4.         City Council direct that the purpose of the Toronto Energy Conservation Reserve Fund be amended to include its use as a revolving loan fund to provide support for energy conservation initiatives and to accommodate expansion of eligibility criteria to include privately owned multi-family residential buildings (4 stories or greater and a minimum footprint of 600 square metres)  that are undertaking comprehensive retrofit projects.

5.         City Council amend Municipal Code 227 (Reserves and Reserve Funds) in accordance with Recommendations 3. and 4. above.

6.         City Council direct that prior to December 31, 2012, the Chief Corporate Officer report back on the findings and outcome of the pilot program and recommendations regarding further private sector participation in the Sustainable Energy Fund Program.

7.         City Council direct that the Chief Corporate Officer to report on the implications for including carbon credit and conservation demand management funding sources as transfers to and/or conditions of participation in the Sustainable Energy Fund program.

8.         City Council authorize and direct the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto, and that leave be granted for the introduction of any necessary bills in Council to give effect thereto.

The Executive Committee requested the Chief Corporate Officer to report directly to Council on the following motion by Councillor Moscoe:

"That the Executive Committee recommend that City Council adopt the recommendations in the report (January 18, 2010) from the Director, Toronto Environment Office, subject to adding the following 2 new recommendations 9 and 10:

9.         Loans be granted on the condition that at least 50 percent of the savings from reduced energy costs will be passed back to the tenants.

10.       Verification of compliance with the criteria be built into the program."

This report recommends that up to $10 million of the Sustainable Energy Funds be eligible for revolving loan financing of privately owned multi-family residential buildings, which undertake comprehensive retrofit strategies on a pilot basis to December 31, 2012. This sector has significant potential to undertake building retrofits and achieve energy savings and green house gas reductions.  The work undertaken will also have the beneficial impact of creating jobs, supporting green industry innovation and protecting residents from escalating energy costs. Consistent with current Sustainable Energy Fund requirements, eligibility criteria for privately owned multi-family residential buildings will be based on sound financial practices and will ensure funds are used to achieve sustainability goals and objectives, by supporting projects that provide comprehensive and significant environmental performance improvements. 

The loans through the revolving loan arrangement as set out in the Sustainable Energy Fund Program will have no capital or operating budget impact.

The Executive Committee deferred consideration of the report (January 18, 2010) from the Toronto Office of Parnerships, entitled "A Summary of the City's Donation Activity for the 2008 Fiscal Year", to the next meeting of the Executive Committee to be held on March 1, 2010 to allow for debate.

The purpose of this report is to provide an annual summary of the City’s donation activity as required by section 4.15 of the Policy on Donations to the City for Community Benefits. 

For the 2008 fiscal year, more than 50 City Programs (divisions as well as some agencies, boards and commissions) received over 6,150 donations with a total value of over $1.9 million. Donations were made by both individuals and organizations and came in largely from local areas of the City, but also from other parts of the province, the country and even internationally.

It is important to note that the 2008 summary only pertains to donations for which tax receipts were issued by the City itself. Programs that issue their own tax receipts, such as the Toronto Public Libraries and the Toronto Zoo, are not included in this summary. Moreover, since the summary is based solely on tax-receiptable donations, the actual value of contributions to the City is likely higher.

The Toronto Office of Partnership will report back on the City’s 2009 donation activity in the Fall of 2010.

The Executive Committee recommends that City Council give consideration to the forthcoming report from the City Manager respecting the Proposed Biogas Facility at the Toronto Zoo.

The Executive Committee referred the report (January 9, 2010) from the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Zoo, to the City Manager with a request that he submit a report directly to City Council on the Proposed Biogas Facility at the Toronto Zoo, such report to be in consultation with Toronto Zoo staff.

 This report recommends approval for the construction of a Biogas Facility at the Toronto Zoo.  Approval is being sought in accordance with the Tripartite Agreement between the Toronto Zoo, the City of Toronto and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.  The goal of the proposed project is to generate clean renewable energy from organic “waste” (e.g. fuel), to meet the Zoo’s goal of being carbon neutral, and to visually demonstrate the benefits of biogas technology as an educational tool.