March 4, 1999

To:Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee

From:City Clerk

Subject:Legislative Process for Grants Policy and Administration

Recommendation:

The Municipal Grants Review Committee on March 4, 1999, recommended to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee the adoption of Option No. 4 - Sub-Committee of Policy and Finance (limited mandate), and Recommendations Nos. (2) and (3) contained in the attached report dated February 22, 1999, from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services.

City Clerk

R. Dyers/tl

Item No. 1

(Report dated February 22, 1999, addressed to the

Municipal Grants Review Committee from the

Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services)

Purpose:

To provide options with regard to committee reporting procedures for grants policies and programs.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not applicable.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

1. the Municipal Grants Review Committee identify a preferred option for recommendation to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee;
2. the recommended reporting procedure be put into effect on June 1, 1999, in conjunction with the implementation of the revised Council-committee structure; and
3. the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Council Reference/Background/History:

On March 4, 5 and 6, 1998, Council approved a report entitled "Municipal Grants Review Committee" which established a Council Committee to oversee the development of a City of Toronto Grants Policy and to review and recommend allocations reports for Council consideration. This Committee reported to Council through the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee.

At the end of 1998, the Municipal Grants Review Committee had successfully carried out its mandate with the completion of the 1998 allocations cycle and Council approval of the "City of Toronto Grants Policy".

A key element of grants policy development has been a discussion of grants and the legislative process relating to them. The Municipal Grants Review Committee considered a report, entitled "Grants and the Legislative Process" at its meeting on October 20, 1998. This report recommended that grants responsibilities be split between appropriate standing committees and the Municipal Grants Review Committee. Upon further Committee discussion, and consideration of the revised Council/Committee structure, the Municipal Grants Review Committee requested that staff revisit the relative roles for standing committees and a special purpose committee with respect to City grants processes.

Revisions to the Council-Committee Structure:

Council recently approved a report (Clause No. 1 of Report No. 1 of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team) adopted, as amended, by Council on February 2, 3 and 4, 1999) recommending a number of changes to the Council committee structure. One of the key issues identified was the need to reduce the number of special purpose committees given the challenges of supporting and scheduling a significant number of Council committees. The breadth of the Standing Committee mandates was intended to accommodate the range of issues that might come before Council. This report also set out a number of guiding principles, including: "Standing Committees are where policies should be developed for recommendation to Council and where the implementation of policies should be monitored."

On October 1 and 2, 1998, Council adopted, as amended, Clause No. 1 of Report No. 17 of The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, entitled "Status of Special Committees and Task Forces." In adopting the clause, Council approved the following guidelines to the establishment of ad hoc committees:

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

1. the work cannot be undertaken by an existing standing committee of Council;
2. the mandate of the new special committee or task force is time limited by a sunset date and Council approval is required for continuation beyond the sunset date;
3. the special committee or task force will report to Council through a standing committee where appropriate; and
4. the staff and other resources required to support the work of the special committee or task force are identified and available within existing resources.

Given the direction taken by Council with respect to the creation of special committees and task forces and the fact that the Municipal Grants Review Committee has successfully completed the tasks assigned to it by Council, the Committee should either disband or report to Council regarding a revised mandate and purpose.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Although the initial mandate of the Municipal Grants Review Committee approved by Council was discrete, in practice, almost all grants related matters before Council were referred to the Grants Committee for consideration prior to Council consideration. In addition to the defined mandate, the Grants Committee received and reviewed all grants service area review reports, dealt with any miscellaneous grants issues, and provided direction regarding the development of the 1999 consolidated grants budget request.

Prior to amalgamation, while there was communication between municipal grants programs on an ad hoc basis, there was no overall co-ordination. The changes in grants program design and administration during the first year of the New City have been significant. Major changes include the development of the "City of Toronto Grants Policy" which provides the foundation for the development of corporate-wide grants administration standards. Existing grants programs have been rationalized and funding criteria clarified to ensure that the same community purposes are not funded through two or more programs. The majority of "line item" grants have been assigned to the appropriate department for increased accountability.

While there has been notable consolidation and standardization, there are a number of key issues yet to be addressed. Now that Council has a Grants Policy, a process for reviewing grants programs to ensure that they are in compliance with the policy is required. An outstanding area of work is the development of an appeals process that facilitates effective communication between Committee members and those organizations appealing their allocations. Bench marking with respect to grants administration practices has begun, however, further work is required in this area.

Committee Level Grants Responsibilities:

Committee level grants responsibilities can be grouped into two broad categories: program responsibilities including program design, priority setting within programs, allocations, and program monitoring; and corporate responsibilities including the outstanding corporate policy issues noted above, priority setting between programs, budget development, and other miscellaneous issues. For the past year, the Municipal Grants Review Committee has had both the program and corporate level responsibilities. The question now before Committee is how these responsibilities should be assigned in the future.

Options for the Assignment of Program and Corporate Grants Responsibilities:

Option 1:Special Purpose Grants Committee:

This option would see the existing Municipal Grants Review Committee re-established with the initial committee mandate broadened to reflect the actual work of the Committee over the past year.

The Municipal Grants Review Committee structure has allowed for a more in-depth study of grants matters, placing an emphasis on the mechanics of grants. It has allowed for the review and consideration of different approaches to grants administration and the initial development of grants best practices. This review resulted in the development of the City of Toronto Grants Policy, a unique policy that did not exist in any of the former municipalities.

Having all programs report through a special purpose grants committee has also provided Committee members with a broad overview and understanding of the various grants made by the City and the outcomes resulting from those allocations. In a relatively short period of time, Committee members have acquainted themselves with a range of grants programs and the community needs they are designed to address. This has also facilitated a holistic approach to considering the 1999 consolidated grants budget request.

However, having a special purpose grants committee has deprived standing committees of the opportunity to review important issues under their jurisdiction. It has led to having some policy issues debated at the Municipal Grants Review Committee and at other Council Boards and Committees, such as Community and Neighborhood Services or the Board of Health. The revised Council/committee structure was designed, in part, to address these kinds of issues. The maintenance of a special purpose grants committee would be in direct contradiction of the Council approved revisions to the Council/committee structure to take effect on June 1, 1999.

Option 2:Standing Committee:

Standing committees allow for grants programs to be developed in the context of related policy instruments. While deputations associated with allocations reports may be time-consuming, they do provide committee with an opportunity to interact with members of the public with an interest in the committee's mandate.

However, some grants matters will transcend more than one standing committee, while others may not be easily categorized. Corporate level grants responsibilities could be assigned to the Policy and Finance Committee. This approach would be consistent with the Council approved revisions to the Council/committee structure.

Option 3:Sub Committee of Policy and Finance:

A third approach would be to establish a time limited sub-committee of the Policy and Finance Committee to deal with grants related matters. Under this approach the sub-committee would essentially act as the current Municipal Grants Review Committee has with responsibility for both program level and corporate level grants responsibilities, as defined above. The assignment of program level responsibilities to such a sub-committee would result in the same challenges as noted above under the special purpose grants committee section.

Option 4:Sub-Committee of Policy and Finance (limited mandate):

Under this option the sub-committee mandate is limited to corporate level grants issues as described above. The establishment of a sub-committee of the Policy and Finance Committee to deal with corporate level grants issues only could be viewed as a transition step from the special grants committee arrangement to the standing committee approach. Should this approach be taken, a report should be submitted to the Strategic Policy and Priorities Committee with a proposed sub-committee work plan with a sunset date. Upon completion of the work plan, the sub-committee should make a recommendation with regard to the continuation of the sub-committee or the reassignment of corporate level grants issues to the Policy and Finance Committee.

Conclusion:

Council has expressed its desire to maintain a broad range of strategic grants programs both through the 1998 and 1999 budget process and its adoption of the City of Toronto Grants Policy. Three approaches to the assignment of grants responsibilities at the committee level have been identified for consideration.

Contact Name:

Chris Brillinger

Tel: 392-8608