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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCtee of the Whole - 1996-02-12CW\1996-02-12 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES FEBRUARY 12, 1996CITY OF KITCHENER The Committee of the Whole held a special meeting at 1:40 p.m. this date and chaired by Mayor R. Christy with all members present. Others Present:Messrs. T. McKay, R.W. Pritchard, D. Paterson, T. McCabe, E. Kovacs, J. Hancock, J. Gazzola, T. Clancy, J. Shivas and G. Sosnoski. Notice of the special meeting had been previously given to all members of Council by the City Clerk pursuant to Chapter 25 of the Municipal Code. Mayor R. Christy asked that paragraph 2 on page 6 of the January 29, 1996 Committee of the Whole minutes be amended to reflect his view that the Regional Chairman should be an elected member of Regional Council. He also noted that he had expressly asked each Department Head in attendance to comment on the various Regional governance issues discussed that date. Councillor K. Redman advised that she would ensure all members of Council receive copies of the minutes of the Regional Governance Sub-Committee, on which she sits as Kitchener's representative. She noted that in her opinion there is an atmosphere of scepticism concerning the willingness of politicians to introduce governance reforms. She indicated that in her understanding the Sub-committee is to develop a process whereby these issues can be dealt with for subsequent consideration by Regional Council. Councillor M. Wagner stated that he was unclear as to how the Sub-committee would receive feedback from Kitchener Council on the various governance issues arising during the course of their meetings. Councillor Redman replied that she would welcome input from all members of Regional Council as well as any other member of Kitchener Council. She stressed that the point of departure for the Sub-committee deliberations is the belief in a strong two-tier system. Councillor G. Lorentz expressed concern over a letter submitted by Cambridge Councillor D. Craig, and Councillor Redman advised that the letter was received by the Sub-committee as information and did not form part of the agenda. Mayor R. Christy referred to the recurring theme at the last Committee of the Whole meeting involving the need for the City to do what it does better. He referred to correspondence circulated earlier by Councillor G. Lorentz providing background information on the consulting firm involved in the re-organization at St. Mary's Hospital. Mayor Christy indicated his interest in focusing discussion on how other organizations have dealt with this issue. Mr. T. McKay noted that the consultant working with St. Mary's Hospital specializes in the health care sector, but that their approach is similar to that taken by the firm of Leonhardt-Sullivan who undertook a study a number of years ago in the Fleet Division. Mr. McKay noted that the firm was paid a fee of approximately $200,000.00 and as part of the agreement guaranteed that they would generate a specified amount of savings. Mr. McKay commented that the study was appropriate in the Fleet Division, and that Leonhardt-Sullivan felt that such an approach would not be as effective in other areas of municipal operations involving clerical and administrative functions. Mayor R. Christy asked other members of Council and Department Heads how they would view a review of City departments by an outside consultant, and whether it would likely result in efficiencies in both the City's own operations and it's relationship with the Region of Waterloo. Mayor Christy then opened the discussion to participation by all present. Councillor B. Vrbanovic indicated his support for a form of review by an external consultant, noting that a strictly internal review may not yield objective results. He suggested the use of a consultant whose process involves working with staff. Councillor M. Wagner indicated his general agreement with this approach, noting that in his view the consultant should also look at the interface between the City and the Region. Councillor K. Redman also indicated her support, but noted that Council has yet to have a major discussion on the City's core services and values. Councillor J. Ziegler suggested that it is inappropriate to deal with the issue of an interface between the City and Region, and Mayor Christy noted that this relationship could be kept in mind by any consultant conducting a review of City operations. Councillor M. Yantzi voiced his disagreement over the use of an external consultant and cautioned Council against jumping on the cutting and downsizing bandwagon, as inappropriate cuts and reduced job satisfaction may be counter productive. He further suggested that other means of improving City operations be considered, as in his view an external audit is not an effective model. Councillor C. Weylie noted that there remain a number of areas where City departments could work better together in the interests of the City, and referred to a recent incident involving snowplowing where actions taken by the Public Works Department had a negative impact on Parks and Recreation operations. Councillor B. Vrbanovic stressed the importance of developing a long term strategy with regard to the services the City currently provides and what it sees itself as providing in the future. He also COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES FEBRUARY 12, 1996- 8 -CITY OF KITCHENER inquired as to the outcome of the Corporate Strategic Plan which was under development a number of years ago. Mr. McKay replied that the Plan, also referred to as a "visioning exercise", ended with the election of the new Council, at which time the Downtown became a priority. Mr. McKay offered the opinion that the vision statements produced did not deal with core services in any meaningful way. Councillor Vrbanovic argued that the City should articulate its strategies and visions, noting that he does not see an external consultant as a means of looking at new and creative ways of conducting City business and preserving the quality of life in the municipality. Mr. J. Gazzola expressed confusion over the discussions this date and Council's bias toward hiring a consultant. He pointed out that the situation involves a new Provincial government cutting back on lower tier governments with the result that the municipality is suddenly scurrying off to look at new ways of delivering services. He noted that the City had a similar experience under the recent NDP government, though in another direction. He pointed out that if a consultant is hired the City must specify what it hopes to accomplish and he questioned who would articulate the desired outcome. Mr. Gazzola also noted that in his opinion there is not much evidence of teamwork involving Council and Senior Management and that there appears to be a number of different teams pulling in different directions. Mayor Christy clarified that since the Sweeney Report was released into the public forum, individual municipalities have been indirectly asked to examine themselves and how they deliver services. He also acknowledged that it may be necessary to look at the issue of Council and staff teamwork and referred to three instances where he had attended Management Committee and attempted, without success, to initiate discussion. Mayor Christy stressed the need to discuss not only core services but also the appropriate level of service. Fire Chief J. Hancock observed that there appears to be a wall between staff and Council which seems to grow higher at budget time, and noted an atmosphere of mutual distrust. He pointed out that during budget deliberations Council was not pleased with the way in which staff approached proposed cuts, while for their part staff felt that by offering cuts they may be opening the door to further reductions which are not advisable and would hurt ability to properly deliver a service. Fire Chief Hancock indicated that his Department is prepared to co-operate with any internal or external review, and he noted that on the positive side such a review may help the Fire Department to rediscover how well it is delivering Fire service. He offered the Fire Department as a pilot project, if this is deemed appropriate. Councillor B. Vrbanovic pointed out that teamwork and co-operation between Council and staff is essential. Councillor Lorentz commented that the municipality has reached a junction where politicians need to find ways to save money while at the same time it is to the advantage of senior staff to keep their areas of responsibility intact. Councillor Lorentz was critical of the general list of budget reductions recently proposed by staff, many of which had an impact on service delivery. Councillor Lorentz suggested that Council should decide what type and level of service it feels is appropriate and work together with staff in resolving these issues. He stressed the need to question what the City does, why it does it and who is in the best position to provide a given service. Mr. T. Clancy read a mission statement for the Department of Parks and Recreation and offered the opinion that the Department is not doing as much as it might to improve and extend services. He pointed out that all services provided by the Parks and Recreation Department have a direct impact on the taxpayer, noting that over the last year two unionized positions and seven management staff positions have been eliminated. Mr. Clancy added that at present, staff do not feel that the work environment is either positive or encourages teamwork. He also acknowledged that more information could have been provided on the budget reductions recently proposed by staff. Councillor Jake Smola questioned the reason for the Leonhardt-Sullivan study involving the Fleet Division, and Mr. T. McKay replied that this was a re-engineering process, undertaken in response to a pattern of continually adding to the staff compliment. Mr. McKay added that the results were satisfactory, though the Union was displeased and thirteen service staff were laid off, with total cost reductions of approximately $400,000.00 - $450,000.00. He also referred to the negative message received by staff during the recent budget deliberations, where it was interpreted that Council felt staff had done little over the past 6 years to reduce costs and increase operating efficiencies. Mr. McKay referred to cost reductions over the past number of years of approximately $7 - 8 million, much of this through restructuring and continuous improvement processes. He added that most departments have been subject to a review and re-organization and that savings have occurred in all cases. Councillor Jake Smola offered the opinion that bringing in an external consultant undermines the position of the Chief Administrative Officer, whom the City relies on to ensure that operations are conducted efficiently. He also acknowledged the need to work on team building and suggested exercises in this regard involving Council and staff. Councillor T. Galloway offered the opinion that the City needs to look at a long term budget philosophy in anticipation of continuing low inflation, ongoing grant reductions, a continuing COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES FEBRUARY 12, 1996- 9 -CITY OF KITCHENER recession, and taxpayer expectations of low or no tax increases. He also indicated his dismay that public agencies do not seem able to re-engineer themselves. On the other hand, Councillor Galloway indicated scepticism concerning the use of consultants, as they often only report on what their client wants to hear. Councillor Galloway indicated his support for the suggestion of Fire Chief Hancock that a self-evaluation take place with Council involvement. He suggested that it may be appropriate for a number of members of Council to be part of such a process and that participation could parallel the existing standing committee structure. Councillor Galloway advised that he is not sure as to the final model, be it with or without an external consultant, but in either case he would like Council to show some leadership and not act as advocates for particular departments. He suggested that there is a definite need to do something as the City cannot support continual tax increases, but that he personally prefers an internal evaluation as opposed to an external audit by a consultant. Councillor M. Wagner suggested that Council is skirting the issue and should be dealing with specific measures to achieve efficiencies. He suggested that rationalizing how service is delivered can be done internally, with some help if required. He urged Council to give staff greater direction, noting the negative impact of anticipated reductions in Provincial funding. Councillor Wagner suggested that in his opinion staff morale is not that bad, and that Council already works well as a team. Mr. E. Kovacs urged more frankness between Council and staff and questioned the wisdom of beginning a review process with an external consultant. He offered the opinion that staff have not as yet given their best effort in this area. Mr. Kovacs observed that the recent budget deliberations were the most difficult in memory and that traditional tools were used to reduce expenditures, a situation Council didn't seem satisfied with. He suggested looking at process and our own philosophy of service delivery, with subsequent development of an action plan before the next budget process. Mr. T. McCabe advised that he was disturbed by a lot of the comments made today which suggested that Council thinks nothing has been done as regards service delivery and expenditure reduction over the last 10 years. He referred to a major re-organization in 1994 and 1995 with a resulting negative impact on staff morale. He stated that in his opinion hiring a consultant is a waste of money and that Council should first indicate to staff the target they would like to achieve. Mr. McCabe also suggested that Council should give consideration as to whether it wishes to be on the leading edge of change or be average as regards other municipalities, noting that some reductions could take place if Council favoured that latter approach. He suggested making a list of how the organization has changed and evolved over the past 10 years. Councillor B. Vrbanovic suggested that an outside facilitator could be used to bring about change. He also indicated his support for the approach suggested by Councillor Galloway, especially if staff and Council intend to work as a team. Councillor C. Weylie advised that for her part, she felt staff did a fine job on the last budget and referred to possible confusion over the words and requests of individual Councillors as opposed to Council as a whole. She suggested having each department list those activities required by legislation in order to identify core services. A second list would outline what is presently done in these areas, and a third, what the public would like the municipality to do. These could then be looked at in conjunction with the vision statements previously developed by Council and senior staff. Mayor R. Christy suggested that the lists referred to by Councillor Weylie be compiled and submitted for a general discussion at a later date. Mr. T. McKay pointed out that there is very little in the way of mandated services in the Municipal Act, and as an alternative he suggested that each department and Management Committee analyze all services and arrange these under 3 priorities. Councillor Jake Smola disagreed, noting that various other pieces of legislation including that Planning Act and the Fire Marshalls Act make specific reference to municipal services. Mayor R. Christy questioned how long it would take staff to compile the lists referred to by Councillor Weylie, and Mr. McKay estimated between 2 and 3 months. Mayor Christy suggested that these be in point form and include associated costs. He asked that the lists be discussed at a future Committee of the Whole meeting, and that consideration of these would likely lead to a long term budget philosophy. He also suggested that the issue of what constitutes an appropriate level of service be discussed at that time. Mr. R. Pritchard reminded Council that a number of beneficial changes have already taken place over the last 5 to 8 years, and that generally the City is producing a fairly good level of service at a reduced cost. He stressed that these efficiencies took place as a result of staff participating as a team to identify financial savings, and if possible improve the level of service. He referred to specific continuous improvement process initiatives in Purchasing which are ongoing and to date have resulted in 1994 savings of approximately $209,000.00, $80,000.00 in 1995 and an anticipated $100,000.00 in 1996. He also referred to a $389,000.00 in savings over 4 years as a result of changes in fuel procurement. He stressed that these savings came about because staff actively sought them, and they continue to accrue throughout the organization without the direction of Council. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES FEBRUARY 12, 1996- 10 -CITY OF KITCHENER On a suggestion by Mayor R. Christy it was agreed that the target date for review of the staff service lists would be April 29, 1996 at 1:00 p.m.. It was also noted that in addition to all City departments, the three lists referred to should also be compiled by the Kitchener Public Library, the Centre in the Square and Project Lift. Councillor T. Galloway also suggested that he would like to identify the direction in which Council will proceed prior to compiling the 1997 Pro Forma Budget, as a process, timetable and workplan are required. Mr. T. McKay pointed out that at present staff are aware of an immediate $1.5 million problem in 1997 which they have already begun to address. Councillor Galloway suggested that a sub- committee composed of Council and staff be charged with working out a process of review and in this regard a meeting date of March 18, 1996 at 1:00 p.m. was established. It was also decided that the three Council representatives on the sub-committee would be chosen from Mayor R. Christy, Councillors C. Weylie, M. Wagner, T. Galloway and B. Vrbanovic. The staff representatives are to be Mr. T. McKay, Mr. J. Gazzola, Mr. E. Kovacs, Mr. T. McCabe and Mr. J. Shivas. Mr. T. McKay pointed out that this initiative does not specifically address the issue of alternate service delivery methods, noting that in the past staff have come forward with options resulting in cost savings which have been turned down by Council. In this regard he referred to an initiative involving the replacement of City Hall security with private sector security guards. In conjunction with this, Mr. J. Shivas commented that the City should ensure, through proposed amendments to the Municipal Act, that the Province is giving the legislative authority necessary to pursue alternate service delivery methods. Councillor Jake Smola raised concerns that other items on the agenda of this date had not been dealt with, notably his suggestion concerning possible overlap in services between the Kitchener Public Library and the municipality. On motion, the meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.