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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCtee of the Whole - 1996-04-29CW\1996-04-29 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES APRIL 29, 1996CITY OF KITCHENER The Committee of the Whole held a special meeting at 2:40 p.m. this date which was Chaired by Mayor R. Christy with the following members present: Councillors G. Lorentz, John Smola. K. Redman, C. Weylie, T. Galloway, M. Yantzi and M. Wagner. Councillors B. Vrbanovic and Jake Smola were in attendance for part of the meeting. Officials Present: Ms. M. Walshe, Ms. V. Gibaut, Ms. P. Houston and Messrs T. McKay, R.W. Pritchard, E. Kovacs, J. Gazzola, T. Clancy, D. Paterson, B. Kuntz, T. McCabe, J. Shivas and G. Sosnoski. Mayor R. Christy advised that the purpose of the meeting was to further discuss service rationalization, and it was noted that in this regard, staff are presently converting the City's budget to reflect activity based costing. In this regard, Mr. J. Gazzola circulated a list of sample services and associated costs. Mr. T. McKay reviewed the following list of service definitions developed by Management Committee for use in classifying the services defined in the activity based costing initiative and stressed that Council needs to decide how they want to review categorized services. • Core Service (regulated or unregulated) - a direct or indirect service required to meet the basic needs of people living in an urban environment; •Added Value Service - a service that enhances the effectiveness of the City's delivery of service; •Added Quality Service - a service that enriches the quality of life of people living in an urban environment. Councillor B. Vrbanovic entered the meeting at this time. In response to a question from Councillor M. Yantzi, Mr. J. Gazzola indicated his assumption that the City would wish to keep core services, and if necessary consider reductions in the area of added quality services. Members of Council and senior staff were then divided into four groups for the purpose of assigning a service category to the 30 service samples distributed this date. The meeting recessed at 3:15 p.m. and reconvened at 3:55 p.m. Mr. T. McKay plotted the results of the group assessments and the areas where consensus was achieved. It was noted that of the 30 sample services, consensus was reached in 14 instances. A discussion took place concerning the reaction of group members to the exercise and the ratings assigned. Councillor K. Redman pointed out that the application of a core service designation can vary in different areas of the City and used the example of street sweeping, which would be required in industrial areas, but would be of less necessity in un-treed residential areas. Councillor G. Lorentz expressed the opinion that the exercise undertaken this date would not work on an overall City bases, and suggested that senior staff should assign the service categories based on their expertise and knowledge of the activities involved. Once completed, this comprehensive overview would then be submitted to Council for consideration. Councillor B. Vrbanovic pointed out that the sub-committee had some concerns over departments applying the service definition. Councillor M. Yantzi questioned whether Council had sufficiently defined the purpose of this exercise, and asked whether the City is rationalizing services with the intention of making major cuts. Mayor R. Christy replied in the negative, noting that the purpose is to identify cost-saving efficiencies. Councillor M. Wagner questioned the wisdom of cutting based on service definition, and pointed out that the recent customer survey indicated that citizens are satisfied with the current level of service, and nowhere was it indicated that they wish to see wholesale cuts which would result in service level reductions. Mayor Christy clarified that the City is looking for economies outside of the budget process which will assist in off-setting expected reductions in Provincial funding. Mr. J. Gazzola stressed that Council must decide on how cost centres are to be identified, noting that in the past, this has been by department budget index and not by the program or service provided. He indicated his personal preference for activity based budgeting, noting that the current system does not allow for prioritization of cost centres nor does it readily lend itself to assigning costs to specific activities. In response to a further question from Mayor R. Christy, Mr. Gazzola advised that staff anticipate a further $2,000,000 reduction in Provincial grants in 1997. He offered the opinion that the City cannot continue to uniformly reduce all department budgets and must assess what services the COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES APRIL 29, 1996- 14 -CITY OF KITCHENER municipality either no longer wants or is unable to provide. Mr. T. McKay suggested that a complete program review could not be undertaken between now and the date of the pro forma budget. He suggested identifying programs throughout the City, targeting these by type and dollar volumes and assigning the results to a sub-committee for discussion. Councillor T. Galloway cautioned against a too rigid application of service categories noting that a single service can have different degrees of categorization. He suggested that the categories are not as important as identifying service areas for more detailed review. Mayor R. Christy instructed the existing sub-committee to continue identifying programs and applying service categories. Mr. J. Gazzola added that staff will continue to realign budgets by activities, and then determine whether these activities can be further subdivided. He noted that Council could also identify specific programs where more detailed information is required. On motion, the meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.