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2. OPERATIONAL
BUDGET REVIEWS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES - EXAMEN DES BUDGETS DE FONCTIONNEMENT DES SERVICES
ADMINISTRATIFS - GREFFIER MUNICIPAL |
Committee Recommendations as amended
That
Council approve:
1. That reductions to the Office
of Protocol not form part of the Draft Budgets for the remainder of this Term
of Council; and
2. The final 2008 Operational Budget of the City Clerk’s Branch, as amended by the following:
a) That
Council and Committee Services implement action minutes versus
verbatim minutes, for an annual savings of $60,000.
RECOMMANDATIONS MODIFIÉES DU
COMITÉ
Que le Conseil approuve :
a) Que
les Services au Conseil et aux comités mettent en place des procès-verbaux des
mesures de suivi au lieu des procès-verbaux exhaustifs pour des économies
annuelles de 60 000 $.
Documentation
1. City Council report dated 31 January 2008
(ACS2008-CMR-CSE-0006).
2. Extract of Draft Minute, 8 February 2008.
Report to / Rapport au :
Long Range Financial Plan Sub-committee
Sous-comité du plan financier à long terme
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par : City Council / le Conseil municipal
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Diane Blais,
Committee Coordinator / Coordonnatrice du comité
City
Clerk’s Branch / Direction du greffe
(613)
580-2424 x, 28091
Diane.Blais@Ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
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OPERATIONAL BUDGET REVIEWS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
– CITY CLERK’S BRANCH |
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OBJET :
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EXAMEN DES BUDGETS DE
FONCTIONNEMENT DES SERVICES ADMINISTRATIFS – GREFFIER MUNICIPAL |
That the Long Range Financial Plan Sub-Committee recommend Council approve the final 2008 Operational Budget of the City Clerk’s Branch, as presented in the attached updated 2008 operating budget pages.
Que le Sous-comité du plan financier à long
terme recommande au Conseil d’approuver le budget final de fonctionnement de
2008 du Greffier municipal, tel que présenté dans les pages mises à jour du budget de fonctionnement
de 2008 ci-jointes.
In December 2007, during its deliberations on the 2008 Budget, Ottawa City Council approved a motion calling on the Long Range Financial Plan (LRFP) to conduct operational budget reviews for administrative services.
At its 9 January 2008 meeting, Council considered and approved a subsequent motion, which amended the schedule for the LRFP’s review of the various branches.
In order to assist the LRFP in
its work, Financial Services staff has provided updated budget pages for the various branches being
reviewed. These pages have been revised
to reflect any changes approved by Council during its budget deliberations.
The budget pages for the City Clerk’s Branch are attached to this report and are numbered sequentially, however they also include the reference page to the 2008 Draft Budget document in case members of Council have made notes in their budget books and want to refer to them.
This item will be advertised in the local dailies as part of the Public Meeting Advertisement on Friday preceding the Long Range Financial Plan Sub-Committee Meeting.
Any changes approved by Council
will amend the City’s 2008 Operating Budget.
Document 1 - Updated 2008 Operating Budget Pages – City
Clerk’s Branch
Staff from the various branches
to implement any changes approved by Council.
OPERATIONAL
BUDGET REVIEWS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES - CITY
CLERK’S OFFICE
EXAMEN DES
BUDGETS DE FONCTIONNEMENT DES SERVICES ADMINISTRATIFS – GREFFIER MUNICIPAL
ACS2008-CMR-CSE-0006 City Wide / À l'échelle de la ville
Mr. P. Pagé, City Clerk, spoke to a PowerPoint presentation in which he discussed his branch’s mandate, total budget, historical spending, staffing levels, various service areas and their respective mandates, performance results, cost comparators, efficiency target, savings opportunities and risk factors. A copy of his presentation is held on file.
Responding to questions from Councillor El-Chantiry with respect to the cost of French language services, Mr. Pagé indicated the Division’s budget was $2.4M annual. In addition, the Employee Services branch had a budget of approximately $600,000 for staff language training.
Councillor El-Chantiry noted the value of the Office of Protocol in terms of raising funds and promoting the City and he wondered why staff put it forward as a possible reduction. In response, Mr. Pagé discussed the office’s function in greater detail and advised it was put forward as an option simply because it was discretionary spending.
Responding to a question from Councillor El-Chantiry with respect to the reduction option of eliminating webcasting, Mr. Pagé confirmed that this initiative had reduced the number of public inquiries with respect to Council deliberations and it had reduced the number of staff needing to attend Council meetings. Therefore, he acknowledged that it has resulted in efficiencies. However, he indicated he had been identified as a reduction option because it was discretionary spending.
In response to questions from Councillor El-Chantiry with respect to the office budgets of members of Council, Ms. L. Donnelly, Deputy City Clerk, confirmed that Councillors’ office budgets were flat-lined and she indicated these would be the subject of the next agenda item.
Councillor McRae asked whether it would be appropriate to move a motion directing that reductions to the Office of Protocol not be brought forward in future budget deliberations. Mr. O’Connor indicated such a motion would be in order.
Responding to a question from Councillor McRae with respect to risk factors, Mr. Pagé referenced slide 46 of his presentation and discussed the various risk factors, which could impact his budget and were beyond his control.
In response to further questions from Councillor McRae with respect to the cost of off-site meetings, Ms. E. Fleury, Manager of Council and Committee Services, explained that, aside from additional costs associated with such things as mileage, part of the difference in cost depended on the availability of facilities, noting in some cases the Branch had to rent facilities, which could cost anywhere from $500 to $5000, depending on the location. She indicated further costs were incurred if interpretation services were needed at the meeting because the Branch then had to rent equipment and hire interpreters.
Councillor Bloess discussed eliminating the Contribution Rebate Program, adding his belief that it should never have been voted for in the first place.
Responding to questions from the Councillor with respect to the budget associated with the program, Ms. C. Bergeron, Coordinator of Municipal Elections, explained the $60,000 reduction was actually a reduction to the election reserve fund and would represent an annual reduction.
In response to a further question from Councillor Bloess, Mr. Pagé indicated that, prior to amalgamation, the area municipal clerks’ offices had a total staff complement of 372 FTEs whereas his Branch currently had 131 FTEs.
Councillor Feltmate inquired about the order of magnitude of additional costs associated with holding the municipal election on a statutory holiday. Ms. Bergeron indicated the related overtime costs were $499,000.
Councillor Feltmate discussed this matter in more detail and suggested Council should write to the Province to request that the municipal election day be moved to either the first or the third Monday in November in order to eliminate the risk of these additional costs, not only for the City of Ottawa, but for all Ontario municipalities. With respect to the Contribution Rebate Program, she felt eliminating it would be a mistake because it would prevent some people from running for municipal office and because the program encouraged people to be more engaged in the democratic process. She feared that eliminating the program would send a negative message to the community with respect to how much Council cared about them being involved in municipal elections.
Responding to questions from Councillor Jellett with respect to the reduction option of moving to action minutes instead of verbatim minutes for Standing Committees, Mr. Pagé advised that at amalgamation, Council decided to adopt the former Regional system, which had detailed minutes of Standing Committee meetings. However, he indicated the former City of Ottawa kept Standing Committee minutes that strictly reflected the requirements under the Municipal Act in terms of recording attendance, declarations of conflict of interest and decisions.
With respect to the potential savings associated with this option, Ms. Fleury indicated staff projected $60,000, which represented 1 FTE and some printing costs.
Unless there was some legal reason for needing detailed minutes of Standing Committee meetings, Councillor Jellett felt Council should go for this option. The City Solicitor and the City Clerk confirmed there were no legal reasons for keeping detailed minutes of Standing Committee meetings.
Responding to questions from Councillor Wilkinson with respect to the $370,000 branch efficiency target outlined at slide 44 of his presentation, Mr. Pagé indicated these savings would have no negative impact on operations. He explained that the branch would be going through a re-organization as well as reviewing processes for improvements. As examples, he referenced some overlap between the print shop and mailroom, noting that at the former City of Ottawa, both functions were under one supervisor. He also talked about re-aligning Council and Committee Services under the Deputy City Clerk.
In response to further questions from Councillor Wilkinson, Mr. Pagé expressed confidence that the $370,000 efficiency target would be achieved and that it would not affect staffing of the City’s Advisory Committees.
Councillor Wilkinson felt the City should look at how Advisory Committees were staff to see if there could be some savings found in that area. Ms. Donnelly indicated this would be looked at when the Branch reviewed the over-all consultation model as part of its re-organization, though this would likely not happen until 2009.
Speaking to the reduction options, Councillor Wilkinson expressed support for eliminating verbatim minutes and for asking that the Province change the municipal election date to avoid the risk of overtime costs. However, she was of two minds with respect to the Contribution Rebate Program because she believed it fostered greater involvement in the election process.
In response to a question from Mayor O’Brien, Mr. Pagé confirmed that any reduction option adopted by the LRFP for recommendation to Council would be in addition to the $370,000 efficiency target he identified in his presentation and described in response to earlier questions.
Responding to a question from Councillor Desroches with respect to what the branch was doing to consolidate print jobs and ensure the City was as efficient as possible with its printing, Mr. Pagé explained printing services were entirely cost recoverable, that each department made its own decisions as to their printing requirements and therefore, it was not up to the City Clerk or the print shop to make decisions in that regard.
Councillor Harder posed questions with respect to the cost of providing food for members of Council and senior staff when Council meetings ran late. In response, Mr. Pagé indicated the budget for meeting refreshments was approximately $40,000, about half of which was for food, as described by the Councillor.
Responding to a further question from the Councillor, the City Clerk indicated the City did not pay a fee to school boards for the use of their facilities during municipal elections.
Councillor Harder expressed her willingness to give up the contribution rebate program because she felt it had not been as successful as was hoped when it was implemented.
In reply to questions from Councillor Brooks with respect to OC Print and Mail services, referenced on slide 22 of his presentation, Mr. Pagé indicated this area had 3 FTEs working out of the St-Laurent location. He re-iterated this was on a cost recovery basis and he advised that it would form part of the review to be conducted in 2008 with regards to printing services to determine whether or not it would be more efficient to have the unit centralized with the rest of print and mail services at City Hall.
Councillor Brooks referenced slide 27 and the cost comparators for the hourly revision rate and he wondered why the City’s hourly rate had a $43 differential whereas the industry rate had a $30 differential. Ms. R. Bertrand, Manager of French Language Services, explained the difference related to demand; when translation was needed urgently or when it was technical text, noting that prices varied based on such factors.
Responding to further questions from Councillor Brooks with respect to translation services and costs, Mr. Pagé indicated most translation requests were outsourced. He advised the cost of translation in 2007 was $1,250,000. Ms. Bertrand explained the City had three translators on staff to deal with urgent and small text and that all other translation requests were outsourced.
Mayor O’Brien wondered what percentage of the branch’s time and energy was spent supporting Council and Council initiatives. Mr. Pagé indicated a considerable amount of his and the Deputy City Clerk’s time related to members of Council and/or Council initiatives. In addition, he noted some of the divisions within his branch were almost entirely devoted to supporting Council (Council and Committee Services, Elections, Protocol) and other divisions, such as mail and printing and French Language Services spent some, though perhaps not as much time responding to requests and inquiries from members of Council and supporting Council initiatives.
At this juncture, Committee voted on the motions introduced by members.
Moved by Councillor M. McRae
That
reductions to the Office of Protocol not form part of the Draft Budgets for the
remainder of this Term of Council.
CARRIED
Moved by Councillor R. Jellett
That
Council and Committee Services implement action minutes versus verbatim
minutes, for an annual savings of $60,000.
CARRIED
Committee then voted on the item as amended.
1. That reductions to the Office of
Protocol not form part of the Draft Budgets for the remainder of this Term of
Council; and
2. That the Long Range Financial Plan Sub-Committee recommend Council approve the final 2008 Operational Budget of the City Clerk’s Branch, as amended by the following:
a) That
Council and Committee Services implement action minutes versus verbatim
minutes, for an annual savings of $60,000.
CARRIED
as amended