REPORT RAPPORT

DATE:	24 June 2013
TO/DEST:	Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board
FROM/EXP:	Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service
SUBJECT/OBJET:		FACILITIES STRATEGIC PLAN 2014 - 2031 – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Ottawa Police Services Board:

1. Approve the OPS Facilities Strategic Plan:  2014-2031.

2. Approve the transfer of $225,000 from Project 906561 to fund the Workplace Innovation Project.

BACKGROUND

Ottawa is a growing city.  The City’s population data shows that it will reach a million residents within 8 years.  Within 17 years it is expected to be home to 1,135,840 people.

To ensure the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is well positioned to serve the city’s residents, the OPS must look forward and plan for how it will meet the demands that will accompany this growth.  This forward look must focus both on the kinds of police services that will be provided as the City grows as well as the locations from which the services will be delivered.

The OPS has launched two key and complementary projects to get this work underway.  The Service Initiative (SI) will generate the roadmap for OPS service delivery for the coming future.  It will identify the kinds of police services and strategies that are key to the safety and security of our growing City. 

The Facility Strategic Plan (FSP) will ensure that the facility infrastructure needed to support future service will be in place in the optimal geographic location when needed. 

The FSP will also provide the critical information needed for several of the Ottawa Police Services Board’s (Board) planning and governance requirements.  It will:

1. Serve as the Facilities Plan required under the Adequacy Standards Regulations; 

2. Be used as input to the upcoming Development Charges Study; and

3. Contribute to the Board’s Long-Range Financial Plan, to be developed next year.

This report serves as an executive summary of the FSP.  The complete report accompanies this summary.

DISCUSSION

Challenges

The development of the FSP has occurred in a setting characterized by a unique set of challenges.  City growth, evolving police operations and risk mitigation dominate the OPS planning environment.

Future City growth, as driven by the Official Plan, will occur in areas of the City which pose facility challenges for OPS.  The south will be the fastest growing new area in Ottawa, straddling both sides of the Rideau River.  Neither the Leitrim nor Greenbank facilities can properly serve the south.  One station is too small to offer the range of services needed for this area, and the other is too far north and not within the planned deployment area.  Intensification within the Greenbelt will create tremendous growth in the central area of the City.  Elgin is the logical facility to serve this growth but there are no simple expansion options that permit it to accommodate an expanded Patrol and District operations group.

Police operations are continually evolving to meet the service demands of the community, resulting in unique space challenges.  This operational reality will continue for the long term.  New, full time units will be created to meet demands for service, while at the same time the operational models for existing units will mature and evolve.  Demand for specialized equipment and vehicle storage space can be expected along with office and project space.

As a responsible employer and service provider, the OPS wants to meet the challenge of reducing risk in its operating environment. Health and safety issues have been identified in existing facilities and must be solved.  The key driver is overcrowding, causing the related problems of office space and storage shortfalls and insufficient operational parking.  Business continuity needs have also been identified to ensure that the OPS can operate even after a significant event has occurred to disrupt operations.   The Communication Centre and the IT infrastructure are the key functions that need to be safeguarded to ensure that OPS core business can continue.  Finally, two of the properties in the portfolio (Greenbank and Leitrim) have reached a critical stage in their lifecycle and a significant investment is required to take them into the next 35 to 40 years of service.  The value of, and timeframe for, such an investment will need to be considered against other options for providing the necessary space for operations.

Opportunities

This is an ideal time for the FSP to be presented to the Board for consideration.  A number of opportunities are converging that will help to ensure the successful implementation of the FSP, to the benefit of Ottawa residents and the City’s emergency services partners.

Through the SI, the OPS is developing long term strategies about how it will continue to provide the service residents expect into the future.

The emergency services partners in the City are actively looking for opportunities to co-locate operations, as a way to offer enhanced services and save money.  Last year a working group of the five services (police, fire, paramedics, by-law and security and emergency management) was formed to explore such options.  The FSP will enable and support this opportunity for co-operation by outlining specific facility projects around which co-location can be planned.

The OPS is well positioned to provide the technology and information management backbone which is at the basis of a functional and flexible work environment.  A major restructuring of the information and technology function is being implemented this year to offer effective, innovative and reliable technology and information management services to the OPS.  As well a new information management strategic plan is being drafted with the flexible work environment in mind.   The goal of that effort is to provide the right information to the right member, anywhere, anytime on any device.

Developing a long range facility plan provides the Board with an opportunity to be efficient, effective and nimble.  Facilities projects are complex ones involving extensive development, design and construction.  Advance planning provides the necessary time to ensure that they are carried out properly and without waste.  Knowing what is needed in the future also positions the Board to assess market opportunities as they arise, an important way to save time and money.

The Board has the opportunity to demonstrate strong financial stewardship as it is putting the FSP in place.  Taking steps now to build the resources needed to fund the FSP in the future will help to smooth out any financial peaks and valleys and avoid abrupt changes in the police tax rate.  Such forward thinking is critical to managing in a tax rate environment tied to inflation trends.  As grants and other funding opportunities arise they can also be assessed to see how they might fit into the plan.

Developing the Plan

Development of the FSP began 18 months ago with the goal of formulating a facility roadmap for the OPS. Ensuring convergence of operational, financial and stakeholder views and interests are key to its success.   

A significant amount of research and thought underlies the plan. Facility staff has gathered and analyzed data on city growth, the allocation of space across the OPS portfolio, accommodation standards, operational demands for space and the condition of existing buildings.  OPS staff were interviewed to gain their insight on space needs.  Staff in the City’s Real Estate, Partnerships and Development Office (REPDO) group developed cost estimates and reviewed portfolio options.  These estimates were the basis on which a financing approach was formulated.

Discussion and consultation has been on-going throughout 2 iterations of the plan. The initial draft was prepared in the fall of 2011 as the basis for discussion with OPS and City staff, and the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee (FAC).  A second round of consultations has just been completed.  Staff are ready to table the FSP for consideration and approval.

Many of the key points raised through the consultations have been addressed.

• The FSP has been timed for approval so as to align with the 2014 development charge study.  The amount of development charge funding for police facilities may be able to increase through various strategies to be pursued in the upcoming study.
• A re-built Greenbank facility is a key feature of the FSP, ensuring a well located site stays in the portfolio and supports development charge standards.
• Emergency service partners are being consulted on joint facility options through the Working Group established last year.

The consultations have also highlighted aspects of the FSP which will need to be championed to gain widespread approval.

• Debt financing is required for the plan.  In the case of tax rate supported functions, the City’s Long Range Financial Plan discourages debt and favours paying for capital projects with funds on-hand.
• Growth in police staffing has been assumed over the 17 years covered by the FSP and facilities planned accordingly.  Though the current budget environment does not allow for staffing increases this situation may change over time.  The degree to which this assumption is incorrect will lead either to under-or over-utilization of police facilities.

The End Result of the Plan

Looking forward 17 years to 2031, the OPS will have in place a facility infrastructure to meet the service needs of residents.  The new facilities developed through the plan will be built in optimal deployment locations and able to accommodate 20 years of growth. The total plan will bring the portfolio to 873,000 sq ft, from the current level of 596,000 sq. ft.

1. The new South Division Facility will be in place to serve the needs of the residents who live on both the east and west sides of the Rideau River.  South Patrol and District, Emergency Operations, the Communications Centre and the information management and technology function will reside there.  Business continuity risk has been reduced by moving the Communication Centre away from Elgin Street and the threat area of the Parliament buildings.  Vehicle and equipment storage needs have been satisfied for the Emergency Operations Directorate.  EOD will derive the benefits of working together from one location.

2. The new Central Division Patrol Facility will be in place to meet the needs of new and existing residents of the intensified area inside the Greenbelt.  It will be in an optimal deployment location, likely outside the central business district. Operational vehicle parking pressures will be resolved.

3. The existing Huntmar and 10^th Line patrol facilities will serve the needs of residents in the West and East areas of the City.

4. The Leitrim facility will have been returned to the City for its use.

5. The Elgin Street facility will have been re-aligned to meet the needs of the Criminal Investigative Services Directorate, its primary occupant, who will be united and working in one location.  The Cellblock and the Executive will also reside at this facility.

6. Additional space will have been leased to ensure the Court function is accommodated and can work efficiently.

7. The Swansea facility will be the location for all materiel management functions: evidence control, quartermaster and fleet operations.  Evidence storage will have been expanded to accommodate a further 20 years of growth. 

8. The Algonquin facility will have been expanded to accommodate all training requirements, including the Immediate Action/Rapid Deployment (IARD) Program.

9. The Greenbank site will have been re-used to provide business continuity, records storage and facility space for the Corporate Support, Resourcing and Development and Office of the Chief directorates.  The back-up Communication Centre and IT infrastructure will be re-located from Elgin to Greenbank, away from the threat of the central area of the City.

Innovation

To ensure the FSP is affordable and effective, staff will reduce the overall cost of the plan by 25% through an innovation project called “The OPS Workplace Innovation Project.”  Unlocking new and innovative approaches to how operational and administrative police work is undertaken at the OPS is the key to affordable facilities. Once that basic building block is in place the facilities team can bring their expertise to the table by designing innovative and flexible workspaces to reduce square footage and by delivering an innovative and economical built-environment to reduce cost.  

Flexible work spaces and mobile workers are some of the current approaches being used to deal with facility pressure and reduce the size of buildings coming on-stream.  The OPS Workplace Innovation Project will find and develop the solutions that will work in the police environment.  It will also find economical ways to design and develop police facilities.  For example vehicle and equipment storage, a key aspect of the FSP, can be accomplished in many economical and innovative ways: butler buildings, inflatable domes and open-air covered storage are several examples.

Paying for the plan

Bringing innovation into the plan will reduce the cost of the FSP by 25%.  It will require a capital investment of $183.3 million over 17 years, beginning in 2015.  The operating costs related to the new portfolio will be $1.8 million over the same period.  Staff has developed a simple 2 step plan to pay for the FSP.

The Board took the first step when, in the 2012 budget,  it committed to set up a contribution to the Facilities Strategic Reserve Fund equal to the revenue gained from the uploading of court security costs to the province, which increases by roughly $0.6 million each year. Over the 7 years of the uploading, the operating budget base for this contribution will grow to $4.1 million.

The second step in the plan is an annual increase in the OPS efficiency savings target of $0.3 million each year for the next 15 years.  This step ensures that the financial impact of the FSP does not affect the police tax rate.  A portion ($0.1 million) of the efficiency savings will be used to build the operating budget base for new facility operating costs. The remainder ($0.2 million) will be applied to further increase the contribution to the Facilities Strategic Reserve Fund.

Under the 2 step plan, the operating budget base to fund new facility operating costs will grow to $1.8 million and fully fund the requirement.  In some years the budget base is larger than needed.  When that circumstance occurs any excess funds will be contributed to the Facilities Strategic Reserve Fund.

The contribution to the Reserve Fund will grow by a further $2.8 million as a result of the $0.2 million efficiency savings allocation.  When added to the $4.1 million base created from court up-loading revenue the reserve fund contribution will level out at a peak of $6.9 million.

The accumulated balance of funds in the Facilities Strategic Plan Reserve Fund ($49.4 million) and the expected development charges ($11.5 million) will be applied to the capital projects in the plan. The remaining funding ($122.4 million) will come from debentures.  The annual debenture payment costs of $6.8 million can be offset by re-allocating the $6.9 million reserve fund contribution.  All operating and capital costs of the FSP have been solved within the 2 step plan.

Next Steps

Approval of the FSP will signal the starting point of a number of key projects and activities.

• The FSP will be communicated throughout the organization.
• The OPS Workplace Innovation Project will begin.
• The relevant projects will be budgeted in the 2014 Draft Capital Budget.

The development, design and construction approach to each facility project will be brought to the Board for approval before commencing.

CONSULTATION

The FSP has been developed based on consultation with City and OPS staff and the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee.  A thorough public consultation process will be carried out as each facility project in the plan is launched.  The Finance and Audit Committee has reviewed the Facilities Strategic Plan and the recommendations in this report, and endorses them for the Board’s approval. 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

The plan for funding the FSP is outlined in the Discussion section.

CONCLUSION

The FSP is a flexible, affordable and innovative plan that addresses emerging and future policing service needs of our City on a 17 year horizon.  It supports the Board in its goal of being a responsible employer and service provider by mitigating the risk posed by health and safety issues, business continuity needs and problem properties.  By working with our partners, implementing new technologies and adopting new approaches to work the FSP will help to drive efficiencies throughout the OPS.

(Original signed by)

Charles Bordeleau

Chief of Police

Encl. (1) – Facilities Strategic Plan:  2014 – 2031 (issued separately)

Responsible for report:  Director General Debra Frazer