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CL-17-09

Corporate Services TO: Community and Corporate Services Committee

SUBJECT: Citizen Committee Review of Council Expense Limits and Staffing Requirements

Report Number: CL-17-09 File Number(s):

Report Date: September 9, 2009 Ward(s) Affected: 1 2 3 4 5 6 All x

Date to Committee: October 7, 2009 Date to Council: October 19, 2009

Recommendation: 1.

2.

Allocate $9,000 as a maximum per year for each councillor beginning in 2011, to allocate as the councillor deems appropriate for their ward councillor responsibilities, for the following types of discretionary eligible expenses, with no carry forward permitted from year to year:

Meeting expenses, hospitality

Souvenirs and promotional supplies

Books and subscriptions

Car mileage, Travel, City Business

Advertising and Promotion

Cell phone expenses

Special Projects

Printing and Reproduction, Colour Copies

Courier Service

Professional and Consulting Services

Membership Fees

Funds to attend community and charitable events

Other external services

Professional Development o Unspent amount of the budgeted professional

development funds may be carried forward from the first and/or second year of the term of office into the subsequent or third year of the term of office, but not into the fourth, municipal election, year of the term; and

Allocate $32,000 as a maximum per year for the mayor beginning in 2011, to allocate as the mayor deems appropriate for mayor specific responsibilities, for the following types of discretionary eligible expenses, with no carry forward permitted from year to year:

Meeting expenses, hospitality

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3.

4.

5.

6.

Souvenirs and promotional supplies

Books and subscriptions

Car mileage, Travel, City Business

Gasoline

Advertising and Promotion

Cell phone expenses

Special Projects

Printing and Reproduction, Colour Copies

Courier Service

Professional and Consulting Services

Membership Fees

Funds to attend community and corporate events

Other external services

Grants and awards

Professional Development o Unspent amount of the budgeted professional

development funds may be carried forward from the first and/or second year of the term of office into the subsequent or third year of the term of office, but not into the fourth, municipal election, year of the term; and

Include an approved budget allocation amount for expenses related to the vehicle leasing per the term of council within the Mayor‟s total annual budget; and Continue administrative coordination of ticket orders/bookings for community galas, special events, and events hosted by local boards and committees through the City Manager‟s Office, with all costs charged to the individual council member‟s budget on an ongoing basis, beginning December 1, 2010; and In addition to the existing financial and budget information on the city‟s website, post financial information on the city‟s website beginning in June 2010 including:

summaries of the annual budget and actual spending by each individual member of council on a semi annual basis and

council compensation-salary and benefits- from the city and the region and

annual disclosure of compensation required by legislation; and

Retain and/or hire Councillors Assistants as city employees on a contract basis for the term of council and up to a 3 month extension beyond term of Council, beginning December 1, 2010; and

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7.

8.

9.

Maintain three full time FTE in the Mayor‟s Office, one being an Executive Assistant to the Mayor, as city employees on a contract basis for the term of Council; and Adjust the Councillors Office receptionist assistant role to a customer service role effective December 1, 2010 to allow this individual to:

continue councillors office reception support

provide customer service at the Clerks counter; and

Reassemble a citizens committee in 2013 to review recommendations about discretionary eligible expenses allocated to members of council and recommend changes where needed for the 2014-2018 council term of office.

Purpose: Address goal, action or initiative in strategic plan

Establish new or revised policy or service standard

Respond to legislation

x Respond to staff direction

Address other area of responsibility

Reference to Strategic Plan:

N/A

Background: The terms of reference for the citizens committee included: 1) To make recommendations to the Community and Corporate

Services Committee on the following matters impacting the City of Burlington council, as elected for the 2006-2010 term of office and as will be elected for the 2010-2014 term of office:

The administrative/technical support that should be provided to members of City Council through the Councillors Office and Mayor‟s Office, and the compensation provided to these staff.

To generally review the Burlington Council duties and responsibilities considering City, Region and local board and committee work in relation to the expenditures that should be budgeted for each member of council, and for the Office of the Mayor and the Councillors‟ Office on an annual basis.

Any other matter arising during the review determined to be relevant to the tasks of the committee or an important consideration by the Committee (workload distribution, severance, etc.).

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2) To complete the necessary research to inform members of

Burlington‟s council about the options available to them and the basis for the citizen committee‟s recommendations.

Committee members: Fay Booker, Trevor Branch, Richard Evans, Dennis Martin, Diana Tuszynski, John Vice, assisted by Roman Martiuk, Kim Phillips and Suzanne Whitehead.

Discussion:

Committee Meetings were held on March 16, April 6, April 27, May 11, June 8, July 20, August 10, August 24, August 27, September 10, and September 21, 2009. During the meetings, committee members reviewed a variety of information, composed surveys to members of council and their staff, developed guiding principles, and came to consensus about recommendations and the contents of this report. In addition, committee members did electronically-based research about other municipalities‟ policies and guidelines for discretionary expenses for members of council and offered each member of council an opportunity to meet briefly with the Committee.

Strategy/Process

As a result of the variety of information gathered, the committee developed guiding principles to focus their recommendations. Guiding Principles:

1. Accountability to Citizens: As stewards of municipal resources, council members are accountable to the public for the type and level of expenses they incur.

2. Transparency: Openness is fundamental to constituent evaluation of the effectiveness of elected representatives.

3. Appropriate and Equitable Access to Resources: City resources are to be used

for the benefit of the city as a whole. There should be adequate access to resources to fulfill the role on Council.

4. Flexibility and Limits: While there should be individual choice about how

individuals allocate their resources in order to effectively serve their constituency, reasonable, appropriate and controlled use of taxpayer funds is critical, particularly in challenging economic times.

5. Expectations: Discretionary eligible expenses must reflect what the public

expects of a mayor and councillors in the conduct of their official roles. Roles, responsibilities, and citizen expectations of all members of council must be documented clearly to ensure City of Burlington success, effective council teamwork, and to focus on the city‟s corporate priorities.

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6. Elected representatives must perform their duties in compliance with City of Burlington policies and standard operating procedures.

Review of Burlington information A variety of information was provided to committee members to review and additional information was requested of staff by committee. General information, including ward boundaries, Procedural By-law 37-2008, council representation to boards and committees, municipal act references, and Burlington‟s population and policies were provided. The following expense information was provided:

Expense limits for councillors based on previous citizen committee recommendations ($6,700 per councillor per year)

Actual expenses per councillor related to community and charitable events reported through the City Manager‟s budget (average in 2008 - $3,300 per Councillor)

2009 mayor‟s discretionary budget of $26,750 plus a budgeted amount of $3,820 for gasoline

Actual spending: 2007, 2008, per councillor and by the Mayor‟s Office

Information provided by the Region of Halton regarding budgeted amounts to members of regional council ($1,880 per year for discretionary expenditures).

Committee members found the information scattered and difficult to summarize for transparency and comparison purposes. As a result, one of the committee‟s objectives became collecting the information together for presentation of expenses - budgeted and actuals - on the city‟s website. It is recognized that the Office of the Mayor and the Councillors Office each have a separate budget for overall administrative/office expenses which stands apart from the Mayor‟s and Councillors‟ discretionary budgets. Staffing documents were provided as background for decision making about staffing allocations:

Job descriptions for the administrative assistant to the office of the mayor, executive assistant to the mayor, councillor‟s receptionist assistant, and assistant to councillors

Overview of roles in councillors office

Organizational charts for the mayor‟s office and councillors office.

The Committee also met with the Executive Director of Human Resources to receive an overview on staffing and staff compensation. Through this meeting the Committee gained satisfaction that there is a job evaluation process that is available to be used by staff in the Mayor‟s Office and Councillors Office.

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Review of Other Municipalities Information from other municipalities was provided and is summarized in Appendix B: Municipal size, governance, representation, staffing, discretionary spending, etc. Information found on the City of Toronto website led the committee to recommend developing a handbook for members of council, including all of the relevant information. A draft is in development. The City of Toronto provides a detailed quarterly outline of council members‟ spending on its website. See www.toronto.ca, accessing City Hall, Council expense. This easy to access information provides extensive disclosure related to council members‟ remuneration and spending. The committee is recommending semi-annual updates on Burlington Council members‟ spending to be posted on the City of Burlington‟s website for public information. The City of Vaughan also posts quarterly financial information on its website www.city.vaughan.on.ca, City Council, Council budgets and expenses. Its website provides quarterly overview information as well as detailed transaction listings. The committee is recommending that summary information about expenses (not itemized) be posted. There are increasing expectations for open disclosure of information in an „electronic age‟ where web communication is becoming more central to daily life. During tight financial times and when numerous business and community leaders are being profiled in all types of the media as receiving excessive compensation or perceived as spending corporate funds inappropriately, there is less tolerance for extravagance and a greater need for transparency. Involvement of elected officials and the use of public funds increase the expectations further. Surveys

The key results of the survey of council members were summarized for the committee‟s reference, and individual surveys were shared with the committee based on approval from each council member. A similar survey was sent to staff in the Mayor‟s Office and Councillors Office. All members of council and all staff receiving the survey completed it.

Responses about staffing in both cases were based primarily on two factors:

1. Continuity for ward constituents related to ward issues 2. Backup coverage available during illness, vacation and other requirements.

Staff responses to the survey were similar to the members of council responses related to:

expenditures for new and returning members of council

city business compared with regional services

staff support in the Mayor‟s Office

supervision of staff in the Councillors Office and Mayor‟s Office

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Different perspectives are noted in the following areas:

1. All staff indicated that the $6,700 allocated to each councillor annually was not sufficient, and referenced an average of “$.24 per citizen”. Members of council were more divided in their responses.

2. Similarly, staff noted that the amount allocated to the mayor for advertising ($3,500 per year) and other discretionary spending ($23,250 per year) is less than required while most members of council felt it was sufficient.

3. Staff responded that discretionary expenses should be based on a starting point for 2010 and increase or change in line with budget directions annually, whereas council responded that expenses should remain constant throughout the term of office.

4. Where council was divided about membership fees and tickets for events hosted by local boards and committees, staff recommended that they be paid through a central account rather than individually.

5. Staff felt that the office coverage and administrative support was appropriate, while council members provided a variety of other options.

Expenditures

Expenditures budgeted for each member of council were reviewed based on the previous committee‟s recommendation of $6,700 per councillor. In addition, the actual and average spending in each account (cost element level) was considered (average overall discretionary spending per councillor in 2008 was $6,300). The actual expenses that the City Manager‟s Office paid for community and charitable events on behalf of members of council was also reviewed (average of $3,300 per councillor in 2008) and consideration was given to impacts since 2006 and anticipated into 2014. Committee members noted that Burlington‟s Council has approved cost containment initiatives, that the Region of Halton has set a 0% target for its 2010 budget and that the city‟s budget target for 2010 has yet to be determined. The committee discussed at length the purpose of the allocation to each member of council. In summary, the committee recommends funding for eligible discretionary expenses that should be sufficient to:

Participate in events that warrant the involvement of elected officials as community leaders, to show support for local boards and committees and key corporate priorities

Meet the expectations of constituents for effective communication and consultation

Encourage members of council to plan for regular training, workshops or conferences so they can learn about and effectively make decisions about municipal and regional services. Professional Development is seen to be important but also realistic for the size of the City of Burlington and recognizing the expertise there is within staff.

The committee notes that elected officials will choose to manage their responsibilities in different ways and so are recommending a specific maximum per year per councillor

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and a maximum per year for the mayor. The committee has not changed the amount on the basis of population per ward, nor on the basis of annual inflationary increases. The sense is that the job is the same for each councillor and that the type of expenses council members incur are not subject to the same inflationary increases as other corporate accounts may be. As a result, the committee recommends:

Annual discretionary expenses be adjusted to: $9,000 per year per Councillor $32,000 per year for the Mayor Limiting these expenses to the current budget year and not allowing any carryover from year to year, with the exception of professional development funds. The committee‟s recommendation reflects its commitment to professional development for each elected representative, and its goal of allowing flexibility for each representative within a maximum amount per term of office. In order to support opportunities for elected officials to attend conferences or training that exceed the budget allocation for professional development in any given year, members of council will have the ability to combine the budgeted annual amounts allocated for professional development to a maximum through to the third year of the four year term of office if that is the individual‟s training preference. The budgeted professional development amount will be displayed separately in the summaries posted to the city‟s website and actual spending on professional development will be shown in the respective year.

Based on the survey responses, the committee did not see the need for any difference between the amount budgeted for a new member of council and the amount budgeted for a returning member of council. Based on the survey responses and to achieve transparency, the committee recommends that tickets and/or entry fees purchased for community and charitable events be charged to the relevant council member‟s cost centre at the time of purchase. For efficiency and ease of coordination, the City Manager‟s Office will continue to coordinate these ticket orders and bookings as in the past. Burlington‟s budgets are developed and monitored on a calendar year basis, and council is expected to focus their plans and spending that way. Administrative/technical support to members of council Committee members note the difference between the assistant working in the Mayor‟s Office (political strategist role) from the assistants working in the Councillors Office (more administrative and constituent support). The roles of Executive Assistant, Assistant, and Receptionist Assistant or Scheduling Assistant currently provide three levels of staff support to members of council. Each job description and position is expected to be reviewed through the city‟s usual job evaluation process.

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The responses to the surveys indicated that there was potential to combine the receptionist roles of the mayor‟s office and councillors office, leaving the administrative scheduling support for the Mayor within the Mayor‟s Office staff complement. The Scheduling Assistant in the Mayor‟s Office (MO) reports to the Mayor through the Executive Assistant and is now a full time contract position. The committee considered the pros and cons of both options:

Benefits of combining reception Challenges of combining reception

Consistent constituent support in CO and MO

MO is located on the 8th floor and CO on the 1st floor of City Hall

Enhanced coordination and communication between MO and CO

Sensitivity to confidential communications inside and/or with the mayor‟s office and/or councillors office

Continuity through changes in elected officials and across council terms of office

One of the three employees in the MO would report to a different supervisor from the other two

Employee moves to full time status with city rather than contract employment

One of the three employees in the MO would be employed in a different employment situation from the other two

Trained backup in case of emergency or vacation coverage

Preference of the incumbent mayor and potentially, future mayors

While committee members see some benefits of adjusting the reporting relationship of the Mayor‟s Office scheduling assistant to report directly to the Manager of Council Services, with day to day direction provided by the Mayor‟s Executive Assistant, the committee is not recommending a change in the reporting relationship. The Committee is recommending a change related to the councillors office:

Adjust the councillors office receptionist assistant role to a customer service role effective December 1, 2010 (rather than focused on the councillors office), to allow this individual to:

continue councillors office reception support

provide customer service at the Clerks counter.

Financial Matters:

Based on the survey responses, the committee recommends a consistent annual allocation for each member of council, not increasing the discretionary amounts annually. Note that council and staff compensation will continue to be adjusted based on corporate policies and council approval. In the annual summary of spending, committee encourages complete disclosure in this area so that funds for such conferences as AMO and FCM, paid for through central accounts, are disclosed in the individual semi annual spending summaries.

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The increase in the Councillors‟ annual discretionary spending allocations ($1000+300 per Councillor x 6 councillors = $7,800) as well as the annual allocated amounts for community and charitable events will be removed from the City Manager‟s budget and restated to the Mayor and Councillors‟ budgets. The total financial impact nets to zero.

Communication Matters:

The committee feels that there is a need for more clarity about the roles and responsibilities of council as a whole, councillors, and the mayor. Committee members feel that realistic expectations will help elected representatives determine work priorities, limit their discretionary financial requirements, and will ensure that workload is manageable for staff and themselves. Managing workload also has the added democratic benefit of making the roles of council more attractive to potential candidates for office. Post summaries of the annual budget and actual spending To achieve greater transparency, the committee recommends semi annual posting of budgeted and actual spending. This summary will help all members of council keep their own accounts in mind and will allow comparisons among elected representatives. There is a sense that the public perceives elected representatives as having large amounts of discretionary funds, while the figure is not extravagant. This disclosure will enable the public to understand the spending of council members in fulfilling their duties. Staff and committee recommend that the financial reporting be displayed in the following way on the city‟s website www.burlington.ca:

Add information to the website under Council, related to corporate policies and local and regional salary and benefits (reflect current term of office information, with a maximum four year history for salary and other financial information except where the council member has been in office for longer and then post a maximum of eight years of information).

Under Council, add link to Council Budgets and Expenses, with additional linkages provided to each elected representative‟s page for their detail.

For example:

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Individual summary for Councillor Ward 1

Description Accounts 2010 Budget

Year to Date June 30, 2010

Year to Date December 31, 2010

Advertising and Promotion, Souvenirs and promotional supplies, Gifts in Kind

Cell Phone

Courier Service

Hospitality, Funds to attend community and charitable events, General Entertainment

Meeting Expenses

Mileage, Travel- City Business

Printing and Reproduction, Colour Copies

Professional and Consulting Services, Special Projects, Other external services

Books and Subscriptions

Mayor‟s Expenses

Claims and Awards, Other Grants

Professional Development

SubTotal __________

Total __________ ___________

Previous Years For the period ending December 31, 20xx For the period ending December 31, 20xx

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Summary of all members of council

Description Ward 1

Ward 2

Ward 3

Ward 4

Ward 5

Ward 6

Mayor

Advertising and Promotion, Souvenirs and promotional supplies, Gifts in Kind

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

Cell Phone $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Courier Service $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Hospitality, Funds to attend community and charitable events, General Entertainment

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

Meeting Expenses $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Mileage, Travel- City Business

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

Printing and Reproduction, Colour Copies

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

Professional and Consulting Services, Special Projects, Other external services

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

Books and Subscriptions

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

Mayor‟s Expenses - - - - - -

Claims and Awards, Other Grants

- - - - - -

Professional Development

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Approved Budget

Variance (+/-)

Other Expenditures -charged to other accounts (ie. FCM/AMO)

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Develop a council handbook The committee has discussed at length the need for an easy to use handbook that elected officials, staff, and the community can refer to. It is intended as an all in one reference guide. The handbook will include relevant City of Burlington policies and guidelines about expenses and staffing, so that elected officials are clear about eligible expenses and ineligible expenses. The handbook will be combined with information similar to previous council orientation binders and requires time for input from a number of departments. Within the handbook, practical information such as sample advertising sizes and costs can be provided for commonly used Update ads, such as ward meetings. This will help members of council as they begin their term of office and as they manage their annual expenses. The handbook is not intended to rewrite existing policies and controls at the City. The object of the handbook is to gather together existing policies into one easy to use reference document. Committee has recommended to staff that the handbook be available on the city‟s website for community information and so that potential candidates for election have access to the information. The City Clerk has agreed to continue developing this handbook as part of the council orientation plan, and will seek feedback on the draft handbook from members of this committee, before presenting a final draft with a report to Committee and Council. The handbook will be updated regularly and posted when changes are made. In addition, the handbook will be referenced on the municipal election web pages for candidate reference during municipal election years.

Conclusion:

The citizens committee has invested a significant amount of time and energy learning about existing practises and recommending improvements to enhance accountability and transparency.

Respectfully submitted, The Citizen Committee reviewing Council Expense Limits and Staffing Requirements

Fay Booker Trevor Branch

Richard Evans Dennis Martin

Diana Tuszynski John Vice

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Approvals: *required

*Department Head City Treasurer General Manager City Manager

To be completed by the Clerks Department

Committee Disposition & Comments

01-Approved 02-Not Approved 03-Amended 04-Referred 06-Received & Filed 07-Withdrawn

Council Disposition & Comments

01-Approved 02-Not Approved 03-Amended 04-Referred 06-Received & Filed 07-Withdrawn

Appendices: A. Review of Other Municipalities

Notifications: (after Council decision)

Name Mailing or E-mail Address

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APPENDIX A: Review of other municipalities Chart is provided in order of population

Munici-

pality

Lower

/

Single

Tier

No. of

Wards

Members

of Council

RC=

regional

councillor

Popu-

lation

Approx.

Councillor

Rep. by Pop. (ward councillor

based)

Councillors

Office Staff

FT=full time

PT=part time

Mayor’s Office

Staff

FT=full time

PT=part time Town of

Halton

Hills

Lower 4 1 Mayor

8 Councillors

and 2 RC

55,289

6,911 No staff

Mayor’s EA

assists as needed

MO/CAO - 3 FT EA’s

Town of

Milton

Lower 4 1 Mayor

10

Councillors

(2 RC of 10)

71,700 7,170 no staff

Clerks dept.

assists as needed

1 FT Asst. to Mayor

City of

Brantford

Single 5 1 Mayor

10

Councillors

92,960 9,296 no staff

Clerks dept.

assists as needed

1 FT EA

1 FT AA

City of

Guelph

Single 6 1 Mayor

12

Councillors

115,000 9,583 1 FT AA

2 full time staff

(requesting 1

additional fte)

MO/CAO – 4 F/T :

2 EA’s

1 Communication

asst.

1 Manager strategic

planning

City of

Kingston

Single 12 1 Mayor

12

Councillors

119,860 9,988 Mayor’s EA &

Clerks Dept.

assist as needed

1 FT EA

1 PT Receptionist (24

hrs/week)

City of

Cambridge

Lower 6 1 Mayor /RC

6 Councillors

and 2 RC

126,000 21,000 1 FT AA 2 FT EA’s

City of

Barrie

Single 10 1 Mayor

10

Councillors

132,000 13,200 1 FT Supervisor/

Council Secretary

1 FT EA

City of St.

Catharines

Single 6 1 Mayor

12

Councillors

135,000 11,250

City of

Oshawa

Lower 7 1 Mayor/RC

10

Councillors

(7 RC of 10)

152,000 15,200 2 full time AA’s 1 FT EA

1 contract EA

City of

Burlington

Lower 6 1 Mayor/RC

6

Councillors

(6 RC of 6)

165,000 27,500 6 FT 3 FT

Town of

Oakville

Lower 6 1 Mayor/RC

12

Councillors

(6 RC of 12)

170,000 14,167 no staff

(considering

addition of 1 EA

to Council)

1 FT Secretary

1 contract COS

1 contract EA

Town of

Richmond

Hill

Lower 6 1 Mayor/RC

2 Dep

Mayor/RC

6 Councillors

183,415 30,569 4 AA’s 3 FT:

1 EA

1 Secretary

1 Community

Liaison/Events)

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City of

Hamilton

Single 15 1 Mayor

15

Councillors

490,268

(2001)

32,685 1AA per

Councillor

2 Councillors also

have a PT staff

Each Councillor

has $72,412 in

budget for

administrative

support

7 FT:

1 AA

1 Scheduler

2 Sen. Policy

Analysts

1 COS

1 Community

Outreach

1 Communications

Advisor

1 PT Special

Assignments.