Item - 2011.EX4.6

City Council on April 12 and 13, 2011, adopted the following:

1.          City Council request the City Manager to continue to review agency governance structures focussing on key opportunities for improvement with the following goals:

a.         ensure that the services provided by agencies are appropriate municipal services;

b.          ensure that the number of agencies and related governance costs add value to their purpose, capitalize on opportunities to combine similar businesses, eliminate overlaps with City programs and services, or, for revenue-generating boards, achieve the critical mass to be self-sustainable;

c.          clarify City objectives for agencies, ensuring that the policy framework is appropriate to the business sector in which they operate; and that staff propose a process for review of these relationship frameworks including a schedule for reviews that includes appropriate opportunity for input from the Board, stakeholder communities and Council; and that further, City Council request the City Manager to report to the Executive Committee by mid-term on the progress of developing relationship frameworks for all agencies without Shareholder agreements;

d.          put mechanisms in place to ensure alignment and commitment to City objectives;

e.         ensure that services provided by agencies respond to the needs of residents and communities;

f.          engage residents and communities in decision-making, governance, and determining service priorities;

g.         ensure that the City's decision-making bodies represent the diversity of the City's residents and communities; and

h.         achieve the highest ethical standards, including accountability, transparency and openness in governance.

2.          a.        City Council endorse the following accountability mechanisms for managing through City agencies:

i.            City Council appoint the Chair of each board except where legislation restricts this power, such as for the Police Services Board, the Board of Health, the Toronto Public Library Board and Committee of Adjustment and, for greater clarity, does not apply to community-based boards such as AOCCs, BIAs and arena boards;

ii.          City Council approve the board by-laws of all agencies that regulate the internal conduct of the business and affairs of the agency, as is currently required for all City corporations; and

iii.        City Council establish City by-laws codifying the governance structures of City agencies and their Council-approved financial reporting obligations;

b.         City Council authorize the City Manager to establish the necessary protocols or take other actions to implement the accountability mechanisms set out in Part 2a above.

3.          a.        City Council request the City Manager to review board human resources policies and practices and recommend changes to ensure alignment with City objectives including: compensation, appointment and performance management of senior board staff and labour relations; and

b.         City Council direct every board to provide the City Manager with all information required to conduct the review.

4.                   City Council request the City Manager to bring forward a City policy framework that ensures that City principles, policies and accountabilities are applied appropriately to each agency and that the appropriate degree of independence is respected.

5.         City Council direct the City Manager to report at the beginning of each term of Council on the strategy for managing through agencies and corporations and make any recommendations to improve accountability and alignment with City priorities.

6.         City Council request the Auditor General to specify in his reports whether his recommendations extend to City agencies.

7.                   City Council direct that the Sinking Fund Committee and the Investment Advisory Committee be dissolved and their investment decisions be delegated to the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer.

8.         City Council establish a new Independent Investment Advisory Committee in accordance with the City's Public Appointments Policy, consisting of three citizen members who are voluntary and not compensated for their membership, to advise the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer on portfolio strategies and governance issues for all of the City's investment portfolios.

9.                   City Council direct that Chapter 103 Article 1 Sections 103-1, 103-2, and 103-3 of the Municipal Code, regarding the Museum Boards, be deleted to reflect the status of Museum Boards as key advisory bodies since Council approval of the 2002 Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Museum Boards, and to enable a transition to an alternate engagement process as endorsed by the Museum Boards.

10.               City Council authorize the City Manager, where necessary, to set the effective date of the changes resulting from approval of the recommendations in this report and amend any and all relationship frameworks, shareholder directions, policies, websites, or other documents to implement the changes as approved by Council and further, that the City Manager submit to Council for final approval any amendments to Relationship Frameworks and Shareholder directions.

11.               City Council authorize the City Solicitor to bring forward any necessary amendments to City by-laws or the Municipal Code including bills giving effect to decisions to dissolve and change local boards under s. 145 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to implement Recommendations 2(a)(i), 7 and 9 above, or to take any other action she deems necessary to implement those recommendations

12.       City Council refer the following Executive Committee Recommendation 2a (iv) to the City Manager and request the City Manager to report to a future meeting of the Executive Committee with further information on the type, frequency, and purpose of such reporting, and a list of the agencies and Standing Committees they report through:

2.iv.      agency reports be submitted to the City through the City Manager for transmittal to the appropriate standing committee in order to provide information on the impact on the City, similar to the process established for City corporations.