Item - 2012.EX21.9

City Council on July 11, 12 and 13, 2012, adopted the following:

1.         City Council change the  name "Councillor Expense Policy" to "Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy".

2.         City Council approve the changes and clarifications to the Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy that incorporates the recommendations set out in Attachment 6 of the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk, as amended by the following, and authorize the City Clerk to make the corresponding updates to the Introduction Section of the Policy as required.

3.         City Council direct that Councillor donations to community groups be an ineligible expense with the exception of donations to groups for use of space for a Town Hall meeting if the organization does not charge rent for their facility and Section 5 (Allowable Expenses) of the Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy dated May, 2012 (Attachment 6 of the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk), be amended accordingly.

4.         City Council direct that Councillors who are not Board or Committee members of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and incur travel costs associated with attending the Annual Conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities may be reimbursed for these costs from the Council Business Travel Budget.

5.         City Council approve the Furniture, Configuration and Equipment Standard for Councillor Offices set out in Attachment 1 of the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk.

6.         City Council approve the renaming of the Government Relations Reserve (XQ0009) to the Council Furniture and Equipment Reserve and change the purpose to receive, hold and be drawn on to provide for the state of good repair and replacement of furniture and offices of Members of Council at City Hall, or constituency offices at civic centres or other properties, as set out in Attachment 2 of the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk.

7.         City Council approve the renaming of the Councillors' Severance Reserve (XQ0010) to the Council Transition Reserve and change the purpose to receive, hold and be drawn on to provide for the expenses required during Council transition, including but not limited to the payment of severance for Members of Council and their staff, the set-up of transition offices and payment of transition staff, and other transition-related expenses, as set out in Attachment 3 of the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk.

8.         City Council amend Municipal Code Chapter 227 (Reserve and Reserve Funds) as per Parts 6 and 7 above.

9.         City Council approve the provision of BlackBerry smart phones and mobile tablets and associated voice and data plans to Councillors as standard equipment funded from the Council General Expense Budget.

 10.      City Council approve that expenses related to electronic equipment be charged to the global Council budget including any roaming charges provided the Councillor has notified the appropriate City staff and roaming plans have been set up for the Councillor, prior to leaving the City.

11.       City Council approve the Policy for Councillor Use of Civic Space set out in Attachment 4 of the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk, and direct the City Manager to implement the policy effective September 1, 2012, and amend divisional permit policies, procedures and rates accordingly, as amended by the following:

a.         the provision of a constituency office, within a civic centre (including City Hall) or within the Councillors' respective Wards, to be funded from the General Council Account, and further, that staff develop appropriate parameters for these spaces.

b.         by deleting the following bullet point under the heading "Denial of Use":

                              Bullet point to be deleted

Division Heads may deny Councillors’ use of facilities under their control if Councillors have contravened this Policy.

and replacing it with the following new bullet point: 

Should a Councillor contravene the use of facilities policy, the division head will discuss the correct use of the policy with the affected Councillor.

12.       City Council request City agencies, including but not limited to the Toronto Public Library, the Toronto Parking Authority and the Toronto Transit Commission, to review the City's Policy on Councillor Use of Civic Space and adopt similar policies for facilities under their control.

13.       City Council approve the Policy on Use of City Resources during an Election set out in Attachment 5 of the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk, and direct the City Manager and the Accountability Officers to implement the policy effective immediately.

14.       City Council request the City Manager to report on the application of the Policy on Use of City Resources during an Election to City agencies and corporations, for implementation for the 2014 Municipal Election.

15.       City Council amend the last bullet of Section 5 (Allowable Expenses - Legal Fees) of the Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy dated May, 2012 (Attachment 6 to the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk), by deleting "Fees related to first consultation for Code of Conduct investigations (limit $500)" and inserting "Fees related to informal complaints (part A) and formal complaints (part B) of the Code of Conduct Complaint Protocol for Members of Council" so that it now reads as follows:

Fees related to informal complaints (part A) and formal complaints (part B) of the Code of Conduct Complaint Protocol for Members of Council [per City Council decision at its meeting on July 15, 16 and 17, 2008, on the Integrity Commissioner's report titled “Report on Issues Arising Out of Operation of Members Code of Conduct and Complaint Protocol"]

and City Council request the Integrity Commissioner to review and report to Council on suggested corresponding changes in the Code of Conduct Complaint Protocol for Members of Council.

16.       City Council direct that the change in Part 15 above be retroactive to January 1, 2012.

17.       City Council amend the Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy dated May, 2012 (Attachment 6 to the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk) as follows:

a.         by adding to Section 2.4 (Introduction – Program Budget) the following new bullet point:

Office expense budgets are subject to an annual CPI increase.

b.         by amending the first bullet point in Section 4.7(b) (Councillor Expenses during an Election Year – Specific Limitations) by adding the words "after the nomination deadline" after the word "announced" so that it now reads as follows:

Once a Councillor has announced after the nomination deadline they are not seeking re-election and plan to retire from office at the end of the term, the Councillor will not be permitted to use City funds to:

Increase the salary of their staff

Buy furniture and equipment for the office

Attend conferences, seminars or undertake business travel

Trade furniture with other Councillors

c.         by deleting the word "basic" in the first and second bullet points in Section 5, Allowable Expenses (Internet Services) under the heading "Eligible Expenses" so they now read as follows:

High-speed internet connection for Constituency Office

High-speed internet connection for Home Office

d.         by moving the following bullet point from Section 5, Allowable Expenses (Internet Services) under the heading "Ineligible Expenses" to Section 5, Allowable Expenses (Internet Services) under the heading "Eligible Expenses":

Fees to enhance bandwidth and transmission speed

18.       City Council amend the Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy dated May, 2012 (Attachment 6 to the report (May 29, 2012) from the Deputy Mayor and the City Clerk) as follows:

a.           by adding to Appendix 1, Part 3 (Office Operations) and to Section 5, Allowable Expenses (Newsletters and Flyers) the following new bullet point:

Each Councillor be entitled to an amount equivalent to the cost of postage or delivery by other means of one newsletter to all households within the ward, based on the 2011 census information, and at a rate not to exceed the current Canada Post standard admail rate, paid for from the Council General Expense Budget.

19.       City Council request the City Manager to report back to City Council on October 30, 2012 on the feasibility of providing additional funds to be applied to the office budgets of Councillors who have more than 60,000 constituents.