Agenda

The City Manager recommends that:

1.         The Government Management Committee consider the List of Opportunities identified in Appendix A, Part 2 of the report, Core Service Review, as part of meeting the 2012 budget reduction targets and make recommendations to the Executive Committee for its September 19, 2011 meeting.

2.         The Government Management Committee request the City Manager to review the List of Opportunities to ensure service efficiencies are maximized to meet the 2012 budget targets and multi-year service and financial planning objectives and report directly to Executive Committee for its September 19, 2011 meeting.

The purpose of this report is to transmit the Core Service Review Summary and Service Profiles prepared by KPMG LLP and the results of the public consultation, for consideration by Standing Committees at special meetings scheduled between July 18, 2011 and July 28, 2011.  Service Profiles of the City's governance functions and the City's agencies will be considered by Executive Committee on July 28, 2011.  The City Manager will report further on the Core Service Review to the Executive Committee at its September 19, 2011 meeting, including providing comments on recommendations coming forward from the Special Standing Committee meetings.

The Service Review Program includes: a Core Service Review that examines which services the City should be delivering, Service Efficiency Studies that examine service levels and how specific City services are delivered to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective service delivery, and a User Fee Review that examines all user fees currently in place to determine the extent to which they are fair and collect the full cost of providing the service.

The Service Review Program is being undertaken in 2011 in preparation for the 2012 Budget Process.  In 2011, the City will set the foundation for its services and service levels to establish the basis for multi-year planning and service delivery to meet its budgetary objectives in 2012 and beyond.

The City is facing difficult decisions in 2012 and future years to meet its budget challenges. The City currently has a 2012 beginning operating spending pressure estimated at $774 million. The annual stabilization of one-time short term sources of funding must be replaced with expenditure reductions to ensure a long-term sustainable operating budget for the City of Toronto. 

The Core Service Review is intended to align City services and service levels within the context of the 2012 Operating Budget.  The Core Service Review opportunities identified by KPMG LLP along with the User Fee Review and Service Efficiency Studies are tools to assist in meeting the 2012 budget challenges. 

The Deputy City Manager/Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.