TABLE OF CONTENTS

REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES

AND OTHER COMMITTEES

As Considered by

The Council of the City of Toronto

on July 29, 30 and 31, 1998

STRIKING COMMITTEE

REPORT No. 5

1Nominations for Election of Members of Council to the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)

City of Toronto

REPORT No. 5

OF THE STRIKING COMMITTEE

(from its meeting on July 29, 1998,

submitted by Councillor Case Ootes, Acting Chair)

As Considered by

The Council of the City of Toronto

on July 29, 30 and 31, 1998

1

Nominations for Election of Members of Council

to the Board of Directors of the Association of

Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)

(City Council on July 29, 30and 31, 1998, adopted this Clause, without amendment.)

The Striking Committee recommends that:

(1)the following seven Members of Council be nominated for election as the City of Toronto Caucus Representatives on the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO):

John Adams

Brian Ashton

Frank Faubert

Blake F. Kinahan

Joan King

Gloria Lindsay Luby

Howard Moscoe

for a one-year term, and/or until their successors are appointed; and

(2)leave be granted for the introduction of any necessary Bills in Council to give effect thereto.

The Striking Committee further recommends, having regard that under the authority of Article 10 of AMO By-law No.1, nominations for election to the Board of Directors of AMO must be received by AMO by July 31, 1998, that City Council give consideration to the foregoing recommendations in sufficient time to enable the City Clerk to submit Council's nominees to AMO by the July 31, 1998 deadline.

The Striking Committee reports, for the information of Council, having requested the City Clerk to:

(i)advise Members of Council that it is anticipated that appointments of Members of Council may need to be made to the Toronto Hydro-Electric Commission once the composition of the new Commission is established; and

(ii)canvass Members of Council, at the appropriate time, for their interest in being appointed to the new Commission.

The Striking Committee submits the following report (July 15, 1998) from the City Clerk:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to provide Members of Council with a list of Members' preferences for nomination for election to the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not applicable.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the Striking Committee give consideration to Members' preferences outlined in Schedule 1 and recommend seven Members of Council to be nominated for election to the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) for a one-year term, and/or until their successors are appointed;

(2)City Council give consideration to this matter in sufficient time to enable the City Clerk to submit Council's nominees to AMO by the July 31, 1998 deadline, in accordance with the provisions of Article10 of AMO By-law No. 1; and

(3)leave be granted for the introduction of any necessary Bills in Council to give effect thereto.

Council Reference/Background/History:

The Striking Committee at its meeting held on June 29, 1998, requested the City Clerk to canvass Members of Council for their interest in being nominated for election to the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).

The Striking Committee further directed the City Clerk to arrange a meeting of the Striking Committee prior to the meeting of City Council scheduled to be held on July 29, 1998, noting that the nominees approved by Council must be submitted to AMO by the July 31, 1998 deadline.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Members of Council were canvassed on June 30, 1998, to determine their respective interest in being nominated for election to the AMO Board of Directors. The City of Toronto representation on the Board shall consist of seven Toronto Caucus Directors. The responses received from Members of Council are listed in the attached Schedule1.

Also attached is a notice dated June 1998 from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario setting out the procedures for nominations to the AMO Board of Directions. Under authority of Article 10 of AMO By-law No. 1, nominations shall be received by the Association up to and including July31, 1998. After this date, nominations shall be considered closed and will not be accepted from the conference floor.

Conclusions:

It is recommended that the Striking Committee recommend to Council that seven Members of Council be nominated for election to the AMO Board of Directors for a one-year term, and/or until their successors are appointed.

In accordance with the provision of Article 10 of AMO By-law No. 1, it is also recommended that City Council give consideration to this matter in sufficient time to enable the City Clerk to submit Council's nominees to AMO by the July 31, 1998 deadline.

Contact Name:

Joanne Hamill, Interim Contact for the Striking Committee, 392-4339.

The Striking Committee also submits the following report (July 15, 1998) from the Chief Administrative Officer:

Purpose:

To outline the changes occurring at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) as a result of restructuring, the benefits of these changes to the City of Toronto, and the importance of ensuring strong Toronto representation on the Board.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial implications associated with this report.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Council Reference/Background/History:

On February 6, 1998, AMO members voted to restructure the Association and amend its governing by-law to enhance the effectiveness of the Association's work. The changes were intended to better reflect the current make-up of the municipal sector, streamline the resolutions process and provide the Association with the latitude needed to respond to an ever changing provincial agenda.

The restructuring was proposed for a number of reasons but primarily because the structure of AMO did not allow it to respond quickly to the rapid changes occurring at the provincial level. AMO's internal decision-making involved a lengthy and cumbersome process and was not designed to react to the scope and pace of legislative, regulatory and financial reforms taking place under the current provincial government. In addition, because of the way the Board was structured (5 Vice-Presidents, 17 directors elected at large, 14 section representatives selected by the section members or executives, 4 vice-chairs of AMO standing committees selected by the Committees) it was difficult for members to know exactly who was representing them at the Board level, or how to hold Board members accountable for decisions. It was also difficult to ensure that all types of municipalities were well represented on the Board.

As a result of the proposed restructuring, the AMO Board will consist of 45 members and be structured as follows:

·President and Immediate Past President

·Secretary-Treasurer and Immediate Past Secretary-Treasurer

·5 Rural Caucus Representatives

·5 Small Urban Caucus Representatives

·5 Northern Caucus Representatives

·5 County Caucus Representatives

·7 Large Urban Caucus Representatives

·7 Regional Caucus Representatives

·7 City of Toronto Caucus Representatives.

All caucus representatives will include one Vice-President with the exception of the Northern Caucus, which will include two, for a total of eight Vice-Presidents. These Vice-Presidents, together with the President, Immediate Past-President, Secretary-Treasurer and Immediate Past-Secretary Treasurer will constitute a 12 member Executive.

Nominations to the Toronto Caucus will be accepted by AMO until July 31, 1998. The City can nominate a slate of candidates and/or individual Council Members can declare their interest directly to AMO. If the City nominates only seven representatives and no other Council Member declares his or her interest, these seven representatives will be acclaimed during AMO's Annual Meeting. However, if more than seven members declare their interest, the Toronto Caucus must be elected during the Annual Meeting by the voting delegates from within that Caucus (e.g., only City of Toronto Councillors can vote for Toronto Caucus members). As this is the first year for the Toronto Caucus, AMO has determined that the City's seven representatives must be elected officials. However, in future years, the City can choose to have a staff member sit as one of the seven representatives.

AMO's previous structure allowed for only a limited number of Councillors or staff to be appointed as voting delegates. To broaden participation, the new structure will allow every member of a municipal council (not including municipal staff), who attends AMO's Annual Meeting, an opportunity to vote. The President and Secretary-Treasurer will be elected by all voting delegates.

The Standing Committee structure has been replaced by a series of ad hoc task forces on an "as needed" basis to respond to rapidly changing issues. So too, the resolutions process was deemed to be inappropriate to the current environment where resolutions were often out-of-date long before they were dealt with at the Annual Conference. The process was also very time and labour intensive to administer, tying up staff resources, often without much success. As a result of restructuring, resolutions will now be dealt with as part of the ongoing policy development process. Each resolution received will be referred to AMO staff for research and action and, depending on the issue, will be dealt with by a policy task force, the AMO Board, or the relevant municipal caucus. This will ensure that the resolutions process is more responsive to member needs and make better use of scarce resources. Overall it is believed that these changes will enable AMO to respond more quickly to government initiatives while still respecting the diversity of the municipal sector.

The election of the Board is the last remaining change to be implemented and will occur in August at the 1998 AMO Annual Meeting.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

The restructuring of AMO presents an exciting opportunity for the City of Toronto. With the establishment of the City of Toronto Caucus, AMO has recognized the need to distinguish Toronto issues from other AMO business, ensuring a focus and support for issues that had not existed in the past. The establishment of a Toronto vice-president ensures a strong voice on the Executive, the body responsible for the business of the Association. The Toronto Caucus will provide Toronto members with more opportunity to provide input into the Association and its activities.

AMO has been very effective in dealing with the provincial government, particularly during negotiations with the Province on the transfer of service responsibilities to municipalities. AMO's ability to influence the Province's thinking on municipal initiatives has been very impressive. Toronto now has an opportunity to work with AMO to ensure the Association speaks for the City of Toronto on issues vital to its well-being as effectively as it has done in the past for other section members.

This restructuring has been discussed with some of the current Toronto representatives on AMO who agree with the opportunities presented by the changes. The Corporate Policy and Planning Division, of the Chief Administrator's Office, provides staff support on AMO related issues to ensure better co-ordination and integration of issues across the Corporation.

Conclusions:

The creation of the Toronto Caucus presents a new opportunity for the City of Toronto to influence the policies and operations of AMO while providing a new avenue to have our voice heard at Queen's Park. In order to be effective, however, it is essential that Toronto City Council have adequate and strong representation on the Board. The nomination process provides City Council with a chance to endorse a slate of candidates, which in turn will improve the accountability of those members representing the City on the AMO Board. It is important that members of Council indicate their willingness to be active members of this Association before the July 31, 1998 deadline.

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(A copy of the following material has been forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda of the Striking Committee for its meeting held on July 29, 1998:

-Schedule 1, referred to in the foregoing report dated July 15, 1998, from the City Clerk; and

-Rules of Procedure for Nominations and the Conduct of Elections under authority of Article10 of AMO By-law No. 1,

and a copy thereof is also on file in the office of the City Clerk.)

Respectfully submitted,

CASE OOTES

Acting Chair

Toronto, July 29, 1998

(Report No. 5 of The Striking Committee was adopted, without amendment, by City Council on July29, 30 and 31, 1998.)