ADJUSTING TO A 25-WARD COUNCIL
62 Toronto Residents' Associations band together to tell Mayor and Council:
Keep increases to city councillors' staff budgets
to compensate for Bill 5 cuts by province
22 November 2018
by Susan Dexter
Democracy Toronto

When you call your city councillor, who will answer?

How long will they take to get back to you?

How quickly will your issues be addressed?

Will there be enough staff to handle the workload now that each city councillor has twice the constituents they had before the recent city elections?

The members of fifty-five Residents' Associations (RAs) and similar community organizations from across the city are asking those questions in the wake of cuts to city council positions, as the newly-elected City Council prepares for its first meeting in less than two weeks.

First Concerted Political Action by Residents' Associations

In what's believed to be a first, the RAs have banded together in numbers to help make sure Toronto citizens are not short-changed in their ability to receive the attention and assistance of city councillors they have come to expect.

Drastic cuts to city council were imposed by the Ford government at Queen's Park over the summer.  The province reduced the number of city wards from 47 that had been approved to 25 and slashed the number of city councillors by the same numbers.

Toronto will soon get its first glimpse of how the city will deal with the massive restructuring of city governance that will be necessary in the wake of those cuts--work that could at least have been done in advance had the province consulted the city before acting.

The City Clerk and Manager will shortly reveal recommendations to city council on all of the changes that need to be made to compensate for the loss of elected leaders.

How Much Staff is Needed?

Determining how many assistants each councillor needs will be a major focus of that work.

The cuts have left incoming councillors with an average of up to 110,000 constituents each. 

Twice the number of constituents to serve as before.  Twice the constituent calls, twice the number of development proposals per councillor, twice the number of seniors needing assistance, twice the number of people needing housing and other social services.

Prior to the council cuts, the city budgeted for 47 councillors with three ward assistants each--141 employees to assist the councillors in dealing directly with the public.  Busier offices were allocated additional staff budgets.

Workload is the Same

The workload is the same, the RAs say, regardless of how many councillors there are.  Each office will deal with double the work, so double the staff will be needed in each councillor’s office to simply maintain the present level of service.  They're calling on the Mayor and City Council to keep the funding for those 141 employees and split them among the 25 remaining councillors.

Three employees each--75 staffers in all--simply can't do the work of 141 on top of the reduction in councillors, the RAs say.
 
To make their views known ahead of the first meeting of the new council on Dec. 5,
the Residents’ Associations and Community Organizations have taken the unusual step of writing a joint letter urging the Mayor and council to ensure adequate councillor staffing.
City Staff Ready to Report

A City Staff Task Force has been working since Bill 5 came down to determine how to govern under the changed regime.
 
They've received input from politicians and from the community.  A group of former city consultants and activists sent councillors and city staff a discussion paper on the subject ("The New Reality - An Approach to Governing Toronto in a 25-Councillor World"), hoping to contribute to the thinking on how to maintain democracy while cutting the number of elected representatives.
The paper proposed changes to the structure of City Council, councillor participation on Boards, changes to Community Council boundaries and pressed for adequate staffing levels to look after the myriad of responsibilities that are of direct interest to residents—from potholes, to TCHC housing problems, to shelters, to street traffic regulations.
 
City staff have prepared their own recommendations.  City Council will make decisions on all of this very soon. The first two weeks of December will be critical to the future form of our city government. 
 Full Text of Letter from Toronto Residents' Assocations to City Council
22 November, 2018

Re: Staffing decisions for Councillor’s offices

The new reality of a 25-councillor world presents an unprecedented governance challenge.  Each Councillor will still have to attend to meetings and engage on City-wide issues, but now must represent the needs of many more constituents, averaging 110,000 residents per ward.

How Councillors can effectively shoulder this increased constituency load alone is unclear.  What is clear is that without the allocation of additional resources, they will be unable to maintain the level of representation they currently provide, and which constituents have quite rightly come to expect.  This will serve only to impair the effective operation of the City.  Such a result is neither an acceptable nor necessary outcome. 

One way to mitigate this imbalance between the legitimate expectations of constituents as to the level of service they receive and the ability of Councillors to deliver that service is to ensure adequate capacity in their offices.  Councillors’ staff are often the first point of contact with constituents.  They effectively handle the calls and concerns directed to the Councillor, thus improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the Councillors’ work. 

With wards doubled in size, at a minimum staff levels should be doubled. This would simply maintain a level playing field by continuing unchanged the prior budget appropriation for Councillor staff. 

In addition, where wards have exceptional levels of planning and development, we further urge you to allow for additional staffing in recognition of the importance of those files and the work demand they represent.

It is imperative that the result of the change to the City’s governance model not result in an erosion of representation or a deterioration in the overall effectiveness in the governance of the City.

We trust that you will act accordingly. See below the list of Resident Association signators.

Yours truly,
David Harrison, chair                         
Henry Wiercinski                                Annex Residents’ Association                                      
​Gail Misra, chair
​Sue Dexter 
​Harbord Village Residents’ Assn  
     
Here's the complete list of Residents' Associations that have signed the request to distribute the staff budgets created for 47 city council positions among the 25 councillors who remain:
  1. Annex Residents' Association
  2. Harbord Village Residents' Association
  3. ​​Garment District Neighbourhood Association / Valerie Eggertson
  4. ​CityPlace Residents’ Association / Gary Pieters
  5. Parkdale Residents Association / Ric Amis​
  6. Liberty Village Residents’ Association / Todd Hofley
  7. Roncesvalles Macdonell Residents’ Association / Norman Kolasky
  8. FONTRA, Cathie Macdonald and Geoff Kettel 
  9. Avenue Road & Eglinton Community Association
  10. Bayview Village Residents' Association
  11. Bedford Park/Wanless Residents' Association
  12. Davenport Triangle Residents' Association
  13. Deer Park Residents’ Group Inc
  14. Don Mills Residents' Inc
  15. Edwards Gardens Neighbourhood Association
  16. Eglinton Park Residents' Association (EPRA) / Tom Cohen
  17. Forest Hill Homeowners' Association
  18. Governor’s Bridge Ratepayers' Association
  19. Glenorchy Residents’ Association​
  20. Greater Yorkville Residents Association (GYRA)
  21. Lawrence Park Ratepayers' Association
  22. Greater Beach Residents’ Association
  23. Leaside Property Owners' Association
  24. Lytton Park Residents' Organization Inc
  25. Moore Park Residents' Association
  26. North Rosedale Ratepayers' Association​
  27. Old Orchard Grove Residents Assn
  28. Oriole Park Association
  29. Rathnelly Residents' Association / Pym Buitenhuis
  30. St. Andrew's Ratepayers' Association
  31. Sherwood Park Residents' Association 
  32. South Armour Heights Residents' Association
  33. South Eglinton Ratepayers' and Residents' Association
  34. South Hill District Home Owners' Association
  35. South Rosedale Residents' Association / Don J. Hogarth
  36. Stanley Knowles Housing Co-op 
  37. Summerhill Residents' Association
  38. Uptown Yonge Neighbourhood Alliance
  39. West Keewatin Neighbours 
  40. West Lansing Homeowners' Association
  41. York Mills Gardens Community Association 
  42. York Mills Leslie Ratepayers' Association 
  43. York Mills Valley Association 
  44. Yonge Ridge Homeowners' Association
  45. Grange Community Association / Ralph Daley and Ceta Ramkhalawansingh
  46. Huron Sussex Residents’ Organization / Danae Engle
  47. York Quay Neighbourhood Association / Angelo Bertolas and Carolyn Johnson
  48. Lakeview Avenue Residents’ Association / Jeff Hoedeman
  49. Palmerston Area Residents’ Association / Paul Maclean
  50. Seaton Village Residents’ Association / Jennifer Hunter
  51. Bay Cloverhill Community Association / Kathryn Holden
  52. Fort York Neighbourhood Association / Ryan Myhal
  53. ABC Residents’ Association / John Caliendo and Ian Carmichael
  54. Ossington Community Association  /Jessica Wilson
  55. Cottingham Square Community Association (CSCA) / Neil Blair
  56. Long Branch Neighbourhood Association, Judy Gibson and Christine Mercado
  57. Toronto Island Community Association (TICA) / Tony Farebrother
  58. Regent Park Neighbourhood Association / Megann Willson
  59. Brimley Forest Community Association / Tom Chang
  60. Rosewood Taxpayers’ Association / Alura Moores
  61. Agincourt Village Community Association / Rhoda Potter
  62. Pocket Community Association / Susan McMurray
What Are Residents' Associations?
 
RAs are volunteer groups formed within communities to assist residents in a multitude of ways. Many RAs prominently feature social gatherings: bake sales, yard sales, pumpkin festivals, park events and local fairs build community spirit. They also help residents and communities deal with city bureaucracy, ensuring the community voice is heard. In many cases, they take an active part in planning processes for developments and on issues that may be distinct to their neighbourhood—greening initiatives, assistance to young people, advocacy for seniors, housing issues, heritage. Many have published bylaws and websites and organized structures. Others are more informal.
CITY COUNCIL CALENDAR

Here are the key dates for city council's discussions on how to govern the 25-ward city.

All City Council sessions are available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/TorontoCityCouncilLive

Tuesday, December 4 / 2 pm
Ceremonial Session of City Council
Election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker

Wednesday, December 5 / 930 am
First business meeting of new City Council
​
Agenda
City Manager and City Clerk report on how the reduction of City Council from 47 to 25 members will affect the governance structure of the city

They will make recommendations on adjustments to:
• Council Committee Structure
• Council Procedures
• Council Committee Membership
• Community Council Boundaries

Monday, December 10
Agenda for Dec 12 council meeting is made public

Tuesday December 11 / 930 am
Community Councils meet to elect chairs and vice chairs
 
Wednesday December 12 / 930 am
Committee Room 1
Striking Committee meets to: 
• Consult Councillors as to which Council Committees they want to serve on
• Consider appointments to local boards and other bodies
• Propose 2019 schedule of meetings

Thursday December 13 / 930 am
First Meeting of Council Continues
• Approve Councillor appointments to Council Committees
• Approve appointments to local boards and other bodies
• Approve 2019 schedule of meetings
• Urgent Business
• Member Motions 

All City Council sessions are available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/TorontoCityCouncilLive
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​THE NEW REALITY -
​AN APPROACH TO GOVERNING TORONTO IN A
​25-COUNCILLOR WORLD

Bill 5 News - Provincial Cuts to City Council

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