[homeles_ot-l] ALERT - 1) Council Priority Setting/Budget Process starts this week at standing cttes; 2) $14M

[Linda Lalonde]

Hi Folks,

 
See about halfway down for the piece going to Planning and Community & Protective Services Cttes around the $14M uploaded $$ for housing and poverty reduction.

 
 
1) Coming soon to a Standing Committee near you!! 

 
Over the next month, each standing committee is going to be looking at a report that sets the priorities for the rest of this Council term, i.e. until Nov 30, 2014 - see committee schedule below. The only public input to this process will be 5-minute delegations at these committee meetings. 


Planning Committee (Appendix A) – June 14, 2011 
Transit Commission (Appendix B) – June 15, 2011 
Environment Committee (Appendix C) – June 16, 2011 
Community and Protective Services Committee (Appendix D) – June 23, 2011 
Transportation Committee (Appendix E) – June 29, 2011 
Finance and Economic Development Committee (Appendix F) – July 7, 2011 
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (Appendix G) – July 8, 2011 
 
When you look at the priorities for each committee, you will see that there are $$ allocations attached to them for this year and the next three years. That's why I'm saying it's the start of the budget process since, once this is approved by Council, it will form the framework of the 2012 to 2014 budgets. In my opinion, this has the potential to set in stone virtually the whole city budget until 2014 ... so use your 5 minutes well!! 

 
We saw the approach this year which was that if you want to change anything or add something, it's up to you to identify what you want to remove so an increase can happen. It appears to me that if you want to have any flexibility in the 2014 budget, you should be making your case at these committee meetings between Tuesday and July 8th. 


 
Each committee's slice of the pie is set out in an Appendix to the report prepared by Kent Kirkpatrick that was approved at Finance & Economic Development Committee (FEDCO) on June 7th. I want to draw attention to the fact that the report was not released with the agenda so there was no way to know that this was what they were proposing and approving at that meeting and therefore no possibility that a member of the public could be prepared to have input then. 

 
The members of FEDCO would have been aware of the content/orientation of the document because they were involved in preparing it. And that, apparently, is democracy. The motion passed at that meeting along with the part of the report that documents the 'consultation' done is attached.

 
You'll see references to that report as ACS2011-COS-ODP-0011 and it is available in English here:


http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/pec/2011/06-14/Term%20of%20Council%20Priorities%20Report_Doc%201_EN.htm

and in French here: 

http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/pec/2011/06-14/Term%20of%20Council%20Priorities%20Report_Doc%201%20FR.htm 
 
This week, the Planning Committee, Transit Commission and Environment Committee are meeting and looking at their piece. You will find the Appendices for those three at:


 
Planning ctte

http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/pec/2011/06-14/Additional%20Item%20-%20ACS2011-CMR-PLC-0010-%20Council%20Priorities.htm 
Transit Commission 
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/tc/2011/06-15/05-ACS2011-CMR-OTC-0006-%20Council%20Priorities.htm 
Environment ctte 
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/ec/2011/06-16/06%20-%20ACS2011-CMR-ENV-0003-Council%20Priorities.htm 


 
The other four committees will be meeting between June 23rd and the 8th of July so you have a bit of time to study their priority reports and prep for the meeting and your 5-minute contribution to the democratic process. You'll find their parts of the exercise at:


 
CPS ctte
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/csedc/2011/06-07/13d%20-%20Appendix%20D%20-%20CPS%20Committee%20Oversight_FINAL_ENG.htm 
Transportation ctte 
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/csedc/2011/06-07/13e%20-%20Appendix%20E%20-%20Transportation%20Committee%20Oversight_FINAL_ENG.htm 
Finance & Economic Development ctte 
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/csedc/2011/06-07/13f%20-%20Appendix%20F%20-%20FEDCO%20Oversight_FINAL_ENG.htm 
Agriculture & Rural Affairs ctte 
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/csedc/2011/06-07/13g%20-%20Appendix%20G%20-%20ARAC%20Oversight_FINAL_ENG_REV.htm 


 
2) $14M 

 
The $14 M that was approved to go into the base budget this year for housing and poverty reduction measures will appear in both the Planning and the Community & Protective Services Committee parts. That is because the capital $$ (for building and upgrading housing) is the responsibility of the Planning Ctte while the operating $$ (for running programs, etc.) falls under CPS Ctte. 
 
I've pulled this piece out because I know many of you are interested in/concerned about these funds. As you will see below, the $14M is being carried forward intact for the 4 year period. You will see that it goes from around a 10:4 split between capital:operating dollars in 2011 to about a 6:8 split in 2014. 



 
 
Strategic Priority: Healthy and Caring Community – Help all residents enjoy a high quality of life and contribute to community well-being through healthy, safe, secure, accessible and inclusive places.





Strategic Objective Name & Description


HC3 - Improve social and affordable housing: Provide affordable, attractive and accessible supportive and permanent housing for residents in need, and improve the range and quality of housing for people of diverse abilities and incomes to live in a community through various life stages.





SI #

Strategic Initiative Name

Strategic Initiative Description

Proposed 
Standing Committee Oversight (Strategic Initiative)

Capital (In Thousands)

Operating (In Thousands)


2011

2012

2013

2014

2011

2012

2013

2014



43

Housing and Homelessness Investment Plan

The City has a role and works with community partners to address housing and homelessness. Council has approved annual operating funding for housing and homelessness investments beginning in 2011 and capital funding for the next 4 years.


PC
CPS 
(Note 4)

10,100 

7,100 

6,100 

6,100 

3,900 

6,900 

7,900 

7,900 

Note 4: Oversight for Planning Committee includes only capital items related to this initiative. 

 
When items as huge in both scope and impact are going to go to either Committees or Council, I think we need to have some kind of briefing for the public. As many of you know, you can't ask questions at standing committees to get clarification on the information in a report and it is not an opportunity for discussion between citizens and councillors. These reports to be discussed over the next month are setting the parameters of Council and Committee work for the next 3 1/2 years and I would think it would be reasonable to have them explained to the population.

 
To essentially walk a report of this substance and import onto the floor of FEDCO, adopt it and have it at other standing committees within a week is ridiculous. There are many individuals, community groups and agencies that would like to participate in setting the direction of the city. Since many of them have accountability structures, they cannot possibly analyse what is in the report, ask questions to improve their understanding, prepare a response, have it approved and get to a standing committee to make an intervention in that kind of time frame.

 
Were I not such an optimist, I might begin to think that Council doesn't want an informed and participating public down at City Hall. Luckily, my Pollyanna-ish nature helps me rise above impugning such behaviour to our city leaders.

 
Linda.
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