City Hall Task Force
In Fall 2016, Gabriel Eidelman co-convened a City Hall Task Force — made up of politicians, public servants, academics, journalists, and civic leaders — to produce the first general review of Toronto governance in over a decade and improve the quality of deliberation and decision making at Toronto City Hall. The goal of the task force was to propose reforms that City Council could act on quickly, without any major legislative or regulatory changes. Members of the task force solicited feedback, collated research, balanced important perspectives, and made recommendations to improve City Council’s core decision-making processes and procedures.
Task force members
- Gabriel Eidelman (convenor), Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Governance
- Brian F. Kelcey (convenor), Founder, State of the City Inc.
- Adrienne Batra, former Press Secretary to Mayor Rob Ford
- Shirley Hoy, former City Manager (2001- 2008)
- Sevaun Palvetzian, CEO, CivicAction
- John Parker, former City Councillor (2006-2014) and Deputy Speaker
- Joe Pennachetti, former City Manager (2008-2015)
- David Soknacki, former City Councillor (1999-2006) and Budget Chief
- Zack Taylor, Assistant Professor, Western University
- Ange Valentini, former Chief of Staff to Councillor Adam Vaughan (2007-2014)
- Bianca Wylie, Head, Open Data Institute Toronto
Executive summary
Overall, the task force concluded that there is no need to completely overhaul the system. Rather, what is required is sensible, incremental reform, centred around six key priorities.
Set strategic priorities
The Mayor plays a lead role setting the Council agenda, but the budget and many city-wide initiatives are often held up by local interests. The City needs a mechanism to encourage strategic, long-term decision making focused on the big picture, not ward-level grandstanding.
Monitor the ABCs
Local agencies, boards, corporations, and commissions (ABCs) make up a large and growing share of the city budget. Yet these bodies are not subject to the same level of Council oversight as general city departments. ABCs should be expected — and where warranted, compelled — to be more open, accessible, transparent, participatory, and accountable.
Delegate authority
Too many matters make it to full Council for debate. Final decision-making authority on certain items should be delegated — the most common suggestion, to Community Councils — so that Council can properly debate the most important issues that affect the city as a whole.
Streamline debate
City Council meetings frequently devolve into political theatre, which undermines public confidence. Items are too often amended “on-the-fly” without staff analysis, leading to hasty decisions and wasted time and resources. The rules of debate and voting procedures should be amended to encourage more intelligent deliberation.
Engage the public
The City’s primary mechanisms for public engagement — formal deputations to committee, budget consultations, and public consultations — need to be rethought, with a focus on encouraging proactive participation from a wider group of residents and stakeholders, and better integrating public input into staff reports and Council debates.
Share information
As a matter of transparency and accountability, the City should adopt enhanced information practices in the spirit of “open government.” The City should share more timely and useful data, both among city staff and with members of the public, to improve service delivery and stimulate more informed decision making.
Recommendations
To address these concerns, the Task Force proposed 14 recommendations, which reflect two core principles at the heart of the group’s deliberations: that City Council must strive, first and foremost, to act strategically and focus on city-wide problems, and second, behave in a more accountable, transparent, and participatory manner.
City Council can act on these recommendations quickly, without provincial intervention, using powers the City already enjoys. Some reforms will require leadership from the Mayor, others changes to the Municipal Code; the path to implementation varies. But fundamentally, each recommendation is politically realistic, capable of drawing support from a diverse group of Council members.
In the media
