Priority to Improve Public Services
City Council's Accomplishments
Dateline January 2004 - Integrity Commissioner and Lobbyist Registry - City Council directed staff to draft bylaws that - subject to anticipated provincial government support - will establish a City lobbyist registry and the position of integrity commissioner for the City. City Council requires legislative authority (through amendments to the City of Toronto Act) in order to enact the two proposed bylaws.
Dateline July 2004 - Employment Accommodation - City Council endorsed a policy that describes the City’s commitment to provide employment accommodation including measures pertaining to disability, non-workplace injury or illness, religious or family needs, and pregnancy.
Dateline Sept 2004 - 3-1-1 - City Council approved plans for a "3-1-1" customer service strategy that is designed to improve public access to City services obtained by telephone, the City's Web site and over-the-counter. The intention is to redesign City services from a customer perspective, building in greater accountability for service delivery. The 3-1-1 strategy builds on recent service improvements such as online parking permits and online registration for recreation programs.
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Dateline October 2004 - Multilingual '911' - City Council adopted a communications plan to increase public awareness that the 911 emergency line can provide assistance in more than 150 languages. The strategy builds upon existing outreach by Toronto's providers of emergency services to promote 911, especially among new immigrants and in parts of the city with high concentrations of non-English-speaking residents.
Dateline December 2004 – Restructuring for Success - City Council approved a new organizational structure to take effect on April 15, 2005. The restructuring, on a recommendation from Mayor Miller, is designed to make the City's administration more accountable, responsive and flexible. The new structure strengthens the emphasis on public services, with 14 citizen-focused service units headed by General Managers. Management oversight will be strengthened by augmenting the City Manager's function with two Deputy City Manager positions and one Deputy City Manager/Chief Financial Officer position.
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Dateline July 2005 - Better Building By-law - City Council approved a new City of Toronto Building By-law and adopted a Code of Conduct for the Chief Building Official and Inspectors, in preparation for the January 1, 2006 effective date of the Building Code Statute Law Amendment Act, 2002 . The new by-law authorized the Building Division to proceed with several new programs which have improved and expedited building permit service delivery in all District offices.
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Dateline December 2005 - Bellamy Inquiry - City Council approved a series of actions to implement the recommendations of the Bellamy Inquiry. A "Bellamy Recommendations Steering Committee" will take steps such as refining the City Council members' code of conduct, expanding the integrity commissioner's duties, and creating a lobbyist control framework. The City Manager will increase education about ethical issues for all staff and will establish a code of conduct for staff similar to the code of conduct for Councillors.
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The issue at the heart of these vulnerabilities is trust. Specifically, it is trust in public officials who spend public money. Those with control of public funds have a special duty of trust to the public. They must discharge their duty of trust fairly and objectively and they must be seen to be doing so...With each new scandal, public trust is eroded... Eruptions of scandal involving public money do indeed show that our democratic system is not perfect, but much can be done to mitigate the imperfections and restore public trust.
Toronto Public Library – New and renewed sites 2004-2005