A more effective city council, updated October12, 2006

A More Effective City Council

The megacity is so large it functions badly. Agendas for council meetings are 3500 - 4000 pages long, and few council members have the time or interest to read all items. Meetings stretch on for four or more days. The city budget is $7.5 billion a year, far larger than the council structure can reasonably manage. More than 60,000 individuals work for the megacity, and with common city-wide policies its not possible to shape services to local needs. Community groups find it difficult to get a serious hearing from council, particularly since few councillors are familiar with anything more than their own area. Those who try to do business with the city find they must hire a lobbyist to be effective.

There are many issues to address to make the needed change. The following are the four most immediate changes needed:

1. Immediately schedule city council to meet every second week rather than once a month. More frequent meetings will ensure more attention can be given to city business in a timely fashion.

2. Immediately schedule community councils to meet every second week rather than once a month. More effective meetings will ensure more attention can be given to local business in a timely fashion.

3. Request legislation from the provincial government permitting council to delegate to community councils powers to: make planning decisions in conformity with the citys official plan; create detailed neighbourhood land use plans; control the local budget, policy, and staffing decisions for planning, parks and recreation, heritage, and roads, within a megacity framework. Decentralizing these decisions will improve decisions made.

4. Establish a commission of acknowledged community leaders to review the citys government structure and to recommend new structures of a more manageable size for the existing city. The commission should receive adequate funding from council for a review of the existing materials on governance and for arranging public consultation and communication. The commission should report by March 2008 with a view to putting new structures in place to become effective by the next municipal election. .


These are not the only governance issues that need to be addressed to create a more effective City Council, just the most immediate. Other governance changes that need to be addressed are:

a) Allowing all residents of the city to vote, not just citizens.
b) Increasing the number of women on Council.
c) Creating strategies to increase the participation on city agencies bodies and commissions by people of colour, youth and recent immigrants;

This statement has been endorsed by John Sewell, and also by five other candidates:
Amarjeet Chhabra, Ward 43 (Scarborough East)
Garry Green, Ward 8 (Jane/Finch)
Ed Shiller, Ward 24 (Willowdale)
Adam Vaughan, Ward 20 (Trinity Spadina)
David White, Ward 14 (Parkdale High Park)

October 12, 2006.