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Anna Basile, Division Manager,
Corporate Services presented the Board with a high-level summary of the draft
budget including information regarding operating pressures, and the
recommended 2021 capital initiatives. Ms. Basile said staff received eight
inquiries and questions of clarification from members of the public following
tabling in November, which were distributed as correspondence with the Board.
(Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer). Matthew Pritz, Program
Manager, Finance and Business Services and Brenda Gorton, Account Manager,
Financial Services Unit (City) were in attendance to respond to questions.
The
Board heard from the following delegations:
John D. Reid said that he felt that
the budget process limits meaningful public dialogue with the Board. He was
pleased with several aspects of the budget, including the progress for fair
ebook pricing, room rental rates, and partnerships. He was concerned about
other aspects of the budget and referred to a statement made by Chair Luloff
indicating that he has “every intention of setting the conditions to remedy”
the fact that there are areas of the City not served by an OPL branch. Mr.
Reid acknowledged the studies proposed for Carlington and the East Urban area
suggested that the 2021 budget should also address needs in other areas,
specifically in Hunt Club and Riverside Park. Mr. Reid questioned how the
elimination of late fees addresses the objective of increasing the number of
active cardholders by 25 percent by 2023. He urged staff to examine renting
space in the Hunt Club neighbourhood in order to provide library services and
asked why staff refused to consider this option. Regarding the vehicle
lifecycle replacement funds in the budget, Mr. Reid suggested that OPL should
be in line with the City’s zero emissions commercial vehicle strategy and
asked for a library plan on meeting climate objectives. He asked how the
level of funding (12% of the budget) for corporate services compares to that
for other major Ontario public libraries, suggested that this amount was
bloated, and expressed his incredulity. He concluded by saying that trustees
should ask more questions of staff and challenge staff to do better. Lastly, Mr.
Reid commented that it’s a “sprint” to speak within the five minutes
allocated for a delegation.
Chair Luloff said the
Facilities Master Plan, intended to be completed by 2022, will provide the
required framework to inform future funding decisions regarding library
services in neighbourhoods, including additional branches. He thanked Mr.
Reid for being a strong advocate for the library.
Trustee Brockington
inquired as to the end game: whether Mr. Reid was specifically asking for OPL
to rent a storefront space, and then build a branch after conducting the Facilities
Master Plan, should that Plan identify a gap in the Hunt Club area? Mr. Reid
replied that this would be a sensible approach; however, he believes it does
not meet the immediate needs, especially for minority children who are
struggling with substandard library services. In other words, he did not
think that the Facilities Master Plan process should stop OPL from moving
forward at the present time on looking at storefront library space for his community.
Given the flexibility staff exhibited in providing services during the
pandemic, he believes more could be done to address substandard library
services in Hunt Club.
In response to a question
from Trustee Meehan regarding whether anything had been missed or omitted in
the budget, Mr. Reid said a lot more could be achieved by being flexible and
renting space in a facility in Hunt Club while freeing up hours in other
branches.
Christine
Johnson, Chair, Library Committee, Hunt Club Community Association*,
presented a PowerPoint (held on file with the Chief Executive Officer)
illustrating the growth in Hunt Club in the last 70 years. She stated that in
her opinion, this neighbourhood had been completely overlooked since the
mid-seventies. She referenced a library services questionnaire she conducted
in the Shearwater Court community housing building, of which a summary of
responses was distributed to the Board (held on file with the Chief
Executive Officer). She advocated for improved library services at the
Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre and requested staff to consider the
following:
1)
Consult with the Hunt Club community
regarding a needs assessment in 2021 and conduct the gap analysis using an
evidence-based approach, incorporating historical context that resulted in
some areas being unserved; and,
2)
Include in a library branch in the Hunt
Club community between Riverside Drive and Bank Street in the Facilities
Master Plan.
[
*Individuals / groups marked with an asterisk above either provided comments
in writing or by email; all submissions are held on file with the CEO.]
Written correspondence
was submitted to the Board prior to the start of the meeting, from the
following, as noted:
·
The
Alexander-Goudy and Hughes families;
·
Sonya
Hughes (Jenkins)
·
Christine
Johnson;
·
Michelle
Nash via Councillor Fleury
·
Linda
Sabine via Chair Luloff;
·
Zivana
Pavic;
·
John
Reid; and,
·
Linda
Sabine.
Trustee Brown thanked the
delegation for her time and effort and for canvassing some members of her
community for feedback.
Trustee Brockington
indicated that he thinks the frustration of his community is not with the
Facilities Master Plan but the funding model that’s used to build facilities.
He stated his belief that the Board will have to wrestle with the funding
model as well.
Trustee Meehan was
sympathetic to the delegation’s concerns, referring to the upcoming
construction of a long-awaited branch in her ward, one of three wards without
a branch. She added that the new Riverside South branch in her ward will be
funded by development charges.
The Chair opened the
floor to questions of staff by trustees.
In response to a question
from Vice-Chair Fisher regarding the percentage increase in the base budget
is for eContent acquisition, Ms. Seaman indicated that the budget for
purchasing eContent is $2.5M which represents a twelve percent increase to
the base budget.
Trustee
Brockington suggested that staff provide the Board with a presentation on how
development charges are calculated at a future meeting.
In
response to a question from Trustee Brockington about OPL’s ability to retain
the projected 2020 surplus for OPL’s reserves, Chair Luloff said the surplus
is a product of responsible stewardship of funds during the pandemic,
including during a time when part-time staff were placed on declared
emergency leave, and, as a result, he feels the surplus should be retained by
OPL. Chair Luloff reminded his colleagues that the CEO carefully monitors the
growth in the reserves. He said it is important for the Board to maintain a
healthy reserve to plan for the future, including potential future budget
pressures or facilities growth.
Further
to a question from Trustee Brockington regarding whether the Board has the
authority to ensure that OPL can retain its surplus, Ms. McDonald indicated
that staff is seeking a legal opinion regarding this matter. She also
indicated that staff are developing a Long-Range Financial Plan, including
further consideration of reserves.
Trustee
Brockington suggested that, given the amount in the reserve, a plan should be
developed to allocate or “earmark” the funds for a particular initiative.
Chair Luloff indicated that sometimes the reserve is also needed for
unanticipated needs, such as previous Pay Equity settlements.
Trustee
Brockington said the Main branch auditorium meeting room fee for commercial
use is significantly below market rates for comparable spaces, and he urged
staff to review the commercial rates and report back in September 2021. Chair
Luloff added a friendly amendment, asking that staff look at the meeting room
fees for commercial use in all OPL facilities.
Direction
to Staff:
That
staff review meeting room fees for commercial use at all OPL facilities and report back in Q3 2021.
Trustee
Brockington said the 2021 Draft Budget is reasonable and that he fully
supports what is being proposed.
Trustee
Begg said the budget impact related to COVID-19 will be felt in coming years.
He clarified a point made by Mr. Reid’s delegation, indicating that trustees
regularly converse with staff, are encouraged to pose questions of staff in
writing or by phone, and that staff are very generous with their time. He
said that this dialogue between trustees and staff happens behind the scenes,
not only at Board meetings. He thanked staff for the opportunity to debate
the Materials Recovery Model ahead of the budget, as is a good practise.
Trustee Begg commented that he understands the frustration regarding the use
of development charges to fund new facilities; he added that while he is in
favour of expanding services but worries also about the age of existing
branches and their lifecycle needs.
Vice-Chair
Fisher echoed Trustee Begg’s comment regarding the Board’s engagement,
indicating conversations between trustees and staff occur on a regular basis.
She noted that the commitment made by trustees who sit on various Ad hoc
Committees is also significant, and guides staff recommendations to the
Board. She commented that trustees contribute to OPL in many ways, not just
by their attendance or questions at Board meetings.
Chair
Luloff agreed that trustees do a great deal of work and are very engaged. He
is proud to Chair an incredible Board.
In
closing, Chair Luloff thanked the CEO, the Division Manager, Corporate
Services, and all staff for their tremendous work on the budget.
There being no further
discussion, the OPL 2021 Draft Budget was CARRIED as presented.
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