REPORT FOR ACTION
Public Appointments Overview and 2015 Work Plan
Date: January 8, 2015 To: Civic Appointments Committee From: City Clerk Wards: All
SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the 2015 work plan for the Civic Appointments Committee, and to establish interview sub-committees for the various recruitments.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The City Clerk recommends that:
1. The Civic Appointments Committee appoint a three-member sub-committee for each of the following recruitments to interview and recommend candidates to the Civic Appointments Committee in accordance with the schedule outlined in Attachment 1:
a. Toronto Public Library Board b. Toronto Police Services Board c. Toronto Transit Commission d. Board of Health e. Toronto Parking Authority f. Toronto Port Authority g. Toronto Zoo Board
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There are no financial implications arising from this report.
DECISION HISTORY This is a new initiative.
Public Appointments Overview and 2015 Work Plan Page 1 of 4 COMMENTS
Goal is to have most appointments complete in the first half of 2015 The Civic Appointments committee is responsible for screening, interviewing and appointing members of the public for 34 positions on seven City boards. Additionally, the Committee is responsible for recommending appointments to other bodies, such as Heritage Toronto and the City's non-OMERS pension boards. This term of Council, the Civic Appointments Committee workload has been reduced from 23 boards to seven, making it is possible to complete the recruitments in the first half of 2015.
Interview sub-committees are required to process public appointments in a timely manner The 2015 meeting calendar is very compressed, which means scheduling meetings of the nine-member Civic Appointments Committee and maintaining quorum will be challenging. Three-member interview sub-committees would provide significantly more flexibility in scheduling, and would help accelerate the appointments process in 2015.
Some changes have been made to the public appointments process City Council made changes to the Public Appointments policy in August 2014 to allow for some key process improvements for the new term of Council, including:
• staggered terms of office for all boards not otherwise prescribed by law so that the terms of half the members expire every two years; • continuous intake of applications, and use of the resulting pool of applicants to fill vacancies instead of the appointment of alternates; • public reporting of recommended candidates' names to City Council for appointment; • consultation with board chairs and chief executives on the required skills and experience needed for a board during the staff screening process; and • the establishment of additional nominating panels to assist the Civic Appointments Committee in the interviewing and nomination of candidates for appointment for certain committees and boards.
Timing may change The schedule outlined in Attachment 1 is dependent on a variety of factors, such as meeting and member availability, number of qualified applicants, etc. For these reasons, the schedule may need to be adjusted to account for issues that arise.
CONTACT
Kelly McCarthy Manager, Public Appointments, City Clerk's Office [email protected] 416-397-7796
Public Appointments Overview and 2015 Work Plan Page 2 of 4
SIGNATURE
Ulli S. Watkiss City Clerk
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 - Timing of Appointments for 2015 Attachment 2 - Public Appointments Policy dated November 14, 2014
Public Appointments Overview and 2015 Work Plan Page 3 of 4
Attachment 1 - Timing of Appointments for 2015
Number of Board Board Anticipated Council Approval Positions
Library Board 8 February 10, 2015
Police Services Board 1 March 31, 2015
Board of Health 7 March 31, 2015
Toronto Transit Commission 4 May 5, 2015
Parking Authority 5 May 5, 2015
Port Authority 1 June 10, 2015
Toronto Zoo Board 8 July 7, 2015
Public Appointments Overview and 2015 Work Plan Page 4 of 4