REPORT OF THE GREATER SUDBURY COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS TEAM JANUARY 2007 CONSTELLATION, (noun) • A fixed group of stars to which a definite name has been given • Any brilliant, outstanding group or assemblage January 4, 2007 Mayor John Rodriguez and Members of Council I am pleased to present you with this final report of the Community Solutions Team. Our team has lived up to its name over the course of the last eight months; the team members [one from each of the former outside municipalities] worked together with passion and commitment to find solutions and create recommendations that, if adopted, will serve our entire city – not just the communities outside the city core – well into the future. These seven volunteers care very much about their own local community but also understand the need for a cohesive, vibrant City of Greater Sudbury. They are outstanding examples of the kind of citizens Greater Sudbury has to offer. It has been a privilege to work with them. I would like to acknowledge the former Council and Mayor Dave Courtemanche for initiating this valuable process. It has allowed citizens in the smaller communities to be heard and to have a real opportunity to provide concrete input that will help to build our city. The public interest and support for this process has been impressive. More than 700 people attended the 26 consultation sessions and provided a great deal of information and suggestions for the team’s consideration. In addition, 35 people volunteered to serve on our working groups, devoting four full evenings to help with the assessment and detailing of proposed solutions. The enthusiasm these citizens displayed at College Boreal was truly uplifting, and inspired everyone in attendance. City staff have assisted our team throughout this process. Each of the senior managers attended one of the public sessions and nearly 20 other staff helped out both during and after business hours. In every case, staff demonstrated professionalism and a willingness to take the time to listen to residents and understand their concerns. Council should take pride in the high calibre of these staff members. In closing, I want to encourage you to look at this document not just as a list of recommendations but as an opportunity to re-examine the fundamentals of the relationship between our municipality and its citizens. If our city can establish the principles outlined in this report as the basis for its work, minor issues will be resolved as they develop. Thank you for this opportunity. Floyd Laughren Community Solutions Team Members (L to R) Jack Oatway, Martha Cunningham Closs, Keir Kitchen, Floyd Laughren, Barry Brett, France Bélanger-Houle, Marc Tassé (Absent from photo – Gisèle Chrétien) Working Group Members Shirley Baxter Cathy Castanza Carol Ann Coupal Randy Crisp Derek Derasp Erin Downey Gwen Doyle Andrew Fahey Eric Fenton Rene Gervais John Getchell Jim Haddow Marte Haluka Willian Hannon Gail Kuula Claudette Lahti-Owens Nellie Lanteigne Sandra Larsen Mike Lauzon Sharon Leblanc Stan Martin Stan MacLeod Marlene Marshall Warren Maskell Frank Mazzuca Jr. Joanne McNamara James McNicol Terry Monaghan Denise Rivet Marcel Servais Mike Soenens Tanya St. Jacques Stu Thomas Rene Trottier City of Greater Sudbury Staff Meredith Armstrong Greg Clausen Stephanie Cundari Cindy Dent Chris Gore Caroline Hallsworth Ghislain Lamothe Joanne Lindquist Moe Montpellier Jeff Pafford Heather Salter MJ Scott Roger Sauvé Mark Simeoni Writer and Staff Lead – Ian Wood Facilitation Services – Gary J. Michalak & Associates TABLE OF C ONTENTS Table of Contents _____________________________________________5 Preface (Setting the Context)____________________________________7 Introduction ________________________________________________11 #1- CONSTELLATION CITY – COMMUNITY OF COMMUNITIES ______________13 A Note on the Recommendations_______________________________14 The Connected City ___________________________________________16 Communication ____________________________________________16 # 2 - MUNICIPAL NEWSLETTER _____________________________________17 # 3 - CITY WEBSITES_____________________________________________17 # 4 - COMMUNITY DIRECTORY _____________________________________18 # 5 - COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE ___________________________19 Public Transit______________________________________________20 # 6 - TRANSIT SERVICE___________________________________________21 The Caring City ______________________________________________22 Council Meetings ___________________________________________22 # 7 - COUNCIL MEETINGS _________________________________________22 Developing Staff Awareness and Sensitivity ______________________23 # 8 - MUNICIPAL STAFF ORIENTATION _______________________________23 Citizen Service Centres ______________________________________24 # 9 - CITIZEN SERVICE CENTRE AND LIBRARY SERVICE REVIEW _______________________25 Caring for Volunteers________________________________________25 # 10 - SUPPORT FOR VOLUNTEER GROUPS AND EVENTS _________________26 # 11 - REMOVING BARRIERS TO VOLUNTEERING _______________________27 # 12 - RECOGNIZING VOLUNTEERS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES _____________27 # 13 - MUNICIPAL LOTTERY LICENSING ______________________________28 # 14 - SUPPORT FOR LOCAL EVENTS ________________________________28 Sustaining the Rural Environment ______________________________29 # 15 - ATV BY-LAW ______________________________________________29 # 16 - ROAD SALT IMPACT ________________________________________30 The Empowered City __________________________________________31 Municipal Wards ___________________________________________31 # 17 - WARD BOUNDARY REVIEW ___________________________________32 Increased Transparency _____________________________________33 # 18 - INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPITAL PRIORITIES LIST ________________34 # 19 - INFRASTRUCTURE INVENTORY ________________________________34 # 20 - ANNUAL UPDATE ON MAJOR STUDIES __________________________35 # 21 - USE OF CONSULTANTS ______________________________________35 Empowering Local Communities _______________________________36 # 22 - STRONGER COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORKS ____________________37 Reinvigorate Community Institutions and Facilities ________________39 # 23 - RE-ESTABLISH LOCAL COMMITTEES____________________________40 The Equitable City____________________________________________41 Maintaining Rural Areas _____________________________________41 # 24 - RESTORING RURAL ROAD STANDARDS _________________________42 # 25 - ACTION TO REDUCE ILLEGAL DUMPING _________________________44 Facility Rates ______________________________________________44 # 26 - COMMUNITY FACILITY RATES AND LIABILITY COSTS ______________45 Downtowns and Parks (Community Pride) _______________________46 # 27 - COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT DOWNTOWNS_______________________47 # 28 - PARKS AND FACILITY MAINTENANCE ___________________________48 Senior and Youth Services ____________________________________48 # 29 - GREATER EQUITY AND ACCESS FOR YOUTH AND SENIOR SERVICES _48 Decentralization ___________________________________________49 # 30 - REVIEW OF DECENTRALIZED SERVICES_________________________49 Area Tax Rates and Electricity Costs ____________________________50 # 31 - AREA TAX RATES LINKED TO SERVICES_________________________51 # 32 – PUBLIC STRATEGY ON ELECTRICITY SUPPLIERS __________________51 Equitable Representation on Boards and Committees _______________52 # 33 - COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION ON BOARDS AND COMMITTEES ______52 # 34 - AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE _________________________53 Unorganized Areas _________________________________________53 Conclusion _________________________________________________55 # 35 – IMPLEMENTATION AND REVIEW_______________________________55 Future Community Consultations_______________________________56 Long Term and Permanent Change _____________________________56 Community Solutions Team ____________________________________57 Member Bios ______________________________________________57 Barry Brett _____________________________________________________57 France Bélanger-Houle ____________________________________________57 Gisèle Chrétien __________________________________________________57 Martha Cunningham Closs _________________________________________58 Keir Kitchen ____________________________________________________58 Floyd Laughren __________________________________________________58 Jack Oatway ____________________________________________________59 Marc Tassé _____________________________________________________59 P REFACE (SETTING THE C ONTEXT) he City of Greater Sudbury came into existence on January 1, 2001. At 3,354 square kilometres, it instantly became the largest municipality in Ontario and T one of the largest in Canada. Covering a massive area of northeastern Ontario, the city is five times the size of the City of Toronto and two-thirds the size of the Province of Prince Edward Island. The creation of Greater Sudbury was ordered by the Conservative Provincial Government of Premier Mike Harris. This initiative was one of a number of forced municipal amalgamations and other initiatives undertaken by this administration to reduce the size of governments at the provincial, municipal and school board levels. The intent of this amalgamation was to streamline services, reduce duplication, eliminate waste and reduce the number of politicians, all in order to produce net savings to the taxpayer. Indeed, the overarching legislation for this and other amalgamations was titled the Fewer Municipal Politicians Act. The premise that fewer politicians means