Larry O’Brien

As Mayor of the City of Ottawa, I have the privilege of witnessing first hand the work of citizens who are fiercely committed to making our city a better place in which to live.

As a token of recognition for the immense contributions that these individuals have made, I have started to award Agent of Change Coins to deserving members of our community.

Most recently, on February 1st, City of Ottawa Police Chief Vern White was presented with an Agent of Change Coin for his work in establishing the Ottawa Police Service’s Guns & Gangs Unit, which has played a significant role in reducing crime on our city streets.

On January 20th, Agent of Change medallions were presented to the following members of the Mayor’s Taskforces on

(1) Transit & Transportation:

• Hon. David Collenette, Chair
• Mr. Roger Beauchesne
• Ms. Susan Brownrigg-Smith
• Mr. Terry Findlay
• Mr. Harry Gow
• Mr. Hanif Patni
• Mr. Hume Rogers

(2) E-Government:

• Mr. Rob Collins, Chair
• Dr. Gerald Grant
• Ms. Kelly Kubrick
• Mr. Andrew Moffat
• Mr. Ben Robitaille
• Mr. Ed Shepherdson
• Mr. Robert Thompson
• Mr. Michael Turner

and (3) Governance:

• Dr. David Zussman, Chair
• Mr. Rob Collins
• Mr. Graham Fox
• Ms. Katherine Graham
• Mr. Gerald Grant
• Mr. Bob Plamondon
• Mr. Pierre Richard
• Mr. Nick Tilgner
• Mr. Richard Van Loon
• Ms. Debbie Weinstein

Please see below a press release I issued this morning.

For immediate release:
March 5, 2009

Mayor reacts to release of Taskforce Report on Governance

Mayor believes status quo isn’t good enough - changes required to bring more accountability to City Hall

Mayor launches website for public input

OTTAWA- Today the Mayor’s Taskforce on Governance, under the chairmanship of David Zussman, released its report containing recommendations on how to bring more strategic thinking, accountability and operational effectiveness to City Hall.

In June 2008 Mayor Larry O’Brien appointed this independent Taskforce, with members from the academic and business community, to review the current governance model at City Hall and identify ways to help Council become more accountable, strategic and focused on the long-term.

The Taskforce report, entitled Governing Ottawa: Strategic Thinking for a Winning City, is being released in support of the City’s mid-term governance review beginning with a series of White Papers on governance. The City Clerk and Deputy Clerk, in consultation with Councillors, are preparing a series of position papers for consideration as part of the mid-term governance review mandated by Council.

“After two years on the job, I constantly hear from the public that they want to see more accountability at City Hall and I strongly believe that the status quo is simply not good enough anymore,” said Mayor O’Brien. “Now Council has the first real opportunity since amalgamation to make immediate changes that will streamline our decision making process and change the way we do business forever.”

The City’s governance review takes place in two stages. The first is a mid-term review between March and April 2009 and the second is a full review that will occur in conjunction with the next election in 2010. Some of the Taskforce report will be considered for implementation after the next election, while the City’s White Papers support changes that can be made during the current term of Council.

“I am pleased to see City staff will be identifying changes that can be put in place immediately to transform the way we do business at City Hall,” said Mayor O’Brien. “We will be able to implement changes today that will increase accountability, in particular when it comes to our current budget process.”

One of the Mayor’s main motivators in creating the Taskforce on Governance was his belief that the current budget process at the City of Ottawa is flawed.

Both City staff and Taskforce members have endorsed the creation of a Finance and Audit Committee that will keep an eye on spending year round and see City Council develop the budget rather than leaving the heavy-lifting to City staff.

“I fully endorse this and many other positive recommendations from both the Taskforce and City Clerk’s Office including giving more delegated authority to committees on issues outside of the budget that will no longer rise to City Council,” said Mayor O’Brien. “We can no longer afford to spend numerous hours during Council meetings debating matters that do not have a city-wide implication. Committees need to be more accountable on matters within their jurisdiction while Councillors need to be directly accountable for matters in their wards.”

Mayor Launches Website

Members of the public are encouraged to visit http://www.governance-ottawa.ca/ and provide comments on the website’s online forum.

“Today we are starting the conversation and it is important that we consult with the residents of Ottawa to ensure we make changes that benefit the public,” said Mayor O’Brien. “This will be one of the most important debates we have during this term of Council and with the Zussman Report and the City’s White Papers, Council has all the tools it needs to significantly improve the way we do business at City Hall now and after the next election.”

Mayor O’Brien would like to thank members of the Taskforce on Governance for their work. For more information on members and to view the Taskforce report please click here.

Today City Councillors will see the first versions of the White Papers developed by City staff that will form the basis of the debate for our Mid-Term Governance Review in March and April. 

The information in the White Papers is a direct result of City staff interviewing all of the Councillors and collecting their ideas on how to make our decision-making process more accountable, predictable and effective. 

It is good to see my colleagues getting interested in making the kinds of changes required to improve City Hall. 

What is this debate about and how will it affect you?

City Council will have to answer some of the following questions as part of the upcoming Governance Review:

Do we need every decision from committee to rise to Council? Do we need to oversee finances year-round, empower City Councillors to develop a budget and create a new Finance and Audit Committee? How do we make committees more accountable in their field of responsibilities? How do we make Councillors more accountable on matters that impact their wards? Do we need more independent boards such as a Transit Commission and a Health Board?

What do you think?

A good start

The Clerk’s Office has done a great job in their White Papers summarizing ideas from City Councillors that range from procedural improvements to the restructuring of committees to creating a new Finance and Audit Committee that would oversee City finances and budgeting. 

Tomorrow the Mayor’s Taskforce on Governance, under the chairmanship of David Zussman, Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management, of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa,  will release its report containing recommendations on how to bring more strategic thinking, accountability and operational effectiveness to City Hall.

In June 2008 I appointed this independent Taskforce (click here to see press release)with members from the academic and business community to review the current governance model at City Hall and identify ways to help Council become more accountable, strategic and focused on the long-term.

After two years on the job, I constantly hear from the public that they want to see more accountability at City Hall and I strongly believe that the status quo is simply not good enough anymore.

One of my main motivators in creating the Taskforce on Governance was my belief that the current budget process at the City of Ottawa is flawed. I believe we need to keep an eye on spending year-round with a new Finance and Audit Committee.

This will be one of the most important debates we have during this term of Council and with the Zussman Report and the City’s White Papers, Council has all the tools it needs to significantly improve the way we do business at City Hall now and after the next election.

We are starting the conversation and it is important that we consult with the residents of Ottawa on a go-forward basis to ensure we make changes that benefit the public.

I want to thank the members of the Taskforce for their dedication and hard work to identify ways to make the City of Ottawa more accountable.

What is the process?

The City’s Governance Review takes place in two stages. The first is a mid-term review between March and April 2009 and the second is a full review that will occur in conjunction with the next election in 2010.

Please let me know your thoughts on governance by commenting on my blog and make sure check back tomorrow to connect to an online discussion tool and see the Taskforce report in full.

Colleen and I enjoyed a fantastic vacation in Sunny Isles Florida but I have to say it is great to be back. When you are away, you get a better perspective on just how good we have it here in Ottawa.

Ottawa is a safe and secure place to raise our families and build careers and even in these very uncertain economic times, we have reason to be thankful for living in this fabulous city.

The cost of success is constant vigilance and the next few months will be very busy times. There is much hard work to complete on important files such as Lansdowne Park, securing funding to build our new transit system and municipal governance reform.

I am looking forward to pushing ahead on my agenda to ensure Ottawa remains the best place in Canada to live, to work and to play.