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Home My WebLink About06 Report 05-239 Proposals by the City of Ottawa for Changes to the City of Ottawa Act Relating to School Boards/65,7 • LT,_J] OTTAWA-CARLETON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD October 25, 2005 Report No. 05 -239 to the Chairs' Committee Re: Proposals by the City of Ottawa for Changes to the City of Ottawa Act Relating to School Boards ORIGINATORS: Lorne M. Rachlis, Director of Education/Secretary of the Board Michele Giroux, Executive Officer, Administration PURPOSE: To recommend the Board send a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Mayor of the City of Ottawa, expressing the OCDSB's opposition to regulatory proposals contained in the new City of Ottawa Act. BACKGROUND: 2. The City of Ottawa is seeking new legislative authority from the Province in the form of a new City of Ottawa Act. Included in the proposed amendments are two issues affecting school boards. i) The authority to charge -back a pro -rated share of the cost of municipal elections to benefiting school boards; and ii) The authority to have the same rights and status as a school board for the purposes of acquiring property being disposed of by a school board. 3. The City of Ottawa report on the proposed legislation, dated June 28, 2005, makes it clear that the legislative reform is driven by the City's financial realities. The report states that "In response to the pending budget pressures, City staff have assembled selected, regulatory and statutory proposals that could help alleviate the impact on the property tax bill and be implemented by year's end." 4. The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 currently provides that the costs of an election shall be paid by the local municipality. The authority to recover costs from school boards is restricted to the costs directly related to a recount or a by- election required for the school board. 5. The City projects the cost of this proposal to be $300,000 per election, to be distributed amongst the four district school boards on a pro -rated basis based on electoral group population data. As the largest of the four district school boards, the cost of this proposal would be most significant for the OCDSB. 6. The City of Ottawa report on this issue suggests that consultation has occurred on the proposed (W legislation, however, the OCDSB has not been approached, advised, or otherwise contacted by the City of Ottawa on this matter. /� I The request for the City to receive status equivalent to a school board with respect to the disposal of surplus school board property is based on the provisions of Regulation 444/98, which are no longer in effect. School boards no longer offer surplus property at no cost, even to other school boards. This provision should be removed from the legislation because it is invalid and because municipalities are not school boards and should not be considered as such. STATUS: The proposed legislation has been presented to the Minister of Municipal Affairs for consideration and the City of Ottawa anticipates that the legislation will be brought forward in the Legislature this fall. This legislative proposal is nothing more than a simple attempt to generate revenue for the City of Ottawa. It is not only bad for the OCDSB and our coterminous boards, but it would set a bad precedent for school boards across this province. 10. The City of Ottawa has indicated that this proposal has no cost implications for the Province, however we believe this is incorrect. The Minister must be made aware that if this legislation is implemented, school boards will seek additional funding from the Ministry of Education to cover these costs. 11. Like all municipalities, the City of Ottawa generates significant interest income through the differences in timing between the collection of taxes and development charges and their remittance to the school boards. The Board does not recover any of that interest income, but may choose to seek the authority to do so if this legislation is passed. 12. Our coterminous Board, the Ottawa - Carleton Catholic School Board, has forwarded a letter to the City of Ottawa noting their concerns. RECOMMENDATION: THAT the OCDSB send a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and the Mayor of the City of Ottawa expressing: i) our objection to the legislative proposals in the new City of Ottawa Act relating to school boards; ii) our concern about the potential for these reforms to be precedent setting; iii) our disappointment at the lack of consultation on this issue; and that the letter be copied to the Minister of Education, Ontario Public School Boards' Association, and the Association of Municipal Managers Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) Lorne M. Rachlis Director of Education/Secretary of the Board P] X • ; OCCSB Ottawa - Carleton Catholic September 28, 2005 Mr. John Gerretsen Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing 777 Bay Street, 17th Floor Toronto, ON M5G 2E5 Dear Minister- REC -EI OCT 1 7 7005 li , ACTION: IOPQ COPIES 8� ENS* Q ff 2= All < <,f- st,y;�OAR_�eL cf_�7 CEIVED OCT 1 4 ?005 z rn:: �: I O L.1� a Re: Proposals by the City of Ottawa for Changes to the City of Ottaw=Act' I am writing to express the Ottawa - Carleton Catholic School Board's objection to proposals for changes to the City of Ottawa Act that have recently been suggested by the City of Ottawa. Two of the City's proposals are of concern to the Board: 1. the City is asking to have the power to charge back 10% of the cost of municipal elections to the four local school boards. It is estimated that this would cost the boards approximately $300,000. As you are aware, the municipalities are able to recover significant revenues through the differences in timing between the collection of taxes (including Education Development Charges) and their remittance to the school boards. If the Province agrees to this, school boards will seek additional grants from the Ministry of Education to pay these costs. As well, should municipalities be permitted to charge -back for elections, we believe it would be only appropriate for school boards to recover this interest revenue from municipalities. 2. the City is also asking the province to be considered as equivalent to a school board with respect to circulations of surplus school board properties under Regulation 444/98. The City implies that it expects to be able to "significantly reduce costs in terms of acquiring properties," and thereby save the City money. In fact, however, the City may not yet be aware that Regulation 444/98 has been amended to remove references to offering a property at no cost, even to other school boards. This reflects recent Ministry of Education funding changes, and it no longer makes sense from a grant- generating point of view for a school board to offer a property at no cost. Nevertheless, we are of the opinion that the City's proposal merits a response in order to preserve the resources and rights of the Board for the Catholic Education Centre 570 West Hunt Club Road, Nepean, Ontario, Canada K2G 3R4 F-- Tel: (613) 224 -2222 Fax: (613) 224 -5063 Website: www.occdsb.on.ca : 1 j 0 4 18 /9, - 2 - benefit of our students, and in principle, we object to the municipality having the same status as school boards in these matters. The Board is further disturbed by the City's lack of any consultation or provision of information to the school boards. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees of the Ottawa - Carleton Catholic School Board, at its meeting of September 27, 2005, passed the following motion: THAT THE REPORT ON PROPOSALS BY THE CITY FOR CHANGES TO THE "CITY OF OTTAWA ACT" BE RECEIVED, AND THAT THE BOARD WRITE TO THE PROVINCE TO EXPRESS ITS OBJECTIONS TO THE CITY'S PROPOSALS, AND THAT OCSTA AND PREMIER MCGUINTY BE COPIED ON THE CORRESPONDENCE. Thank you for your consideration of these important matters. Sincerely E.A. (Betty -Ann) Kealey Chairperson cc. Premier Dalton McGuinty Bob Chiarelli, Mayor OCDSB CECLF CEPOC OCSTA