MINUTES - General Committee - 20120529
THE TOWN OF AURORA
SPECIAL GENERAL COMMITTEE – BUDGET
MEETING REPORT
Holland Room
Aurora Town Hall
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
ATTENDANCE
COMMITTEE MEMBERS Mayor Dawe in the Chair; Councillors Abel, Ballard,
Buck (arrived 7:13 p.m.), Gaertner (arrived 7:06 p.m.),
Gallo, Humfryes (arrived 7:05 p.m.), Pirri, and
Thompson
MEMBERS ABSENT None
OTHER ATTENDEES Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Corporate and
Financial Services/Treasurer, Manager of Financial
Planning, Acting Cash Flow and Investment Coordinator,
Capital Asset Management Coordinator, Manager of
Legislative Services/Deputy Clerk, and Council/Committee
Secretary
Mayor Dawe called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
I DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST AND GENERAL NATURE
THEREOF
There were no declarations of pecuniary interest under the Municipal Conflict of
Interest Act.
II APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
General Committee recommends:
THAT the agenda as circulated by the Customer and Legislative Services
Department be approved.
CARRIED
General Committee recommends:
THAT the Procedural By-law be waived to allow for open discussion.
CARRIED
III CONSIDERATION OF ITEM 1
1. 2012 Budget Process Debrief
The Director of Corporate and Financial Services/Treasurer acknowledged the
many challenges associated with the budget process. He reviewed the summary
of meetings and requested Council’s input on improving the budget process. The
Special General Committee – Budget Meeting Report
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Page 2 of 3
Director noted the various areas of the process and remarked on, what some
other municipalities have done and how the Town of Aurora would like to
proceed with the 2013 budget.
Council provided the following suggestions:
• Set a meeting schedule to include tentative extra meetings, and cancel
them if not required;
• Initial meeting could provide a broad overview of the entire budgetary
picture;
• Meetings to include Saturdays with set time lines for items;
• Councillors should prepare and educate themselves for better time
management;
• Quarterly reports should be provided to Council;
• Provide as much actual and historical data for comparison whenever
possible;
• Strategic Plan is a major driver and tie-ins should be included where
appropriate;
• Engage the public with a communication plan that could include a
dedicated website with dashboard-type indicators;
• On-line streaming of meetings to keep the public informed and up-to-date
on the budget process;
• Use the Region’s format to provide KPI benchmarks for trending;
• Provide updates of problematic issues after each meeting to ensure they
are dealt with and/or included in the budget pending list;
• Presentations could be provided on one particular day to allow recipients
to explain the necessity of funding and how the funds are utilized;
• Council should provide staff with an acceptable percentage to be used for
the initial presentation of the budget;
• Set a date as a goal for the passing of the budget;
• Councillors should have the opportunity to provide input on special project
initiation;
• Information could be solicited from the Committee level;
• Present the overall budget as opposed to providing bits and pieces;
• Provide tie-ins for capital projects and how they affect the operating
budget;
• Approving the capital budget first could achieve savings on tenders and
services;
• Simplifying the presentation of the operating budget for easier digestion;
• Consider hiring or selecting a Budget Chair; and
• Provide costs associated with the budget process such as staffing; and
• Consider going paperless.
The Director of Corporate and Financial Services noted he will be requesting
Council’s input on proposed special projects they would like to initiate, and will
provide a report outlining how these items could be incorporated into the budget
or why they may be problematic. He advised that he would put together a budget
process overview that incorporates the various ideas and areas discussed this
evening.
General Committee recommends:
THAT the 2012 Budget Process Debrief be received for information.
CARRIED
Special General Committee – Budget Meeting Report
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Page 3 of 3
IV ADJOURNMENT
General Committee recommends:
THAT the meeting be adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
CARRIED
GEOFFREY DAWE, MAYOR CINDY JANZEN, DEPUTY CLERK
THE REPORT OF THE SPECIAL GENERAL COMMITTEE – BUDGET MEETING OF
MAY 29, 2012 WAS RECEIVED BY COUNCIL ON JUNE 12, 2012.