If you aren't upset with the manner in which City Hall is controlled, then you should be upset with the following:
On September 15, 2009 the Ottawa Taxpayer Advocacy Group reserved the Champlain room at City Hall for a discussion with Councillor Marianne Wilkinson and Councillor Alex Cullen.
The public was invited.
One of invitees carried with him a sign opposing City Hall and its methods of governing, The physical sign complied with City Hall policy, except for the fact that the sign was "not bilingual", and only written in "English"..
A security guard quickly advised the guest to get rid of it or the guest would be expelled from City Hall.
There was much discussion and disbielf by those who were heard the confrontation.
Now, I don't know about you, but this is Canada. I can speak or write in any language that I want.
In this case, I do believe that Ottawa City Hall procedures have restricted the right of its citizens.
City Councillors again let the citizens down for allowing such a thing to happen.
Bill O'Malley
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Ottawa City Hall Sept 15 2009
-->
Text of my 5 minute introduction speech at the meeting with
Ottawa Taxpayer Advocacy Group Chairman Ade Olumide
Discussions with Councillor Alex Cullen and Councillor Marianne Wilkinson
September 15,2009
Opening Statement
Bill O’Malley
Prior to my statement, I thanked Councillor Marianne Wilkinson, as she was the only Ottawa City Councillor to challenge the financial figures I presented to every City Councillor.
She and other Councillors were "shocked" with the figures I presented from my September 2008 blog.
.
She then requested the City Manager and City Treasurer to check the numbers. It took City Staff the best part of one month to do so. Marianne Wilkinson forwarded to me, in writing, confirmation from those mentioned above, that indeed my presentation was correct.
This is a 100% accurate picture of the state of Ottawa financial results for the period 2000-2008
Now the following is my statement in front of Councillors, 60 or so concerned residents, CTV, the Ottawa Citizen, and CFRA.
This is my statement
Amalgamation, recommended by a previous City administration, was to make the City more efficient in its operation and save the resident taxpayer money.
As you know, that didn’t happen.
The taxpayer has and is being taken for granted. Property taxes have increased and additional User Fees have added a heavy burden to many resident families.
In order to appease the taxpayer, glowing reports have been produced by City Hall describing the progress in the City. The reports didn’t reflect the true picture.
The intrusion of City Hall into areas that are not in the sphere of basic city services is rampant.
And over time, since Amalgamation, the taxpayer is catching onto the methodology of Councillors and Senior Management. The average taxpayer wants more of a say in the way their money is spent.
As a result, you now have the formation of the Ottawa Taxpayer Advocacy Group.
The Party is over at City Hall.
There are many areas of City operations that can be improved on, but for this session, we will focus mainly on the largest expense of the City of Ottawa
Perhaps, it is better stated as the number of employees deemed necessary to run this City, receiving a level of compensation that far exceeds the private sector. (about 40% more)
The combination of the number of employees and the compensation level is a formula for disaster to the financial soundness of the City.
The taxpayer has heard too often that compensation is comparable to other cities, the Unknown ARBITRATORS were responsible, there may be a strike if union demands are not met, the Ontario Government forced a level of service in certain city services that required more staff etc.
Well, we are not Toronto , Vancouver or Hamilton , or Windsor or Thunder Bay Ottawa
This City and individual departments within it, frequently compare themselves to other Canadian cities when the end result suits there cause.
However, the “buck” stops at the Ottawa City Councillors. You authorized the wage levels and you authorized the hiring of employees.
On Amalgamation day, the city of Ottawa
As of December 31, 2008, the level of compensation had increased to 52 percent of total revenue or $1.2 billion dollars or so.
How and why this was allowed is beyond the comprehension of the majority of taxpayers. Many responsible citizens have warned Council that they were going down a path to financial disaster.
The Ontario Municipal Act bestows the power of ruling individual municipalities to the elected Councillors. It also provides an obligation and duty on the Councillors to utilize the resident taxpayer’s money in a manner the benefits the taxpayer. This is not happening.
The Municipal Act also dictates responsibility and duties on City Council. The elected Mayor and Council have, as a body, the duty to exercise all the powers of the municipality provided to it under The Act.
And it is all about “money”.
In this regard, I want to talk about “New Revenue”. Revenue is money received by the City from property taxes, government grants, user fees and any and all other sources of revenue. The “New” refers to money received over and above revenue generated for the year 2000.
The same applies for the term “New Employee Expense”.
Of the eight jurisdictions in Ontario with “New Revenue” over 1 billion dollars during the period 2001-2007, the City of Ottawa
A whopping 72.24 percent!
This is according to the financial statements, but differs from the Financial Information Report where the New Employee Expense is a staggering 81 percent of all “New Revenue”.
That means that the City of Ottawa is basically “stuck” in the year 2000 as the remaining balance of New Revenue generated since amalgamation has, for the most part, only covered the additional inflationary cost of purchasing necessary materials used in maintaining the city infrastructure and other services.
The average usage of New Revenue for New Employee Expense for the other eight jurisdictions was 43.59 percent. Now Stop and Think About That Number.
As mentioned earlier, Ottawa
If Ottawa had maintained the percentage of the other larger Ontario
Or heavens forbid, Property Tax or User Fees could have been reduced. Instead, Council gave it to the employees. The taxpayer received nothing more than higher tax bills and higher User Fees.
Now let’s look at the number of employees employed by the City.
According to a list provided by Kent Kirkpatrick to Stittsville-Kanata West Councillor Shad Qadri in 2008, the City had 19,000 employees or “jobs” as Kirkpatrick described it.
.
The 2008 Budget, according to Qadri, authorized 12,000 full-time equivalent employees. This information was reported in the Ottawa Citizen September 17, 2008. But again, Qadri’s Full Time Equivalent number of 12,000 was not correct.
If you want the real figures, Councillors should refer to the approved Budget and the Financial Information Report. If you don’t want to do that, The Ottawa Taxpayer Advocacy Group will provide the numbers for you.
Better still, Senior Management should provide a detailed list monthly to the taxpayers. Then, no one can run and hide.
Again, Kent Kirkpatrick indicated a level of 19,000 employees in September 2008. Kent Kirkpatrick informed resident taxpayers in the 2006 Ottawa Annual Report that there were “nearly 17,000 City Staff”.
Even the Auditor General uses this figure in 2007 reports. Does this mean that the city added 2,000 staff in the 2007/2008 period?
The taxpayers have a right to know the authorized equivalent number of employees and normally this information is provided in the annual approved budget. However, we need to know more.
We need to know the number of full-time employees. Full Time Employees are 100 percent FTE.
We need to know the number of part-time and seasonal employees, like in the number of human bodies, and this number as related to the make up of full time equivalent or FTE.
And finally, we have to know how many full-time equivalent positions are vacant. These figures should total the authorized full time equivalent as outlined in the Approved Budget.
The majority of city employees are deemed to be conscientious in performing the duties of the job, but amalgamation and the slow growth of the City population over the past eight years does not account for the current number of employees working at the City.
A real effort must be made by Council to reduce the number employees. Senior Management can no longer stack the numbers and hide the employee numbers to the taxpayer.
And Council has the opportunity tomorrow to start to show its regard for the taxpayer dollars.
There are a number of City Departments that recently announced that they may be over Budget. The Ottawa Taxpayer Advocacy Group would like Council to send a directive to these departments informing them that in the last three months of this fiscal year, each department must find a way to balance the authorized Budget through a combination of Layoffs and reduction in spending in other expense items.
This would be the first step to ending a cover-up
Let’s see if Council is mature enough to take the necessary action and send the signal to all departments that the Party is Over.
2010 Council Information and Classes
Ottawa Municipal Election 2010
There are 23 wards and a mayor to be elected in 2010.
Any serious candidate (only one for each ward) willing to join a slate of candidates to take back “City Hall” for the benefit of the Taxpayer, will be provided with detailed financial information as follows:
A Complete and detailed breakdown of the approved “Budgets” of the departmental figures for the period 2001 to 2010
A Complete and detailed spread sheet of the Audited Financial Statements from 2001 to 2008
A Complete and detailed breakdown of all of the pertinent departmental financial information as provided for in the Financial Information Report for the period 2001 to 2008.
Reports on specific departments that are underperforming
Reports on the Employee Expense which has devoured 81% of every $1 of property tax increase since 2001 and Every Other Source of Total Revenue, including Government Grants.
Council has very little control over Senior Management at the present moment. You will be provided with the information in the Act that will allow you to direct and control City Management without interferance from other levels of government.
You will receive a copy of the Municipal Act and we will review the detail in a classroom atmosphere.
I will also offer several other “classes” for new candidates to bring them up to date on the operation of Council, the Duties and Responsibilities and the inner workings of City Hall. This is crucial in order that you can take your seat at Council, be effective and rule the City for the Taxpayer.
All of this is My Contribution if you are willing to democratically enhance the operations of the City.
This offer will be open to Candidates that declare their intentions before December 31, 2009.
Bill O’Malley
Contact me at wmomalley@gmail.com
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Ottawa Municipal Revenue and Employee Expense
Republished on Request
July 2008
Please Note: Employee expense (2001-2007) at the City of Ottawa has devoured 81 percent of all new revenue generated since amalgamation.
Senior Staff and Councillors at the City of Ottawa must urgently explain.
(There are 11 detailed Tables available on request. To obtain the tables, request same at the address reflected at the end of this article.)
Information for the Resident Property Taxpayers of the City of Ottawa 2008
“What Each of You Should Know”about the financial position of your city
On January 1, 2001, residents in the 12 surrounding communities of Ottawa were incorporated into the new City of Ottawa.
Whether you receive a property tax bill directly or through your landlord or commercial enterprise, you are a taxpayer of this city and you owe it to good governance to keep abreast of the spending habits of the city managers and city councillors.
The amalgamation plan of these 12 legal entities was to provide efficiencies which would be translated into tax savings for all resident taxpayers. Well, this didn’t happen as you know. Let’s find out what went wrong.
This financial review of the City of Ottawa analyzes the largest expense, that being employee compensation. For reference purposes, the employee expense is compared with “Total” revenue.
Total revenue includes direct property tax, in-lieu-of property tax levies, user fees, grants from provincial and federal governments, license and permits, gas tax receipts, fines and penalties, cash return on city investments, sale of city owned assets, gaming and casino revenues and transfers from revenue of prior years accumulated in the capital account and/or other reserve funds. It does not include funds received (and spent) from any increase in borrowing authorized by city council. The borrowings just add to the debt of the City for you and future generations to repay.
Property taxes per se may not increase in any given year, but revenue from the many other resources of the city continue to increase. You pay the increase in one way or another.
Here is the summary position of Total Revenue and Employee Expensee from January 1, 2001 through to December 31, 2007.(Table 1)
2001 Total Revenue $1,697,836,210
2007 Total Revenue $2,297,280,941
35.31 percent increase during the period or an average of 5.9 percent per year.
2001 Total Employee Salary and Wages $610,700,643
2007 Total Employee Salary and Wages $884,415,199
44.82 percent increase during the period or an annual average of 7.47 percent
2001 Total Employee Benefit Expense $105,568,994
2007 Total Employee Benefit Expense $162,665,030
66.13 percent increase during the period or an annual average of 11.05 percent per year
2001 Total Employee Compensation $716,359,637
2007 Total Employee Compensation $1,059,949,916
47.96 per cent increase during the period or an average of 8.0
percent per year.
2001 is the base year so the above “change” occurred in the past 6 years
Now, calculate your personal salary and benefit increases over the past 6 years. If it fits into the above numbers, good for you. However, most of you will be substantially below the percentages expressed above. You will then begin to understand the problem at Ottawa City Hall.
Another glaring fact: (Table 2)
Since amalgamation on January 1, 2001, New Revenue has been generated and New Employee Expense has been incurred.
What percentage of the new revenue was expensed for employee compensation?
In order to find the answer, I used the “Base Year” of December 31st, 2000 for the financial analysis as this was the last day before amalgamation.
Note: The year 2000 financial data is taken from Audited Financial Statements. All other Data is from the Financial Information Report (FIR).
December 31, 2000 Total Revenue $1,743,269,000
December 31st, 2000 Total Employee Expense (Salary/Wages and Benefits) $665,004,000
Now, I froze these numbers in time and then calculated and new Revenue in 2001 through 2007 over and above the 2000 Revenue figure. I did the same for New Employee Expense.
As at December 31st, 2007, the Revenue in that year climbed to $2,297,280,941 and the 2007 Total Employee Expense in year 2007 was $1,059,949,016.
Now, here is the kicker!
From January 1st, 2001, through to December 31st, 2007 a total of $1,938,107,596 in New Revenue was generated by the City of Ottawa, while your Councillors and Senior City staff spent $1,578,834,671 of the New Revenue on Employee salaries, wages and benefits.
Other major Ontario cities have accomplished much better results in the same method of analysis as compared to Ottawa. This will be the subject of a detailed analysis next week.
Now, just to be sure that I wasn't dreaming in color, I used the Audited Financial Statements of the City of Ottawa for the years 2000 to 2007 to verify the percentages developed from the Financial Information Report.
Well, the numbers weren't exactly the same, but just as devastating. The same exercise with the audited financial statements reveal 72.24 percent of the new revenue generated was devoured by Employee Expense. It also reflects my concern that the format on the three major reports must be coordinated. No wonder taxpayers are confused.
Total New Employee Expense as a percentage of New Revenue generated since 2001 (Table 3)
New Revenue $2,385,610,000
New Employee Expense $1,723,462,000
The audited Financial statements reveal that 72.24 percent of New Revenue was spent on New Employee Compensation
Table 4 shows you the detail of the above calculation
If it wasn't discouraging enough to look at the increase in Employee Expenses as shown above, take a look at the accelleration of employee costs versus total revenue year by year. (Table 5)
In the year 2000, Employee Expense was 38.15 percent of Total Revenue and as at December 31st, 2007 it grew to 47.09 percent. (Based on Audited Financial Statements)
Another Concern:
Future Taxpayer Debt:
The charge to Unfunded Liabilities (Table 6) for future employee benefits for 2007 was some $50 million dollars, equivalent to a current 5% property tax increase. The amount, as extraordinary as it is, needs to be specifically explained to the taxpayer by senior management. You may not like the explanation. City Councillors must inform the resident taxpayers annually on the total “accumulated” unfunded liability charge at the end of each financial year. What is the total accumulated Unfunded Liability for the City of Ottawa as at December 31st, 2007? The City Manager should answer this question.
How Many Employees does the City Have?
Full time employees (Table 7) remained below the 2001 level except for a jump in 2007, the year that the general public raised concerns about the number of employees. Part-time employees declined and the number of seasonal employees is not a major factor in the number of “full time equivalent” employees.
In 2007, there were 13,461 full time employees, 1,634 part time employees and 50 seasonal employees.
Over the 2001-2007 period full time employees grew by 1.01 percent, part time employees declined by 62.13 percent and seasonal employee change was negligible.
Note: The increase in the number of employees does not account for the unreasonable increase in employee compensation as show in the first section of this report.
Employee “hours worked” including Boards (Table8)
In 2001, 22,950,219 hours were worked by City employees and this grew to 26,963,079 hours in 2007, a 17.49 percent increase. So, there still is an overtime problem at the City.
I have gone further into detail on the employee hours worked and reflect the data by Department for 2001 through to 2007. (Table 9)
Some of the more glaring changes are listed following:
Administration hours increased 277.57 percent
Public Works decreased 26.35 percent
Fireman hours increased 26.42 percent with no additional staff during the period.
Home for the Aged hours declined 41.78 percent
LLibrairies hours increased 225.96 percent
Now we will look at the Employee Compensation by Department:
Table 10 reflects the increase in Salaries, wages and benefits by Department.
Again, notables are as follows:
Program Support compensation increased 79.46 percent
Fireman compensation increased 44.22 percent
Police compensation increased 59.80 percent
Protective Inspections increased 414.70 percent
Winter Control increased 178.06 percent
Public Health Services increased 142.23 percent
Child Care increased 89.04 percent
Libraries increased 65.00 percent
For all Departments, salaries, wages and benefits increased ON AVERAGE by 47.96 percent
Now let's look at how Budget Data is compiled (Table 11) This information is included in this report as there is a difference in the presentation of the financial numbers compared to the Financial Statements and Financial Information Report. It is my opinion that this only confuses the resident taxpayers.
2007 City of Ottawa Budget Data on Compensation and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Employees. The information format does not match the above Financial Information Return
The Table information provides authorized Department compensation dollars and authorized FTE in detail
The average FTE Employee Cost is $76,573, but this does not mean than the City Staff actually utilized the full authorized FTE. It is assumed that many positions have not been filled. The authorized dollars however, have been fully used, leading to the assumption that the average cost per employee is higher than the reflected $76,573.
eg: Average cost per FTE in the City Manager's Department is $111,800
The Housing Department has an average cost per FTE of $80,933
Fire Services has an average cost of $97,158
The Police Services has an average cost of $93,080
Information Technolgy Department has an average cost of $81,972
Employee Services has an avaerage cost of $84,295
The average cost per Department FTE ranges from a low of $55,984 to a high of $113,125.
Note: The 2007 compensation budget was exceeded. See FIR results.
Complete annual data Tables (2001-2007) are available upon request by email.
wmomalley@gmail.com
Next publications
1) New Revenue versus New Employee Expense for Major Ontario Cities
2) Ottawa Revenue Detail by Type and Department 2001-2007
3) Ottawa Individual Department Operating Expenses 2001-2007
4) Ottawa Complete Budget Information covering detail from base year 2001 versus 2006, 2007, 2008 and the proposed 2009 Budget
Look for them on this Blog. Sponsors are welcome.
Important:
The source of this data is from a report submitted annually to the provincial government called the Financial Information Report or FIR. The annual report is signed “as accurate” by the treasurer of the City of Ottawa. Every effort has been made in my analysis to reflect accurate recordings of the information contained in annual reports from 2001 to 2007. The year 2000 (prior to amalgamation) is based on the consolidated position of the 12 communities as reflected in the audited financial statements.
Some months ago a recommendation was made to Jim Watson, the Ontario Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, that all Ontario Municipal Budgets follow the format of the FIR. He did not reply.
In Ontario municipal accounting, there must be a clear, comparable relationship between the annual Budget, the annual Financial Statements and the annual Financial Information Report (FIR). Currently, the method of municipal reporting deprives resident property taxpayers of vital financial information and the spending habits of City Management and Councillors. It is labour intensive to compare financial data in a given department because senior management change (at whim) the sub groups within the department and the information available from three different sources are in different formats.. It is not cynical to question the motives of Senior Management.
If financial information was revealed in an easy to understand, and accurate, manner, you would have a much greater participation in the municipal electoral process than has been evident over the past twenty years or so.
Bill O'Malley
Ottawa
July 2008
Please Note: Employee expense (2001-2007) at the City of Ottawa has devoured 81 percent of all new revenue generated since amalgamation.
Senior Staff and Councillors at the City of Ottawa must urgently explain.
(There are 11 detailed Tables available on request. To obtain the tables, request same at the address reflected at the end of this article.)
Information for the Resident Property Taxpayers of the City of Ottawa 2008
“What Each of You Should Know”about the financial position of your city
On January 1, 2001, residents in the 12 surrounding communities of Ottawa were incorporated into the new City of Ottawa.
Whether you receive a property tax bill directly or through your landlord or commercial enterprise, you are a taxpayer of this city and you owe it to good governance to keep abreast of the spending habits of the city managers and city councillors.
The amalgamation plan of these 12 legal entities was to provide efficiencies which would be translated into tax savings for all resident taxpayers. Well, this didn’t happen as you know. Let’s find out what went wrong.
This financial review of the City of Ottawa analyzes the largest expense, that being employee compensation. For reference purposes, the employee expense is compared with “Total” revenue.
Total revenue includes direct property tax, in-lieu-of property tax levies, user fees, grants from provincial and federal governments, license and permits, gas tax receipts, fines and penalties, cash return on city investments, sale of city owned assets, gaming and casino revenues and transfers from revenue of prior years accumulated in the capital account and/or other reserve funds. It does not include funds received (and spent) from any increase in borrowing authorized by city council. The borrowings just add to the debt of the City for you and future generations to repay.
Property taxes per se may not increase in any given year, but revenue from the many other resources of the city continue to increase. You pay the increase in one way or another.
Here is the summary position of Total Revenue and Employee Expensee from January 1, 2001 through to December 31, 2007.(Table 1)
2001 Total Revenue $1,697,836,210
2007 Total Revenue $2,297,280,941
35.31 percent increase during the period or an average of 5.9 percent per year.
2001 Total Employee Salary and Wages $610,700,643
2007 Total Employee Salary and Wages $884,415,199
44.82 percent increase during the period or an annual average of 7.47 percent
2001 Total Employee Benefit Expense $105,568,994
2007 Total Employee Benefit Expense $162,665,030
66.13 percent increase during the period or an annual average of 11.05 percent per year
2001 Total Employee Compensation $716,359,637
2007 Total Employee Compensation $1,059,949,916
47.96 per cent increase during the period or an average of 8.0
percent per year.
2001 is the base year so the above “change” occurred in the past 6 years
Now, calculate your personal salary and benefit increases over the past 6 years. If it fits into the above numbers, good for you. However, most of you will be substantially below the percentages expressed above. You will then begin to understand the problem at Ottawa City Hall.
Another glaring fact: (Table 2)
Since amalgamation on January 1, 2001, New Revenue has been generated and New Employee Expense has been incurred.
What percentage of the new revenue was expensed for employee compensation?
In order to find the answer, I used the “Base Year” of December 31st, 2000 for the financial analysis as this was the last day before amalgamation.
Note: The year 2000 financial data is taken from Audited Financial Statements. All other Data is from the Financial Information Report (FIR).
December 31, 2000 Total Revenue $1,743,269,000
December 31st, 2000 Total Employee Expense (Salary/Wages and Benefits) $665,004,000
Now, I froze these numbers in time and then calculated and new Revenue in 2001 through 2007 over and above the 2000 Revenue figure. I did the same for New Employee Expense.
As at December 31st, 2007, the Revenue in that year climbed to $2,297,280,941 and the 2007 Total Employee Expense in year 2007 was $1,059,949,016.
Now, here is the kicker!
From January 1st, 2001, through to December 31st, 2007 a total of $1,938,107,596 in New Revenue was generated by the City of Ottawa, while your Councillors and Senior City staff spent $1,578,834,671 of the New Revenue on Employee salaries, wages and benefits.
Other major Ontario cities have accomplished much better results in the same method of analysis as compared to Ottawa. This will be the subject of a detailed analysis next week.
Now, just to be sure that I wasn't dreaming in color, I used the Audited Financial Statements of the City of Ottawa for the years 2000 to 2007 to verify the percentages developed from the Financial Information Report.
Well, the numbers weren't exactly the same, but just as devastating. The same exercise with the audited financial statements reveal 72.24 percent of the new revenue generated was devoured by Employee Expense. It also reflects my concern that the format on the three major reports must be coordinated. No wonder taxpayers are confused.
Total New Employee Expense as a percentage of New Revenue generated since 2001 (Table 3)
New Revenue $2,385,610,000
New Employee Expense $1,723,462,000
The audited Financial statements reveal that 72.24 percent of New Revenue was spent on New Employee Compensation
Table 4 shows you the detail of the above calculation
If it wasn't discouraging enough to look at the increase in Employee Expenses as shown above, take a look at the accelleration of employee costs versus total revenue year by year. (Table 5)
In the year 2000, Employee Expense was 38.15 percent of Total Revenue and as at December 31st, 2007 it grew to 47.09 percent. (Based on Audited Financial Statements)
Another Concern:
Future Taxpayer Debt:
The charge to Unfunded Liabilities (Table 6) for future employee benefits for 2007 was some $50 million dollars, equivalent to a current 5% property tax increase. The amount, as extraordinary as it is, needs to be specifically explained to the taxpayer by senior management. You may not like the explanation. City Councillors must inform the resident taxpayers annually on the total “accumulated” unfunded liability charge at the end of each financial year. What is the total accumulated Unfunded Liability for the City of Ottawa as at December 31st, 2007? The City Manager should answer this question.
How Many Employees does the City Have?
Full time employees (Table 7) remained below the 2001 level except for a jump in 2007, the year that the general public raised concerns about the number of employees. Part-time employees declined and the number of seasonal employees is not a major factor in the number of “full time equivalent” employees.
In 2007, there were 13,461 full time employees, 1,634 part time employees and 50 seasonal employees.
Over the 2001-2007 period full time employees grew by 1.01 percent, part time employees declined by 62.13 percent and seasonal employee change was negligible.
Note: The increase in the number of employees does not account for the unreasonable increase in employee compensation as show in the first section of this report.
Employee “hours worked” including Boards (Table8)
In 2001, 22,950,219 hours were worked by City employees and this grew to 26,963,079 hours in 2007, a 17.49 percent increase. So, there still is an overtime problem at the City.
I have gone further into detail on the employee hours worked and reflect the data by Department for 2001 through to 2007. (Table 9)
Some of the more glaring changes are listed following:
Administration hours increased 277.57 percent
Public Works decreased 26.35 percent
Fireman hours increased 26.42 percent with no additional staff during the period.
Home for the Aged hours declined 41.78 percent
LLibrairies hours increased 225.96 percent
Now we will look at the Employee Compensation by Department:
Table 10 reflects the increase in Salaries, wages and benefits by Department.
Again, notables are as follows:
Program Support compensation increased 79.46 percent
Fireman compensation increased 44.22 percent
Police compensation increased 59.80 percent
Protective Inspections increased 414.70 percent
Winter Control increased 178.06 percent
Public Health Services increased 142.23 percent
Child Care increased 89.04 percent
Libraries increased 65.00 percent
For all Departments, salaries, wages and benefits increased ON AVERAGE by 47.96 percent
Now let's look at how Budget Data is compiled (Table 11) This information is included in this report as there is a difference in the presentation of the financial numbers compared to the Financial Statements and Financial Information Report. It is my opinion that this only confuses the resident taxpayers.
2007 City of Ottawa Budget Data on Compensation and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Employees. The information format does not match the above Financial Information Return
The Table information provides authorized Department compensation dollars and authorized FTE in detail
The average FTE Employee Cost is $76,573, but this does not mean than the City Staff actually utilized the full authorized FTE. It is assumed that many positions have not been filled. The authorized dollars however, have been fully used, leading to the assumption that the average cost per employee is higher than the reflected $76,573.
eg: Average cost per FTE in the City Manager's Department is $111,800
The Housing Department has an average cost per FTE of $80,933
Fire Services has an average cost of $97,158
The Police Services has an average cost of $93,080
Information Technolgy Department has an average cost of $81,972
Employee Services has an avaerage cost of $84,295
The average cost per Department FTE ranges from a low of $55,984 to a high of $113,125.
Note: The 2007 compensation budget was exceeded. See FIR results.
Complete annual data Tables (2001-2007) are available upon request by email.
wmomalley@gmail.com
Next publications
1) New Revenue versus New Employee Expense for Major Ontario Cities
2) Ottawa Revenue Detail by Type and Department 2001-2007
3) Ottawa Individual Department Operating Expenses 2001-2007
4) Ottawa Complete Budget Information covering detail from base year 2001 versus 2006, 2007, 2008 and the proposed 2009 Budget
Look for them on this Blog. Sponsors are welcome.
Important:
The source of this data is from a report submitted annually to the provincial government called the Financial Information Report or FIR. The annual report is signed “as accurate” by the treasurer of the City of Ottawa. Every effort has been made in my analysis to reflect accurate recordings of the information contained in annual reports from 2001 to 2007. The year 2000 (prior to amalgamation) is based on the consolidated position of the 12 communities as reflected in the audited financial statements.
Some months ago a recommendation was made to Jim Watson, the Ontario Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, that all Ontario Municipal Budgets follow the format of the FIR. He did not reply.
In Ontario municipal accounting, there must be a clear, comparable relationship between the annual Budget, the annual Financial Statements and the annual Financial Information Report (FIR). Currently, the method of municipal reporting deprives resident property taxpayers of vital financial information and the spending habits of City Management and Councillors. It is labour intensive to compare financial data in a given department because senior management change (at whim) the sub groups within the department and the information available from three different sources are in different formats.. It is not cynical to question the motives of Senior Management.
If financial information was revealed in an easy to understand, and accurate, manner, you would have a much greater participation in the municipal electoral process than has been evident over the past twenty years or so.
Bill O'Malley
Ottawa
Friday, June 26, 2009
June 26, 2009
By Bill O’Malley
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa Financial numbers for the period ending December 31, 2008
2008 Employee Numbers:
Full-time Funded Positions #13,915
Part-time Funded Positions #1,656
Seasonal Funded Positions #51
The important word here is “FUNDED”
2008 Total Salaries and Wages $940,728,291
Employee Benefits $193,836,577
Unfunded Liabilities pertaining to Post-employment benefits $22,611,960
2008 Total Salaries/Wages and Benefits--$1,157,176,828
2008 Revenues
Revenues from all sources $2,360,708,374
Plus transfer from reserve funds $77,380,691
Total Revenue receipts $2,438,089,065
2007 Employee numbers
Full-time Funded Positions #13,461
Part-time Funded Positions #1,634
Seasonal Funded Positions #50
Despite public statements by the City Manager that positions have been eliminated and employees have been let go, the real numbers reveal that an additional 454 full-time funded position have been added.
2007 Revenues including Reserve Transfer
$2,297,280,941
2007-08 Salaries/Wages and benefits
2007 Salaries/Wages $884,415,199
2007 Employee Benefits $175,534,717
2007 Unfunded Liabilities pertaining to Post-employment benefits $50,559,157
2007 Total Salaries/Wages and Benefits--$1,110,509,073
2008 Salaries and wages increased $56,313,092
2008 Employee Benefits increased $18,301,860
The rise of salaries, wages and benefits from December 31, 2007 to December 31, 2008 is $74,614,952, equivalent to a 7% increase in property tax.
2008 Increase in revenue and fund transfers compared to 2007 is $140,808,124
If you remove the fund transfers from the equation, 2007 total revenue was $2,245,310,236 compared to 2008 revenue of $2,360,708,374. The 2008 increase is $115,398,138 of which $74,614,952 was expensed for employee salaries, wages and benefit increases.
I have previously provided financial ratios in chart form for the City of Ottawa for the period years 2000 and 2007. The 2008 financial numbers confirm little or no progress in controlling spending. In other words, the financial situation has not improved.
It is time to turn up the heat on councillors and city management because this pace of increases in employee expense cannot be maintained any longer.
This is a preliminary look at the 2008 City of Ottawa financial numbers and every effort has been made to reflect the numbers accurately.
Detail information will be published in the coming days.
Bill O’MALLEY
Municipalities Out of Control
The Ontario Tax Reporter
By Bill O’Malley
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa Financial numbers for the period ending December 31, 2008
2008 Employee Numbers:
Full-time Funded Positions #13,915
Part-time Funded Positions #1,656
Seasonal Funded Positions #51
The important word here is “FUNDED”
2008 Total Salaries and Wages $940,728,291
Employee Benefits $193,836,577
Unfunded Liabilities pertaining to Post-employment benefits $22,611,960
2008 Total Salaries/Wages and Benefits--$1,157,176,828
2008 Revenues
Revenues from all sources $2,360,708,374
Plus transfer from reserve funds $77,380,691
Total Revenue receipts $2,438,089,065
2007 Employee numbers
Full-time Funded Positions #13,461
Part-time Funded Positions #1,634
Seasonal Funded Positions #50
Despite public statements by the City Manager that positions have been eliminated and employees have been let go, the real numbers reveal that an additional 454 full-time funded position have been added.
2007 Revenues including Reserve Transfer
$2,297,280,941
2007-08 Salaries/Wages and benefits
2007 Salaries/Wages $884,415,199
2007 Employee Benefits $175,534,717
2007 Unfunded Liabilities pertaining to Post-employment benefits $50,559,157
2007 Total Salaries/Wages and Benefits--$1,110,509,073
2008 Salaries and wages increased $56,313,092
2008 Employee Benefits increased $18,301,860
The rise of salaries, wages and benefits from December 31, 2007 to December 31, 2008 is $74,614,952, equivalent to a 7% increase in property tax.
2008 Increase in revenue and fund transfers compared to 2007 is $140,808,124
If you remove the fund transfers from the equation, 2007 total revenue was $2,245,310,236 compared to 2008 revenue of $2,360,708,374. The 2008 increase is $115,398,138 of which $74,614,952 was expensed for employee salaries, wages and benefit increases.
I have previously provided financial ratios in chart form for the City of Ottawa for the period years 2000 and 2007. The 2008 financial numbers confirm little or no progress in controlling spending. In other words, the financial situation has not improved.
It is time to turn up the heat on councillors and city management because this pace of increases in employee expense cannot be maintained any longer.
This is a preliminary look at the 2008 City of Ottawa financial numbers and every effort has been made to reflect the numbers accurately.
Detail information will be published in the coming days.
Bill O’MALLEY
Municipalities Out of Control
The Ontario Tax Reporter
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Ontario Tax Grab
The largest single tax grab in the history of Ontario
Harmonization of the GST and PST will be called the “HST”. It is due to be implemented in July 2010 at a combined rate of 13% TAX on literally everything that you purchase or service that you use, including hydro, heating, automobile gasoline, mutual funds, insurance ( with a few minor exceptions). You don't need a list of what will be taxed. All you have to do is see the very short list (on a very small piece of paper) of the items that are exempt.
Harmonization of the GST and PST will be called the “HST”. It is due to be implemented in July 2010 at a combined rate of 13% TAX on literally everything that you purchase or service that you use, including hydro, heating, automobile gasoline, mutual funds, insurance ( with a few minor exceptions). You don't need a list of what will be taxed. All you have to do is see the very short list (on a very small piece of paper) of the items that are exempt.
In general, all goods and services currently subject to 5% GST, but not PST, will be hamonized (the PST will now apply) for a combined rate of 13%.
The Ontario Tax Reporter
&
Municipalities Out of Control
By Bill O’Malley
April 6, 2009
This will be the largest tax grab in Ontario by the liar’s Liar, Premier Dalton McGuinty, in the history of the province. In the first full year of operation (2011-12), the Liberal Ontario Government will reap $5.3 BILLION more in sales tax than it would have otherwise with the current PST. Every single Ontario resident will pay dearly.
You have to know that this new tax will be added to everything you buy or sell and there are only a few exemptions for baby things and women’s hygiene products. McGuinty wants his share of 13% on everything that you never dreamed would be taxed.
Harmonization is a good thing, but Ontario would have to reduce the combined tax from the proposed 13% to 11%. This would comprise 5% Federal and 6 % Provincial. At this rate, the beneficial effects of the HST would help business and Ontario families.
Municipalities Out of Control
By Bill O’Malley
April 6, 2009
This will be the largest tax grab in Ontario by the liar’s Liar, Premier Dalton McGuinty, in the history of the province. In the first full year of operation (2011-12), the Liberal Ontario Government will reap $5.3 BILLION more in sales tax than it would have otherwise with the current PST. Every single Ontario resident will pay dearly.
You have to know that this new tax will be added to everything you buy or sell and there are only a few exemptions for baby things and women’s hygiene products. McGuinty wants his share of 13% on everything that you never dreamed would be taxed.
Harmonization is a good thing, but Ontario would have to reduce the combined tax from the proposed 13% to 11%. This would comprise 5% Federal and 6 % Provincial. At this rate, the beneficial effects of the HST would help business and Ontario families.
Every other Province entering into the harmonization of the GST and PST lowered the rate of its PST to take into consideration the extention of the HST to most goods and services. McGuinty and the Ontario Liberals will be the only province not to reduce the PST rate. This is one more severe step to the disintegration of the middle class and the downloading of more hardship on the poor of the Province.
The HST as proposed by the Ontario Liberals for a family of two adults in their own home will see tax expense increase by between $166.00 and $200.00 monthly, depending on individual circumstances. That’s $2,000.00 to $2,400.00 per year with nothing to show for it.
What will happen to people on fixed incomes and pensioners? It is a real shame.
In addition to the Socialist Liberal Republic of Ontario taking all this extra money out of your pocket, just wait until January 2010 when new Hydro rates go into effect on the so-called “meter system”. If you don’t change your style of living, your monthly hydro rates will nearly double. Then add the 13% HST on top of your bill.
Now don’t forget the “McGuinty Health tax grab” back in 2004 when he said no more taxes under his administration and actually signed an agreement to this effect. He was sued for going back on his word, but a Liberal provincial judge said that it was OK for politicians to LIE during elections. Have you noticed any improvement in the health system since the health tax was instituted? I know that you haven’t!
The health tax started at $2 BILLION in annual revenue for the LIAR’S GOVERNMENT and in 2009-10, the annual revenue from this source has increased to $2.9 BILLION.
On top of all of this, the printed media is being silent. The media has an obligation to inform its readers of important changes in government policy, but in this case they are closing their eyes. The media is being irresponsible and I would suggest that you withdraw your support for any media that does not provide detailed information to all Ontario residents by the end of April 2009. This subject is that important. Don’t buy their newspaper.
What should you do? This should be the start of a tax revolt.
Seek more information on both the HST and Hydro plans.
Complain to your local media if an analysis is not published soon.
Write or email your local Ontario political representative, the Ontario treasurer and the Premier of Ontario.
Send me your comments. wmomalley@gmail.com
The HST as proposed by the Ontario Liberals for a family of two adults in their own home will see tax expense increase by between $166.00 and $200.00 monthly, depending on individual circumstances. That’s $2,000.00 to $2,400.00 per year with nothing to show for it.
What will happen to people on fixed incomes and pensioners? It is a real shame.
In addition to the Socialist Liberal Republic of Ontario taking all this extra money out of your pocket, just wait until January 2010 when new Hydro rates go into effect on the so-called “meter system”. If you don’t change your style of living, your monthly hydro rates will nearly double. Then add the 13% HST on top of your bill.
Now don’t forget the “McGuinty Health tax grab” back in 2004 when he said no more taxes under his administration and actually signed an agreement to this effect. He was sued for going back on his word, but a Liberal provincial judge said that it was OK for politicians to LIE during elections. Have you noticed any improvement in the health system since the health tax was instituted? I know that you haven’t!
The health tax started at $2 BILLION in annual revenue for the LIAR’S GOVERNMENT and in 2009-10, the annual revenue from this source has increased to $2.9 BILLION.
On top of all of this, the printed media is being silent. The media has an obligation to inform its readers of important changes in government policy, but in this case they are closing their eyes. The media is being irresponsible and I would suggest that you withdraw your support for any media that does not provide detailed information to all Ontario residents by the end of April 2009. This subject is that important. Don’t buy their newspaper.
What should you do? This should be the start of a tax revolt.
Seek more information on both the HST and Hydro plans.
Complain to your local media if an analysis is not published soon.
Write or email your local Ontario political representative, the Ontario treasurer and the Premier of Ontario.
Send me your comments. wmomalley@gmail.com
Pass this on to anyone that you know that wants more information on the tax grab. My detailed information will be published on my blog site in the coming weeks in a format that can be easily understood by all.
In the meantime, the McGuinty Government is counting on the APATHY of Ontario residents
and I think that this time he struck out. To you the average Ontario resident, if you have never complained before, please do so now and show McGuinty that his low opinion of Ontario residents is very wrong. You deserve to be heard.
and I think that this time he struck out. To you the average Ontario resident, if you have never complained before, please do so now and show McGuinty that his low opinion of Ontario residents is very wrong. You deserve to be heard.
The following is a "link" to a central HST petition site and I encourage you to present your thoughs on the site and also contact your MPP.
(Under "Government and Politics" on ipetition site)
Have a nice day,
Bill O’Malley
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)