Business Plan Summary

Transcription

1 Owner: Business Plan Summary Program Environmental Services Service grouping Conservation Authority Service Type Public Service Ian Wilcox, General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority Strategic Priority Environmental Leadership Purpose The UTRCA serves the 17 member municipalities in the Upper Thames River Watershed including the City of London. Our mandate is to: Protect people and their property from flooding and erosion (Public safety through operation of dams, dykes, flood forecasting and warning, plan review, floodplain regulations); Protect and enhance water quality; Manage and preserve natural areas; and Provide outdoor recreation opportunities. The UTRCA provides this service regionally to best protect watershed health in a cost effective manner on behalf of its member municipalities. NOTE 1: For budget deliberations, the Conservation Authorities submit their overall budget requests from the City of London through the Operating Budget. NOTE 2: In 2010, the City of London paid UTRCA $7,920,000 one-time funding, in accordance to the amount levied, for the UTRCA s Administrative building project. The UTRCA recorded it in Key processes Flood Protection Financial & Staffing In $000s Operating budget 2010 Actual 2011 Revised Budget Expenditure: 13,647 12,802 Non-tax revenue: 11,363 10,419 Net (tax supported): Capital budget 2,284 2, Revised Budget 2011 Revised Budget Expenditure: 8,478 11,632 Non-tax revenue: ,532 Net (tax supported): 8, Staffing FTEs: Percentage of expenditures budget (all rate sources): Annual per household cost of net budget ($): Protect people and their property from flooding and erosion (Public safety through operation of dams, dykes, flood forecasting and warning, plan review, floodplain regulations). London is directly protected by the operation of Fanshawe, Wildwood and Pittock Dams plus a series of dykes throughout the City which are collectively valued at more than $100 million in terms of replacement cost Protect and Enhance Water Quality The UTRCA monitors water quality at more than 120 stations throughout the watershed and informs its member municipalities of changes through Watershed Report Cards. More than $12 million has been invested in upstream water quality improvement projects during the past ten years. Page 1 of 6

2 Manage and Preserve Natural Areas The UTRCA owns and manages more than 6,000 ha of natural areas to improve habitat and biodiversity, protect and improve water quality, and provide flood storage. The UTRCA manages under contract all of the Environmentally Significant Areas in the City of London on behalf of the City (Meadowlily, Westminister Ponds/ Pond Mills, Kains Woods, Warbler Woods, Kilally Meadows, Sifton Bog, Medway Valley). Provide Outdoor Recreation Opportunities The UTRCA provides public access to its publicly owned lands for a variety of activities including outdoor education programs, camping and day use parks (Fanshawe, Wildwood and Pittock Conservation Areas), hiking, boating, hunting, biking and bird watching. Regulatory/Policy landscape Service Delivery method Mandatory Legislative New council direction, new regulations, legislative changes Current state of this service Public demand for environmental information, including from municipal staff, requires further investment in information management to allow near real -time web access to environmental and regulatory data. Investment in land management capacity is necessary. More frequent inspections and improved management practices are required to meet minimum property management standards. This in turn ensures effective protection of the resource and reduces the Authority s exposure to liability. Climate change is evident locally through increased frequency of severe flood events. Investment in flood control infrastructure (dams, dykes) to ensure effective operations and to modify systems for climate change futures will be necessary to protect public safety and property in London. Responsible fiscal management requires investment in a budgeted operating reserve to allow for year end contingencies. No such reserve is in place making financial management challenging given in-year variability of revenue. Despite on-going challenges, UTRCA has a 64 year track record of effective watershed management program delivery in support of its member municipalities. Through economies of scale, there are cost savings to our 17 member municipalities through regional delivery of watershed management services. London funds 19 of the UTRCA's programs and services because of this cost sharing and yet benefits from all programs and services as the City is the most downstream municipality in the watershed. Note that municipal funding from 17 member municipalities is proportional; if funding levels are reduced for one municipality, they must be reduced for all, even if others are willing to pay, leading to exaggerated funding challenges. Page 2 of 6

3 Note that Conservation Authority business is directly impacted by growth (directly through plan review volume and regulations, indirectly through environmental impacts and mitigation). While growth increases City revenue to pay for additional required services, Conservation Authority funding is not tied to growth and additional program costs materialize as direct requests for increased funding. The UTRCA is currently constructing a new Watershed Conservation Centre, Southern Ontario's first LEED Platinum green building. This facility will be a showcase regionally of green building design and will be marketed as an innovative product of our member municipalities. Recent enhancements to economy, efficiency and effectiveness The UTRCA Board of Directors examined ways to minimize municipal expenditures for 2011 and beyond while still meeting demands for improved service. The following strategies were approved: No overtime or surplus sick-time is paid. Budget increases will be phased over the next 3-4 years despite immediate need to lessen the current impact on municipal budgets. Creation of a much needed Operating Reserve was deferred in 2011 but must be considered for 2012 and beyond. All new hires will be reviewed or delayed for cost containment. A Core Services Review will be conducted in 2011 to ensure municipal funding is appropriately and efficiently directed to watershed programs and services. The 2011 OMERS contribution rate increase will be funded through other revenue sources. Note that while the UTRCA is the 6th largest Conservation Authority in Ontario in terms of budget and program delivery, we rank 27th out of 36 Conservation Authorities in terms of municipal funding levels. Future direction of this service Information Management Investment: Public demand for environmental information, including from municipal staff, requires further investment in Information Management to allow near real time web access to critical data. In particular, municipalities are demanding quicker review of development applications and permit applications to facilitate growth. Improved access to information is necessary to facilitate efficient service. Failure to make this investment will result in status quo in terms of service noting that this will be unacceptable to the public and our municipal partners. Land Management: Investment in Land Management Capacity is necessary. More frequent inspections and improved management practices are required to meet minimum property management standards. This in turn ensures effective protection of the resource and reduces the Authority s exposure to liability. Failure to improve this service will result in continued abuses of conservation lands (e.g., encroachment, illegal activities such as ATV use and uncontrolled hunting) as well as greater exposure to liability through trip and fall type injuries that could be blamed on inadequate land management. Climate Change/ Flood Control Infrastructure Investment: Climate change is evident locally through increased frequency of severe flood events. Investment in flood control infrastructure (dams, dykes) to ensure effective operations and to modify systems for climate change futures will be necessary to protect public safety and property in London. London's greatest risk to public safety is flooding. Climate change extremes increase this risk. Investment in continued research and infrastructure maintenance and renewal that considers climate change futures is required to minimize risk to public safety. Deferring this investment increases the Page 3 of 6

4 public safety risk. The Province provides 5 cost-sharing for this investment, one of the few areas where provincial funding still exists for Conservation Authorities. Operating Reserve: The UTRCA does not currently budget for investment in an Operating Reserve, largely due to past requests from municipalities for budget constraint. Any operating reserves are the result of in-year efficiencies creating year -end surpluses however these reserves are minimal and are inadequate to cover year end contingencies. Conscious budgeting for an operating reserve with an ultimate goal of 2.5 of General Levy is required to allow for responsible management of the organization. This action was deferred in 2011 as a cost saving measure but must be considered for 2012 and beyond. Public interest and standards for environmental quality are increasing. Economic growth can only succeed on a foundation of a healthy and robust local environment. Water quality, forest cover and a range of natural features provide the quality of life Londoner's demand and that attracts new residents and business to the watershed. Continued investment in watershed health is required to support London's national and international promotion of our region. Objectives next 4 years Improved Information Management Provide improved public and municipal access to near real-time environmental information. Expected completion year 2016 Needs Assessment Development of an Information Management Strategy Implementation of IT solutions, staff training and public roll-out of services Stakeholder surveys regarding evaluation of programs and services: availability of information, service satisfaction. Land Management Capacity Investment Implementation of minimum property management standards on all UTRCA owned lands. Expected completion year 2016 Hire project management biologist to coordinate property management plans. Develop management plans for target/ high use properties. Development of staffing plan for enhanced property management Implement management plans. Annual inspections and reports for all UTRCA owned properties (6,000 ha.). Flood Control/ Climate Change Investment Completed evaluations of each flood control structure and operating protocol in the context of likely future conditions due to climate change. Ongoing cycle of evaluation and maintenance, supported by 20 year rolling capital funding plan. This is an ongoing endeavour. Page 4 of 6

5 Expected completion year Hire project administrator for structural assessments and protocol review Coordinate climate change conditions with structural assessments. Completed assessments with recommendations for all structures and protocols. Creation of an Operating Reserve Phase-in creation of a budgeted operating reserve beginning in Expected completion year 2015 Develop three year phase-in of operating budget to achieve target amount of 2.5 of General Levy. Operating Reserve fully in place by Emerging issues and challenges Other Climate change Other Municipal growth creating additional environmental pressures on the local watershed. Legislation Source Water Protection Plan implementation strategies (due post 2012) Service changes with financial impact (+/-) Statistics and performance measures A Activity measures Description of measurements Number of Conservation Projects Page 5 of 6

6 Description of measurements Number of Permits Issued and Inquiries 1,631 1,649 1,635 1,663 1,674 1,674 1,690 1,705 1,720 1,735 1,750 1,765 B Efficiency measures Description of measurements Municipal Funding as percent of revenue (target of 3) C Effectiveness/Quality/Satisfaction measures Description of measurements Watershed Report Cards are published every five years- Objective measure of watershed health. Latest version due in No scores to be included here Page 6 of 6