Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, July 25, 2011

KPMG hired for review of Toronto city services

The City of Toronto has hired KPMG and Western Management Consultants of Ontario to undertake portions of the next phase of the citywide service review.

The efficiency review will target nine city programs, three city agencies (the TTC, public library and police), and four across-the-board services.

KPMG, which was hired to complete phase one, the core service review, has now been asked to complete an in-depth study of facilities management and real estate functions. Western will examine fleet management. Both reviews are underway.

Other programs up for review are: parks, forestry and recreation; shelter, support and housing administration; solid waste management; transportation services; municipal licensing and standards; city planning; and court services. The TTC, Toronto Public Library system and the Toronto Police are the agencies to be examined. And the citywide services consultants will study are: communications; finance and administrative functions; environmental and energy programs and information counter services.

The city has compiled a shortlist of 11 consulting firms for the remaining contracts. That list includes: Accenture Inc., Deloitte Inc., and Ernst and Young.

By the end of July, staff expect to have five or six more agreements complete.

“At this point, we cannot provide the fees negotiated for the two agreements signed so far, as it could have an impact on our negotiations for the other agreements,” said spokesperson Jackie DeSouza.

City council has approved a $3 million consulting budget for the service review. KPMG was already paid $350,000 for the core review. The third phase, a look at user fees, is being handled internally.

The efficiency studies will be completed this fall, but won’t be made public except in cases where specific council approval is required to implement recommendations.

Origin
Source: Toronto Star 

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