8.a Report CM-26-029 from the City Manager Re: Service Review Implementation Ad Hoc Committee Summary and Next Steps Report
The Service Review initiative evolved from 49 initial actions into a broad corporate modernization effort that generated more than $2 million in savings, revenue, and efficiencies. Staff across departments completed over 157 projects while maintaining core service delivery, with 80% of the action plan now complete or near completion. The City Manager reports that these investments provide a clearer picture of operations to support informed decision-making for residents and businesses.
Service Review Modernization Yields More Than $2 Million in Savings, Revenue, Efficiencies
The Service Review evolved from 49 initial actions into a broad corporate modernization initiative that generated more than $2 million in savings and efficiencies. Staff across departments completed over 157 projects while maintaining core service delivery, with 80% of the action plan now complete or near completion.
Service Review Summary and Financial Benefits
The City Manager reports that the Service Review has provided a clearer picture of operations, costs, and resource utilization to support informed decision-making. Although the initial focus was on cost avoidance, the work ultimately built a stronger organization through better systems, planning tools, and a culture of continuous improvement. Financial results include $1,023,270 in combined savings and new revenue, with an additional $600,000 in cost avoidance specifically from parks and playground consolidation efforts. The City Manager notes that these investments will continue to benefit residents and businesses for many years as the pursuit of a resilient municipality continues.
Agenda item 8.a: Report CM-26-029 from the City Manager Re: Service Review Implementation Ad Hoc Committee Summary and Next Steps Report
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Attachment: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and Next Steps Report - CM-26-029.pdf
Source: https://helpos.ca/attachments/9c2760685b2bd3051acd64ee735cdf7c91ccef827175ff88a6073f8b3e8b3910/8-a-1-service-review-implementation-committee-summary-and-next-steps-report-cm-26-029-pdf.pdf
Staff Report
Report To: Service Review Implementation Ad Hoc Committee
Report From: Tim Simmonds, City Manager
Meeting Date: September 9, 2026
Report Code: CM-26-029
Subject: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
Recommendations:
THAT in consideration of Staff Report CM-26-029 respecting Service Review
Implementation Committee Summary and Next Steps Report, the Service
Review Implementation Ad Hoc Committee recommends that City Council
receive the report for information purposes.
Highlights:
The Service Review evolved from 49 actions into a broad corporate
modernization initiative that strengthened how the City plans,
delivers, and evaluates services.
The initiative generated more than $2 million in savings, revenue,
efficiencies, and cost avoidance while improving service delivery.
New systems, technology, and data-driven tools have improved
accountability, service planning, and long-term decision-making
across the organization.
Vision 2050 - Strategic Plan Alignment:
Strategic Plan Priority: The recommendation contributes to core service
delivery or a corporate initiative that enables service delivery for one or more
strategic priorities.
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
Previous Report/Authority:
N/A
Background:
The Service Review was approved as a major corporate improvement
initiative to help the City take a clear, practical look at how services are
delivered, how resources are used, and where the organization could become
more efficient, transparent and sustainable. What began in February 2024 as
a response to 49 approved actions quickly became a broader effort to
strengthen how the City plans, manages, reports on and continuously
improves its work.
Over the life of the Service Review, staff from across the organization
participated in project teams, process reviews, technology implementation,
policy development, asset inventories, financial analysis and service level
reviews. This work was completed while staff continued to deliver core
municipal services and more than a hundred operating and capital projects to
the community. The result is a body of work that gives Council and the public
a much clearer picture of what the City does, what it costs, where pressures
exist, and how future decisions can be made with better information.
The Service Review Ad Hoc Committee provided a dedicated forum for this
work to be reviewed, challenged, refined and advanced. Through that
process, the City moved from identifying opportunities to building practical
tools and systems that are now embedded in day-to-day operations.
Analysis and Options:
More Than a Service Review
The Service Review should be viewed as one of the most significant
organizational improvement initiatives undertaken by the City in recent
years. What started as a review of municipal services evolved into a broad
effort to build a stronger, more responsive, and more sustainable
organization.
Since its inaugural meeting in February 2024, the Service Review
Implementation Ad Hoc Committee received approximately 60 reports
covering project updates, operational reviews, technology modernization
initiatives, service level studies, governance improvements, organizational
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
planning efforts, and financial reviews. Taken together, those reports tell the
story of an organization willing to take a close look at itself, ask difficult
questions, and invest the time required to improve.
The work touched virtually every area of the corporation, including Public
Works, Parks, Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Information
Technology, Corporate Services, By-law Enforcement, Building Services,
Tourism, Fleet Operations, Cemeteries, Records Management, and Corporate
Planning. Few initiatives in recent memory have involved such a broad cross-
section of staff, services, and operational functions.
Building the Foundation for the Future
One of the most important accomplishments of the Service Review is that it
helped build systems and practices that will continue delivering value long
after the individual projects are complete.
A strong example is Project 5A.1 – Organizational Project Management
System, which ultimately led to the implementation of ProjectTeam. Prior to
this work, project tracking relied heavily on spreadsheets and disconnected
reporting processes. Today, the City has a corporate platform that improves
project coordination, budgeting, accountability, and transparency while
supporting a consolidated organizational work plan.
Similarly, Project 1A.1 – Comprehensive Onboarding Program created a
standardized approach to welcoming and training new employees. While
onboarding may not be highly visible to the public, it plays a critical role in
helping new employees become productive sooner, improving employee
retention, and strengthening organizational culture. The result is greater
consistency across the corporation and better support for future workforce
development.
The Service Review also helped establish broader organizational disciplines
that did not previously exist in the same coordinated manner. The City now
has stronger annual work planning processes, improved project reporting,
service level reviews, a developing KPI framework, cost allocation
methodologies, agreement management tools, succession planning
initiatives, and a growing culture of continuous improvement. These
accomplishments represent foundational improvements that will continue to
support better decision-making for years to come.
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
Better Services Through Better Systems
While much of the Service Review focused on internal improvements, the
ultimate goal has always been to improve service delivery for residents,
businesses, and visitors.
For example, Project 2B.4 – Implementation of Cloudpermit modernized
permit processing by replacing legacy systems with a digital platform that
improves application processing, online payments, interdepartmental
collaboration, and customer access to services. Residents may not see the
underlying technology, but they benefit from faster, more convenient access
to City services. In turn this greatly impacts the speed of development and
ultimately supports the timing at which development positively impacts the
property tax base.
Likewise, Project 3A.6 – Increase Online Services expanded digital service
delivery through initiatives such as Virtual City Hall, online recreation
booking enhancements, online licensing tools such as DocuPet, and other
customer-facing improvements. Together, these projects support a
municipality that is more accessible and easier to do business with.
Another highly visible example is Project 3A.3 – Tourism Services at the Tom
Thomson Art Gallery Pilot. What began as a pilot project demonstrated
stronger visitor experiences, improved collaboration, enhanced staffing
resilience, and better service continuity. The success of the initiative
ultimately supported the continuation of the integrated model, creating a
more seamless experience for visitors while improving operational
effectiveness behind the scenes.
These projects demonstrate an important lesson from the Service Review.
Better service does not always come from adding more resources. In many
cases, it comes from improving systems, strengthening coordination,
leveraging technology, and finding better ways to deliver existing services.
Making Better Decisions with Better Information
Many Service Review projects focused on collecting information that did not
previously exist or was not available in a form that could effectively support
decision-making.
One of the strongest examples is Project 3A.2 – Review of Park Classification
System, Service Levels and Associated Operating Costs. Through this work,
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
more than 5,100 park assets were inventoried and classified, creating a
much stronger foundation for future service level discussions, asset
management planning, lifecycle investment decisions, and parks planning.
Rather than relying on assumptions, future decisions can now be supported
by accurate and comprehensive information.
The same principle can be seen in Project 1D.1 – Fleet Management
Strategy, which established the City's first comprehensive fleet management
framework and identified opportunities to improve utilization, enhance
safety, strengthen data collection, and support long-term fleet planning.
Fleet services are now a corporate function rather than a department-based
endeavour. By pairing this work with vehicle tracking and utilization projects,
the City is now in a much stronger position to make informed decisions
regarding equipment replacement, fleet investment, and operating costs.
The shift toward including a Resource Alignment section in staff reports is
another example of this change in thinking. It reflects a more complete view
of municipal decision-making by considering financial resources, staffing
capacity, technology requirements, timing, and operational impacts together.
This may be one of the most important legacies of the Service Review: better
questions, better information, and ultimately better decisions.
Recognizing the Dedication of Staff
The success of the Service Review did not happen because of a single project
or department. It happened because employees across the organization
embraced the challenge of improving how the City works.
Organizational modernization is often one of the most difficult forms of work
any organization can undertake. Research on public sector transformation
consistently highlights that modernization efforts require organizations to
improve processes, adopt new technologies, strengthen governance, build
new skills, and manage cultural change, all while maintaining day-to-day
service delivery. Over the past two years, Staff were challenged with
providing day-to-day core service and facilitating service review initiatives.
Public sector organizations often face additional challenges because they
must balance innovation with service continuity, regulatory requirements,
public accountability, and limited resources.
That reality was reflected throughout many of the Service Review reports.
Staff developed onboarding programs, implemented new technology
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
platforms, reviewed fleet operations, completed service level studies,
developed policies, strengthened records management practices, conducted
operational reviews, built asset inventories, and implemented continuous
improvement projects while continuing to deliver core services to the
community. City reports have openly acknowledged that this pace of change
required a significant commitment from staff and that balancing
improvement work with day-to-day responsibilities has not always been
easy.
That effort deserves recognition. Modernization work is often invisible when it
is being done well. Residents may not immediately see the creation of a
project management framework, a service level review, a fleet strategy, an
onboarding program, or an information management roadmap. However,
those foundational pieces are precisely what allow an organization to become
stronger, more efficient, and more sustainable over time.
The Work Continues
While the Service Review Implementation Ad Hoc Committee is approaching
the conclusion of its mandate, the work itself is not ending.
The systems, tools, practices, and mindset developed through the Service
Review are now more embedded within the organization. The City is
managing 157 projects through its organizational work plan, supported by
enhanced project management tools, stronger planning practices, service
level reviews, performance measurement initiatives, and continuous
improvement efforts.
It is also important to recognize that, like any significant organizational
improvement initiative, not every project was completed exactly as originally
envisioned. The goal was always to achieve 100% of the Service Review
Action Plan, but as with most long-term plans, circumstances changed over
time. Employee turnover, emerging priorities, legislative requirements,
unforeseen projects, operational demands, and the reality that some
initiatives required more effort and time than initially anticipated all
influenced the pace of progress. In some cases, projects evolved as staff
gained a better understanding of the issue being studied. In others, the
organization determined that additional review, analysis, consultation, or
future consideration was warranted before proceeding further.
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
That should not be viewed as a shortcoming. Rather, it reflects the realities
of managing a complex municipal organization while continuing to deliver
day-to-day services to residents. In many cases, the review process itself
provided value by improving understanding, identifying risks, refining future
priorities, or confirming that existing practices remained appropriate. As of
this report, 80% of the projects were completed or are near completion.
The same principle applies to measuring savings and efficiencies. Throughout
the Service Review, staff worked diligently to identify, quantify, and report
financial and operational benefits wherever reliable information existed. The
organization is confident in the savings, revenue generation, cost avoidance,
and efficiencies that have been formally reported and verified.
At the same time, the Service Review highlighted a challenge common to
many organizations: in some areas, when work began, sufficient baseline
data simply did not exist to accurately measure every efficiency or
operational improvement. While staff expected that some benefits would be
easier to quantify, the information, systems, or historical tracking methods
required to validate those results were not always available. This was
particularly true for administrative efficiencies, process improvements, staff
time savings, and operational changes that had never previously been
measured in a consistent way.
Ironically, identifying those gaps may be one of the most valuable outcomes
of the entire initiative. Many of the modernization projects completed
through the Service Review, including the Organizational Project
Management System, service level reviews, cost allocation work, fleet
management improvements, information management modernization,
annual work planning, and performance measurement initiatives, have
improved the City's ability to understand both the financial and human
resource costs associated with delivering municipal services.
Simply put, the City now has a much clearer picture of how work is
performed, what services cost, where resources are being utilized, and how
performance can be measured. While there is still more work to do, the
organization is significantly better positioned today than it was at the
beginning of the Service Review to make informed decisions based on
reliable operational and financial information.
The next chapter of this work will be advanced through the newly established
Resilient Community Advisory Committee of Council. Rather than marking
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
the end of the journey, this transition reflects that notion that qualities of
Service Review are moving into an ongoing commitment to organizational
excellence, responsible stewardship, and continuous improvement.
Ultimately, what was learned through the Service Review work was that the
initial concept that Service Review was primarily rooted in the idea of cost
avoidance, efficiency and savings was much more than that. It was about
building a stronger organization. Through the collective efforts of Council,
Committee members, and staff, the City has developed better systems,
stronger planning tools, more reliable information, and a culture that
embraces continuous improvement. Those investments will continue to
benefit residents, businesses, and the broader community for many years to
come. The Service Review may be concluding, but the pursuit of a more
effective, sustainable, and resilient municipality continues.
Resource Alignment:
Financial Resources
The financial impact of the Service Review is substantial. Based on the City
Manager’s November 2025 update, the City had achieved $1,023,270 in
combined savings, new revenue and operational efficiencies and was on
track to meet and exceed the original $2 million target when benefits are
compounded year over year. Since that report, an additional $600,000 in
cost avoidance through the parks/playground work has been achieved.
These results were achieved through a mix of direct savings, new revenue,
cost avoidance, staff-time efficiencies and better use of existing resources.
Some of the most significant direct examples are the court security
agreement with Grey County, which generated more than $370,000 in Owen
Sound taxpayer savings and the review of Parks Infrastructure, namely
playgrounds, which has a future costs avoidance of approximately $600,000
in capital replacement costs and the associated repair and operational costs.
In addition, the Municipal Accommodation Tax revenue was expected to
generate $317,000 annually to support tourism, events and capital projects.
In 2025, its first full year the MAT generated $418,000 and in 2026 is
tracking to be $360,000. Corporate Services modernization activities were
estimated to produce annual soft savings between $118,000 and $250,000
through digital platforms and process improvements.
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
Financial /
Reported Impact Note
Operational Item
Court security $370,000+ Direct taxpayer savings through
agreement Annually agreement with Grey County.
Revenue expected by year-end
Municipal $317,000
for tourism, events and capital
Accommodation Tax Annually
support.
Corporate Services $118,000 to Soft savings from technology
digital modernization $250,000 annually and process improvements.
Fleet rental Estimated value from replacing
replacement $41,340 annually long-term rentals with owned or
opportunity leased units.
Microsoft Purview / Expected savings from
records platform $45,000 annually decommissioning third-party
change records platform.
Estimated new revenue from re-
By-law fees and
$24,625 annually inspection, work order and
charges changes
cleanup administration fees.
Staff-time savings from
LEAN pilot 89.4 hours and reimbursement process plus
improvements $2,500 revenue from disposal of surplus
items.
One-time cost avoidance and
Playground Approximately
future operating repair and
Consolidation $289,000/playground
replacement.
Not every financial benefit appears as a line-item budget reduction. Many
improvements create soft savings by reducing manual work, improving
accuracy, shortening turnaround times, avoiding future remediation costs, or
allowing staff to focus on higher-value work. While these savings may be less
visible than a direct budget reduction, they matter because they improve the
City’s capacity to deliver services.
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report
The financial story is therefore both practical and positive: the Service
Review generated measurable financial benefits, created new revenue
opportunities, improved cost recovery, and built better systems for
understanding the true cost of municipal services.
Human Resources
N/A
Time and Scheduling
N/A
Technology and Infrastructure
N/A
Climate and Environmental Impacts:
There are no anticipated climate or environmental impacts.
Communication and Engagement:
This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance
of the meeting.
Report Developed in Consultation With:
N/A
Attachments:
None
Reviewed by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
Submission approved by:
Tim Simmonds, City Manager
For more information on this report, please contact Tim Simmonds, City
Manager at tsimmonds@owensound.ca or 519-376-4440 ext. 1210.
Staff Report CM-26-029: Service Review Implementation Committee Summary and
Next Steps Report