Open Government and Fiscal Transparency

Part 1

How Public Money and Staff Are Managed

Financial Disclosure and Zero-Based Budgeting

Mayor's Budget Responsibility

Owen Sound is a strong-mayor municipality. Under Ontario's strong-mayor budget process, the Mayor is responsible for preparing and proposing the City's annual budget. Andrii would use that responsibility to obtain a complete understanding of the finances behind the budget he puts forward.

City staff will be asked to provide the underlying financial information needed to review municipal spending in usable, machine-readable formats wherever practical, rather than limiting financial review to summary PDFs. This includes the detailed expenditures and revenues, staffing costs, contracts and vendors, debt and reserves, capital projects, budget-to-actual results, and historical trends that support the service-level disclosure described below, subject to legitimate privacy, legal, security, and procurement restrictions.

Andrii would use modern software and data-analysis tools to organise and examine this information across departments and years, identify unusual changes and recurring costs, compare spending with service results, trace how expenditures are funded, and test opportunities for savings or simpler delivery.

The principle is straightforward: if Andrii is responsible for proposing the City's budget, he should understand the finances behind it. Residents should then be able to see as much of that financial picture as can lawfully be made public.

The resulting datasets, analyses, and service-level financial information will be published in accessible and machine-readable forms wherever practical so residents can independently examine the same financial picture and contribute their own expertise. Information needed for budget preparation may be available for internal scrutiny even where privacy, legal, security, or procurement rules prevent public release.

The legal responsibility is grounded in Municipal Act, 2001, s. 284.16, with the preparation and proposal process prescribed by O. Reg. 530/22, s. 7. Strong-mayor budget responsibility does not make every internal City record public; lawful disclosure boundaries continue to apply.

Complete Service-Level Financial Disclosure

Full financial disclosure will cover every municipal service, regardless of how it is funded. This includes services financed through property taxes, water and wastewater rates, user fees, grants, reserves, debt, development charges, cost recoveries, and other revenues.

For each service, the City will publish:

complete operating and capital budgets;
every major source of revenue;
staffing, compensation, overtime, consultants, and contracted services;
reserves, debt, infrastructure needs, and planned capital projects;
actual revenue and spending compared with the approved budget;
clear explanations for rate increases, major spending variances, and service changes;
service use, performance measures, and results.

Audited financial statements will be published as soon as they are available to City staff.

This disclosure includes:

water and wastewater services;
police services and the municipal funding provided through the Police Service Board;
local boards;
municipally operated, funded, or governed services;
services supported through rates and user fees.

For water and wastewater, the City will publish the calculations and cost pressures behind proposed rate increases so residents can understand changes directly from the public record.

For police services, the City will publish the proposed and approved operating and capital budgets, revenues, staffing categories, compensation, overtime, equipment, facilities, training, contracted services, budget variances, and service results. Specific information involving active investigations, individual privacy, officer safety, or operational security will remain protected.

Residents will be able to see the full cost of every municipal service, how it is funded, how the money is used, and what results it delivers.

Zero-Based Budgeting and Finding Efficiencies

Owen Sound should progressively subject municipal services and major recurring expenditures to zero-based review, establishing a justified current baseline for each service.

For each service or major expenditure, the City will publish enough information for Council, staff, residents, businesses, accountants, tradespeople, and other people with relevant expertise to ask:

What outcome are we paying for?
What does the complete service cost?
What has changed over the past several years?
Is the expenditure still necessary?
Can the same or better outcome be achieved for less?

For example, the City should publish an accessible debt register showing each loan’s purpose, approval date, original and remaining balance, interest rate, repayment schedule, funding source, and early-payment options. Residents and Council could then examine whether higher-interest loans should be repaid faster, refinanced, or retained.

The information will be published in usable forms. The Participation Plan connects these records to the Public Document Forum and Open-Source Civic Problem-Solving, where residents can examine assumptions and propose alternatives. Council and staff remain responsible for municipal decisions.

Property taxes ultimately fund the gap between what the City spends and what it receives from other revenues. Finding durable efficiencies lowers that funding requirement. Zero-based budgeting therefore gives Council a systematic way to look for opportunities to lower the tax levy or reduce the pressure for future property-tax increases while protecting the services residents value most.

The commitment is to expose the costs, conduct the review, implement worthwhile efficiencies, and return resulting fiscal room to residents through lower taxes or lower future tax pressure wherever feasible. The review will determine how much fiscal room is available.

See the spending → understand the spending → question assumptions → find efficiencies → lower the cost of government → reduce pressure on property taxes.

Zero-Based Service Budgeting

The City will introduce service-based zero-based budgeting so that each periodic review establishes a justified baseline for spending, staffing, and management structures.

Each department and major municipal service will periodically rebuild its budget around:

the services Council has decided to provide;
statutory and regulatory requirements;
expected workload and public use;
measurable service standards and outcomes;
the staffing, management, equipment, facilities, and contracts actually required;
opportunities for automation, shared services, local delivery, and simpler workflows;
lower-cost options for delivering the same or better results;
activities, positions, contracts, and expenses that are no longer required.

Budget proposals will show different service and funding options, the consequences of each option, and the evidence supporting the recommended level of spending. Any proposed increase will identify the added service, workload, legal requirement, or measurable public benefit it is intended to address.

Comprehensive zero-based reviews will be conducted on a rotating schedule so that every major municipal service is reviewed at least once during each Council term. Annual budgets will update the resulting justified baseline while clearly identifying new spending, removed spending, workload changes, and verified savings.

When modern software, the participation system, Local Representatives, civilian responders, shared services, or redesigned workflows reduce staff workload, the following budget will examine corresponding opportunities involving overtime, vacancies, future hiring, management layers, contracts, equipment, or authorized staffing. The City will report released staff capacity and actual financial savings separately, and will label tax savings when spending is genuinely reduced or avoided.

Police budgeting will follow the same service-based principles while respecting the statutory responsibilities of the Police Service Board and Chief of Police. Council will require police operating and capital estimates to identify service levels, workloads, staffing categories, overtime, civilian alternatives, shared-service opportunities, and measurable results. Civil, mental-health, and community matters that can be handled safely by less costly qualified responders will be considered when determining the resources required for adequate and effective policing.

Staffing and Accountable Administration

Public Staffing Information

The City will publish an annual staffing and compensation report showing each employee’s:

name;
position and department;
employment status;
approved salary range;
applicable benefits structure.

For employees included on Ontario’s Sunshine List, the report will also include exact salary and taxable benefits.

The report will also show staffing changes over time, management positions, vacancies, overtime, benefit costs, consultants, and contracted labour.

Efficient Municipal Organization

Municipal staffing has increased by approximately 30% since 2012 while Owen Sound’s population has remained largely unchanged. Previous analysis also identified approximately nine additional management positions.

The City Manager will lead a comprehensive organizational review focused on:

management layers and reporting relationships;
staffing levels and workloads;
management-to-front-line staffing ratios;
service costs, use, and outcomes;
vacancies, overtime, consultants, and contracted labour.

Council will establish the service priorities, financial objectives, and reporting requirements for the review. The City Manager will recommend and implement organizational changes within the authority provided through City policies, approved budgets, and applicable employment agreements.

Hiring, advancement, and staffing decisions will be based on merit, ability, experience, workload, and demonstrated performance. Every proposed new position will require a public business case explaining the service need, responsibilities, salary range, total cost, expected public benefit, funding source, and effect on future budgets.

Council-Directed Administration

The City Manager should have practical experience leading a successful business or organization, with a demonstrated record of sound financial management, effective operations, and reliable service delivery.

Council sets the City’s priorities through resolutions, policies, and approved budgets. The City Manager is responsible for turning that direction into effective results.

The recruitment and evaluation of the City Manager will emphasize:

business and organizational acumen;
responsible management of budgets, staff, assets, and services;
respect for Council’s democratic direction;
timely follow-through;
clear communication;
measurable improvements in efficiency, service quality, and financial stewardship.

Published Management Goals

At the beginning of each year, the City will publish clear performance goals for every municipal manager.

At the end of the year, the City will publish:

the original goals;
measurable targets;
progress and final results;
explanations for incomplete work;
priorities carried into the following year.

Each goal will connect to the relevant budget, service, project, Council decision, or strategic priority where practical. The City Manager’s goals will include measurable targets for improving efficiency, controlling staffing costs, simplifying management structures, and strengthening service delivery.

Contracts, Audits, and Service Results

Residents will be able to review major City contracts, successful bidders, contract values, amendments, extensions, and final costs. Sole-source and emergency procurements will include a clear public explanation.

Audits, consultant reports, service reviews, and financial analyses will be released promptly once received by City staff, subject to applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements.

Responsible Litigation and Legal Risk

Before initiating or materially escalating litigation, the City should obtain a documented and confidential assessment of:

the legal merits and realistic range of outcomes;
whether sufficient admissible evidence has already been gathered and preserved;
the expected legal costs, possible adverse cost awards, settlement options, and broader public interest.

The City should avoid litigation where the available evidence or legal analysis indicates a poor prospect of success and where negotiation, mediation, or another remedy would better protect the public interest.

Urgent legal action may proceed where delay would threaten public safety, legal rights, or limitation periods, with the full assessment completed as soon as reasonably possible.

After a case concludes, the City should publish an appropriate summary of the issue, outcome, public cost, and lessons learned, while respecting privacy, solicitor-client privilege, court orders, and continuing legal obligations.

Service Results

Each department and major service will publish understandable year-over-year measures showing:

what the service costs;
how many people use it;
staffing levels;
service outcomes;
changes from previous years.

Back to contents

Part 2

How Decisions Are Made and Reported

Open Meetings and Decision Tracking

Residents will be able to follow a public decision from the first report through implementation and final results:

Council reports, supporting documents, presentations, and relevant background information will be easy to locate before Council considers the matter.
Minutes will record decisions, motions, amendments, recorded votes, declarations of interest, delegations, presentations, links to supporting documents, and assigned follow-up actions where applicable.
Draft minutes for Council, committee, and other public City meetings will be published online no later than the day after the meeting and clearly marked as draft. Approved minutes will replace them after formal adoption.
The City will identify the responsible department and manager, Council resolution, policy or budget authority, expected timeline, cost, and outcome.
The City will publish progress updates, explanations for delays or major changes, and final results.

Staff reports will clearly distinguish Council-approved direction, staff recommendations, actions under delegated authority, and matters requiring a further Council decision. Meeting agendas, recordings, minutes, decisions, and implementation updates will be kept together in one searchable public record.

Automatic Release of Closed-Meeting Records

Complete Closed-Meeting Record

The City will make audio or video recordings of all closed Council and committee meetings, alongside complete written minutes.

When the reason for confidentiality ends, the City will publish the closed-meeting record within 30 days, including:

the written minutes;
the audio or video recording and transcript;
reports and presentations considered during the meeting;
resolutions, directions, and recorded votes;
the final decision and resulting actions.

Any redactions will be limited to information that remains legally protected after the release trigger. Each release will include a redaction log identifying the legal basis and the affected page or recording time.

Automatic Release Triggers

Closed-meeting records will be released:

Land purchases and sales: within 30 days after the transaction closes;
Contracts and negotiations: within 30 days after the agreement is executed and any formal challenge period has ended;
Collective bargaining: within 30 days after the agreement is ratified;
Litigation: within 90 days after final resolution and expiry of the appeal period;
Security matters: within 30 days after the identified risk has ended;
Confidential third-party information: within 30 days after the confidentiality obligation expires or the source makes the information public;
Legal advice: the factual background, resulting decision, costs, and implementation record will be released after the matter is resolved. Privileged legal communications will be released where Council formally waives privilege.

Personnel Matters

Personnel records require different public reporting rules because an employee may remain identifiable even when their name is removed.

City Manager and Council-Appointed Officers

When Council makes a final appointment, suspension, resignation, or termination decision involving the City Manager or another Council-appointed officer, the City will publish within seven days:

the position involved;
the employment status change and effective date;
the public resolution and recorded vote;
the organizational decision and resulting administrative changes;
compensation information already subject to public disclosure;
the total public cost of legal advice, recruitment, and organizational transition.

The related closed-meeting record will be released within 30 days after any grievance, litigation, or appeal period has ended. Personal evaluations, medical or accommodation information, witness information, unproven allegations, and privileged legal advice will remain redacted. The City may disclose those categories with the affected person’s consent or after the information has lawfully entered the public record through a court or tribunal.

Other Municipal Employees

After a personnel matter is finally resolved, the City will publish:

any resulting policy, service, management, or organizational changes;
the department affected;
the financial and operational impact;
confirmation that the matter has concluded;
any follow-up action assigned to management.

Individual allegations, findings, discipline, performance records, health information, and complaint evidence will be released only with written consent or when made public through a court, tribunal, or other lawful public process.

The City will publish quarterly aggregate reports showing the number and general category of workplace complaints, investigations, grievances, disciplinary actions, and resolutions. Categories will be combined where necessary to prevent identification of individual employees.

Back to contents

Part 3

How Residents Access Information

Accessible Public Information

City information will be:

searchable and downloadable;
written in accessible formats;
accompanied by plain-language summaries;
organized so agendas, reports, recordings, minutes, decisions, and implementation updates can be found together.

Accessible public information becomes more useful when residents can discuss and analyse it together. The Participation Plan establishes a Public Document Forum where verified Owen Sound residents can discuss City documents, ask questions, propose alternatives, and follow issues through implementation.

Back to contents