Loading...
2007/10/29CORPORATE SERVICES COMMITTEE AGENDA TWELFTH MEETING Monday, October 29, 2007 COMMITTEE ROOM #2 - 4:30 PM 1. REPORTS: STAFF CONTACT a) F2007-35 Todd Harrison 2006 Financial Statements Presentation by Mark Pa/umbi, Crawford, Smith and Swa//ow b) CPS-2007-03 Water and Sewer Rates Review Deputation from Mr, Ed B/e/awski COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 6:00 PM 2. 2008 FUNDING REQUESTS Devutations Niagara Falls Public Library GNGH Foundation Niagara Falls Board of Museums Winter Festival of Lights Niagara Falls Tourism Additions/Attachments for Information Purvoses; Niagara Chair-A-Van Project S.H.A.RE. YWCA Niagara Region United Way of Niagara Falls Niagara District Airport Commission Ken Burden Niagara Falls Big Brothers Big Sisters Association Women's Place of South Niagara Inc. V 41.VY~i1 L~7, LVV! ~r Niagara,F'alls Councillor Victor Pietrangelo, Chair and Members of the Corporate Services Committee City of Niagara Falls, Ontario Members: Re: F-2007-35 2006 Consolidated Financial Statements RECOMMENDATION: For the information of the Corporate Services Committee. BACKGROUND: F-2007-35 Attached for your information is a copy of the audited 2006 Consolidated Financial Statements for the Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls. The financial statements were audited by the City's Auditor, Crawford, Smith and Swallow. Upon approval of the report, the 2006 Consolidated Financial Statements will be posted to the City's website. Recommended by: Todd HarFison, Acti~g Director of Financial Services F Approved by: K. E. Burden, Acting Executive Director of Corporate Services Respectfully submitted: ~~, ~ Jo MacDonald, Chief Administrative Officer ',, u~.,« d< G; 5* Working Together to Serve Our Community Corporate Services Department Finance Crawford smith ~ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO Consolidated Financial Statements December 31, 2006 Crawford smith(, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO Consolidated Financial Statements December 31, 2006 Table of Contents Page Auditors' Report 1 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 2 Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 3 Consolidated Statement of Changes in Financial Position 4 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 5 _ lg Consolidated Schedule of Operating Fund Activities 19 Consolidated Schedule of Capital Fund Activities 20 Consolidated Schedule of Reserves and Reserve Funds 21 Auditors' Report -Trust Funds 22 Statement of Financial Position -Trust Funds 23 Statement of Financial Activities and Changes in Fund Balances -Trust Funds 24 Notes to Financial Statements -Trust Funds 25 Crawford, Smith and Swallow f Chartered Accountants LLP Craw ord 474t Oueen Street l _Cmlth / ~[ ) Niagara Falls, Ontario ~•.J~iL 1111 ~`~ ll Te ephone (905) 356-4200 swa ow Telecopier (905) 356-3410 Offices in: Niagara Falls, Ontario St. Catharines, Ontario Fort Erie, Ontario Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Port Colborne, Ontario AUDITORS' REPORT To the Members of Council, Inhabitants and Ratepayers of Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario We have audited the consolidated statement of financial position of Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario as at December 31, 2006 and the consolidated statements of financial activities and changes in financial position for the year then ended. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the city's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. In our opinion, these consolidated financial statements present. fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the city as at December 31, 2006 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. ~ /~ Niagara Falls, Ontario May 22, 2007 CRAWFORD, SMITH AND SWALLOW CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS LLP LICENSED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 1 CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION December 31, 2006 2006 2005 $ $ Financial Assets Cash -note 3 25,360,282. 30,926,320 Investments -note 4 22,662,306 16,550,544 Taxes receivable -note 5 13,569,650 13,541,355 Accounts receivable -notes 6 4,037;707 2,954,446 User charges receivable Z 1;50$,320 8,950,327 Long-term receivables 599,$72 642,676 Note receivable -note 7 22;000;000' 22,000,000 Long-term investment -note 7 41,532,805 39,834,442 :1.41;270,942 135,400,110 Contingent Liabilities -note 19 Liabilities Temporary loan 14,479,304 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 28,400;010 20,302,967 Deferred revenue -obligatory reserve funds - note 9 22,141,861 18,374,886 Deferred revenue 3:05,743 614,669 Other current liabilities 7,793.;490 1,409,046 Post-employment benefits -note 10 19;342,208 17,818,378 Net long-term liabilities -note 11 32;557,650 12,023,224 104,540,962: 85,022,474 Net Financial Assets 36,729,980 50,377,636 Non Financial Assets Inventories and prepaid expenses 893,395 868,541 Net Assets 37,b23,375 51,246,177 Municipal Position Operating fund -note 12(a) 5,142;120 4,918,260 Capital fund -note 12(b) (8,140,548) (8,435,576) Reserves and reserve funds -note 12(c) 28,988,:856 22,770,653 Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation net equity -note 12(d) fi3;532,805 61,834,442 89,523,23.3 81,087,779 Amounts to be recovered {51,899,8.58) (29,841,602) 37,623,375 51,246,177 See accompanying notes 2 Crawford smith ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES for the year ended December 31, 2006 2006 2005 Revenues Taxation -note 5 58,754,965 59,966,624 User fees and charges 43,.671,562 43,410,779 Government of Canada grants 5,012 18,076 Province of Ontario grants 5,119,199 8,813,172 Other municipal grants 60,524 96,654 Provincial Offences Act 177,432 132,249 Interest and penalties 2,269,631 2,238,631 Investment income 3,110,948 2,507,026 Casino and gaming revenues 2;600,000 2,600,000 Ontario Power Generation Community Impact Agreement 300,000 1,546,000 Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation net income -note 7 1;698,363 1,561,636 Contributions from Obligatory Reserve Funds 621,236 1,145,776 Proceeds on disposal of property 5,795;083 189,000 Other 3,949,170 6,619,940 1.28,133,125 130,845,563 Expenditures General government 1.6;762,056 17,756,731 Protection to persons and property 16,782,953 15,542,582 Transportation services 36,108.;602 24,533,683 Environmental services 51,492,.526 37,418,070 Health services 1,888,336 1,736,065 Social and family services 398,8.53 375,040 Recreation and cultural services 14,265,273 19,572,385 Planning and development 4,057,32'8 3,615,040 141;755,927 120,549,596 Net Revenues (Expenditures) (13,622,802) 10,295,967 Add: New debt issued or assumed 2],922;000 1,431,000 Add: Post-employment benefits 1,523;830 1,437,245 Less: Debt principal repayments (].,387,574) (1,369,894) Increase in amounts to be recovered 22,058;256 1,498,351 Change in Fund Balances :8,435,454 11,794,318 See accompanying notes 3 crawlord smith C,BZ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN FINANCIAL POSITION for the year ended December 31, 2006 2006 2005 `$ $ Operations Net revenues (expenditures) (1.3,622,802) 10,295,967 Sources (Uses) Change in investments (6,111;762) (641,375) Change in taxes receivable (28,295) 2,354,483 Change in accounts receivable (1,083,261) 7,343,239 Change in user charges receivable (2,557,993) (888,899) Change in long-term receivables 42,804 124,178 Change in inventories and prepaid expenses (24,854) 44,675 Change in temporary loans (14,479,304) 3,431,799 Change in accounts payable and accrued liabilities 8,097,043 (4,252,920) Change in deferred revenue -obligatory reserve funds 3,766,975 3,060,989 Change in deferred revenue (308;926) (59,592) Change in other current liabilities 3.84,444 323,101 Change in post-employment benefits 1,523,830 1,437,245 (10,779,299) 12,276,923 Net income of Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation (1,698,363) (1,561,636) Net increase (decrease) in cash from operations (26,1.00,464) 21,011,254 Financing Long-term debt issued 21;922,000 1,431,000 Long-term debt repaid (1,387,574) (1,369,894) Net increase in cash from financing 20;534,426 61,106 Increase (Decrease) in Cash Position (5,566,038) 21,072,360 Cash Position, Be~innin~ of Year 30,926,3.20 9,853,960 Cash Position, End of Year .25,360,282 30,926,320 See accompanying notes 4 Crawford smith C8Z swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 1. Significant Accounting Policies The consolidated financial statements of the Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario (the "Municipality") are the representations of management prepared in accordance with local government accounting standards established by the Public Sector Accounting Board ("PSAB") of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants with the exception of providing budget figures (note 17). (a) Basis of consolidation (i) These consolidated financial statements reflect the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenditures of the operating fund, capital fund, reserves and reserve funds and include the activities of all committees of council and the following boards, municipal enterprises and utilities which are under the control of council: Library Board Transit Commission Waterworks Operation Chippawa Business Improvement Area Clifton Hill Business Improvement Area Downtown Board of Management Fallsview Business Improvement Area Lundy's Lane Business Improvement Area Main & Ferry Business Improvement Area Victoria & Centre Business Improvement Area Board of Museums Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation All inter-fund assets and liabilities and sources of financing and expenditures have been eliminated with the exception of loans or advances between reserve funds and any other fund of the Municipality and the resulting interest income and expenditures. The Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation ("NFHHC") is accounted for on a modified equity basis, consistent with the accounting treatment for government business enterprises. Under the modified equity basis, the business enterprise's accounting principles are not adjusted to conform with those of the Municipality, and inter-organizational transactions and balances are not eliminated. The Municipality recognizes its equity interest in the annual income or loss of NFHHC in its "Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities" with a corresponding increase or decrease in its investment asset account. Any dividends that the Municipality may receive from NFHHC will be reflected as reductions in the investment asset account. (ii) Partial-consolidated entity The following joint local board is proportionately consolidated. See note 16. Niagara District Airport Commission 5 crawforzl smith ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 1. Significant Accounting Policies -continued (iii) Accounting for Region and School Board transactions The taxation, other revenues, expenditures, assets and liabilities with respect to the operations of the school boards and the Region of Niagara are not reflected in the municipal fund balances of these consolidated financial statements. (iv) Trust funds Trust funds and their related operations administered by the Municipality are not consolidated, but are reported separately on the "Trust Funds Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Financial Activities and Changes in Fund Balances". (b) Basis of accounting (i) Revenues and expenditures are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. (ii) The accrual basis of accounting recognizes revenues as they become available and measurable; expenditures are recognized as they are incurred and measurable as a result of receipt of goods or services and the creation of a legal obligation to pay. (iii) Inventories Inventories are valued at average cost. (iv) Capital assets Capital assets are recorded as an expenditure on the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities" in the year of acquisition. (v) Deferred revenue Funds received for specific purposes are accounted for as deferred revenue until the Municipality discharges the obligation which led to the receipt of the funds. (vi) Investment income Investment income earned on current surplus funds, capital funds, reserves and reserve funds (other than obligatory reserve funds) are recorded as revenue in the period earned. Investment income earned on obligatory reserve funds are recorded directly to each fund balance. (vii) Amounts to be recovered The balance referred to as "Amounts to be recovered", includes balances for post- employment benefits and net long-term liabilities. (viii) Use of estimates The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates. 6 crawlord srruth ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 2. Operations of School Boards and the Region of Niagara Further to note 1(a)(iii), the taxation, other revenues, expenditures and overlevies of the school boards and the Region of Niagara are comprised of the following: School Boards 2006 2005 $ $ Taxation and user charges 42,92,693 40,891,533 Payments-in-lieu of taxes .3;2$9 2,315 Amounts received or receivable 42,905,982 40,893,848 Requisitions 42,905,982 40,893,848 Overlevies (Underlevies) at the end of year 3. Cash Region 2006- _ 2005 $ $ 57,129,910 54,363,218 7,294,561 11,499,100 64,424,471 65,862,318 64,424,471 65,862,318 This represents cash and short term investments from both the operating fund and the reserve funds (including those funds set aside in deferred revenue): 2006 2005 $ $ Operating Fund l 1,492,Q54 19,496,590 Reserve Funds 13,.868.;228 11,429,730 2'5,360,282 30,926,320 4. Investments Total investments amounting to $ 22,662,306 ($ 16,550,544 - 2005) are recorded on the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Position" at the lower of cost or market. The market value as at December 31, 2006 is $ 22,662,306 ($ 16,550,544 - 2005). 7 Crawford srruth ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 5. Tax Receivables and Revenues Property tax billings are prepared by the Municipality based on an assessment roll prepared by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation ("MPAC"). The property tax receivables and tax revenue of the Municipality are subject to measurement uncertainty as a significant number of appeals submitted by ratepayers have yet to be heard. The Municipality has established an allowance for doubtful accounts in the amount of $ 920,000 ($ 920,000 - 2005). The Province of Ontario instituted a mandatory capping program through the provisions of Bill 79, which limited assessment related increases to 10% in 1998, and an additional 5% in each of 1999 and 2000. Multi-residential, commercial and industrial property owners experiencing decreases were also capped at appropriate levels to fund the phasing-in of increases. The Province has enacted Bill 140, which serves to extend the capping provisions of Bill 79 indefinitely. The new legislation will limit assessment related increases in property tax bills to 5%. 6. Interfund Receivables (Payables) As a means of financing certain activities, funds are borrowed by the operating fund from several reserve funds. Both financing and repayments are reflected as interfund transfers and therefore are eliminated from the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities". Likewise interfund receivable and payable balances are not reflected on the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Position". The interfund receivable and payable balance as at December 31, 2006 was ($ 2,494,793) (($ 715,446) - 2005). 7. Investment in Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation `006 2005 Statement of Financial Position Current assets 34,55,384 31,404,434 Capital assets 60,620,OT7 60,302,431 Other assets 1,466,256 4,460,083 Total Assets 96,671,657 96,166,948 Current liabilities 22,680,692. 23,195,144 Other liabilities 4,696,76$ 4,684,238 Note payable 22,000;000 22,000,000 Long-term debt 5.,761.,392 6,453,124 Total Liabilities 55,13!8,852 56,332,506 Net Assets 41,532,8OS 39,834,442 8 crawlord smith ~ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 7. Investment in Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation -continued 2006 2005 $ $ Statement of Financial Activities Revenues 82,377,968 86,670,543 Operating expenses 80,679,605 85,108,907 Net Income 1,698,363 1,561,636 8. Letter of Credit The Municipality has an authorized letter of credit in favour of CN/CP of $ 4,000,000 of which NIL has been drawn upon as at December 31, 2006. See note 14. 9. Deferred Revenue -Obligatory Reserve Funds The following balances are reflected as deferred revenue -obligatory reserve funds as provincial legislation restricts how these funds may be used and under certain circumstances these funds may be refunded. 2% Parkland dedication Public purpose Federal gas tax rebate -transit Provincial gas tax rebate -transit Discounted development charges Non-discounted development charges Crawford smith C~, swallow 2006 2005 782,745 649,334 846,413 432,354 1,842,539 768,421 785,769 68,217 1,115,084 314,520 16,769,310 16,142,040 22,141,861 18,374,886 9 CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 10. Post-Employment Benefits Post-employment benefits Accumulated sick leave WSIB - Schedule II future liability Vacation pay 2006 12,136,881 3,313,324 2,866,754 1,025,249 2005 11,100,736 3,022,717 2,674,220 1,020,705 19,342,208 17,818,378 Post-Employment Benefits and Accumulated Sick Leave The Municipality pays certain medical, dental and life insurance benefits on behalf of its retired employees. The Municipality recognizes these post-retirement costs in the period in which the employees rendered the services. As a result of actuarial valuations on post-employment benefits, it was determined that actuarial losses of $ 1,951,492 existed. These amounts are being amortized over the expected average remaining service lives of several employee groups. The unamortized value is $ 1,507,314. The actual obligation is $ 13,644,195. Under the Municipality's sick leave benefit plan, unused sick leave can accumulate and employees may become entitled to a cash payment when they leave the Municipality's employment. As a result of actuarial valuations on the accumulated sick leave liability, it was determined that actuarial losses of $ 169,797 existed. These amounts are being amortized over the expected average remaining service lives of several employee groups. The unamortized value is $ 155,005. The actual obligation is $ 3,468,329. A reserve fund has been established for the accumulated sick leave liability. The balance as at December 31, 2006 is $ 1,033,828 ($ 998,616 - 2005). The liabilities for post-employment benefits and accumulated sick leave as reflected in these consolidated financial statements have been determined on an actuarial basis using a discount rate of 5.25%. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board - Schedule II Future Liability The Municipality has elected to be treated as a Schedule II employer and as such, is required to remit payments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board ("WSIB") to fund disability payments. The liability as reflected in these consolidated financial statements has been determined on an actuarial basis using a discount rate of 5.25°Io. As a result of an actuarial valuation on the WSIB - Schedule II liability, it was determined that an actuarial loss of $ 1,031,000 existed. This amount is being amortized over the expected average remaining service lives of several employee groups. The unamortized value is $ 355,189. The actual obligation is $ 3,221,943. A reserve fund has been established for this liability. The balance as at December 31, 2006 is $ 1,203,950 ($ 1,163,667 - 2005). The next valuation for all benefit groups is for the year ending December 31, 2008. 10 crawlord smith ~ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 10. Post-Employment Benefits -continued Vacation Pay As at December 31, 2006, employees of the Municipality have accumulated vacation pay credits in the amount of $ 1,025,249 ($ 1,020,705 - 2005). Any unused credits may be carried forward to future years. Pension Agreements The Municipality makes contributions to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System ("OMERS "), which is amulti-employer plan, on behalf of its staff. The plan is a defined benefit plan which specifies the amount of the retirement benefit to be received by the employees based on the length of service and rates of pay. The amount contributed to OMERS for 2006 was $ 2,050,115 ($ 1,941,301 - 2005) for current services. 11. Net Long-Term Liabilities (a) The balance of net long-term liabilities reported on the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Position" is made up as follows: .2006 2005 Total long-term liabilities incurred by the Municipality including those incurred on behalf of school boards, other municipalities and municipal enterprises and outstanding during the year is 32,557,650 12,023,224 Net long-term liabilities, end of year 32,557,650 12,023,224 (b) Of the net long-term liabilities reported in (a) of this note, $ 13,626,537 in principal payments are payable from 2007 to 2011 and $ 18,931,113 from 2012 to 2026. (c) The long-term liabilities in (a) issued in the name of the municipality have received approval of the Ontario Municipal Board for those approved on or before December 31, 1992. Those approved after January 1, 1993 have been approved by by-law. The annual principal and interest payments required to service these liabilities are within the annual debt repayment limit prescribed by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. (d) Total charges for the year for net long-term liabilities which are reported on the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities" are as follows: Principal Interest 2006 1,387,574 1,095,490 2,483,064 2005 1,369,894 594,544 1,964,438 11 Crawford srruth ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 12. Municipal Fund Balances at the End of the Year (a) Operating fund balance For general reduction of taxation For general reduction of user charges respecting waterworks For general reduction of user charges respecting sewers For general use by Library Board For general use by the Business Improvement Areas For general use by the Board of Museums For general use by Airport Commission 2006 2005 $ $ 748;0$1 629,065 838,330 758,575 .2,176,770 2,338,697 83,83`7 71,702 1,111,542 1,046,705 $5.,404 17,670 98,156 55,846 5,142,I20 4,918,260 2006 2005 $ $ (b) Capital fund balance Acquisition of capital assets to be recovered through taxation or user charges Acquisition of capital assets to be financed from the proceeds of long-term liabilities Acquisition of capital assets to be recovered from transfers from reserves and reserve funds Acquisition of capital assets to be financed from proceeds of disposition of property and billings to third parties Funds available for the acquisition of capital assets (6,474,308) (1,007,865) (4,020,018) (16,247,782) (1'.8,429,166) (6,035,529) (7,86T;~18) 28,650,262 0,140,548) (5,948,606) 20,804,206 (8,435,576) 12 Crawford smith C~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 12. Municipal Fund Balances at the End of the Year -continued (c) Reserves and reserve fund balances Reserves set aside by council for specific purposes: Special purposes Working capital Watermain improvements Metering program Sewage capital Water capital Total Reserves :2006 2005 $ $ 10,551,854 11,470,029 265,000 265,000 9,000 42,763 82.1,763 303,726 1,165,097 70,000 12„803,714 12,160,518 13 erawford smith ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 12. Municipal Fund Balances at the End of the Year -continued (c) Reserves and reserve fund balances -continued 2006 2005 Reserve Funds set aside by council for specific purposes: Licence agreements - 40 years Sick leave liability Greater Niagara Senior Citizen Association Lundy's Lane Battlefield debt retirement WSIB -Schedule II Fire station #5 debt retirement Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation debenture Recreation trail development Capital/Operations Tree planting -developers Park development Sewer and water impost Expansion and renewal Drainage Prepaid works projects contributions Sidewalk construction Future municipal works Lot drainage Library funds Sanitary Sports fund Projects -special needs children Parking Collins/Toby debt retirement Heritage Week Niagara Coat of Arm's Lundy's Lane business improvement purposes Board of Museum purposes Niagara Tunnel Community Improvement Ontario Power Generation Agreement Water patrol boat Branscombe Family Grant Total Reserve Funds Total Reserves and Reserve Funds 48,701 50,156 1;033,828 998,616 6,181 64,364 70,921 1,203,954 1,163,667 100,217 111,520 82;649 212,528 SI,264 47,828 6,222,520 410,214 15,703 10,716 118,620- 127,236 1,161,884 1,113,218 207,4"37 199,124 556;546. 532,656 1°79,394 172,086 261;003 250,280 722,318 692,125 145;091 139,294 720,016 696,262 346,622 332,325 4,545: 4,375 14;307 13,773 892,659 1,225,456 4~~,364 47,330 53,953 54,443 2,085 2,831 270,48:6 220,317 127,644 158,657 1,285,818 1,546,000 208,574 25;000: 14,580 1 b,185,142 10,610,135 28,988,856 22,770,653 14 Crawford smith ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 12. Municipal Fund Balances at the End of the Year -continued (d) Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation net equity 2006 2005 $ $ Niagara Falls Hydro Holding Corporation net equity 63,532,805 61,834,442 13. Trust Funds Trust funds administered by the Municipality amounting to $ 2,587,775 ($ 2,443,792 - 2005) have not been included in the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Position" nor have their operations been included in the "Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities". 14. Contractual Obligations and Commitments Capital expenditures The estimated future capital expenditures based on projects in progress at December 31, 2006 is approximately $ 16,173,000 ($ 13,980,000 - 2005) after deducting the expenditures incurred as at December 31, 2006. These projects will be financed by grants, subsidies and long-term liabilities in future years. International Railway Bridge The Municipality, as a condition of the purchase of the CN/CP Railway Corridor, has the responsibility for the costs of demolition of the International Railway Bridge by May 2007. This condition is subject to being waived if the bridge is subsequently sold to a third party or if demolition procedures have not commenced by CN/CP prior to May 2007. The Municipality has arranged for a Letter of Credit in the amount of $ 4,000,000 for this purpose. See note 8. 15 Crawford smith ~ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 15. Financial Instruments Credit Risk The Municipality is exposed to credit risk on taxes receivable, user charges receivable, accounts receivable and long-term receivables from its customers. Allowances are maintained for the potential credit losses. However, because of the large number of customers, credit risk concentration is minimal. Cash Flow Risk The Municipality is exposed to the risk that the interest earned on its investments will fluctuate due to changes in market interest rates. The Municipality manages its investments based on its cash flow needs and with a view to optimizing its interest income. Interest Rate Risk The Municipality is exposed to the risk that the value of investments will fluctuate due to changes in market interest rates. The Municipality manages its investments based on its cash flow needs and with a view to optimizing its interest income. The balances for certain temporary loans and long-term debt bear interest at fixed rates. Consequently, the risk exposure associated with these balances is minimal. Market Risk Certain investments held by the Municipality are subject to the risk that the value will fluctuate as a result of changes in market prices, whether those changes are caused by factors specific to the individual security, its issuer, or factors affecting all securities traded in the market. Fair Value The fair value of the post-employment benefits, accumulated sick leave and WSIB - Schedule II future liability were determined using actuarial valuations based on the information presented in note 10 to the financial statements. Long-term debt is stated at face value. It is not practicable within the constraints of timeliness or cost to determine the fair value of this financial Iiability with sufficient reliability. The note receivable and long-term investment are stated at cost. It is not practicable within the constraints of timeliness or cost to determine the fair value of these financial assets with sufficient reliability. The fair values of the Municipality's other financial instruments corresponds to their carrying values due to their short-term maturity. 16 crawforri smith ~ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 16. Contributions to Joint Board Further to note 1 (a)(ii) the following contributions were made by the Municipality to: 2006 2005 Niagara District Airport Commission 87,679 86,500 The Municipality's share of the net assets of the Niagara District Airport Commission is approximately 32%. 17. Budget Figures The approved operating budget for 2006 is reflected on the "Consolidated Schedule of Operating Fund Activities". These numbers have not been audited but are presented for information purposes only. The budgets established for capital funds, reserves and reserve funds are on aproject-oriented basis, the costs of which may be carried out over one or more years. As such, they are not directly comparable with current year actual amounts and have not been reflected on their respective schedules. 18. Classification of Expenditures by Object The "Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities" presents the expenditures by function; the following classifies those same expenditures by object: Salaries, wages and employee benefits Operating materials and supplies Contracted services Rents and financial expenses External transfers to others Tangible capital assets Debt service Total expenditures by object Crawford smith ~ swallow 2006 2005 $ $ 44,844;185 42,853,568 17,721,789 16,746,643 29,912,950 31,337,949 1.,076,699 998,134 3,364,353 3,216,982 43,700,461 24, 801,776 1,095,490 594,544 141,755,927 120,549,596 17 CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended December 31, 2006 19. Contingent Liabilities The Municipality has been named as one of several defendants in a legal action seeking $ 20,000,000 for loss or damage to property and lost revenue. The Municipality's maximum insurance coverage per claim at the time of the suit was $ 15,000,000. The Municipality is also being sued for aggravated and punitive damages in the amount of $ 5,000,000. There is no insurance coverage for punitive damages. The Municipality's legal counsel is unable to assess the potential liability, if any, resulting from this action. Any settlement will be reflected as a charge to operations in the year incurred. The Municipality has been named as one of several defendants in a legal action seeking $ 21,200,000 for general and special damages. The Municipality's maximum insurance coverage per claim at the time of the suit was $ 20,000,000. The Municipality's legal counsel is unable to assess the potential liability, if any, resulting from this action. Any settlement will be reflected as a charge to operations in the year incurred. No provision for possible loss has been included in these consolidated financial statements. As at December 31, 2006, the Municipality has certain other legal claims outstanding. It is management's assertion that adequate insurance coverages are in effect for the settlement of these claims, if necessary. 18 Crawford smith C, Z swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF OPERATING FUND ACTIVITIES for the year ended December 31, 2006 Revenues Taxation -note 5 User fees and charges Government of Canada grants Province of Ontario grants Provincial Offences Act Interest and penalties Investment income Casino and gaming revenues Ontario Power Generation Community Impact Agreement Proceeds on disposal of property Other Expenditures General government Protection to persons and property Transportation services Environmental services Health services Social and family services Recreation and cultural services Planning and development Net Revenues Financing and Transfers Debt principal repayments Post-employment benefits Transfers from (to) reserves and reserve funds Transfers to capital fund Net financing and transfers Change in Operating Fund Operating Fund, Be~innin~ of Year Operating Fund, End of Year See accompanying notes Budget 2006 2005 $ $ $ 57,564,794 58,754,965 59,966,624 35,982,945 43.;_671,562 43,410,779 5,012 18,076 3,019,250 3,206,551 6,176,930 210,000 177,432 132,249 2,048,000 2,269,631. 2,238,631 2,075,000 2,697,326 2,316,973 2,600,000 2,600,000 2,600,000 300,000 1,546,000 5,795,083 189,000 3,568,313 2,551,791 2,072,388 107,068,302 1.22,029,3.53 120,667,650 13,162,101 16,084,151 17,060,386 13,807,193 15,114,23Q 14,075,036 21,670,414 18,658,318 19,584,579 31,896,705 30,181,66 29,149,996 1,317,545 1,860,889 1,708,575 398,853 375,040 12,690,765 11,739,598 10,244,981 4,577,856 4,.01.8,361 3,549,227 99,122,579 9$,055,466 95,747,820 7,945,723 23,973;8:87 24,919,830 (1,387,630) (1,387,574) (1,369,894) 1,523;830 1,437,245 7,794,657 (6;518,41.3). (3,928,651) (14,352,750) (17,367,870) (20,581,139) (7,945,723) (23,750,027) (24,442,439) 223,860 477,391 4,918,260 4;918,260 4,440,869 4,918,260 5,142,120 4,918,260 19 crawlorrl smith ~ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF CAPITAL FUND ACTIVITIES for the year ended December 31, 2006 2006 2005 $ $ Revenues Province of Ontario Other municipal grants Other Expenditures General government Protection to persons and property Transportation services Environmental services Health services Recreation and cultural services Planning and development Net Expenditures Financing and Transfers Long-term debt issued Transfers from operating fund Transfers from reserves and reserve funds Net financing and transfers Change in Capital Fund Capital Fund, Beginning of Year Capital Fund, End of Year See accompanying notes 1,912,648 2,636,242 60,524 96,654 .1,336,008 4,455,783 3,309,180 7,188,679 677;905 696,345 1,668,723 1,467,546 1.7,450,284: 4,949,104 .21,311,460:.. 8,268,074 27,447 27,490 2,525;675 9,327,404 38,967 65,813 43,700,461 24,801,776 (40,391,281) (17,613,097) 21,922,000 1,431,000 17,367,870 20,581,139 1,396;439 1,438,410 40,686,309 23,450,549 295,028. 5,837,452 ('8,435,576) (14,273,028) (8,140;548): (8,435,576) 20 Crawford smith C~ swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF RESERVES AND RESERVE FUNDS for the year ended December 31, 2006 200b 2005 Revenues Contributions from Obligatory Reserve Funds Investment income Other Financing and Transfers Transfers to capital fund Transfers from (to) operating fund Net financing and transfers Change in Reserves and Reserve Funds Reserves and Reserve Funds, Beginning of Year Reserves and Reserve Funds, End of Year See accompanying notes 621,236 1,145,776 413,622 190,053 61,37 91,769 1;096,.229 1,427,598 (1,3~9~6,439) (1,438,410) 6,51.8:;413 3,928,651 5,121;974 2,490,241 :6,218,203 3,917,839 22,770,653. 18,852,814 28,9138,856 22,770,653 21 crawiord smith C,BZ swallow Crawford, Smith and Swallow Crawford Chartered Accountants LLP ~'/~ ~~ 474t Oueen Street ~1~Y71/ r7 / S! 1 Niagara Falls, Ontario ~~~jLll I`71W/ Te ephone (905) 356-4200 swallow Telecopier(905) 356-3410 Offices in: Niagara Falls, Ontario St. Catharines, Ontario Fort Erie, Ontario Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Port Colborne, Ontario AUDITORS' REPORT -TRUST FUNDS To the Members of Council, Inhabitants and Ratepayers of Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario We have audited the statement of financial position of the trust funds of Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario as at December 31, 2006 and the statement of financial activities and changes in fund balances for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the city's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. In our opinion, these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the trust funds of the city as at December 31, 2006 and the continuity of trust funds for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. ~ -- ~ Niagara Falls, Ontario May 22, 2007 CRAWFORD, SMITH AND SWALLOW CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS LLP LICENSED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 22 CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION -TRUST FUNDS December 31, 2006 Ontario Home Cemetery Renewal Perpetual Assets Cash Investments -note 2 Federal Corporate GST receivable Due from (to) operating fund Loans receivable -note 3 Fund Balances See accompanying notes Total Plan Care $ $ $ 379,910 15,868 269,526 1,277,598 1,277,598 865,634 864,434 2,143,232 2,142,032 101 101 56,332 368 56,438 8,200 8,200 64,633 8,568 56,539 2,587,775 24,436 2,468,097 2,587,775 24,436 2,468,097 Other 94,516 1,200 1,200 (474) (474) 95,242 95,242 23 Crawford smith ~, swallow CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES -TRUST FUNDS for the year ended December 31, 2006 Balance, Beginning of Year Receipts Cemetery lot receipts Interest Expenditures Cemetery Care Loan repayments to Province of Ontario Trust closed Balance, End of Year See accompanying notes Total 2,443,792 Ontario Home Renewal Plan 29,931 Cemetery Perpetual Care 2,316,790 151,307 100,321 1,869 251,628 1,869 95,242 7,364 5,039 107,645 2,587,775 151,307 94,768 246,075 94,768 7,364 7,364 94,768 24,436 2,468,097 cr°awford smith ~& swallow Other 97,071 3,684 3,684 474 5,039 5,513 95,242 24 CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS -TRUST FUNDS for the year ended December 31, 2006 1. Basis of Accounting Basis of accounting Receipts and disbursements on the statement of continuity are reported on the cash basis of accounting, with the exception of revenue derived from cemetery lot sales due to the Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund which has been accrued at year end. 2. Investments Trust fund investments of $ 2,143,232 ($ 2,040,285 - 2005) are recorded on the "Statement of Financial Position" at the lower of cost or market. The market value as at December 31, 2006 is $ 2,177,114 ($ 2,075,799 - 2005). 3. Ontario Home Renewal Program The Ontario Home Renewal Program was established by the Ontario Ministry of Housing in 1973 to provide grants for municipalities to make loans to assist owner occupants to repair, rehabilitate and improve their homes to local property standards. Individual loans are limited to $ 7,500 of which the maximum forgivable portion is $ 4,000. On July 13, 1993, the Ontario Home Renewal Program was discontinued. The municipality ceased issuing new loans as of this date and is required to remit the balance of the trust account to the Ontario Ministry of Housing by March 1, 1994. Loan receivables collected in each subsequent calendar year after 1993 must be remitted to the Province by March 1st of each year. In the event of the sale or lease of the home or in the event of the homeowner ceasing to occupy the home, the balances of the repayable loans and the unearned forgivable loan immediately become due and payable by the homeowner. 4. Financial Instruments Interest Rate Risk The City's trust funds are exposed to the risk that the value of investments will fluctuate due to the changes in market interest rates. The City manages its trust fund investments based on its cash flow needs and with a view to optimizing its interest income. Market Risk Certain investments within the City's trust funds are subject to the risk that the value will fluctuate as a result of changes in market prices whether those changes are caused by factors specific to the individual security or its issuer or factors affecting all securities traded in the market. 25 Crawford smith ~ swallow October 29, 2007 Councillor Victor Pietrangelo, Chair and Members of the Corporate Services Committee City of Niagara Falls, Ontario Members: Re: CPS-2007-03 Water and Sewer Rates Reviiew RECOMMENDATION: CPS-2007-03 1. That the information provided in response to "Water Rate Study" be received and filed, 2. That the Corporate Services Committee authorizes Staff to engage consulting services to review the City's water and sewer rates. BACKGROUND: On July 23, 2007, Staff presented report CPS-2007-02, BMA Management Consulting Inc. Proposal, that requested the Committee to authorize Staff to engage the consultant to review the City's water and sewer rates. During the Committee's consideration of this report, the Committee also heard a deputation from Mr. Ed Bielawski, who presented several conclusions in a handout document, entitled "Water Rate Study". The deputation made reference to staff reports and awater/sewer rate study done by Loudon & Fortin (November 2000). Following the deputation, the Committee approved the following four recommendations which were ratified by City Council: 1) That Staff report back to Committee on the report provided and presented by Mr. Ed Bielawski, 2) That Staff contact Mr. Michael Loudon as a follow-up to his 2000 report, 3) That Staff provide Committee with a copy of the Loudon report, and 4) That Staff undertake a water and sewer rates review in time for consideration of the 2008 utility budget. Staff has contacted Mr. Michael Loudon regarding the Niagara Falls Rate Report, prepared and submitted by Loudon and Fortin in November 2000. This report focused on the existing water and sewer rates and made recommendations on future ra~:A~ a~ a resutt-of _ ~ ° Working Together to Serve Our Community Corporate Services Department Finance > s _ ~ r,~.r fn. arr .~~taax .,,. , w ,s ;~,~a~: ,~k:i;=ry. ~~'~~ Y~ ... ~'~-..n.,a a~ ~ ~ . , .y . - ~. ~ ,- October 29, 2007 - 2 - CPS-2007-03 the newly implemented metering program Committee's information. A copy of the report is attached for the Staff requested Mr. Loudon to prepare and submit afollow-up to the November 2000 report. Staff also sent a copy of Mr. Bielawski's Water Rate Study document to Mr. Loudon for information. Mr. Loudon is willing to prepare afollow-up to his November 2000 report, which also addresses the conclusions raised by Mr. Bielawski. Mr. Loudon advised the follow-up report would incur some cost. Staff believes the follow-up report could be undertaken by a qualified consultant during the engagement for a review of the water and sewer rates. Consequently, Staff did not pursue the follow-up report from Mr. Loudon. Staff has not yet proceeded with undertaking a water and sewer rates review. As the Committee was interested in the Loudon report and the conclusions raised by Mr. Bielawski, the rate review was postponed pending the Committee's further consideration of the proposal from BMA Consulting Inc. Staff continues to recommend the proposed engagement of the consultant as presented in the earlier report CPS-2007-02. Information provided in response to "1Nater Rate Studv" Staff has investigated and prepared the following information that responds to the seven conclusions raised in Mr. Ed Bielawski's deputation as they appear in his "Water Rate Study" document. Conclusion -The City has no water/sewer utility Mr. Bielawski observed that a city report dated March 27, 1995, provided several objectives, one of which was that the city establish awater/sewer utility. Mr. Bielawski commented that awater/sewer utility if it is going to be run like a business, then it would be no different than the Niagara Falls Hydro. Nis conclusion states the City does not have a separate authority (such as NFH) responsible for the water/sewer utility and that as a resul# the utility is fragmented by having several functional parts reporting to the Council. The reportwhich Mr. Bielawski referenced was MW-95-58 Water/Wastewater Utility. The recommendation from the Community Services Committee to and approved by Council was as fiollows: "That endorsement be given to the establishment of aSelf-Supporting, User-Pay Water/Wastewater Utility, including Universal Water Metering, effective January 1997; "That a Public Education/Awareness Program, including a public Attitude Survey, on the Utility Concept and its impacts be undertaken with the results of same to be reported to Council before any implementation action; and "That Stati be directed to develop an Implementation Strategy for the Water/Wastewater Utility with periodic Status Reports or Approval Reports for the various components. " For the years 1995-2000, Staff undertook the directions of Council in an exhaustive effort to encourage as much Public Participation as possible. One of the foremost concerns of ratepayers was the ability to control the costs of water and sewer service. At that time, the City was using a flat rate billing structure for residential ratepayers. Residents were concerned that there was no ability to reduce their individual water billing by reducing their October 29, 2007 - 3 - CPS-2007-03 consumption of water. This concern also raised the significant issue of water conservation. On December 11, 2000, Council approved the following recommendations from the Corporate Services Committee which were based on the Loudon & Fortin November 2000 report: "That the proposed use-based billing structure be adopted for determining water/sewer utility rates, and "That the proposed use-based billing structure be applied to the 2000 Budget Expenditures to set rates for the new Water By-Law; and "That the Updated Water By-Law be adopted." Staff advises that the City has operated a water system as aself-supporting fund up until 1999, when the existing fund was expanded to include the operation of the sanitary sewer system. The self-supporting fund is separate from the General Purposes Operating Fund, Although the water and sewer system was renamed Municipal Utility, staff notes that Council has not approved the implementation of an appointed/elected authority that was separate from and reporting to the City Council. In 2004, the water/sewer fund was separated into two funds; one each for the water system and the sanitary sewer system. The separation was done in compliance to the current legislation wherein the water and sanitary sewer services must have separate fund entities. Staff advises that today's presentation of the water and sanitary sewer budgets has used the header "Municipal Utility" in continuance of the familiar identity for the water and sewer systems. City Council is the management authority and is responsible for the water and sewer systems. Staff administrates this responsibility in two parts: the operations part is administrated by the Municipal Works Division, the billing/collection part is administrated by the Finance Division. Staff advises that Mr. Bielawski's comparison of the water/sewer system to Niagara Falls Hydro as a utility may not be applicable. The operating structure for an electricity utility versus the operating structure for a water or sewer utility is identified by the legislation that governs each service. The Niagara Falls Hydro, which was incorporated under provincial legislation, falls under special business corporation legislation. Its governance and structure must adhere to the Electricity Act. Water and sewer services also comply with provincial legislation, mainly the Municipal Act, as well as other specific legislation such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Sustainable Water and Sewage Systems Act. Staff advises that the Loudon report in November 2000, did not address the governance structure for awater/sewer utility. Council has always maintained that the water and sewer funds would be directly controlled by the Council and not be managed by an appointed/elected Board or Commission reporting to Council. 2. Conclusion -The use-based principle for water billing is applicable only for the consumption chase Mr. Bielawski, in his comments, stated that the more you use, the less you pay. In his Water Rate Study, he combined the fixed monthly charge with the consumption charge for October 29, 2007 - 4 - CPS-2007-03 increasing amounts of water usage. He showed that the combined charge decreases on a per unit basis as the consumption of water increases. He showed that the annual percentage increase for high consumption was less than the percentage increase for low consumption. Mr. Bielawski's analysis basically shows the inverse cost relationship of a fixed charge being applied to a variable factor. Staff advises the water and sewer billing is composed of fixed and volumetric charges. The two part charges were implemented in 2001, when metering was fully implemented. Each charge is designed to collect sufficient revenues to offset the relevant direct costs. Staff advises that the fixed monthly charge is not related to the direct costs of consumption. The fixed charges are intended to offset the fixed costs of maintaining the water and sanitary sewer systems. The City has the responsibility to provide safe potable water in sufficient supply for all users including fire suppression. The City is responsible for providing the collection of sanitary sewage. The direct operating costs of labour and materials, and the direct construction costs of repairs and maintenance are incurred regardless of the users' consumption. The fixed monthly charges are not dependent upon or related to the amount of consumption incurred. The volumetric charge is a per cubic meter rate that is the same for every user. The rate does not decrease or increase with the amount of consumption. The revenues collected from the consumption charges are intended to offset the costs of water purchased from the Region and the sewertreated by the Region. These costs are also based on a volumetric charge, whose rates are the same for all the municipalities in the Region of Niagara. Staff understands that the use-based principle can apply to both a fixed charge and a consumption charge. The use-based principle applies to a fixed charge because the user is connected to water and sewer systems that are always ready to serve the user. The user pays for the right to draw water and/or to flush sewage. The use-based principle also applies to a consumption charge because the quantity of usage is measured and billed to the user. 3. Conclusion -The use of meter size for allocation of service charge is totally flawed During the meetings that Mr. Bielawski attended with staff, his comments cited that the use of meter sizing for the allocation of monthly service charges is flawed. His comments are directed at the City's use of the AWWA standard for differentiating between the sizes of meters and using the differences to allocate costs. Staff advises that the size of a water meter relates to the size of the demand flow for water provided to the user. Some users require a larger demand flow than others. Both the water and sanitary sewer systems are engineered to accommodate the variant sizes of both water flows and sewer usage. Staff advises that the AWWA standard is recognized and approved in municipalities throughout Ontario, Canada and the United States. As this standard is recognized and used, Staff believes it is an appropriate standard by which to allocate fixed costs to users having different sizes of meters. Mr. Bielawski commented that allocating fixed costs on the basis of meter size is also flawed. His comments were directed at users who consume large quantities of water in comparison to residents who use very little water. He suggested that the basis for the October 29, 2007 - 5 - CPS-2007-03 allocation of fixed costs should reflect the amount of water usage and not the size of the water demand flow. Staff advises that the fixed monthly charges for maintaining the water and sewer systems include all of the infrastructure costs. The systems are composed of different sizes of pipe, valves, pumps, and meters. Infrastructure costs can be significantly different for repairing the various components of the systems. Tracking and allocating these costs to individual users based on their actual usage would present a significant mathematical undertaking. For example, the actual repair for a section of water-main pipe can be easily costed, but very difficult to determine which downstream users should be charged and how much. The use of the AWWA standard provides an efficient engineering approach to allocate the infrastructure costs using the size of a meter to estimate the user demand on the systems. 4. Conclusion -All multi-unit structures that have a single meter are significantly subsidized by residential customers In Mr. Bieiawski's Water Rate Study document, he provided an analysis named "Customer Service Charge Cost/Unit". The analysis compared the fixed monthly charge for customers who have different sizes and quantities of water meter service. The analysis calculates the monthly fixed cost per customer based on the quantity of customers being serviced by the q uantity and size of meter. He concludes that the cost/unit varies in accordance with these factors, and further concludes that the higher cost/unit customers are subsidizing the lower cost/unit customers. Staff advises that acost/unit analysis may be interpreted as a Poll tax. The emphasis of the analysis is focused on the number of customers served, even though some of the customers are not separately served by the water and sewer systems. The analysis could be expanded to any water meter that serves more than one identifiable customer, e.g. hotel rooms, retail mall tenants, business mall tenants, apartment building units. A poll tax, which is not allowed by the Municipal Act (Sec.393), imposes a charge on the reason that persons/businesses are simply resident in the municipality or a part of it. Mr. Bieiawski's analysis assumes that the City has the right to impose a charge simply because a City resident uses the water and sewer systems. in general, the Municipal Act (Sec.391) only allows a municipality to impose fees and charges for services or activities provided or done by or on behalf of the municipality. To impose a fixed monthly water charge, the municipality must identify to whom the water service is being provided. Currently the City's fixed monthly charges are being billed to the customer who has the direct responsibility for the water/sewer account. Staff advises that this same concern is evident in other municipalities where water services to condominium units are charged differently. The differences result from the same engineering disparity. Some condominium units have individual water services, while others have a single service for all the units. In Staff's report CPS-2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised. 5. Conclusion -The pricing for water and sewer service is unfair and not equitable Mr. Bielawski's conclusion refers to the structure for the City's water/sewer rates. The rates October 29, 2007 Councillor Victor Pietrangelo, Chair and Members of the Corporate Services Committee City of Niagara Falls, Ontario Members: Re: CPS-2007-03 Water and Sewer Rates Reviiew RECOMMENDATION: CPS-2007-03 1. That the information provided in response to "Water Rate Study" be received and filed, 2. That the Corporate Services Committee authorizes Staff to engage consulting services to review the City's water and sewer rates. BACKGROUND: On July 23, 2007, Staff presented report CPS-2007-02, BMA Management Consulting Inc. Proposal, that requested the Committee to authorize Staff to engage the consultant to review the City's water and sewer rates. During the Committee's consideration of this report, the Committee also heard a deputation from Mr. Ed Bielawski, who presented several conclusions in a handout document, entitled "Water Rate Study". The deputation made reference to staff reports and awater/sewer rate study done by Loudon & Fortin (November 2000). Following the deputation, the Committee approved the following four recommendations which were ratified by City Council: 1) That Staff report back to Committee on the report provided and presented by Mr. Ed Bielawski, 2) That Staff contact Mr. Michael Loudon as a follow-up to his 2000 report, 3) That Staff provide Committee with a copy of the Loudon report, and 4) That Staff undertake a water and sewer rates review in time for consideration of the 2008 utility budget. Staff has contacted Mr. Michael Loudon regarding the Niagara Falls Rate Report, prepared and submitted by Loudon and Fortin in November 2000. This report focused on the existing water and sewer rates and made recommendations on future ra~:A~ a~ a resutt-of _ ~ ° Working Together to Serve Our Community Corporate Services Department Finance > s _ ~ r,~.r fn. arr .~~taax .,,. , w ,s ;~,~a~: ,~k:i;=ry. ~~'~~ Y~ ... ~'~-..n.,a a~ ~ ~ . , .y . - ~. ~ ,- October 29, 2007 - 2 - CPS-2007-03 the newly implemented metering program Committee's information. A copy of the report is attached for the Staff requested Mr. Loudon to prepare and submit afollow-up to the November 2000 report. Staff also sent a copy of Mr. Bielawski's Water Rate Study document to Mr. Loudon for information. Mr. Loudon is willing to prepare afollow-up to his November 2000 report, which also addresses the conclusions raised by Mr. Bielawski. Mr. Loudon advised the follow-up report would incur some cost. Staff believes the follow-up report could be undertaken by a qualified consultant during the engagement for a review of the water and sewer rates. Consequently, Staff did not pursue the follow-up report from Mr. Loudon. Staff has not yet proceeded with undertaking a water and sewer rates review. As the Committee was interested in the Loudon report and the conclusions raised by Mr. Bielawski, the rate review was postponed pending the Committee's further consideration of the proposal from BMA Consulting Inc. Staff continues to recommend the proposed engagement of the consultant as presented in the earlier report CPS-2007-02. Information provided in response to "1Nater Rate Studv" Staff has investigated and prepared the following information that responds to the seven conclusions raised in Mr. Ed Bielawski's deputation as they appear in his "Water Rate Study" document. Conclusion -The City has no water/sewer utility Mr. Bielawski observed that a city report dated March 27, 1995, provided several objectives, one of which was that the city establish awater/sewer utility. Mr. Bielawski commented that awater/sewer utility if it is going to be run like a business, then it would be no different than the Niagara Falls Hydro. Nis conclusion states the City does not have a separate authority (such as NFH) responsible for the water/sewer utility and that as a resul# the utility is fragmented by having several functional parts reporting to the Council. The reportwhich Mr. Bielawski referenced was MW-95-58 Water/Wastewater Utility. The recommendation from the Community Services Committee to and approved by Council was as fiollows: "That endorsement be given to the establishment of aSelf-Supporting, User-Pay Water/Wastewater Utility, including Universal Water Metering, effective January 1997; "That a Public Education/Awareness Program, including a public Attitude Survey, on the Utility Concept and its impacts be undertaken with the results of same to be reported to Council before any implementation action; and "That Stati be directed to develop an Implementation Strategy for the Water/Wastewater Utility with periodic Status Reports or Approval Reports for the various components. " For the years 1995-2000, Staff undertook the directions of Council in an exhaustive effort to encourage as much Public Participation as possible. One of the foremost concerns of ratepayers was the ability to control the costs of water and sewer service. At that time, the City was using a flat rate billing structure for residential ratepayers. Residents were concerned that there was no ability to reduce their individual water billing by reducing their October 29, 2007 - 3 - CPS-2007-03 consumption of water. This concern also raised the significant issue of water conservation. On December 11, 2000, Council approved the following recommendations from the Corporate Services Committee which were based on the Loudon & Fortin November 2000 report: "That the proposed use-based billing structure be adopted for determining water/sewer utility rates, and "That the proposed use-based billing structure be applied to the 2000 Budget Expenditures to set rates for the new Water By-Law; and "That the Updated Water By-Law be adopted." Staff advises that the City has operated a water system as aself-supporting fund up until 1999, when the existing fund was expanded to include the operation of the sanitary sewer system. The self-supporting fund is separate from the General Purposes Operating Fund, Although the water and sewer system was renamed Municipal Utility, staff notes that Council has not approved the implementation of an appointed/elected authority that was separate from and reporting to the City Council. In 2004, the water/sewer fund was separated into two funds; one each for the water system and the sanitary sewer system. The separation was done in compliance to the current legislation wherein the water and sanitary sewer services must have separate fund entities. Staff advises that today's presentation of the water and sanitary sewer budgets has used the header "Municipal Utility" in continuance of the familiar identity for the water and sewer systems. City Council is the management authority and is responsible for the water and sewer systems. Staff administrates this responsibility in two parts: the operations part is administrated by the Municipal Works Division, the billing/collection part is administrated by the Finance Division. Staff advises that Mr. Bielawski's comparison of the water/sewer system to Niagara Falls Hydro as a utility may not be applicable. The operating structure for an electricity utility versus the operating structure for a water or sewer utility is identified by the legislation that governs each service. The Niagara Falls Hydro, which was incorporated under provincial legislation, falls under special business corporation legislation. Its governance and structure must adhere to the Electricity Act. Water and sewer services also comply with provincial legislation, mainly the Municipal Act, as well as other specific legislation such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Sustainable Water and Sewage Systems Act. Staff advises that the Loudon report in November 2000, did not address the governance structure for awater/sewer utility. Council has always maintained that the water and sewer funds would be directly controlled by the Council and not be managed by an appointed/elected Board or Commission reporting to Council. 2. Conclusion -The use-based principle for water billing is applicable only for the consumption chase Mr. Bielawski, in his comments, stated that the more you use, the less you pay. In his Water Rate Study, he combined the fixed monthly charge with the consumption charge for October 29, 2007 - 4 - CPS-2007-03 increasing amounts of water usage. He showed that the combined charge decreases on a per unit basis as the consumption of water increases. He showed that the annual percentage increase for high consumption was less than the percentage increase for low consumption. Mr. Bielawski's analysis basically shows the inverse cost relationship of a fixed charge being applied to a variable factor. Staff advises the water and sewer billing is composed of fixed and volumetric charges. The two part charges were implemented in 2001, when metering was fully implemented. Each charge is designed to collect sufficient revenues to offset the relevant direct costs. Staff advises that the fixed monthly charge is not related to the direct costs of consumption. The fixed charges are intended to offset the fixed costs of maintaining the water and sanitary sewer systems. The City has the responsibility to provide safe potable water in sufficient supply for all users including fire suppression. The City is responsible for providing the collection of sanitary sewage. The direct operating costs of labour and materials, and the direct construction costs of repairs and maintenance are incurred regardless of the users' consumption. The fixed monthly charges are not dependent upon or related to the amount of consumption incurred. The volumetric charge is a per cubic meter rate that is the same for every user. The rate does not decrease or increase with the amount of consumption. The revenues collected from the consumption charges are intended to offset the costs of water purchased from the Region and the sewertreated by the Region. These costs are also based on a volumetric charge, whose rates are the same for all the municipalities in the Region of Niagara. Staff understands that the use-based principle can apply to both a fixed charge and a consumption charge. The use-based principle applies to a fixed charge because the user is connected to water and sewer systems that are always ready to serve the user. The user pays for the right to draw water and/or to flush sewage. The use-based principle also applies to a consumption charge because the quantity of usage is measured and billed to the user. 3. Conclusion -The use of meter size for allocation of service charge is totally flawed During the meetings that Mr. Bielawski attended with staff, his comments cited that the use of meter sizing for the allocation of monthly service charges is flawed. His comments are directed at the City's use of the AWWA standard for differentiating between the sizes of meters and using the differences to allocate costs. Staff advises that the size of a water meter relates to the size of the demand flow for water provided to the user. Some users require a larger demand flow than others. Both the water and sanitary sewer systems are engineered to accommodate the variant sizes of both water flows and sewer usage. Staff advises that the AWWA standard is recognized and approved in municipalities throughout Ontario, Canada and the United States. As this standard is recognized and used, Staff believes it is an appropriate standard by which to allocate fixed costs to users having different sizes of meters. Mr. Bielawski commented that allocating fixed costs on the basis of meter size is also flawed. His comments were directed at users who consume large quantities of water in comparison to residents who use very little water. He suggested that the basis for the October 29, 2007 - 5 - CPS-2007-03 allocation of fixed costs should reflect the amount of water usage and not the size of the water demand flow. Staff advises that the fixed monthly charges for maintaining the water and sewer systems include all of the infrastructure costs. The systems are composed of different sizes of pipe, valves, pumps, and meters. Infrastructure costs can be significantly different for repairing the various components of the systems. Tracking and allocating these costs to individual users based on their actual usage would present a significant mathematical undertaking. For example, the actual repair for a section of water-main pipe can be easily costed, but very difficult to determine which downstream users should be charged and how much. The use of the AWWA standard provides an efficient engineering approach to allocate the infrastructure costs using the size of a meter to estimate the user demand on the systems. 4. Conclusion -All multi-unit structures that have a single meter are significantly subsidized by residential customers In Mr. Bieiawski's Water Rate Study document, he provided an analysis named "Customer Service Charge Cost/Unit". The analysis compared the fixed monthly charge for customers who have different sizes and quantities of water meter service. The analysis calculates the monthly fixed cost per customer based on the quantity of customers being serviced by the q uantity and size of meter. He concludes that the cost/unit varies in accordance with these factors, and further concludes that the higher cost/unit customers are subsidizing the lower cost/unit customers. Staff advises that acost/unit analysis may be interpreted as a Poll tax. The emphasis of the analysis is focused on the number of customers served, even though some of the customers are not separately served by the water and sewer systems. The analysis could be expanded to any water meter that serves more than one identifiable customer, e.g. hotel rooms, retail mall tenants, business mall tenants, apartment building units. A poll tax, which is not allowed by the Municipal Act (Sec.393), imposes a charge on the reason that persons/businesses are simply resident in the municipality or a part of it. Mr. Bieiawski's analysis assumes that the City has the right to impose a charge simply because a City resident uses the water and sewer systems. in general, the Municipal Act (Sec.391) only allows a municipality to impose fees and charges for services or activities provided or done by or on behalf of the municipality. To impose a fixed monthly water charge, the municipality must identify to whom the water service is being provided. Currently the City's fixed monthly charges are being billed to the customer who has the direct responsibility for the water/sewer account. Staff advises that this same concern is evident in other municipalities where water services to condominium units are charged differently. The differences result from the same engineering disparity. Some condominium units have individual water services, while others have a single service for all the units. In Staff's report CPS-2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised. 5. Conclusion -The pricing for water and sewer service is unfair and not equitable Mr. Bielawski's conclusion refers to the structure for the City's water/sewer rates. The rates October 29, 2007 - 6 - CPS-2007-03 are billed in two parts: a fixed monthly charge and a volumetric charge. His conclusion directs attention to the low volume user whose minimum monthly billing is the monthly service charge, even if the user has not used any water. His concern is that the City's fixed monthly charge has increased significantly over the past years, and has resulted in unfair/not equitable charges to low volume users. He believes the water/sewer rate should be totally volumetric with no fixed charges. Staff advises that the water/sewer rate structure was established in 2001 when metering was implemented. The structure was recommended in the Loudon & Fortin report which Mr. Loudon addresses in his follow-up report. The report did examine a variety of methods to charge for water and sewer services. Although Mr. Bielawski recommends a simple volumetric charge, he concurs with Staff that several methods exist. In Staff's report CPS- 2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised and would compare the simple volumetric charge method to other methods of charging for water/sewer services. 6. Conclusion - Yearly aercentaae rate increases as reported are not factual In Mr. Bielawski's Water Rate Study, he provides an analysis of the 2007 percentage increase for homeowners whose monthly usage of water is different. His conclusion references Staff's report on the percentage increase, stating that the City's reported increase is not a singular percentage, but is actually a range of percentage increases as water usage decreases. Staff advises that the referenced report, F-2007-07 2007 Municipal Utility Budget, does provide individual percentage comparisons forthe fixed monthly charge and the volumetric charge. The report also provides a percentage comparison for the combined charges based on 30 cubic meters of water used per month. The amount of 30~m3 was chosen by Staff to represent the average monthly usage of water; a factor used by other municipalities for comparison purposes. In Staff's report CPS-2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised, especially the need to inform ratepayers of the impact of increasing rates in relation to variant water and sewer usage. 7. Conclusion -The factor used to calculate weighted meter is unrealistic and thus totally flawed During the meetings with Mr. Bielawski, his comments cited that the current weighting for meters is flawed. His comments were directed at the use of the AWWA standards for differentiating between the sizes of meters. As stated earlier, Staff advises that the size of a water meter relates to the size of the demand flow for water provided to the user. Some users require a larger demand flow than others. Both the water and sanitary sewer systems are engineered to accommodate the variant sizes of both water flows and sewer usage. Staff advises that the AWWA standard is recognized and approved in municipalities throughout Ontario, Canada and the United States. As this standard is recognized and used, Staff believes it provides the appropriate factors by which to weight the different sizes of meters. In Staff's report CPS-2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised with regard to the current practice of using the AWWA standard. October 29, 2007 - 6 - CPS-2007-03 are billed in two parts: a fixed monthly charge and a volumetric charge. His conclusion directs attention to the low volume user whose minimum monthly billing is the monthly service charge, even if the user has not used any water. His concern is that the City's fixed monthly charge has increased significantly over the past years, and has resulted in unfair/not equitable charges to low volume users. He believes the water/sewer rate should be totally volumetric with no fixed charges. Staff advises that the water/sewer rate structure was established in 2001 when metering was implemented. The structure was recommended in the Loudon & Fortin report which Mr. Loudon addresses in his follow-up report. The report did examine a variety of methods to charge for water and sewer services. Although Mr. Bielawski recommends a simple volumetric charge, he concurs with Staff that several methods exist. In Staff's report CPS- 2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised and would compare the simple volumetric charge method to other methods of charging for water/sewer services. 6. Conclusion - Yearly aercentaae rate increases as reported are not factual In Mr. Bielawski's Water Rate Study, he provides an analysis of the 2007 percentage increase for homeowners whose monthly usage of water is different. His conclusion references Staff's report on the percentage increase, stating that the City's reported increase is not a singular percentage, but is actually a range of percentage increases as water usage decreases. Staff advises that the referenced report, F-2007-07 2007 Municipal Utility Budget, does provide individual percentage comparisons forthe fixed monthly charge and the volumetric charge. The report also provides a percentage comparison for the combined charges based on 30 cubic meters of water used per month. The amount of 30~m3 was chosen by Staff to represent the average monthly usage of water; a factor used by other municipalities for comparison purposes. In Staff's report CPS-2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised, especially the need to inform ratepayers of the impact of increasing rates in relation to variant water and sewer usage. 7. Conclusion -The factor used to calculate weighted meter is unrealistic and thus totally flawed During the meetings with Mr. Bielawski, his comments cited that the current weighting for meters is flawed. His comments were directed at the use of the AWWA standards for differentiating between the sizes of meters. As stated earlier, Staff advises that the size of a water meter relates to the size of the demand flow for water provided to the user. Some users require a larger demand flow than others. Both the water and sanitary sewer systems are engineered to accommodate the variant sizes of both water flows and sewer usage. Staff advises that the AWWA standard is recognized and approved in municipalities throughout Ontario, Canada and the United States. As this standard is recognized and used, Staff believes it provides the appropriate factors by which to weight the different sizes of meters. In Staff's report CPS-2007-02, Staff recommends that a full review of water/sewer rates be undertaken. A review would address the concerns that Mr. Bielawski has raised with regard to the current practice of using the AWWA standard. October 29, 2007 - 7 - CPS-2007-03 Conclusion Mr. Bielawski has provided significant concerns in his deputation to the Corporate Services Committee, as presented in his document "Water Rate Study", and directly to Councillors and Staff over the past year. Although Staff has provided some commentary on Mr. Bielawski's conclusions, the need for a water and sewer rate review is only made more apparent. Staff and Mr. Bielawski concur that there are different methods to structure water and sewer rates. A water and sewer rate review would not only address the concerns raised by Mr. Bielawski but also the concerns of other residential, commercial, industrial and institutional ratepayers. The reviewwould evaiuatethedifferent methods for structuring rates as well as focus on other challenging issues. The review would provide options for the City to address the issues, apply the current legislation to the City's rate structure, and compare the advantages and disadvantages of applicable rate structures. As the Committee was interested in the Loudon report and the conclusions raised by Mr. Bielawski, the rate review was postponed. The Committee's further consideration of the proposal from BMA Consulting Inc. as presented in the earlier report CPS-2007-02, is appreciated. Recommended by: Respectfully submitted: Attach. /~fa~v.~ K. E. Burden, Acting Executive Director of Corporate Services '~= -~- Joh acDonald, ~''~'~ Chief Adrninistr~tive Officer City of Niagara Falls Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS STUDY OF WATER & SEWER RATES FOLLOWING METERING SYNOPSIS This report reviews the current water and sewer rates and makes recommendations on future rates to be implemented as a result of the metering program. The level of the rates is based on preliminary budget data and should be reviewed and revised based on final budget data once it is available. The following summarizes the report findings: • Metering Program -The City has completed the metering of approximately 22,500 customers billed flat rates. Most of these are residential, but there are a few commercial customers. • Current Situation -There are approximately 3,100 customers currently billed metered rates. The current rates are two-part with a fixed charge variable by meter size and a volumetric charge with 6 declining rate blocks. • Proposed Two Part Rates -The proposed rates are also two-part with a fixed charge variable by meter size and a volumetric charge. The proposed volumetric charge is single block -there are no reduced volumetric rates for large volume users. This proposed change to a single rate block is recommended due to the fact that water is purchased wholesale from the Region at a constant rate for all usage and as a result there are no large-volume savings realized by the City that could be passed on to large volume users. • Water/Sewer Combined -The sewer charges are currently billed as a 150% surcharge on the water bill. The City 2004 water and sewer budgets are prepared with the water and sanitary sewer costs combined. As a result, a single combined water and sewer xate has been calculated. This approach is increasingly used as it simplifies the customer billing and improves the flexibility of financially managing the water and sewer utilities. Toronto has followed this approach for years. • Recommended Yolumetric Rate Option -Two options are provided for the volumetric rates. Option 1 links the retail volumetric charge to the Region's volumetric charges. The volumetric charge would recover about two-thirds of the user rate revenues. Option 1 is recommended since it minimizes revenue uncertainty while maintaining a high enough proportion of charges based on volume to encourage conservation. Option 2 is provided as an alternative. It allocates 80% of the costs to the volumetric charge, which would increase the conservation element, would allow more control by customer's of their water bills, but would decrease revenue security during years with low seasonal use. • Recommended Service Charge Option -Two service charge alternatives are provided. Alternative A is a single service charge for all customers. It has the advantage of simplicity. Alternative B has service charges variable by meter size. This is recommended as it more closely allocates the costs to each customer. This is the same approach as is currently used, except that the service charges proposed are higher for larger sized meters than those currently applied. NFRateReport.doc l Loudon & Fortin November 2000 ity ofTliagara Falls .>iudy of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report ~ Implementation - An implementation plan is suggested in Section 8 of the detailed report. Proposed 2001 Water(Sewer Rates (monthly} -Recommended in Bold Italics Option 1 (Volumetric rate recovers { Regional charges) 6~`olrnmetric Rates ($/cubic metre} I i $1.309 Service Charges -Single Uniform Charge $26.235 - r3 - Ch~~rge Variable by Meter Size 15 rnm $22, S4 18 mm $22.54 25 mm $22.54 37 mm ~ $56.35 50 mm ~ $135.23 75 mm f $270.46 ~ 100 mm , i $495.84 . _ -- 150 mm , $946. b1 200 mrn l $1,690.37 NFRateReport.doc 2 Option 2 (Volumetric rate recovers 80% of costs} $1.549 $16.182 $13.90 $13.90 $13.90 $34.75 $ 83.41 $166.82 $305.83 $583.85 $1,042.59 Loudon & Fortin November 2000 City of Niagara Falls Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS STUDY OF WATER & SEWER RATES FOLLOWING METERING DETAILED REPORT 1 INTRODUCTION During 1999 and 2000, the City of Niagara Falls has carried out a program of installing meters on the water services to all customers. Formerly only non-residential customers were metered. The metering program mostly is for single family dwellings, but has had the benefit of identifying some other larger customers that escaped metering in the past and that are also now being metered. A previous study was carried out of water rates following meteringl that provided preliminary rates recommendations. That study recommended two-part water rates with a single volumetric charge and a service charge variable by meter size. The method used was as set out in the Canadian Water & Wastewater Association Municipal Water Rate Manual. In the following study, the estimate of water consumption following metering has been refined based on preliminary readings taken on the newly metered customers. Expenditure data is also based on preliminary 2001 budgets. 2 CURRENT WATER & SEWER RATES The 2000 water and sewer rates are as follows: Exhibit 1 2000 Volumetric Water User Rates (quarterly basis) Block limits Industrial ~ Commercial & Residential (gallons/quarter) $/000 gallons $/000 gallons 0 to 99,000 $3.13 $3.52 100,000 to 199,000 $2.74 $3.13 200,000 to 299,000 $2.35 $2.74 300,000 to 499,000 $2,20 $2.35 500,000 to 699,000 $2.04 $2.20 700,000 & over $1.87 $2.04 ~ City of Niagara Falls Residential Water Metering Study Financial Analysis - prepared by Fortin & Loudon in conjunction with Acres & Associated Limited -August 1998 NFRateReport.doc 3 Loudon & Fortin November 2000 ~'ity of Niagara Falls Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report Note that some larger metered customers are billed monthly rather than the quarterly basis used for most metered customers. Exhibit 2 2000 Service & Minimum Charges (quarterly) Minimum Bill ~dleter Size Service Charge (~rEillimetres) ($/quarter) Charge Nominal Volume Allowance ($/quarter) (m /quarter) -see note ' 15 mm $1.25 $43.00 11,000 18 mm $2.00 $57.00 15,000 25 mm $2.50 $95.00 26,000 37 mm $3.00 $155.00 44,000 1 s 50 mm $4.00 $231.00 66,000 ~ 75 mm $7.50 $385.00 125,000 1100 mm $12.00 $768.00 285,000 150 mm $30.00 $1,158.00 529,000 f 200 mm $50.00 $1,932.00 I 967,000 Nt7TE: The minimum consumption all owance volume is approximate anly. The dollar °~~olume is appl ied rather than the published volume. T`lae metered rates are mostly applied every three months (quarterly). The flat rate charge is ~~illed every four months at $82.46. Sewer charges are levied on the water bill as a surcharge. The sewer surcharge is currently 150% of the water charge. 3 CUSTOMERS By the time the metering program is complete, about 22,500 unmetered customers are expected to be converted to meters. When added to the 3,100 customers previously metered, this will bring the total number of meters to the following: NFRateReport.doc 4 Loudon & Fortin November 2000 City of Niagara Falls Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report Exhibit 3 Number of Metered Customers by 2001 Meter Size Number (millimetres) 15 mm ~ 24,250 18 mm I 387 25 mm I 343 37 mm I 221 50 rnrn I 291 l 75 mm ~ 52 100 mm I 42 150 mm I 18 200 mm I 3 1 Total I 25,607 4 CONSUMPTION Wholesale -The City pays wholesale charges for the volume of water supplied and the sewage treated by the Region of Niagara, which is responsible for this service. The City only has jurisdiction over the retail operation of distributing water and collecting sewage. The Region charges the same wholesale rates year-round and to all of the area municipalities. The wholesale rates over the past 3 years are as shown below in Exhibit 4. Exhibit 4 Niagara Region Water & Sewer Charges ($/m3) ~ Water ~ Sewer 1998 I $0.275 I $0.465 1999 I _$0.291 $0.479 2000 i $0.300 I $0.489 The 1999 water and sewage volumes which the Region billed the City are summarized in Exhibit 5 below: NFRateReport.doc 5 Loudon & Fortin November 2000 ~`ity of Niagara Falls .Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report Exhibit 5 1999 Water & Sewage Volumes Billed to Niagara Falls by Region (m3) Month ~ Water Sewer January 1,269,279 1,821,812 February I 1,122,577 I 1,754,075 March I 1,233,599 I 1,836,082 ;''~pril I 1,274,006 I 1,738,828 May I 1,746,304 1,616,411 'une I 2,242,640 1,582,608 ,luly I 2,820,323 I 1,723,472 ~~.~gust I 1,849,745 I 1,814,831 --., eptember 1,661,525 I 1,666,689 ~ October I 1,441,157 1,697,414 T-`ovember I 1,297,101 1,739,527 ~_ :ecember 1,315,656 1,747,952 ~ 't'otal ~ 19,273,912 I 20,739,701 'he monthly water and sewage flows billed by the Region starting in 1998 and up to September 2000 are graphed in Exhibit 6. This graphically illustrates the normal seasonality of the water purchases. Monthly water flows in the summer of 1999 reached almost three Qime.; the spring level. There was much less of an increase in 2000, a wet year. l,he s~:wage flows, on the other hand, show less variation, with only a modest decrease in the summer and occasional higher flows in the spring and fall, no doubt due to inflow and iil~ltration. There are sewage flow variations in the summer of 2000 are not consistent with l~.i~,tr.~rical trends, but could relate to the dates that the meters were read. °or~sumption by Currently Metered Customers -There are about 3,100 customers currently charged metered rates. Most are billed quarterly, but the larger customers are billed rr~onthly. Their consumption for the past 2 years is as shown in Exhibit 7. NFRateReport.doc 6 Loudon & Fortin November 2000 City of Niagara Falls Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final deport Exhibit 7 1998 & 1999 Metered Customer Consumption (m3) 1998 1999 i Quarterly metered 7,172,986 6,736,805 Monthly metered I 671,582 699,483 Total metered I 7,844,568 I 7,436,288 Pumpage I 19,541,564 I 19,646,127 Unmetered use ( 11,696,996 I 12,209,839 Unmetered Use - To narrow down the likely range of unit consumption by the newly metered customers, meter readings were specially taken in May and June of all meters installed to that point. There were 17,823 meters read. There were 105 customers with meter reading dates errors. There were some very large meter readings -the Largest 10% or 178 customers were as a result treated separately. The results of the reading program are summarized in Exhibit 8. Exhibit 8 Newly Metered Customer Consumption Results Summary to June 2000 Description Date errors (note 1) 0 reading Normal residential Larger customers Number of Customers 49 56 17, 540 178 Average Total Monthly Consumption (m3 /month) N/a 0 431,865 38,158 Unit Consumption (m3/month/customer) N/a N/a 24.6 214.4 Normal + Larger 17,648 I 470,023 26.5 Note: The reading dates were not feasible such as1980 installation or installation date after the date of the latest meter reading The customer name and address, meter serial number, meter installation and reading dates and volumes were input in Excel spreadsheet format. Meter installation was spread out from about May 1999 until the date of the special readings. The average monthly usage for all customers was 26.5 m3/month. Much of this consumption was not in the summer. Only about 20% of the customers had been metered by the end of last summer. The customers are mostly residential, but there are some non-residential customers including some larger users. If the largest 1 % of users is removed from the calculation, the average use drops to 24.5 m3/month. 99% of the customers used less than 90 m3/month. Usage by the top 1% ranged up to in excess of 1,000 m3/month. NFRateReport.doc '7 Loudon & Fortin November 2000 City of Niagara Falls • Study of Water do Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report Exhibit 9 illustrates the average consumption by customers and includes the variance in level depending on how long customers have been metered. Customers that have been metered the longest include both summer and winter usage. These are plotted on the right hand side of the graph. The average monthly consumption level of customers that were metered prior to July 1999 was about 29.5 m3/month. These customers were metered for a full year. But as customers are progressively metered and customers with only winter consumption are included in the average, the level drops. This can be seen by as the vertical bars get shorter d3aring the winter since usage by these customers only includes winter usage. Based on the initial consumption levels, and recognizing the fact that summer usage is much higher than winter, it seems feasible that the average usage for these newly metered customers might well be about 28 m3/month. Unmetered use is a combination of unaccounted for water (UFW) losses such as watermain leakage, hydrant flushing, sewer flushing etc plus water used by unmetered customers (i.e. flat rate customers). Exhibit 10 illustrates possible combinations of UFW and unmetered customer c~:•nsumption in 1998 and 1999 based on 22,500 unmetered customers. An average level of 28 tn' /month /customer over a full year is equivalent to 23%UFW. This is relatively high, but not unreasonable compared to previous staff estimates of about 19%UFW. Full meter reading ~N ill clarify this calculation. If the top 1 % of newly metered customers are excluded, then this i~: equivalent to about 26 m3 /month /customer for residential customers. In the original metering financial study2 it was concluded that residential usage by unmetered residential customer is about 27 m3 /month /customer. That conclusion was based on other municipalities a,~ well as a small sample of metered flat rate customers in the City. Impact of Metering -Experience with the impact of metering varies. There are many influences, primarily cost level and amount of discretionary use (primarily summer use). Often there is an initial impact followed by a rebound, since the water is not really high compared to other utilities. Water and sewer combined is less than cable television charges. A typical residential customer is likely to use in the range of 18 to 22 m3/month, based on experience in other similar Ontario municipalities. Excluding the 1 % largest users in the rawly metered group, the likely consumption now is about 26 m3/month. According to r=search by Environment Canada3 reduction in water use doe to metering is likely to be 30% c; more. A drop to 20 m3/month after metering would represent a decrease from 26 m3/month of 23%. Combining this information, it is assumed that consumption will drop by 25% in the tzrst year. The level of consumption following metering is calculated in Exhibit 12. 5 Financial ~'he 2001 draft water and sewer budget has been prepared with water and sewer costs combined. In the past these costs have been kept separate and the water and sewer tariffs set z City of Niagara Falls Residential Water Metering Study Financial Analysis -Draft Discussion Paper -Fortin & Loudon in association with Acres & Associated Ltd. -August 1998 page 14 3 Guidelines far Municipal Water Pricing -Environment Canada - McNeill and Tate -page 7 NFRateReport.doc $ Loudon & Fortin November 2000 City of Niagara Falls Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report separately. There is a trend in Ontario towards issuing a single combined water and sewer charge -see Section 6 below. The water and sewer budgets are summarized in Exhibit 1 I . Tariff Calculations The current water tariffs are two-part with both fixed (variable by meter size) and volumetric (decreasing block). The following is recommended: That water and sewer tariffs be billed as one combined rate. This is done in several municipalities in Ontario, the largest being the City of Toronto. This was also the practice followed in many of the six local municipalities in Metropolitan Toronto previously. The Town of Markham has also followed this practice for many years. The Town of Markham is similar to the City of Niagara Falls with respect to their being the retail provider of water and sewer services inside the Region of York which bills for both wholesale services based on volume (both water and sewer are billed based on water volumes at the wholesale level, however). This year the Town of Newmarket has also switched to a combined water /sewer charge. The use of a combined charge provides much greater flexibility with regard to budgeting these services and allowing for annual revenue fluctuations. • Eliminate Declining Block Rates -There is little or no cost justification for declining block rates in Niagara Falls. There are economies of scale for large water users, but these occur mostly in the water production area, which is a Regional responsibility. It does not affect the City's costs. The following comments are also added regarding the water and sewer rates: Note that the use of water consumption as a basis for billing sewer charges is common in Ontario. This is the most feasible way of approaching user pay for recovering sewer costs. Water meter readings are a surrogate for measuring sewage flows. During 1999, total Niagara Falls sewage flows billed by the Region were close to total water flows, only about 6% higher and in 1998 sewage flows were about 10% higher than water flows. In Niagara Falls, as in most other municipalities, customer metered water flows are used in the calculation of a customer's sewage charges. Overall this is a fair way of achieving user pay for the sewage costs. It is meant to allocate sewer costs in proportion to each customer's use of the system. Although there are flow differentials between water and sewer systems due to seasonal water use in the summer and for sewer due to inflow and infiltration, these variations more or less even out over the year. The use of water consumption is a reasonable surrogate for sewage flows and is the only practical way of achieving user pay for sanitary sewer charges. • Seasonal Charges -Note that water consumption normally has a very high seasonal component in Niagara Falls. Water consumption in the summers of 1998 and 1999 exhibited very high increases -see Exhibit 6. The wet summer of 2000 showed very little increase. Since the cost of meeting summer peaks occurs at the Regional level, there is NFRateReport.doc 9 Loudon & Fa•tin November 2000 t: `i~`v of Niagara Falls Sty dy~ of Water & Sewer- Rates Following Metering Final Report little justification for the City to consider seasonal rates. This may have to be reconsidered if the Region decides to utilize some farm of seasonal rates to moderate the high summer peak water flows. ~~ The combined water and sewer rates are calculated in Exhibit 12. Two options are provided: • Option 1 -Recover Regional Volumetric Charges from Volumetric Rate -This approach is based on revenue security plus relating obviously variable charges to the volumetric rate and largely fixed charges to the fixed service charge. It is a fair approach. Unfortunately, the conservation aspect of metering is weakened since only about two-thirds of costs in the volumetric rate. ~.~ption 2 -Recover 80% of Costs in the Volumetric Rate -This alternative would recover all of the Regional costs in the volumetric rate, plus some of the City costs. It would have a higher conservation element, which may translate into reduced usage and reduced Regional charges as a result. ~'13e service charge is calculated both as (A) a single charge for all customers and (B) one variable by meter size. T he volumetric rates and service charges are provided in Exhibit 12. ~ Impact Tk~e impact of the proposed rates compared to the current rates is provided in Exhibit 13. I~k:r flat rate customers, those that use below average volumes pay less and above-average u.ss~rs pay more. The average customer pays slightly less. b'-~~r currently metered customers, most pay more due to the elimination of the volume di:~counts. Implementation 7~e following suggestions for implementation are made. • There should be public notices in advance of the impending rates and how they might affect customers. • The bill should include a phone number where customers can ask questions about their bill. • The new tariffs should not be first applied during the summer season as the differential from the flat rate charges will highest at that time. ® The billing staff should be prepared to answer questions about why customers' bills have changed. They should also be helpful in suggesting ways to reduce usage. NFRateReport.doc 10 Loudon & Fortin November 1000 City of Niagara Falls Study of Water & Sewer Rates Following Metering Final Report • Also there will be high residential water users who will not be happy with paying for what they use. It must be emphasized that this is now a user pay system and that customers have a measure of control over the size of their bill. • For larger customers, notification should go out in advance of their expected increase. This will often avoid adverse reaction once the bills are received. • Some municipalities choose to initially send out demonstration bills to illustrate the potential impact of the metered rate charges, so that customers can adjust usage before the real billings start. NFRateReport.doc 11 Loudon & Fortin November 2000 nagara fails public October 1, 2007 library Members of the Corporate Services Committee forty eight City of Niagara Falls forty eight Ladies and Gentlemen: victoria avenue I enclose the 2008 Proposed Operating Budget of the Niagara Falls Public niagara falls Library Board. Ontario L2E 4C5 Summary: Tel.: 905/356-8080 uests funding from the City of Niagara Falls of re ectfull The Board res Fax: 905/358-7004 q y p $3,584,300 for the operation of the public library in 2008. This is an increase of $31,900 - only o.9% more than our 2007 approved municipal operating funding. Excluded from the proposed budget are salary and benefit amendments pending City Council's ratification of the amended Collective Agreement with C.U.P.E. Local 133. In order for the Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls to continue to comply with the "Pay Equity Act", employees of the Niagara Falls Public Library Board are subject to the same amendments. This continues City Council's past practice with respect to this issue. Special Capital Project Funded out of Operating Budget: Our $50,000 Capital Project will be funded entirely from the operating budget with no debentures required. Phase One in 2007 replaced the aged outdoor interlock the walkways at the Victoria Avenue Library which have been used by the public since the Library opened in 1974. Some old parking lot lights and poles will also be replaced. Phase Two of this Capital Project will be to replace the library parking lot surface in 2008. Provincial Government Financial Support: After our Ontario Base Grant was reduced 40% to $130,258 in 1996/1997, it has unfortunately remained frozen at that level by the provincial government. There has been no announcement yet from the Government of Ontario of any changes to our base funding in 2008 and no changes have been budgeted. Any further funding reductions will once again jeopardize our hours of operation, staffing levels and our book and non-print iP ~ expenditures. User fees may increase again. ,~} ~-~~ ~ ~~ ~. The Ontario Ministry of Culture is reviewing provincial support programs ~ ~ for public libraries. The Ministry plans "to begin discussions with the ~~ ~ ~ primary fenders of public libraries and take a closer look at financial ries lib t i ' t O f b ra s n ar o o it ene support of public libraries to ensure maximum and library users." nagara fails public library forty eight forty eight victoria avenue niagara falls Ontario L2E 4C5 Tel.: 905/356-8080 Fax: 905/356-7004 ~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~ - -Ll .r' " Our Library Board has been advocating library service to each of the local candidates and to each of the political parties running in the Oct. 10th provincial election. The Board wrote that "The Niagara Falls Public Library Board encourages you and your party to support increasing provincial funding to Ontario's public libraries. One example is the public library per household operating provincial grant. This annual grant is conditional on adherence to the Public Libraries Act. This grant has not been increased in decades (only decreased). In 2007, the grant of $130,258 to the Niagara Falls Public Library represents only $3.85 for each of the 33, 871 households in our City. Increase in Ontario Minimum Wage: Ontario's minimum wage will increase more than 9% in 2008 which will increase the wages of our library's lowest paid part-time employees {called "Pages"). Books & Other Resources: 2007 is scheduled to be the final year of funding from the Capital Budget to purchase books and other resources for the Community Centre Branch Library. Consequently, the 2008 operating budget will be required, for the first time, to fund entirely these books and other resources. Report on Reserve Funds: The following is our Report on Reserve Funds as of June 30, 2007 {subject to audit): Automation Reserve $253,601.04; Gift/Special Projects Reserve $287,348.05; Property Maintenance Reserve $190,536.31. 40,000+ Active Borrowers: The Library Board serves over 40,000 active borrowers as well as thousands using materials in the library and thousands who access our electronic products, view exhibitions in the Rosberg art gallery, ask reference questions to trained staff and attend programs for children and adults. In a typical week, more than 10,000 people enter our Libraries. We advocate on behalf of our users. The Library Board asks for your support in 2008 to continue our efforts to provide a contemporary public library service to our community. Respectfully Niagara Falls Public Library Board NIAGARA FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OPERATING BUDGET 2007 2008 Approved PROPOSED Budget Budget REVENUE: City grant: operating 3,552,400 3,584,300 City grant: debentures 121,572 121,589 Provincial grants 157,100 130,300 Federal grants 0 2,100 Other grants 9,200 0 Library Receipts 121,300 107,000 Donations 12,000 12,000 Transfer from Reserves 0 17,000 Surplus from previous year 83,830 0 ------------ 4,057,402 ------------- 3,974,289 EXPENDITURES Labour 2,247,000 2,263,$00 Benefits 456,000 472,000 Staff Development 7,600 8,900 Books & Other Resources 383,000 328,200 Information Software 90,000 56,700 Information Hardware 25,000 15,000 Facilities: Materials 116,100 99,700 Hydro, Gas, Water, Telecomm. 182,100 199,800 Rent 76,800 79,000 Contracted Services 68,000 68,000 Insurance 50,000 51,000 Other Materials 152,000 150,600 Transfer to Reserves 32,230 10,000 Transfer to Capital 50,000 50,000 Debt Charges 121,572 121,589 4,057,402 3,974,289 +$31,900 + 0.9% Approved by Library Board Sept. 19, 2007 G•N•G•H FOUNDATION ^:r:~a:~~r:u~d-ua.~rr~~a.rr Mr. Todd Harrison October 3, 2007 Acting Director of Financial Services The City of Niagara Falls 4310 Queen Street P.O.Box 1023 Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6X5 Dear Todd, Thank you for your letter of September 6, 2006 and the opportunity to submit our request for funding support as part of the 2008 City budget process. Once again, we are asking Council to consider a grant of $100,000 specifically for help with the purchase of new replacement medical equipment for the emergency department at the Greater Niagara General Hospital. Such a commitment will assist the Hospital to replace outdated equipment in our facility with new equipment that will help to ensure that the best possible medical care is available for everyone right here in Niagara Falls. The GNGH Foundation, working in collaboration with the medical staff and senior administration who determine the priority equipment needs for our hospital, seeks to provide the necessary funding to purchase these items. Currently, over $3 million in new equipment is needed to meet all the identified needs. In the past, the City of Niagara Falls has generously supported their community hospital. In 2000 and 2001, a total of $200,000 was given to the GNGH for the purchase of new flouroscopy equipment in the Diagnostic Imaging Department and since then another $400,000 has been committed to the building of the new ER. Since 2006 $200,000 was received towards the purchase of new equipment for the new Emergency Department. We would, of course, be happy to attend the October 29th meeting of the Corporate Services Committee when they review our request -please let us know if our attendance is required. In the mean time, thank you again for your letter and for everything that the City of Niagara Falls has made possible for us to do for the residents of our community. Sincerely, John Beyer, Chair GNGH Foundation Attachments (2) GNGH Foundation Income & Expense Budget vs. Actual April -August 2007 (DRAFT - No invoices from hospital for July or August and no August bank statements or investment report received) April -August Budget YTD Variance from Annual 2007-08 April -August Budget YTD Variance from 2007 2007-08 Budget Budget 2006 2006-07 Budget Income Donations 226,719.14 583,333.33 (356,614.19) 1,400,000.00 326,881.76 525,000.00 (198,118.24) Miscellaneous Income 0.00 0.00 595.39 595.39 From NHS 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 62,500.00 (62,500.00) Interest & Investment Income 55,199.70 20,833.33 34,366.37 50,000.00 80,410.47 20,833.33 59,577.14 Totallncome 281,918.84 604,166.67 (322,247.83) 1,450,000.00 407,887.62 608,333.33 (200,445.71) Expense Salaries & Benefits 86,140.10 75,000.00 11,140.10 180,000.00 76,200.71 119,500.00 (43,299.29) Program Expense 8,575.67 41,875.00 (33,299.33) 100,500.00 8,966.43 39,791.67 (30,825.24) General Administration 10,179.08 7,500.00 2,679.08 18,000.00 7,337.89 7,500.00 (162.11) Business Machines 0.00 1,458.33 (1,458.33) 3,500.00 141.94 1,458.33 (1,316.39) Professional Development 2,877.98 2,458.33 419.65 5,900.00 0.00 2,458.33 (2,458.33) Recognition 8 Support 5,886.90 3,750.00 2,136.90 9,000.00 6,723.43 3,750.00 2,973.43 Special Events 0.00 1,041.67 (1,041.67) 2,500.00 0.00 1,041.67 (1,041.67) Total Expense 113,659.73 133,083.33 (19,423.60) 319,400.00 99,370.40 175,500.00 (76,129.60) Net Income 168,259.11 471,083.33 (302,824.22) 1,130,600.00 308,517.22 432,833.33 (124,316.11) Other Expense Depreciation Expense 1,145.10 833.33 311.77 2,000.00 1,125.85 833.33 292.52 Investment Mgmt Fees 3,883.36 4,166.67 (283.31} 10,000.00 4,573.99 4,166.67 407.32 Loss (Gain) on Endowment Investments (9,010.27) 0.00 (9,010.27) 0.00 (4,916.54) 0.00 (4,916.54) Donations to GNGH 163,243.48 125,000.00 38,243.48 300,000.00 29,149.01 1,129,089.17 (1,099,940.16) Donations to Other Hospitals 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 135,416.67 (135,416.67) Total Other Expense 159,261.67 130,000.00 29,261.67 312,000.00 29,932.31 1,269,505.83 (1,239,573.52) FUNDS AVAILABLE IN CURRENT YEAR 8,997.44 341,083.33 (332,085.89) 818,600.00 278,584.91 (836,672.50) 1,115,257.41 Page 1 of 1 .>.~s;'j 4R . tf~~~.. ~~ ~ ~` ~° ~ ~ , ~~ t "~ ~, , ~,~ ~. City of Niagara Falls Board of 1Vluseums 5810 Ferry Street -Niagara Falls -Ontario - L2G 1S9 Te1:905-358-5082 Fax:905-358-0920 Mr. Todd Hamson, Acting Director of Financial Services City of Niagara Falls City Hall 4310 Queen Street Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E 6X5 October 10th, 2007. Dear Mr. Harrison, The City of Niagara Falls Board of Museums would like to take this opportunity to accept your invitation to present our 2008 budget requests to the Corporate Services Committee of City Council, and will be present at City Hall on October 29th, 2007. Mr. Gordon West, Chair of the Museums Board and Kathleen Powell, Museums Manager will be in attendance to provide a short presentation regarding our budget requests. Thank you very much, Sincerely, ;'~~~ Kathleen Powell Manager, City of Niagara Falls Museums cc. Board of Museums City of Niagara Falls Board of Museums Reserve Accounts As at October 1, 2007 Board of Museums Raflle Account 6388466 $22,081.03 Monies from this account were raised by the Board of Museums in 2007 through a rafIle whose proceeds are to be directed towards the Board of Museums Bicentennial Battlefield Project which includes interpretive trails on the Lundy's Lane Battlefield and and expansion of the Lundy's Lane Historical Museum Total $22, 081.03 Lundy's Lane Historical Museum Earned Income Account 109047 $138,420.42 Monies from this account are intended for larger expenditures for equipment and/or repairs, and funds raised towards a capital expansion of the facility. Accessions Account 109022 $16,687,08 This account is maintained for purchasing artifacts for the Museum's collection, as well as items related to the collection not budgeted for in the Museum's Operating Budget, such as shelving, conservation equipment and conservation services. Total $155,107. SO Willoughby Historical Museum Earned Income Account 7-150972-8 $6843.82 Accessions Account 7-150972-8 $993.77 Total $7838.59 The money in these accounts has been obtained through admissions, donations, photocopy services, fundraising activities and raffles. The earned income account is reserved for purchasing and upgrading office and museums equipment that is not provided for in the budget. It is also used for artifact repair and conservation. The accessions account is reserved for purchasing artifacts related to the Museum' Statement of Purpose. City Held Reserve Funds SPR #7 -New Museum Building SPR #17 - Lundy's Lane Museum Maintenance $28,275.00 $19,791.80 -some of this fund was spent in 2007 for repairs and maintenance to the building SPR # 251 -Armoury Painting and clean-up $27,669 Heritage Week $53,953.51 This fund is for use by the Heritage Week Committee for projects related to the City's celebration of Heritage Week. ~' ~itv of Niagara Falls Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 zoo? zoos Operating Expenses Board of Museums Receipts 15, 879.00 19, 879.00 Municipal Grant 15,879.00 19,879.00 Total Receipts Disbursements 567.00 567.00 Postage, Office Supplies 125.00 125.00 Miscellaneous 3,187.00 3,187.00 Advertising 000.00 2 2,000.00 Integrated Database -yearly licensing fee , 10,000.00 14,000.00 1812-2012 Task Force 15,879.00 19,879.00 Total Disbursements October 10, 2007" :itv of Niagara Falls Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 .undy's Lane Historical Museum October 90, 2007" 2007 2008 Receipts Provincial Grant 13,500.00 28,670.00 Municipal Grant 201,941.50 202,940.99 Summer Career Access 3,150.00 1,770.00 Revenues 11,500.00 12,500.00 Total Receipts 230,091.50 245,880.99 Disbursements Staffing and Wages Wages 145,050.50 149,402.00 EHT 2,756.00 2,838.68 WSIB 493.00 507.79 CPP 7,253.00 7,470.59 UIC 5,313.00 5,472.39 OMERS 7,253.00 7,470.59 Staff Benefits 7,000.00 7,210.00 Summer Career Access 4,500.00 4,500.00 Administration Financial Audit 3,100.00 3,100.00 Office Supplies 3,500.00 4,500.00 Memberships 600.00 1,000.00 Research Materials 150.00 200.00 Staft Training and Development 300.00 450.00 GST Paid Website Development Curatorial Reference Material 349.00 350.00 Cataloguing Supplies 150.00 100.00 Training and Conferences 750.00 1,250.00 Campbell Research Room 345.00 350.00 :itv of Niagara Falls Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 zoo? Zoos Oaeratina Costs Telephone /Directory Hydro Heat and Fuel Water Advertising Maintenance Structural Trades Cleaning Staff Janitorial Supplies Conservation Supplies and Equipment Outside Conservator Disolavs and Exhibits Exhibit Prep Room Displays Public Programming Educational Programmes Educational Programs Saleswan: Purchases Safes Tax Remitted Total Disbursements 4,000.00 4,200.00 5,990.00 6,289.50 5,990.00 6,289.50 639.00 &70.95 4,500.00 4,500.00 600.00 1, 750.00 1,600.00 1,820.00 500.00 500.00 475.00 650.00 300.00 300.00 165.00 1, 045.00 4,170.00 13, 895.00 920.00 1,555.00 9,205.00 4,069.00 2,000.00 2,000.00 175.00 175.00 230,091.50 245,880.99 October 10, 2007" :itv of Niagara Falls Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 Willoughby Historical Museum Receipts Provincial Grant Municipal Grant Summer Career Access Revenues Tota! Receipts Disbursements Staffino and Wanes Wages EHT WSIB CPP UIC OMERS Curatorial Reference Material Cataloguing Supplies Training and Conferences Collections Management Administration Bank Charges Office Supplies Memberships Postage Mileage and Trucking Staff Training and bevelopment Office Equipment Repairs and Mtc. Photocopier Contract zoo? 3,770.00 125,023.00 1,700.00 130,493.00 87,850.00 1,669.00 299.00 4, 393.00 3,218.00 4, 393.00 430.00 350.00 200.00 8, 836.00 60.00 1,100.00 200.00 200.00 100.00 200.00 250.00 250.00 240.00 soon 7,992.00 114,774.66 0.00 2,000.00 124,766.66 90,485.50 1,719.07 307.97 4,524.79 3, 314.54 4,524.79 430.00 350.00 200.00 5,210.00 60.00 1,100.00 200.00 200.00 100.00 200.00 250.00 250.00 240.00 October 10, 2007" ;itv of Niagara Falls Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 Oneratino Costs Telephone /Directory Hydro Heat and Fuel Water Advertising Maintenance Structural Trades Cleaning Staff Janitorial Supplies Equipment -mechanical &security Conservation Supplies and Equipment Outside Conservator Disolavs and Exhibits Displays and Backgrounds Other Misc. Honourarium Educational Programs Public Programmes 5alesware Purchases Sales Tax Remitted Total Disbursements October 10, 2007" 2007 zoos 1,300.00 1,300.00 150.00 150.00 2,035.00 2,035.00 220.00 220.00 1,265.00 2, 000.00 7,540.00 2,000.00 150.00 150.00 100.00 100.00 350.00 405.00 665.00 665.00 590.00 345.00 200.00 890. DO 930.00 800.00 800.00 130,493.00 124t76S.6& ;itv of Niagara Falis Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 2007 tattle Ground Notel Receipts Municipal Grant 67,949.00 67,949.00 Total Receipts StafFna and Wages 49,945.00 Wages 949.00 EHT 170.00 WSIB 2,497.00 CPP 1,680.00 UIC 2,497.00 OMERS Utilities 550.00 Phone 1,128.00 Hydro 3,693.00 Gas 1,440.00 Water Administration 700.00 Office Supplies 500.00 Advertising Artifacts Conservation Supplies 500.00 200.00 Displays 1, 000.00 Acquisitions 300.00 Educational Programs Maintenance 2ooa 72,069.08 72,069.08 51,433.35 977.47 175.10 2,570.88 1,730.40 2, 570.88 550.00 1,128.00 3,693.00 1,440.00 2,700.00 1,000.00 300.00 300.00 1,000.00 300.00 October 10, 2007" ~itv of Niagara Fails Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 2007 Zoos Cleaning Supplies 200.00 200.00 Cleaning Staff Equipment Total 67,949.00 72,069.08 October 10, 2007" Is Board of Museums - Gompin :ity of Niagara Falls Armoury Recei is Municipal Grant Total Receipts Staffing and Wages Wages UE WSIB EHT CPP Utilities Phone Hydro Gas Water Fire Monitoring Administration Office Supplies Computer & printer Advertising Curatorial and Public Progs. Set-up of common exhibit and curatorial prep space Signage, etc. Educational Programs Maint_ enance zoos zoo? 79,569.00 77,969.00 79,569.00 77,969.00 950.00 40 40,950.00 , 1,500.00 1,500.00 139.00 139.00 780.00 780.00 2,000.00 2,000.00 000.00 2 2,000.00 , 200.00 13 13,200.00 , 700.00 7 7,700.00 , 300.00 3 3,300.00 , 1,600.00 700.00 700.00 1,000.00 500.00 500.00 1,200.00 2,200.00 October 10, 2007" :itv of Niagara Falls Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 Cleaning Supplies Cleaning Staff Equipment zoo? zoos 500.00 500.00 Z, 000.00 2, 000.00 500.00 500.00 Total 77,969.00 79,569.00 October 10, 2007" ;itv of Niagara Fails Board of Museums -Combined Budget 2008 Summary of Receipts, Disbursements and Municipal Grant Request Grand Total Receipts Grand Total L)isbursements Grand Totai Municipal Grant -Operating Capital and Reserve Reauest Detail Capital Armoury -Capital budget carry-over from 2007 Reserve Transfer to Reserves -Battle Ground Hotel Buildings /Facilities Reserve Transfer to Reserves -Willoughby Historical Buildings /Facilities Grand Total Municipal Grant Request -Capital and Reserves October 10, 2007" 2ooT Zoos 522,381.50 542,164.73 522,381.50 542,164.73 488,761.50 489,232.73 48,000.00 5,000.00 2,000.00 55,000.00 v NIAGARA FALLS * ONTARIO * CANADA October 16, 2007 Corporate Services Committee The City of Niagara Falls City Hall, P.O. Box 1023 4310 Queen Street Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6X5 5400 Robinson Street, 2nd Floor Niagara Falls, ON L26 3X4 Tel: 905-374-1616 • Fax: 905-374-4683 Email: Info@wfol.com • WFOL.com RE: Winter Festival of Lights - 2008 Proposed Operating Budget /Funding Request Dear Members of the Corporate Services Committee: I enclose herein for your review the 2008 Proposed Operating Budget of the Winter Festival of Lights along with our most recent audited financial statements. The Winter Festival of Lights Board respectfully requests 2008 funding from the City of Niagara Falls in the amount of $380,000. This is a 0% increase from our 2007 approved municipal funding request, and remains at the same level requested and received for the past several years. We ask for your continued support to allow the Winter Festival of Lights to continue to be a powerful driver of the local economy in the winter months while enhancing the social fabric of the community. Sincerely, WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS c~s~-~x Ethel White-Ashby Chair WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS OPERATING BUDGET 2007 2008 REVENUES Ap proved Budget Pro posed Budget Public Funding Ontario Tourism $ 45,000.00 $ 50,000.00 City of Niagara Falls $ 380,000.00 $ 380,000.00 Employment Ontario $ 10,000.00 $ 12,000.00 Corporate Sponsors $ 226,000.00 $ 181,110.00 Other Funding $ 364,772.00 $ 373,704.00 TOTAL REVENUES $ 1,025,772.00 $ 996,814.00 EXPENDITURES Rent Warehouse Rent Insurance Telephone Bookkeeping/Auditing Fees Legal Fees Bank Charges Photocopier Exp Internet Charges Office Equipment Maintenance General Meetings & Sundries Memberships & Dues Office Supplies Postage/Courier General Mileage Miscellaneous Freight/Shipping Employee Health Benefits Donations WSIB Office Maintenance Salaries (incl employer deductions) HRSDC Expenses Volunteer Expenses Board Expenses Sponsorship Expenses Fundraising Expenses Marketing/Advertising Opening Weekend Events Lights & Lighting Displays Other Events TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES $ $ $ 15,900.00 7, 800.00 6,200.00 7,500.00 4,000.00 2,300.00 500.00 1,000.00 1, 500.00 5,000.00 2, 500.00 2,500.00 2,000.00 300.00 15,000.00 400.00 750.00 207,000.00 2, 900.00 5, 800.00 150.00 30,000.00 36,700.00 167, 825.00 20,ooo.oa 290,062.00 190,153.00 1,025,740.00 $ $ 17,000.00 5,406.00 6,700.00 6,000.00 9,500.00 2,500.00 3,000.00 2, 500.00 600.00 CAPITAL EXPENDITURES $ Contingency $ BALANCE $ 32 1,000.00 1,800.00 6, 500.00 2, 500.00 2,500.00 2, 000.00 300.00 10,000.00 500.00 900.00 300.00 230,642.00 2,000.00 6,100.00 100.00 23,148.00 25, 000.00 190,450.00 24,000.00 157,657.00 135,296.60 875,899.60 112,810.00 3,500.00 4,604 WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS OPERATING BUDGET IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS 2008 Niagara Parks Commission $ 250,000.00 Employment Ontario $ 45,000.00 City of Niagara Falls $ 20,000.00 Tim Hortons $ 12,000.00 David Whysall Fireworks $ 8,480.00 Various Other $ 11,000.00 IN-KIND MARKETING SUPPORT Cogeco Cable $ 20,000.00 Niagara Falls Review $ 14,310.00 Niagara this Week $ 9,010.00 105.1 FM $ 3,000.00 CAA Magazine $ 5,000 AAA Motorist Magazine $ 7,627 Niagara Falls Tourism -Ads $ 10,600.00 STAR 102.5 FM $ 5,250.00 TOTAL IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS $ 421,277.00 ~ 2 ~ 1 ~ Y '7 WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS Financial Statements for the Year Ended March 31, 2007 and Auditors' Report to the Directors DURWARD JONES BARKWELL S COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants WINTER FESTI~IAL OF LIGHTS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS MARCH 31, 2007 Auditors' Report to the Directors ......................... Statement of Operations ..................................... Statement of Fund Balances .............................. Balance Sheet .................................................... Statement of Cash Flows .................................... Notes to the Financial Statements ...................... CONTENTS ..............................................................................................1 ..............................................................................................2 .................................................. . ... ........................................3 ....................................................... . ......................................4 ............5 DURWARD JONES BARKWELL & COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants i CHARl'~RED ACCOLTNTAN 1~ AUDITORS' REPORT To the Directors of Winter Festival of Lights: DLiRWARD JONES BARKWELL & COMPANY LLP 3650 Portage Road, P.O. Box 873 Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E 6v6 T 905.357.5711 TF 866.223.8459 F 905.357.7932 E nfallsCudjb.com www.djb.com We have audited the balance sheet of Winter Festival of Lights as at March 31, 2007 and the statements of operations, fund balances and cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the organization's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. Except as explained in the following paragraph, we conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. In common with many non-profit organizations, Winter Festival of Lights derives revenue from donations, sponsorships, and fundraising activities, the completeness of which is not susceptible to satisfactory audit verification. Accordingly, our verification of these revenues was limited to the amounts recorded in the records of the organization and we were not able to determine whether any adjustments might be necessary to donation, sponsorship and fundraising revenues, excess of revenue over expense, assets and deficit. In our opinion, except for the effect of adjustments, if any, which we might have determined to be necessary had we been able to satisfy ourselves concerning the completeness of the donations, sponsorships and fundraising activities referred to in the preceding paragraph, these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the organization as at March 31, 2007 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. ~.N.,.~a d~._, c~..,~, a . G..~ , o Durward Jones Barkwell & Company LLP Licensed Public Accountants June 13, 2007 Big enough to low e SMALL ENOUGH TO CARE BURLINGTGN FORT ERIE GRIMSBY HAMILTON NIAGARA FALLS ST. CATHARINES STONEY CREEK WELLAND WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2007 2 2007 2006 REVENUE Government funding (Note 2) °$ 429,189 $ 503,569 Corporate funding 231,036 169,500 Fundraising events 81,562 102,711 Other funding 239,042 206,162 980,829 ; 981,942 EXPENDITURES Advertising and promotion ?71,585 164,877 Capital campaign 15,692 ' - Depreciation -Capital Fund 86,221 61,392 Donations - 95 Festival events - Fireworks :49,440 44,505 Misty Kids 52,630 18,305 New Year's Eve 7,288 48,864 Parades - 24,302 Fundraising events 57,970 72,649 Human resource development community .1.,437 3,049 Light display 124,524 78,087 Office administration 51,097 33,845 Opening weekend 15,029 9,814 Rent 24,363 28,761 Salaries and benefits 160,306 155,656 Sponsorship committee 20,095 ' 22,206 Staging, audio and lighting 9,591 Volunteer committee _ 4,362 5,707 842,039 781,705 INCOME FROM OPERATIONS 138,790 200,237 OTHER REVENUE Gain on forgiveness of debt - 115,414 Gain on disposal of assets -Capital Fund 10,711 - EXCESS OF REVENUE OVER EXPENDITURES $ 149 501 $ 315,651 DURWARD JONES BARKWELL b COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS STATEMENT OF FUND BALANCES YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2007 3 Capital Operating Total Total Fund Fund 2007 2006 BALANCE, BEGINNING OF YEAR $ 272,851 $' 71,188 ` $ 344,1137 $ 28,386 EXCESS (DEFICIENCY) OF REVENUE OVER EXPENDITURES (75,51Q) 225,011 _ 149,501 315,651 INVESTMENT IN CAPITAL ASSETS 228,462 (228,462) - PROCEEDS ON DISPOSAL OF ASSETS 517,383) 17,363 - _ BALANCE, END OF YEAR $ 448 440 $ 85,098 $ .493,538 $ 344,037 DURWARD JONES BARKWELL b COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS BALANCE SHEET MARCH 31, 2007 4 2007 2006 ASSETS Current assets Cash $ 59,675 $ 91,591 Accounts receivable 47,027..:. 71,759 Inventory ' 10,8'i4 8,644 Prepaid expenses 7,439 3,253 Capital assets (Note 3) '; 124,955 175,247 408,440; 272,851 $ 533 395 $ 448,098 LIABILITIES Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued charges $ 20,422 $ 104,061 Deferred revenue 19,435 - - 39,857 104,061 Commitment (Note 41 FUND BALANCES - Operating Fund -Unrestricted 85,098 71,186 Capital Fund -Invested in capital assets 408x440 272,851 493538 344,037 .-...533,395 $ 448,098 Approved by the Board: Director ........................... Director DURWARD JONES BARKWELL b COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2007 5 20107 2006 OPERATING ACTIVITIES Excess of revenue over expenditures $_ 149,501 $ 315,651 Items not affecting cash Depreciation 86, 221 61, 392 Gain on forgiveness of debt - (115,414) Gain on disposal of assets (10,711) - 225,011= 261,629 Changes in non-cash operating assets and liabilities Accounts receivable 24,732 128 576 Prepaid expenses (2,170) , (8 644) Inventory (4,186) (2,870) Accounts payable and accrued charges (83,639),''` (200,616) Deferred revenue ~ 19,435 (31,667) 179,183 146,408 INVESTING ACTIVITIES Capital expenditures (228,462} (72,946) Proceeds on disposal of assets 17,363; ' - (211,099} (72,946) INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH {31,916) 73,462 CASH, BEGINNING OF YEAR 9..1.,591 - 18,129 CASH, END OF YEAR $ 59,675 $ 91,591 DURWARD JONES BARKWELL E COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS MARCH 31, 2007 6 1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND GENERAL INFORMATION Nature of business Winter Festival of Lights was created by letters patent in June 1992 under the laws of the Province of Ontario and operates as anon-profit organization which is responsible for promoting and organizing an event known as the Winter Festival of Lights held each year in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Fund accounting The organization follows the fund method of accounting whereby financial statement elements are reported by fund. Restricted funds have stipulations that specify how resources must be used. Unrestricted funds have no stipulations. The Operating Fund accounts for all of the organization's operating activities associated with the Winter Festival of Lights and reports unrestricted resources. The Capital Fund accounts for all of the organization's capital assets. Capital assets are recorded at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful lives using the declining-balance method at the following rates: Computer equipment 30% Computer software 100% Floats 40% Furniture and equipment 20% Light displays 20% Mascots 30% Power supply 10% Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight line basis over afive-year period. Additions during the year are depreciated from the month of acquisition. Disposals are depreciated until the month of disposition. Revenue recognition The organization follows the Restricted Fund method of accounting for contributions. Under this method, unrestricted contributions are recognized as revenue of the Operating Fund in the period for which the contribution relates. Unrestricted contributions received for future periods are deferred and recognized as revenue in the periods the related expenses are incurred. Restricted contributions received for which a separate fund is not presented are recognized in the Operating Fund in accordance with the deferral method, whereby contributions for expenses of future periods are deferred and recognized as revenue in the periods the related expenses are incurred. Corporate funding, fundraising events and other funding are recognized as revenue as earned. Deferred revenue Cash received prior to year end for next year events is recorded as deferred revenue. Contributed materials and services The organization receives contributed materials and services which are not recognized in the financial statements because of the difficulty in determining their fair value. Financial instruments The fair value of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximates their carrying value due to the relatively short-term nature of these instruments. DURWARD JONES BARKWELL 3 COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS MARCH 31, 2007 1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND GENERAL INFORMATION (continued) Use of estimates The preparation of financial statements in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from management's best estimates, as additional information becomes available in the future. 2. GOVERNMENT FUNDING City of Niagara Falls Human Resources & Skills Development Canada Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation Ontario Trillium Foundation 3. CAPITAL ASSETS Computer software Computer equipment Floats Furniture and equipment Light displays Mascots Power supply Leasehold improvements 4. COMMITMENT - 2007 2006 380,000 $ 380,000 12,189 23,869 37,000 44,500 - 55,200 $ 421189 $ 503,569 ZOtj7 2006 Accumulated Net Book Net Book Cost Depreciation Value Value $ 8,052 $ 8,052 ~ - $ 7,952 .47,152. 25,792 21,360 30,081 55,783 46,822 8,961 14,936 11,689 9,820 1;869. 2,098 .984,623 661,814 322,805 183,022 32,555 14,521 18,034 12,169 56,123 35,789 20,334 22,593 16.,748 1,675 15,073 - $-1,212,725 $ 804,285 $ 408 440. $ 272,851 The organization leases facilities under a lease agreement which expires in October 2009 and requires monthly payments of $1,250 plus GST. In addition, the organization is responsible for its pro-rata share of certain common area expenses. 5. ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE The organization is dependent upon continued government funding at various levels in addition to corporate sponsorships, contributed materials and services, and volunteer involvement. The operations could not be continued without this funding, contributions or volunteer support. DURWARD JONES BARKWELL b COMPANY LLP Chartered Accountants ~., ONE VNONDER AFTER ANOTHER NIAGARA FALLS TOUItiSii Mr. Todd Harrison Acting I3ir. Financial Services 4310 queen Street PO Box 1023 Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6~5 October 9, 2007 Bear YIr. Harrison: As per your request dated September 6th, 2007, I respectfialiy submit this request for funding to the City of Niagara Falls an behalf of the Board and Members of Niagara Falls Tourism, During the Corporate Services Committee 2045 Budget deliberations, Niagara Falls Tourism agreed to a decrease in Municipal Support of $50,000.00 per year. The funding was to be augmented by a grant from the Ontario Power Generating Corporation {$70,000.00 to be ear-marked for web-based marketing plus a care of $140,040). In 2006, our request did indeed reflect this agreement. Unfortunately, the past year has been a struggle for our industry. visitation fram our key US markets decreased at an astounding rate for a multitude of reasons {confusion over passport requirements, exchange rates, perceived waiting times at border crossings, etc). The Niagara Falls Tourism industry required a more aggressive, coordinated and far-reaching advertising strategy in order to sotlen the blow. ~e were able to mitigate some of the downfall with a very successful television/web campaign, however there is much more work to be done. In order to continue on the path our Board of Directors has set, assistance will be required from experts in the advertising Feld. To this end, our Board has asked that Nagara Falls Tourism contract the services of an Agency of Record for the coming year. This agency would be responsible for ensuring that we present Niagara Falls in the best possible light to our potential visitors. In addition, our industry is currently facing a major issue with Human IZesoui°ce recruitment. ~~~/ith the announcement of the new Convention and Civic Centre, recruitment will become a far bigger issue for our industry in the next three years -one which needs to be addressed immediately. research shows that a strong destination brand is essential in recruiting and retaining qualified employees. An ~igency of Record would assist us in creating and maintaining a brand that would attract potential employees as wail as visitors and investors. In order to advance the organizations goals and provide the services our members so desperately need, additional funding is required. Although membership fees have been signi#~cantly increased, more funding will be necessary. Niagara Falls Tourism, therefore requests that a grant of $444,000,40 be considered for the coming year. A copy of our proposed budget is attached. I would be pleased to appear before the Council at any time to present the plan and answer any questions. In the interim, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. ivly contact information is indicated below. ~i'ours truly, ~~~ - ~~ r~zina fierce lJxecutive Director Niagara Falls Tourism 54DO Robinson Street 1~tiagara Fa11s, ~JN 1J2G 2~b 'Tel: {9Q5) JSb-btlbl iJxt. i7 Fax: {9(35) 35b-5567 E-mail: auie,cer?niaaara-Fallsiourism.c~:m Niagara Falls Tourism Budget of Revenues and Expenses - 2007/2008 EXPENSES Member Program Exoenses Website Enquiry Kits Brochure Distribution Guide Niagara Misty Awards Tear Off Maps Honeymoon Certificates Miscellaneous Advertising Exp Total Co-oo Advertising Expenses ~OTMP Co-op Dining and Shopping Guide Destination Planner Travel Trade Travel Trade -Asia Pacific AMC&IT Program Miscellaneous Advertising Programs Web-based Advertising Programs 2006/2007 ~u~dget $18,000.00 $18, 500.00 $'150,000.00 $17,092.0® $24, 000.00 $20, 094.00 $750.00 $55,419.00 ~cD0 7y8~~.QQ $486,120.001_ $44, 073.00 $75,492.00 $61, 500.00 ~ $30,000.00 $64,000.00 $70,000.00{ $0.00 $78,000.00 $20,000.00 $150,000.00 $15,®OC1.001 $18y000.00~ $21,000.00 ~80a.00 i~$j'7ry+2y,000y.0y09 +Ya7 V V,O00.00 $46,200.00 $0.00 $70,000.00 $30y000.00 $55,000,00 ~$p70,000.00 p~0y0®®.00 Total' $831 y185.00 $561 y20a.00 Total EXperl$es $1,135,04@.00 $1 y036,000.00 Niagara Faifs Tourism Budget of Revenues and Expenses - 2007/2008 Revenues Membership Fees. Grants and Miscellaneous Membership Fees City of Niagara Falls Annual Grant OPG Annual Grant WFOL (Rent) Info Centre Revenues Miscellaneous Revenues Total Member Program Revenues Website Enquiry Kits Brochure Distribution Guide Niagara Misty's Total Co-Op Advertising Revenues OTMP Co-Op Opportunities Dining and Shopping Guide Destination Planner Travel Trade Travel Trade -Asia Pacific MC&IT Program Miscellaneous Advertising Programs 2006/2007 X341, 754.0ry0 $280, 00®.00 X100,000.00 X15,000.00 _v... X45,00®.00 X12,000.00 $793,754.00 $3$0,395.00 1 X50,000.00 I X150,000.00 I $22,450.00 X16,232.00 $610,077.00 X212,207.00 X64,500.00 X70,005.00 $69, 775.00 $28,057.00 $55,648.00 $48, 870.00 Budget WJa7N,WoV.VV $4oOy000.00 ~~ ®®,®®0.00 $15y000.00 $50,00®.00 ~15ya®0.00 $0`5,000.00 ~250,000.00I X50,0®0.00 $150,000.00 ~~2yd150.o0 X18,000.00 ~~~0,~50.00 $300,000.00' rp90yaa®.®V ~a.oo .p30g00O.00 $55,000.00 $5Oy000.00 Total ;549,062.00 $5Z38yaaa.aa TOTAL REVEWUE~ ~ ~ $1,g61,8g3.00~~ $2,053,450.00 DRAFT - \ler. 9 Niagara Falls Tourism Budget of Revenues and Expenses - 2007/2008 2008/2007 budget General /~dministratic~n Salaries and Benefits -Administration I $252,000.00 $280,00O.OOI~ Salaries and Benefits -Asia Pacific $31,800.00 ~ $35,000.00~ Salaries and Benefits - MC~IT $55,000.00 ~ ~ $58,000.00 Salaries and Benefits -Travel Trade $48,330.00 $50,000.00 Info Centre -Robinson StJRainbow Bridge _ I $82,500.00~~ $85,000.00 Info Centre -Stanley Avenue $38,000.00 $4t0,000.00~ ®ffice Expenses $20,000.00 $25,000.00 Meetings Expenses ! $22,00O.OOI~ $25,000.00~~ Postage $11,000.00 $12,000.00 Telephone/Blackberry $18,000.00 $20,000.00 Computer Support $2,000.00 $5,000.00 Research and Dev. $30,200.00 ~ $15,000.00 Assoc. Memberships ~ $24,000.00 ~ $25,000.00 Public Relations $24,530.00~~ $15,000,00 Photo & Image Library $0.00 $°10,000.00 Rent $55, 000.00 ~ _ $80,000.00 ~ Equipment Rentals $15,000.00( $16,000.00 Maintenance $1,800.001 $2,000.00 Insurance ~ $8,054.00 $10,000.00 Legal and Accounting $8,000.00( $42,000.00~ Bank Charges and Interest $7,000.001 ~ $7,200.00 Bad Debt $700.00 $5,000AO~ Miscellaneous $525.00 ~ $5,000.00 (T®tal $767,430.00( $857,200.00 Total Revenues ~ $2,053,450.00 Minus General Expenses $857,200.00 Minus Marketing Expenses $1,036,000.00 $1,303,200.00 ~ Tr~tal Sur{~lu~s ~ ,~ I ~~5a,~~o.~a] Total Deficit (~Ob~/b7) $100,000.00 Total ~t~aarrr~ X50,250.00 NIAGARA CHAIR-A-VAN BUDGET - 2008 Actual 2007 Est Est Est Est Est 2007 Budget Jan -Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Budget 2007 Budget 2008 inc/dec REVENUE Passenger Revenue $ 28,126 $ 3,100 $ 3,100 $ 3,100 $ 3,100 $ 40.526 $ 36,200 $ 40,000 $ 3.800 10.50% Charter Revenue $ 930 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 930 $ - $ - $ - School Board $ - $ 4,700 $ 5,850 $ 6,075 , $ 4.050 $ 20,675 $ - $ 42,703 $ 42,703 . TOTAL REVENUE $ 29,056 $ 7,800 $ 8,950 $ 9,175 $ 7,150 $ 62,131 $ 36,200 $ 82,703 $ 46,503 128.46% OPERATING EXPENDITURES, Operators (4 FIT) $ 109,493 $ 14,558 $ 14,500 $ 14,500 $ 14,500 $ 167,550 $ 163,800 $ 180,000 $ 16,200 9.89% PT I $ 19,550 $ 2,739 $ 2,600 $ 2,600 $ 2,600 $ 30,088 $ 17,645 $ 33,000 $ 15,355 87.02% Contract Driver & monitor I $ - $ 1,900 $ 2,100 $ 2,100 $ 1,500 $ 7,600 $ - $ 19,570 $ 19,510 ~ Total Driver Wages I $ 129,042 $ 19,196 $ 19,200 $ 19,200 $ 18,600 $ 205,239 $ 181,445 $ 232,570 $ 51,125 28.18% Dispatcher (office) inc. to 40hr ~ $ 28,102 $ 3,415 $ 3,400 $ 3,400 $ 3,400 $ 41,717 $ 41,760 $ 45,000 $ 3,240 7.76% PT Office help [30 hrslwk] I $ - $ 1,320 $ 1,320 $ 1,260 $ 3,900 $ - $ 17,160 $ 17,160 I Workers Compensation I $ 4,704 $ - $ - $ - $ 5,000 $ 9,704 $ 10,000 $ 11,500 $ 1,500 15.00%I Employment Insurance I $ 3,950 $ 570 $ 590 $ 565 $ 550 $ 6,225 $ 5,420 $ 7,000 $ 1,580 29.15%~ Canada Pension Plan I $ 6,602 $ 968 $ 1,035 $ 995 $ 965 $ 10,565 $ 9,300 $ 12,000 $ 2,700 I 29.03°l0~ Employees Benefits I $ 14,729 $ 1,789 $ 1,789 $ 1,789 $ 1,789 $ 21,884 $ 20,400 $ 24,000 $ 3,600 I 17.65°!0l Total Wages 8~ Benefits $ 187,129 $ - - 25,938 I $ 27,334 I $ 27,269 I $ 31,564 I $ 299,235 ~ $ 268,325 I $ 349,230 $ 80,905 I 30.15%I -- r -- - Advertising I I $ 170 $ 25 $ - $ 200 $ - $ 395 $ 400 $ 500 $ 100 I 25.00%~ Administrative Costs I $ 2,000 $ 1,000 $ - $ - $ 2,000 $ 5,000 $ 5,000 $ 5,000 $ - 0.00%1 Audit Fees I $ 541 $ - $ 250 $ - $ 1,300 $ 2,091 $ 1,100 $ 1,300 $ 200 18.18% Van Maintenance I $ 30,052 $ 4,511 $ 4,200 $ 4,200 $ 4,200 $ 47,163 $ 42,000 $ 50,000 $ 8,000 19.05% Gas & Oil I $ 28,100 $ 3,838 $ 3,500 $ 3,500 $ 3,500 $ 42,438 $ 40,200 $ 48,000 $ 7,800 19.40% Insurance I $ 13,905 $ 1,735 $ 1,735 $ 1,735 $ 1,735 $ 20,845 $ 20,845 $ 25,000 $ 4,155 19.93% Office Expense + $ 2,408 $ 289 $ 315 $ 315 $ 600 $ 3,927 $ 4,065 $ 4,300 $ 235 5.78°to Rent $ 3,200 $ 400 $ 400 $ 400 $ 400 $ 4,800 $ 4,800 $ 5,000 $ 200 4.17%I Telephone $ 1,751 $ 223 $ 225 $ 225 $ 225 $ 2,648 $ 2,580 $ 2,800 $ 220 8.53%~ Uniform I $ 1,015 $ 179 $ 250 $ 250 $ 225 $ 1,919 $ 1,700 $ 2,200 $ 500 29.41% Management Expenses I $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ 600 $ 100 20.00% Taxis $ 28 $ - $ - $ - $ - I $ 28 $ - $ - $ - Training $ 539 $ 39 $ 60 I $ 60 $ 60 i $ 758 $ 1,000 ($ 1,200 $ 200 20.00% Total -Other Expenses $ I 83,708 $ 12,237 $ 10,935 $ 10,885 $ 14,745 $ 132,510 $ 124,190-(-$ 145,900 $ 21,710 17.48% TOTAL EXPENDITURES $ 270,837 $ 38,176 $ 38,269 $ 38,154 $ 46,309 $ 431,745 $ 392,515 I $ 495,130 $ 102,615 26.14% EXCESS OF EXPENDITURES OVER REVENUE I $ 241,781 $ 30,376 $ 29,319 $ 28,979 $ 39,159 $ 369,614 $ 356,315 j $ 412,428 $ 56,113 15.75%~ - ~ 4 ! 29 Stanley Avenue, Unit 2 Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E 7H3 ~. .. Phone: 905.357.5121 Fax: 905.357.0143 ~' » - - ~°'~' "~~~ Email: info@projectshare.ca Web: www.projectshare.ca BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jim Ferraro Chairman john Carter Todd Harrison Past Chairman Acting Director of Financial Services City of Niagara Falls Bart Maves 4310 Queen Street City Council Representative Niagara Falls, Ontario Anna Luciano September 14, 2007 Treasurer Greg Medulun Dear Mr. Harrison, Joyce Morocco Brian Pellow As requested, we have submitted a detailed budget of revenues and expenditures Paisley January Pool Brian Thompson for 2008 with com arable ro ected fi ures for our 2007 o erations. Also enclosed p p J g p Selina Volpatti is a copy of our audited financial statements. Members We are reviewing our reserves annually to ensure adequate cash flows, to provide Elaine Harvey for financing of replacements of acquisition of assets that are currently Executive Director depreciating, to avoid borrowing requirements caused by a sudden reduction in Karen Stearne funding, to provide financing for one-time expenditures without permanently Honourary Member impacting our financial position, to provide flexibility and provide a source of internal financing. A 6 month Employment Standards reserve has been established at the recommendation of our auditors at Crawford, Smith & Swallow. We have also been working with builders who will be doing major renovations to our warehouse space. This project will begin next month and have a significant impact on our reserves. In addition to the money we receive annually from our funding sources, (including the City of Niagara Falls), in order to balance our budget we are required to fundraise approximately $300,000 yearly, which is over 1/3 of the total budget. Because of recent layoffs in tourism and manufacturing sectors, some of our previous donors are now coming to us for assistance. Many city agencies are forced to fundraise and with fewer donors each year, it is getting harder to meet this ~~~ challenge. We really appreciate our partnership with the city of Niagara Falls. Without your help, we would not be able to continue to help the less fortunate in Niagara,Falls N a ~A our community. Niagara/`f Region Sincerely, Building Community. Building Lives. '~~~ 'P' Elaine Harvey Executive Director UNITED WAY OF NIAGARA FALLS REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 107867338RR0001 - A measure of a community is how it treats those who are disadvantaged Project S.H.A.R.E. Report to City Hall October, 2007 Coordinated Emergency Services was created in 1983 as an emergency food bank, as Niagara Falls' economy was hard hit by the recession. In 1989 the services offered were expanded in response to an ongoing need and renamed Project S.H.A.R.E. to include emergency housing, utilities and prescription assistance as well as a food co-operative for families in our community who live on a low income. All of our programs are of a self-help nature, empowering consumers who use our services. Funding received from the City of Niagara Falls is used to operate the emergency food program. The number of times people came to us for assistance, (units of service), has almost doubled in the past 10 years. Our city's economy has been affected by layoffs in the manufacturing and tourism sectors over the past decade. More and more people are finding themselves in situations where they are forced to ask for help with utilities, food, prescriptions or housing. We received grants from the United Way as well as the city but we still must fundraise over one third of our budget. Our housing program, partially funded through the Ministry of Housing filtered through the Region, has only increased from $51,343 in 1992 to $54,036 in 2007, even though requests for housing assistance are increasing annually. Our staff has grown from 4 to 12 full-time employees since we opened our doors in 1989 as Project S.H.A.R.E. We are presently operating at full capacity and without coop students, Service Canada grant staff and volunteers we would not be able to assist the families living on low income coming to us for help efficiently and treat them with dignity. 68% of our volunteers are people we help who want to "give back" to our agency. In 1989 our food coop participation program began with 10 families as an experimental pilot project. Members who join are required to work three hours each month at Project S.H.A.R.E. and attend bi-monthly meetings each month. Food assistance is given once per month. They also receive some "extras" like cleaning products or household items for their additional work and responsibility. Members of the Project S.H.A.R.E. Participation Program are given donated tickets to local tourism venues and plays. Over the years we have found that membership in the coop builds self-confidence, responsibility and many close relationships. We have had many members make the jump from social assistance to full-time employment. Some of our former members stop in to donate food as a way of giving back once in a while. Because of the success of the Project S.H.A.R.E. food coop, our membership has grown from 10 families in 1989 to almost 100 families in 2007. This has affected the amount of food given out over the past decade. The pounds of food we give out in our emergency, Christmas Basket and food coop programs increased by 200% over the past 10 years. At a cost of $1.80 per pound in 1995 the dollar amount of food given out: was $372,988. Presently we are using a conservative estimate of $2.00 per pound to value our food. Using this figure the dollar amount of food given to assist those in need in 2007 will top $1,000,000. Our statistics for emergency food assistance are once again on the rise in 2007. We are seeing over 100 new families each month who :have never had to use our services before. Our housing statistics have decreased slightly only due to the method we use to record client visits to be more in line with Regional requirements. We hired a Warehouse Assistant through Service Canada Opportunities for people collecting Ontario Disability. This grant will expire in November of this year. Without this staff supplement we would have to use a volunteer for this position. Last year we hired afull-time Volunteer Coordinator for the first time and we are in the process of building a volunteer program. GICs in a total amount of $230,546 have been put aside to cover capital expenditures and employment standards, but we will soon need a larger truck for food pickups and deliveries and computer equipment and software need to be updated each year. Our utility costs, van fuel and condominium fees are also rising rapidly. $50,000 has also been appropriated for food purchases if necessary. In addition to the money we receive from our funding sources in 2007, (including the City of Niagara Falls), to balance our budget we are obligated to fundraise almost $300,000 and close to $1,000,000 worth of food. Less than half the food we raise and distribute to the needy in our community comes from donors in Niagara Falls. This food raising takes up so much staff time that many of our staff members work at Special Events or fundraisers on many weekends or evenings throughout t:he year. We are in competition with other worthwhile agencies in Niagara Falls for a limited amount of donation dollars. The economy of our' city fluctuates annually due to factors over which we have little or no control. The demand for our services is steadily increasing. We see a lot of working people who just don't make enough to make ends meet. Many of the people who come to us for help have some type of mental ilhzess or disability. Some of the residents of our community who have givers money or food to us in the past are now unable to do so due to the rising cost of living or layoffs and temporary jobs in the tourism and manufacturing sectors. We are constantly seeking out partnerships to save money artd improve the services we offer. Canadian Mental Health Association, Credit Counseling of Regional Niagara, Niagara Regional Sexual Assault, Niagara Nutrition Partners, Ontario Disability, Ontario Works, and the Homelessness Initiative Outreach program all work out of our o:Efice on Stanley Avenue and counsel our clients. Revenue and expenditure budgets are included for 2007 and 2008. As costs increase and client numbers increase we will not be able to hire more staff to fundraise the amounts needed and are requesting funding once again from the City of Niagara Falls. Project SHARE 2007 Expense Budget Budget "Internal Working Document" City Region Unit. Way Bingo/Nevada Health/HRDC I I I I Staff Salaries & Benefits 1 5273331 2561161 417391 366961 I Bank Service Charges 1 14501 I I 12001 Conferences -Education 1 30001 I 1 25001 Christmas Basket Program 1 500001 I I I Employee Group Insurance 1 460711 25197) 1 110001 Emergency/Utilities/Uway 1 227001 I I 227001 Emerg. Dental/Prescriptions 1 22501 I I I Emergency Services/Other 1 20001 I I I 1 Food Distribution 1 50001 35001 I I (Food Vouchers 1 100001 50001 I I Insurance - Bd. Of Directors 1 13391 6501 I 1801 Insurance -Building 1 52211 I 1211 51001 I Insurance -Vehicle 1 15381 1 1 15381 11 nternet 1 10001 1 1 10001 (Jump Start Sports Program 1 100001 I I I I Building Maintenance 1 175001 1 1 160001 Van Maintenance 1 10001 I I I Fuel for Vehicle 1 60001 50001 I I (Niagara Region Shelter I 200001 1 200001 I I Photocopying 1 12501 1 1 2501 (Postage 1 12001 1 1 10001 `Printing 1 10001 1 1 10001 1 Professional Fees 1 25001 5001 1 20001 1 Promotions 1 7501 I (Special Events Expense 1 100001 I I 75001 (Staff Education 1 10001 1 10001 Supplies -Office 1 100001 10001 1 90001 Supplies -Savoury/Garden 1 30501 I I I Trans. To Replacement Reserve 24000 5000 2000 70001 Telephone 7000 500 65001 (Transportation 1 135001 20001 80001 1Condo Fees 1 110001 1 1 110001 100001 I 132301 I I I i i I I 30501 I I I 2007 budgetcityofnf Donations Rental Can. Tire Fundraising 1 1595521 10000 I 1 2501 1 5001 1 500001 1 98741 I 1 22501 1 20001 1 15001 1 50001 1 5091 I I I I 100001 I 1 15001 1 10001 1 10001 1 1000 1 200 750 25001 I 10000 1 35001 I Travel & Mileage Utilities WSIB Nevada Sellers Fees Nevada License Nevada Provincial Fees Community Development Professional Development Board Appreciation Volunteer Appreciation 4000 589 12000 400 2450 500 240 500 3100 1550 1000 2500 847492 304952 500 1314 11600 336 2114 500 240 500 3100 200 1350 1000 2500 74396 166142 11240 1597 16280 10000 254482 10000 Project SHARE 2008 Expense Budget "Internal Working Document" 2008 budgetcityofnf Budget City Region Unit. Way Bingo/Nevada Health/HRDC Donations Rental Can. Tire Fundraising Staff Salaries & Benefits Bank Service Charges Conferences -Education Christmas Basket Program Employee Group Insurance ~ Emergency/Utilities/Uway Emerg. Dental/Prescriptions Emergency Services/Other Food Distribution Food Vouchers Insurance - Bd. Of Directors Insurance -Building Insurance -Vehicle Internet Jump Start Sports Program (Building Maintenance Van Maintenance Fuel for Vehicle Niagara Region Shelter Photocopying ~ Postage 1Printing Professional Fees Promotions ~ Special Events Expense Staff Education Supplies -Office (Supplies -Savoury/Garden Trans. To Replacement Reserve (Telephone Transportation Condo Fees 536482 265265 41739 36696 10000 13230 159552 10000 1450 1200 250 3000 2500 500 50000 50000 47453 25197 11000 11256 22700 22700 2250 ~ 2250 2000 ~ 2000 5000 35001 1500 10000 50001 1 5000 ~ 13391 650 180 1 509 1 52211 1 121 51001 ~ 1538 ~ ~ 15381 ~ ~ 1 10001 ~ 1 1000 ~ I 1 100001 I ~ I ~ 100001 ~ 175001 ~ 16000 1 1 1500 1 10001 ~ I 1 I 1000 1 6000 5000 ~ 1 ~ ~ ~ 1000 1 200001 ~ 200001 + I I I 1250) I I 250 1 1 1 1000 1200 ~ ~ ~ 1000 ~ 1 1 200 10001 ~ 1 10001 ~ 1 25001 500 ~ 1 20001 1 ~ I 750 i 1 I I ~ I I 750 100001 1 1 7500) ~ 1 2500 1 10001 1 1000 1 1 ~ 10000 1000 9000 i ~ 30501 I I I 30501 240001 5000 2000+ 7000 1 i 10000 70001 1 500+ 65001 I I 13500 20001 80001 i 1 1 1 3500 11000 1 1 110001 I I I Travel & Mileage Utilities WSIB Nevada Sellers Fees Nevada License +Nevada Provincial Fees Community Development Professional Development Board Appreciation Volunteer Appreciation 4000 589 12000 400 2450 500 240 500 3100 1550 1000 2500 858023 314101 500 1314 1597 ~ 11600 ~ 336 2114 500 240 500 3100 200 1350 ~ 1000 ~ 2500 74396 166142 11240 16280 10000 255864 10000 Project S.H.A.R.E. People Served 2006 Emergency Food Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov New Families 92 85 72 53 60 50 49 62 63 69 85 New Child Dep 70 67 58 41 54 33 35 32 47 43 52 New Adult Dep 39 32 21 16 17 13 14 19 29 25 33 F11w-up Families 1048 981 1067 945 976 888 795 956 889 991 1177 Child dep 915 830 850 837 830 773 684 790 752 877 1013 Adult Dep 337 320 324 301 331 312 266 248 219 295 353 Christmas Baskets T tal 2501 2315 2 392 193 2 2 268 2069 1843 2107 1999 2300 2713 , , , o Co-op Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Ocf I No New Families 0 0 10 6 7 8 11 11 6 4 New Child Dep 0 0 16 3 6 10 16 16 11 2 New Adult Dep 0 0 5 1 1 i 7 4 4 1 0 Fllw-up Families 76 76 64 74 82I 76 84 84 69 75 Child dep 91 91 72 87 93 82 92 92 78 89 Adult Dep 25 25 22 27 28 24 31 31 25 26 Total 192 192 189 198 217 207 238 238 190 196 Dec 78 45 28 1013 829 309 3465 5767 TOTAL 818 577 286 11726 9980 3615 3465 30467 Dec TOTAL 5 5 73 5 3 88 1 i 25 79 86 925 91 84 1042 26 27 317 207 206 v 2470 Support Services Jan Feb Mar Apri! May 1 June July Aug Sept I Oct Nov Dec TOTAL Agency Referrals 120 127 116 62 100 94 71 88 92 89 99 81 1139 Only Referrals 71 66 73 36 78 65 30 67 77 55 54 41 713 Utility Subsidy Program 223 234 192 114 222 199 166 134 159 187 97 190 2117 Winter Warmth Fund 60 68 32 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 7 29 206 Share The Warmth 36 50 65 37 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 234 Emergency 111 129 77 65) 33 75 31 22 65 71 70 64 813 Total 621 674 555 314 456 433 298 311 _ 393 402 327 438 5222 Emergency Housing Jan Feb March April May June July ~ Aug ~ -y Sept Oct Nov Dec TOTAL Hostel Agreements 4 5 5 4 3 6 4 4 1 1 2 6 45 Units of Service 137 143 157 129 116 117 120 117 123 111 124 133 1527 Trustees 21 19 23 23 26 23 20 20 15 15 4 2 211 Agency Referrals 274 286 314 258 323 234 240 234 246 222 235 251 3117 Total 436 453 499 414 468 380 384 375 385 349 365 392 4900 GRAND TOTAL ~ 3750 ~ 3634 3635 ~ 3119 ~ 3409 ~ 3089 ~ 2763 ~ 3031 ~ 2967 ~ 3247 ~ 3612 ~ 6803 ~ 43059 Volunteer Service ~' These totals for Volunteer Service are not included in our Grand Total UNITS OF SERVICE Jan Feb March April May June 1 July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec TOTAL New Volunteers-HOURS 3 16 19 6 8 7 8 67 Active Volunteers-HOURS 88 99 111 94 108 94 82 676 Total 91 115 130 100 116 101 90 0 0 0 0 0~ 743 Year Units of Service Outgoing Food Dollar Value of Lbs. Outgoing Food 1996 31,119 19,142/month $459,408 1997 28,515 19,221/month $461,304 1998 29,093 21,173/month $508,152 1999 27,373 19,270/month $462,480 2000 29,873 26,940/month $646,560 2001 37,500 31,369/month $752,856 2002 38,086 32,675/month $980,250 2003 45,608 32,675/month $1,283,440 2004 44,059 42,290/month $1,268,700 2005 45,042 35,752/month $1,072,560 2006 43,059 42,453/month $1,018,872* *Food is now valued at $2.00/pound rather than $2.50 in previous few years. i September 27, 2007 Mr. Todd Harrison Acting Director of Financial Services City of Niagara Falls 4310 Queen Street P. O. Box 1023 Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6X5 Dear Mr. Todd Harrison: Please accept this letter on behalf of the YWCA Niagara Region as a formal request for a grant from the City of Niagara Falls for the year 2008. As per previous years we are forwarding this request through the United Way of Niagara Falls grant process. For your information I have attached a copy of our Audited Financial Statement, as well as a copy of our Annual Report. We have greatly appreciated the ongoing support that we receive from the City of Niagara Falls. Last year our Culp Street shelter was able to provide safe shelter and supportive services to 278 women and 62 children. That means in Niagara Falls we were able to provide 4,220 nights of shelter and 13,000 meals. Your support, both personal and financial was essential in providing these services to those women and children in their time of need. It is my sincere hope that once again the City of Niagara Falls will be able to assist us in providing vital services to woman and children at a critical turning point in their lives. As a result I am requesting a grant in the amount of $63,438.00. Once again, I would like to extend our thanks for all of your support and we look forward to continuing to work with you. Should you require any additional information, please contact me directly at 905-988-3528, ext. 39. Sincerely, .-~~/; Eh~abeth Zimmermann Executive Director Enclosure C~ ~caf ~~t ~~~c-~~,cs^~ ~~t~E~l~~,f . ~~. ~ftlC@t~ Vit~1~ of Niagara Falls and Greater Fort brie October 10, 2007 Mr. Todd Harrison Acting Director of Financial Services City of Niagara Falls 4310 Queen Street Niagara Falls, Ont. L2E 6X5 Dear Mr. Harrison: Please accept this letter as our request for a funding subsidy towards the rental of office space in the MacBain Community Centre. According to our 10-year lease, dated July 5, 2005, our basic rent is $9.42 per square foot for a space of 746 square feet. The yearly grant to subsidize the rent is $872.82 plus GST totaling $933.92, therefore, we respectfully request your inclusion of this amount as you prepare the 2008 City of Niagara Falls budget. I am enclosing a copy of our 2006 audited financial statements as well as a draft operating budget for 2008 with comparatives to 2007, as per your request. The United Way holds no designated reserve funds other than an operational reserve. Please see note 8 of the financial statements. I trust all this information is in order and acceptable. If you have any questions, please call me directly. Thank you. Sincerely, Carol Stewart-Kirkby Executive Director Encls. 7150 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls, ON L2H 3N3 • Tel: 905-354-9342 P.O. Box 266, Fort -Erie, ON L2A 5M5 • Tel: 905-871-5454 Fax: 905-354-2717 • unitedway@caninet.com • www.unitedwayniagara.org United Way of Niagara Falls and Greater Fort Erie 2008 Operating Budget -DRAFT Revenue 2007 2008 Budget UW Grant 230,693.131 229,747.00 UW of FE Service payment 6,000.00 0.00 Investment Income 15,900.00 19,500.00 GST Rebate 2,450.00 550 00 3 2,550.00 001 3 550 HRDC -Summer Student . , 500 00 2 , . 00 855 3 Miscellaneous . , . , TOTAL REVENUE { 261,093.13_ 259,202.00 Expenses Salaries 174,730.98 176,478.00 Source Deductions 11,255.00 11,367.00 WSIg 566.47 572.00 {Benefits I 5,658.18 5,940.00 {Rent 7,700.00 ~ 7,700.00 (Telephone/Fax 6,100.00 4,900.00 Postage I 4,250.00 4,000.00 Printing/Photocopying 4,500.00 4,000.00 Transportation 4,550.00 3,900.00 Conferences 2,500.00 2,500.00 {National Dues 9,625.00 9,585.00 Bank Charges I 700.00 710.00 Insurance 3,500.00 2,750.00 Accounting 8,700.00 10,000.00 Training 500.00 500.00 Software & Hardware 750.00 750.00 IIT Support* 2,057.50 2,100.00 Campaign Supplies 3,100.00 3,100.00 Advertising & Marketing 1,500.00 1,500.00 AGMlAwards I 1,250.00 1,250.00 {Office Supplies 4,100.00 4,100.00 {Credit Card Fees 1,500.00 1,500.00 {Strategic Plan 2,000.00 0.00 {TOTAL 261,093.13 259,202.00 *lncludes annual license fee for Rainbow software ~~.~ ~~~ ~~~~ 10 September 2007 Todd Harrison Acting Director Financial Services Corporate Services, City of Niagara Falls 4310 Queen Street P.O. Box 1023 Niagara Falls, Ontario L2 E 6)C5 Dear Mr. Harrison: Subject: !Niagara District Airp®rt Request for Funding 2x08 This will acknowledge receipt of your letter, dated September 6th, calling for funding requirements for the Niagara District Airport for the fiscal year of 2008. The !after was passed to me by our Airport Administrator, Patti Gamble. In accordance with Paragraph 10 ofi the Agreement between the four communities dated August 17, 2006, "The annual budget shall be approved by the Commission at its November meeting and codes of the said budget shall be submitted to the Clerk of the parties hereto on or before the 30 h day of November, in each year, for consideration by the respective Councils of the parties." With that in mind, Patti Gamble has been #asked to update the fnancial status for 2007 up to and including September 15th. We will project our expenditures to the end of our fiscal year at that point and prepare a draft budget profiorma based on our expected 2007 performance. I will then call on the Commissioners for input on revenues and expenditures for 2008 that have not been forecast and incorporated into that first draft. I have only recently joined the staff at the Airport. My information is that, in recent years, the Commission has not submitted its budget until early in the New Year. While i will make every attempt to meet the letter ofi the agreement of the four communities, it is unlikely that the Commission will be able to submit anything concrete on or before the deadlines that you have requested. Cc: Rich Lancaster, President °.O. Box 640, ~Pirgii, Ontario LOS 1T0 (905) 684-7447 fax(905) 684-2433 e-mail: info@niagaradistrictairport.ca - website:www.niagaradistrictairpor#.ca October 10, 2007 Corporate Services Committee City of Niagara Falls C/o Mr. Todd Harrison, Acting Director of Financial Services Dear Mr. Harrison, ~iiflCidf~8 =8115 •JIl _"_F~ ~'!~J;; 7C.5 ~.. X4;55' T,.-. aGG :;5r .~; ~9 r-~., ,orcrr;reer~Zini~; yarn rslls; net" tors. or _,; a~svvv.nu:c; ~r-aiallsrnenror ;. Dr cj Please find enclosed our pertinent information in regards to our request for funding support in the form of subsidized rent at the MacBain Community Centre. Our presence here at the MacBain Community Centre has been a real benefit to our efforts to provide mentors to children and youth in our community. Since our move here in 2005, we have increased the number of children we serve by an incredible 35%! In fact, during our recent Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada accreditation, the accreditor commented that otir facilities were one of the best in the country. We wholeheartedly agree. I have inchided our financial information for you to the best of our abilities. Generally, our 2008 budget isn't completed until our November board meeting, which is being held on November 15, 2007. The budget I have submitted to you is a draft only. Additionally, I have submitted a forecast 2007 budgets and revenues for your consideration. Please don't hesitate to give me a call if you have any further questions. Sincerely, ," Jon`~raithwaite Executive Director Niagara Falls Big Brothers Big Sisters 905-357-5454 ext. 222 Ur-item !rV~Z~ .o 12007 Financials -Projected Budget Item Bingo Revenue Donations (Police Check Nearly New Store (Golf Tournament Receipts BBBS sales BFKS Misc. 1 HRDC (Grants (United Way 1 1Total Income 1 1 Cost of Sales INN 1 Hydro 1 Rent 1 1Salaries ~ 1Telephone 1 1Technical Support 1 1 Equipment Maintenance 1Advertising Maintenance 1 Other 1Total Cost I Gross Profit 1Salaried Staff- Full-time ~ 1 Staff -Contract ~ 1 U.I. Expense ~ IC.P.P. Expense ~ Workers Compensation ~ Pension ~ (Payroll Expense 1 (Employee Benefits I PD Board PD -Caseworkers 1 PD -Executive Director 1Mileage 1 1PROGRAM EXPENSES 1 PROGRAM I Promotion 1 Golf Tournament 1 BBBSC Membership Fees 1 (Capital Expenditures 1 1lnsurance 1 1 Professional Fees 1 1 Recruitment 1 1 BBBS Office Cleaning fees 1 ~ Rent 1 (Telephone ~ 2007 projected 2007 Budget 2008 Budget 8500 9000 7000 30000 30000 32000 284 37000 40000 37000 390001 32000 400001 I 620001 600001 I 667001 20001 20001 20001 50001 3700 40001 30000 20000 200001 113000 113000 1130001 I$ I I I I ($ I$ 326,784.00 1 $ 309,700.00 1 $ 321,700.00 I 13001 I 1500 I 16001 14000 14000 150001 8400 80001 9000 7701 8501 1000 6451 I I 10001 5001 7501 854.21 1 1 I 26,969.20 1 $ 24,850.00 27350 299,814.80 1 $ I 284,850.00 ($ I 294,350.00 1 1580001 1558001 I 1600001 3734.641 50001 5000 46001 4500) 4800 71001 69001 7100 12001 12001 1300 6800 68001 60001 1000 10001 10001 43001 38001 44001 1 15001 15001 45001 40001 4000 11001 20001 2000 22001 25001 2500 I 85001 70001 10000) 33001 3000 30001 130001 13000 140001 61861 6000 65001 3000 20001 20001 2357.641 23601 2500 40001 30001 3000 180001 100001 10000 30001 29001 3000 60001 60001 60001 20001 20001 20001 Postage General Office Expense Printing Costs Technical Support Bank Charges & Interest Credit Card Expenses ~ Miscellaneous ~BBBS Promotional Goods Volunteer appreciation Bowl For Kids Sake Classic ~ Total Expenses ~ ~ ~ Net Profit/(Loss) 3300 3000 3000 7000 7700 8000 1300 1300 1300 200 500 500 500 500 500 120 120 120 4000 ~ 2000 2000 ~ ~ 3500) 3000 ~ 3000 12524.19 15000 14000 $ 296,322.47 ~ $ ~ 285,380.00 ~ $ ~ 294,020.00 ~ $ 3,492.33 ~ $ (530.00) ~ $ ~ 330.00 ~ Mr. Todd Harrison Acting Director of Finance The City of Niagara Falls 4310 Queen Street P.O. Box 1023 Niagara Falls, Ontario L2 E 6X5 Dear Mr. Harrison, Re: Women's Place of South Niaaara Inc. - Reauest for Fundina for 2008 We are writing to respectfully request the City of Niagara Falls continued support in providing services to women and children who have been victims of abuse, by approving our request for funding in the amount of $25,000.00. As requested in your letter we have enclosed a copy of our most recent audited financial statements for the period April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. This report provides financial information on the reserve funds we have. I ask you to direct your attention to Item 3 in the Notes to the Financial Statements as it will provide you with "Fund Descriptions and Restrictions" for each of the funds. In addition, our submission provides you with information about our overall catchment area, our mission statement, the programs and services we provide, as well as the budget data on revenue and expenditures you are seeking. Finally, our submission includes 20 copies of our 2006/2007 Annual Report. I trust these will be sufficient for you to include as part of your briefing package for the members of the Corporate Services Committee prior to the October 29th. The report will provide the highlights of our accomplishments over the past year and as well as the statistics for our programs and services. The Ministry of Community and Social Services provides approximately 70% of our overall operating budget. However, the balance of the funding we require to deliver our vital programs and services must be solicited from the community. Our ability to raise these dollars makes the difference between us being able to maintain current programs and services or having to make cuts in service delivery. Therefore, we cannot over emphasize the importance of your support. • Women's glace of South Niagara Inc. • Nova House Shelter • P.O. Box 853 Niagara Falis, ON L2E 6V6 nL. ..... ,.. nnr ~cc -~n-~~ r_... nnr arc rc~^~ ............., .,... ,..,..-... 1.. ..... ,.... ....... Women's Place of South September 20, 2007 Page Two Niagara Inc. -Request for Funding for 2008 We have greatly appreciated the invaluable support of Mayor Salci, Members of Council and the citizens of the City of Niagara Falls this year. We trust that we can rely on your continued financial assistance which will empower women and their children who are citizens of the City of Niagara Falls, begin living violence free lives. Thank you for your time and consideration of our submission. Please do not hesitate to contact me at (905) 356-3933 extension 223 should you have any questions or concerns. Yours truly, Ruthann Brown Executive Director Encls. Women's Place of South Niaaara Inc. Request for Funding for 2008 Catchment Area: - Women's Place of South Niagara Inc. operates two shelters for abused women and their children. Nova House is a 20 bed shelter in Niagara Falls and the Welland Centre is a 10 bed shelter in Welland. The agency services Niagara Falls (population 78,815*), Welland (pop. 48,402), Fort Erie (pop. 28,143), Port Colborne (pop. 18,450), Pelham (pop. 15,260) and Wainfleet (pop. 6,255). (*population statistics derived from 2001 Statistics Canada). Objectives of organization and services provided: Mission Statement: Women's Place of South Niagara Inc. strives to empower abused women and their children by providing safe shelter and intervention services. Our shelters both operate crisis lines and provides emergency shelter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for women and children who are victims of abuse. Additionally we provide intervention services. These services are provided to residents in the shelter, as well as on an outreach basis to women living the community. • We assist in the development of safety plans for women and their children. • We work with women to develop and implement their transitional plans. • We provide services or referrals in the following areas: individual and group counselling, parenting support, educational upgrading, job training, income support, legal services, health and wellness services, court support, appointment accompaniment. • We provide advice in the areas of finding and maintaining housing, including budget management and life skills. • We provide advocacy with third parties, where necessary including landlords, interactions with Family and Children's Services, court appearances, etc. • We provide individualized counselling for children and youth who have been witnesses of violence. • We provide public education and awareness through presentations to different audiences such as schools, agencies, faith organizations, community information days and libraries to name a few. Women's Place of South Niaaara Inc. - Request for Fundina for Fiscal 2008 Overall Revenue and Expenses -Fiscal Reportina Period April 1 to March 31 ACTUAL FOR REVENUE Fiscal 2006 (1) FORECAST OF 2007 FORECAST OF 2008 United Way of South Niagara 74,605.00 72,201.00 75,000.00 I nterestiMisc. Income 16,112.00 6,011.00 6,000.00 Donations 164,766.00 187,000.00 195,000.00 Fundraising 158,543.00 160,000.00 171,677.00 Federal Gov't 7,769.00 7,840.00 8,648.00 Provincial Gov't 1,142,088.00 1,200,881.00 1,224,899.00 Municipal Gov't 38,500.00 38,500.00 38,500.00 Grants (in 06/07 funding 49 120.00 0 0 from WAVE and Trillium) , TOTAL REVENUE 1,651,503.00 1,672,433.00 1,719,724.00 EXPENSES Wages/Benefits 1,284,276.00 1,384,209.00 1,425,735.00 Direct Program (2) 120,405.50 90,979.00 93,462.65 Administrative (3) 168,256.50 92,703.00 95,566.09 Occupancy (4) 78,565.00 104,542.00 104,960.00 TOTAL EXPENSES 1,651,503.00 1,672,433.00 1,719,724.00 (1) Reconciles with totals in Fiscal 06107 audited financial statements. (2) Direct Program expenses are high because they include $47,557.00 in one-time funding from MCSS for program enhancement activities. (3) Please note that Administration expenses are high because they include $48,238 in expenses for computer hardware and software that was covered by one-time fiscal year funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. (4) Please note that occupancy expenses for Fiscal 06/07 are significantly lower as our agency did not relocate from our old 12 bed shelter to our new 13,000 square foot, 20 bed Niagara Falls shelter, which now incorporates our Administration offices until January 15, 2007.