Council moves to strengthen oversight of partner agencies after taxi commission fallout

By Christena Lawrie, CFRC's Broadcast Journalist and Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

 

At their last meeting Council passed a motion aimed at improving oversight and accountability for organizations that deliver services on the City’s behalf.

The motion, brought forward by Councillor Brandon Tozzo, comes largely in response to the transparency issues that ultimately led to the decision to dissolve the Kingston Area Taxi Commission this September. Earlier this month, Council approved up to $400,000 from the City’s reserve funds to cover the commission’s outstanding expenses.

Through service level agreements, the City works with partner organizations to deliver a wide range of services. However, the current process for managing and reporting on these agreements is not fully streamlined.

The motion calling for new safeguards to ensure Council has clearer oversight of partner operations was supported unanimously, with councillors pointing to recent events as a clear example of what can happen when oversight falls short.

Listen to the full story here.