Board of Directors Meeting - February 24, 2017

Agenda

1. Chair's Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report 5 Minutes

Presenter: Chair

2. Consent agenda

Action: -

Pre-read: -

Presenter: Chair

2a. Approval of Public Meeting Agenda

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Agenda

Presenter: Chair

2b. Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

Action: Declaration

Pre-read: Agenda and Conflict of Interest Policy

Presenter: Chair

2c. Confirmation of Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2017

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Minutes

Presenter: Chair

2d. Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: Action item list

Presenter: Chair

2e. City and TCHC Staff - Strategic and Operational Meetings

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2017-08

Presenter: Interim President and CEO

3. Interim President and Chief Executive Officer’s remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal report

Presenter: Interim President and CEO

3a. Monthly President’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2017-11 15 minutes

Presenter: Interim President and CEO

4. RSC Chair’s report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal report 5 minutes

Presenter: Chair, RSC

5. GCHRCC Chair’s report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal report 5 minutes

Presenter: Chair, GCHRCC

5a. Committee Appointment – Michael Ford

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2017-15 10 minutes

Presenter: Chair, GCHRCC

5b. Allenbury Gardens – New Joint Venture Entity

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2017-10 5 minutes

Presenter: VP, Development (Interim)

6. BIFAC Chair’s report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal report 5 minutes

Presenter: Chair, BIFAC

6a. Resolution Regarding 2016 Operating Cash Surplus

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2017-14 10 minutes

Presenter: Interim President and CEO

6b. 2017 and 2018 SHIP-Funded Projects

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2017-13 10 minutes

Presenter: Vice President, Facilities Management

6c. 2017 Capital Plan: Additional $22M from Restricted Reserves

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2017-12 10 minutes

Presenter: Vice President, Facilities Management

7. Procurement Systems – Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Presentation 30 minutes

Presenter: Senior Director, Procurement

TERMINATION

Minutes

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation held a public meeting on February 24, 2017 at 9:38 a.m. in in the Main Floor Conference Room at 931 Yonge Street, Toronto.

Directors in Attendance:

Bud Purves (Chair)

Councillor Ana Bailão

Robert Carlo (left at 11:33 a.m.)

Councillor Joe Cressy Councillor

Frank Di Giorgio (left at 11:33 a.m.)

Councillor Michael Ford (left at 10:15 a.m.)

Vincent Gasparro

Linda Jackson (left at 11:31 a.m.)

Joseph Kennedy

Colin Lynch

Kevin Marshman (Vice Chair)

Pamela Taylor

Catherine Wilkinson

Directors Absent:

N/A

Management present:

Cathy Barker, Vice President, Human Resources

Angela Cooke, Vice President, Resident and Community Services

Rose-Ann Lee, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer (Acting)

Mark Johnson, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Graham Leah, Vice President, Asset Management

Bruce Malloch, Director, Strategic Communications

Mark McDonald, Vice President, IT

Ted Millward, Legal Counsel, Corporate

Lisa Murray, Manager, Media and Public Relations

Sheila Penny, Vice President, Facilities Management

Orna Raubfogel, Senior Legal Counsel, Litigation

Greg Spearn, President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (Acting) / Chief Development Officer

Vincent Tong, Development Director

Wayne Tuck, Chief Operating Officer

A quorum being present, the Chair called the meeting to order and Ms. Charmaine Zina served as recording secretary.

Item 1 – Chair’s Remarks

The Chair welcomed everyone to today’s Board meeting and advised that decisions made in today’s confidential session will be reported at TCHC’s next Board meeting.

291 George St. Fire

The Chair began with some thoughts on the 291 George St. fire and noted that the tragic fire resulted in a person perishing in the unit where the fire started. Toronto Fire Services (‘TFS’) evacuated the entire building on the night of the fire and 130 tenants were displaced for three (3) days while technicians and contractors worked around the clock to repair the damage.

TCHC staff worked with the City and a number of social agencies to find temporary accommodation, meals and other supports for the displaced tenants, and through the weekend to get the building ready so most tenants could safely return home by Sunday evening.

The Chair thanked all the staff involved for their hard work in making this happen in such a short period of time. In addition, he thanked the City and the many agencies, community partners and private citizens who came together to support the tenants of 291 George.

The Chair noted that another far less severe fire happened at TCHC’s 310 Dundas St. E. building on Monday. Staff again rose to the occasion to support TCHC tenants—some of them the very same employees who had worked through the previous weekend at 291 George. The Chair thanked them as well for their efforts.

The Chair stated that TCHC takes fire safety very seriously. The Chair noted that the cause of the 291 George fire and some other recent fires at TCHC’s building is still unknown. The Chair, on behalf of the Board asked that TCHC continue to work closely with the Ontario Fire Marshal and TFS to aid in any investigation undertaken by these agencies and to continue all efforts to provide fire safety of the highest quality to our residents.

Report out on TCHC’s January 26 Confidential Session Board Meeting

The Chair advised there are two items to report on from the confidential session at TCHC’s January 26 Board meeting:

Governance, Communications, Human Resources and Compensation Committee

• The Board approved changes to the pay-for-performance plan for management and exempt employees in 2017, including a reduced allocation and reduced percentages for merit increases. As well, executives are not eligible for pay-for-performance in this year’s plan.

Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee

• The Board approved a proposal to install a gas-fired micro-turbine engine to provide heat and electricity at our 423 Yonge St. building. This new technology will provide enhanced backup power during an emergency or prolonged power outage, enabling residents to remain in the building. We will test its reliability and cost-effectiveness through a 12-month pilot that will start once the system is fully operating.

CEO search

Briefly, regarding the Board’s search for a President and Chief Executive Officer: The process is continuing and remains on track to be complete it by the end of March.

The Chair identified the following items to be discussed in the public session:

• Chair’s Reports. The Chairs of the Board committees will each provide a verbal report of their committee’s activities.

Governance, Communications, Human Resources & Compensation Committee

• The appointment of Councillor Michael Ford to the Resident Services Committee
• The creation of a new joint venture entity to hold legal title to the third market block, of four in total, in the Allenbury Gardens revitalization.

Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee

• A resolution regarding Toronto Community Housing’s 2016 operating cash surplus.
• A plan to start work this year on $23.2-million in capital repair projects that are approved by the City as 2018 projects under the Social Housing Improvement Program or SHIP. The 2017 SHIP projects, totaling $25 million, were approved as part of Toronto Community Housing’s 2017 capital budget.
• A plan to make an additional $22 million in building capital repairs this year using funds from restricted reserves.

President’s Annual and Monthly Report. Mr. Spearn will present the President’s Monthly Report for December 2016 and the Annual President`s Report, which describes how the company is doing in meeting its public commitments and organization priorities and will present TCHC’s year-end performance report for 2016.

Lastly, Ms. Sylvia Kobal, the Senior Director of Procurement, will update the Board on TCHC’s procurement systems and activities in 2016.

Consent Agenda Items

Item 2 – Approval of Consent Agenda Items

The agenda was approved with the following changes:

• Item 2A – Approval of Public Meeting Agenda;
• Item 2B – Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest;
• Item 2C – Confirmation of Previous Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2017;
• Item 2D – Business Arising from Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update; and
• Item 2E – City and TCHC Staff – Strategic and Operational Meetings.

Items Held:

• Item 2C – Confirmation of Previous Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2017;
• Item 2D – Business Arising from Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update; and
• Item 2E – City and TCHC Staff – Strategic and Operational Meetings.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Marshman, seconded by Mr. Kennedy and carried, the Board of Directors approved the consent agenda items as amended and items not held for discussions (Items 2A and 2B).

Item 2A – Approval of Agenda and Review of Agenda Order

The agenda was approved as circulated.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Marshman, seconded by Mr. Kennedy and carried, the Board of Directors approved the agenda.

Item 2B – Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

The Chair requested members of the Board of Directors to indicate any agenda item in which they have a conflict of interest, together with the nature of the interest. No conflicts were declared.

Item 2C – Confirmation of Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2017

The Board of Directors had before it the draft Board minutes for January 26, 2017.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Marshman, seconded by Ms. Taylor and carried, the Board of Directors confirmed the above-captioned minutes with the following amendments:.

1. Page 2 of 15 – Chair’s Remarks
   
   Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee
   
   The Board approved management’s plan to close two townhome blocks on Firgrove Crescent in 2017 because of their rapidly deteriorating structure which poses a safety risk for the families who live there. The closures will require the relocation of up to 108 households. Affected residents and the broader Firgrove community were notified of the decision in December. The Board reiterated the importance of diligence in carrying out this project and the importance of trying to relocate affected tenants in less than 18 months.
2. Page 3 of 15 – Discussions Relating to TCHC Fair Wage Policy took place during Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee remarks and should therefore be moved from Governance, Communications, Human Resources & Compensation Committee section to Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee section.

Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee

• An update of TCHC’s Fair Wage Policy. At the direction of City Council, TCHC maintains a fair wage policy to ensure all vendors doing business with us pay a fair wage to their employees. This is the first update of the policy since 2006.

Item 2D – Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items, Update

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Marshman, seconded by Ms.Taylor and carried, the Board of Directors received the report for information with the following amendments:

• Page 2 of 7 – TCHC 2016-52: Participatory Budget (PB) Consultation Results – December 8, 2016
  
  Amalgamate both entries so that the same report goes to both RSC on March 17, 2017 and subsequently to GCHRCC on April 16, 2017.

Item 2E – City and TCHC Staff – Strategic and Operational Meetings, TCHC:2017-08

The Board of Directors had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2017-08) from the President and Chief Executive Officer (Acting).

The Board and Management discussed the report. The Board enquired as to what the councillor constituent meetings were. Ms. Viets confirmed that these meetings generally relate to constituency issues which are raised and addressed between staff and local councillors.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Marshman, seconded by Ms. Taylor and carried, the Board of Directors received the report for information.

Item 3A – Monthly President’s Report, TCHC:2017-11

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2017-11) from the President & Chief Executive Officer (Interim).

Mr. Spearn started off by advising everyone on the community open house that took place at the new MLSE LaunchPad on Saturday, February 11th. TCHC organized and hosted the event with MLSE. TCHC arranged for buses for more than 600 children/youth and their parents from TCHC communities across the city. Kids had an opportunity to explore the new space and try out the sports equipment. Parents were able to sign up their kids as members of LaunchPad and for specific programs. LaunchPad staff are now planning a series of outreach visits to a number of TCHC’s communities to sign up even more kids.

As an added bonus, the entire Raptors team surprised the kids and spent time shooting hoops and generally making everyone’s day brighter. TCHC continues to grow a unique partnership with MLSE to create positive outcomes for children, youth and families in TCHC communities. MLSE has committed to paying the cost to repair two of TCHC’s existing vacant/underutilized facilities in communities in other parts of the city over the next two years.

Mr. Spearn presented the report on the 2016 Annual President’s Report (APR). Overall, performance improved during 2016 compared to 2015 levels. Of TCHC’s 31 scorecard metrics with targets that were measured during both years, half (or 16 metrics) improved, 2 remained constant and 13 metrics declined.

Mr. Spearn advised of the following results/trends in the APR:

• Excess of Revenue over Expenses: year-to-date, TCHC had an excess of revenue over expenses of $44 million at year-end. This is in contrast to the projected loss of $30 million. As noted in previous months, the difference is a result of the timing of non-recurring items, such as gains on the sale of lands and the sale of standalone homes, as well as the $21 million in Ontario Clean Energy Benefit and water credits received. TCHC does not expect this trend to continue in 2017 and future years.
• Net Cash Position: TCHC’s net cash position for 2016 was $33.9 million.
• Capital Repairs: the 2016 capital repair program has completed a record $240 million in repairs on more than 16,000 projects. As well, at year end TCHC had issued purchase orders for the remaining $10 million in budgeted 2016 capital repair work.
• Revitalization: 2016 was another busy year for TCHC’s development team who had more than 7,500 units in the planning, design and construction stages across six revitalization sites. With 40 households that moved into new rental units that were delivered through TCHC’s revitalization activities.
• Community Safety: the Community Safety Unit conducted 742 joint patrols with the Toronto Police Service (‘TPS’) in 2016. This was 20% lower than in 2015, mainly due to having fewer Toronto Police officers available to participate in these patrols. In 2017 TCHC will work with the TPS to secure additional officers to participate in the patrols. TCHC aims to conduct at least 600 joint patrols this year.
• Support for Vulnerable Residents: TCHC’s Resident and Community Services team worked diligently to support successful tenancies for tenants with vulnerability issues. TCHC made 2,053 referrals for these tenants to external health, social services and community supports, which was well above our target of 900 referrals.
• Community Development: TCHC connected 582 tenants to various training opportunities, such as entrepreneurship and mentorship programs, education, and access to the labour market. In addition, TCHC delivered financial literacy workshops and through the YouthWorx program, hired more than 100 youth tenants for the summer to complete small-scale repair jobs.
• Customer Service: 2016 was another busy year at TCHC’s Client Care Centre, which received more than 375,000 calls. Improving TCHC’s level of customer service to tenants last year, with 11 of 13 (85%) service level measures improving from 2015.
  Most notably, TCHC improved the average speed of answer for tenant calls by 10% and increased the percentage of callers that are on hold for less than two minutes to 65%, up from 61% in 2015. This improvement was largely a result of one-on-one coaching provided by Client Care supervisors that helped staff become more aware of their key performance indicators and focused them on performance improvement.
  Progress was also made on the elevator service levels which had a slight decrease in the number of disruptions per elevator cab per month to 1.19, from 1.21 in 2015. This is against an industry-wide benchmark of 1.2. In addition, there was a replacement of 44 elevators to improve their reliability, and there was the installation of elevator phones in 30 elevator cabs to enhance safety.
• Community Safety Response: Service levels for community safety calls declined slightly in 2016, with 77% of those calls answered within 20 seconds compared with 80% in 2015. This was a result of an unanticipated shortage of CSU dispatch staff in Q3 as well as a service disruption to the dispatch phone system in Q4. These issues have been resolved and it is expected service levels will return to at-or-above target levels in 2017.
• Service Requests: TCHC closed 70% of its routine maintenance requests within 5 business days, which was a one-percentage-point decrease from 2015. The decrease primarily occurred in Q4 of 2016 as a result of both site staff and vendors adjusting to the new centralized dispatch process for maintenance requests. In 2017, the new process is expected to strengthen contractor performance management and increase this service level to our customers. On a positive note, TCHC closed 90% of emergency maintenance requests in 4 hours, up from 87% in 2015.
• Vacancy: average Rent-Geared-to-Income vacancy rate increased by a quarter-of-a-percentage point to 2.72%, while the average Market Rent vacancy rate increased by three-fifths of a percentage point to 2.92%. TCHC’s Asset Management Division is implementing its vacancy management strategy in order to lower these rates, with a specific focus on addressing over-housed units, strategic capital repair deployment, and public advertising of market rent units.
  Advertisement of vacant market units are now on multiple public websites, and the expectation is this will attract a higher volume of interest and reduce the time to occupy vacant market units.
• Arrears: TCHC’s rent and parking arrears balance also increased during the year, from $7.1 million in 2015 to $8.6 million in 2016. While this is not good news, TCHC is actively working to collect these arrears. The percentage of arrears that have repayment agreements in place has increased significantly. 41% of arrears in repayment agreements at the end of 2016 compared with 17% in the third quarter of 2014, when TCHC implemented the revised arrears collection process. TCHC is working closely with the Office of the Commissioner of Housing Equity to develop new processes to better identify vulnerable tenants that have arrears, with the ultimate goal of resolving these arrears and preserving their tenancies.
• Sale of Standalone Homes: On a final note, Mr. Spearn advised that TCHC has sold all 8 standalone homes that were targeted for sale in 2016, raising approximately $8.5 million from those sales. Of the 158 stand-alone houses that were approved for sale by City Council between 2010 and 2012, only 17 remain to be sold.

The Board requested that RGI calculations remain to be reported in the Monthly President᾽s Report regardless of the fact that this duty is being transferred from the Asset Management department to the Internal Audit department.

Key items raised by the Board and discussed included the following:

• The growing arrears trend and strategies to reduce this trend. A report on arrears is scheduled to come to the RSC and Board at the next meeting.
• Vacancy rates and the strategies to reduce them. A report on arrears is scheduled to come to the RSC and Board at the next at the next meeting.
• Early intervention to protect seniors and vulnerable tenants from eviction.
• Understanding the resources and related costs required to meet client care customer service targets.
• The need for accurate financial forecasting and pursuing a zero based budgeting process this year.
• Staff vacancy rates and the trend line for vacancies and including this information in the MPR going forward.

The Chair of GCHRCC and the Vice President, Human Resources will work together and examine staff vacancy rates, lateral transfers, acting assignments, TCHC᾽s use of staff, how TCHC accounts for hires etc. at GCHRCC and in turn, will update the Board accordingly.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Marshman, seconded by Ms. Jackson and carried, the Board of Directors received the report for information.

Item 4 – Resident Services Committee (RSC), Chair’s Report

The Chair of the RSC provided a verbal update to the Board on the activity at the RSC, including the following:

• Pest management.
• Finalization of Resident Charter.
• Resident Key Person.
• OCHE Performance Evaluation.

Lastly, Ms. Angela Cooke presented to RSC an overview of direction of division, with a population focus. RSC᾽s desire is to move away from information reports and move towards strategic solutions.

Item 5 – Governance, Communications, Human Resources and Compensation Committee (GCHRCC), Chair’s Report

The Chair of the GCHRCC provided a verbal update to the Board on the activity at GCHRCC. The last meeting was held on February 3rd and the following items were discussed:

• Conflict of Interest Policy (Board).
• Workplace Violence Policy.
• Protocol for Tenant and Director Complaints.
• Harassment Policy.

Lastly, GCHRCC approved a proposal to pilot web casting committee meetings throughout 2017 which is planned to commence at BIFAC᾽S March 13th meeting.

Item 5A – Committee Appointment - Michael Ford, TCHC:2017-15

The Board of Directors had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2017-15) from the GCHRCC Chair.

Councillor Ford advised everyone prior to his departure at 10:15 a.m. that he is in agreement with the recommendations in this report.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Wilkinson and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report.

Item 5B – Allenbury Gardens - New Joint Vetnure Entity, TCHC:2017-10

The Board of Directors had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2017-10) from the BIFAC Chair.

Mr. Lynch presenting the report, Mr. Tong answered questions raised by the Board and a brief discussion ensued.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Taylor, seconded by Councillor Di Giorgio and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report with the following amendments:

1. Incorporation of VIVO Residences Inc., and approve the appointment of Greg Spearn President & Chief Executive Officer and Leslie Gash Vice President, Development as the two Allenbury Gardens Development Corporation (“AGDC”) representatives on the Board of VIVO Residences Inc.
2. Authorize the President and Chief Executive Officer (Interim) and the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to take all necessary actions and execute all documents and resolutions required to implement the above recommendations.

Item 6 – Building Investment, Finance and Audit Committee (BIFAC), Chair’s Report

The Chair of the BIFAC provided a verbal update to the Board on the activity at BIFAC. Mr. Lynch advised the Board that BIFAC met two (2) weeks ago. BIFAC will also meet on March 1st for a special meeting on development projects with a subsequent regular BIFAC meeting on March 13th. At such meeting, an hour will be allocated for a strategic discussion in addition to a discussion on a 2017 plan for the Internal Auditor’s office.

Item 6A – Resolution Regarding 2016 Operating Cash Surplus, TCHC:2017-14

The Board of Directors had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2017-14) from the President & Chief Executive Officer (Interim).

Mr. Spearn presenting the report and answered questions raised by the Board. The following were among the issues discussed:

• Surplus Amount: surplus amount be put into reserves to generate capital return until deployment of funds.
• Investment Manager: in process of replacing Investment Manager.
• A thorough review of the Investment Policy should be undertaken.

A request was made that the following be addressed at the committee level and reported back to the Board:

• A report from the GCHRCC on the governance of the use of reserve funds (how monies are put in, how monies are taken out, internal controls and approvals) (GCHRCC); and
• A review of the Investment Policy (internal and external restrictions, rationale on investments etc.) (IAC, BIFAC).

Lastly, the Board suggested a joint IAC and GCHRCC meeting be held to start these important discussions.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Lynch, seconded by Councillor Cressy and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report with the following amendment:

1. Approve that the projected 2016 Operating cash surplus of $33.9M (subject to confirmation of the amount in the 2016 audited financial statements) be put into reserves for capital repairs and managed by the investment fund manager to generate returns until the money is required for spending on capital repairs; and
2. Authorize the appropriate staff to take all necessary actions and execute all documents to implement the above recommendation.

Action Items:

• GCHRCC to report to the Board on the governance of reserve funds (i.e. authority, approvals and processes required to deposit and withdraw reserve monies; and
• Review the Investment Policy (address internal and external restrictions, types of investments, risk, returns, etc.)(IAC, BIFAC)

Item 6B – 2017 and 2018 Ship – Funded Projects, TCHC:2017-13

The Board of Directors had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2017-13) from the Vice-President, Facilities Management. Mr. Lynch presenting the report.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Lynch, seconded by Mr. Marshman and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report:

1. approve the full value of construction for multi-year projects funded from 2017 and 2018 confirmed SHIP funding; and
2. authorize the appropriate staff to take the necessary actions to give effect to the above recommendation.

Item 6C – 2017 Capital Plan: Additional $22m from Restricted Reserves, TCHC:2017-12

The Board of Directors had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2017-12) from the Vice-President, Facilities Management.

Mr. Lynch presenting the report, Mr. Spearn answered questions and accepted feedback by the Board. A discussion ensued regarding the allocation of the $22M as indicated in the attachment to the report, specifically spending related to improving the quality of life of tenants and spending to bring boarded up units back online.

The BIFAC Chair suggested that the recommendations in this report be approved as presented, and that alternate items identified during the discussion for the $22m be instead considered by the BIFAC through the process of determining the allocation of the $33.9M in 2016 Operating surplus for capital repairs.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Mr. Lynch, seconded by Mr. Marshman and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report.

Action Item:

• Management to provide information to the BIFAC on the impact of the extra $22M on the FCI portfolio wide with a comparison to the capital repair plan.

Item 7 – Procurement Systems - Update

Ms. Kobal provided the Board of Directors with a PowerPoint presentation on the above-subject matter.

Procurement Objective

• TCHC Strategic Procurement team is committed to open, fair and transparent procurement practices to achieve best value for money in the stewardship of public funds.
• Strategic Procurement ensures TCHC vendor awards and contracts are defensible and meet audit standards.

Procurement Process

• Industry standard sourcing methodology.
• Governed by the Designated Signing Authority limits.
• Contract Signing: By management as approved by the Board.
• PO authorization and issuance: With segregation of duty from the business unit requestor.
• New vendors: Set-up or inactivation.

Although majority of spend is awarded through competitive bidding, TCHC policy provides for alternatives to best respond to business needs such as:

• Direct Awards.
• P-card.
• Employee expenses.
• Post Purchase Approval Process.

These spends follow specific approval processes which are reported to the Board.

Vendor Award Committee (VAC)

VAC Responsibilities:

• Review reports to ensure procurement policy and procedures have been followed.
• Reviews and identifies risks for TCHC.
• Endorses the recommendation for contract award from evaluation committee.
• Forwards the report for additional approvals based on award value (CEO, BAS, BIFAC, Board).

Procurement Thresholds

• These thresholds represent the minimum requirement and are exclusive of taxes
• Business Units may reduce the thresholds based on individual business needs.
• Thresholds may not be increased.
• Project budgets may not be split to lower threshold approvals.
• Direct Award (Sole Source) greater than $9,999 requires appropriate justification and ELT approval as set out in the Procurement Procedures and documented in the VAC report.
• Limited Competition of any value where the requirement is a Public RFP requires justification and approval.

Electronic Platforms for Posting RFx Documents

• RFP documents are posted on our Toronto Community Housing website, BravoSolution Ontario Tenders Portal, and on Biddingo.
• By TCHC posting on the above platforms, the audit requirement of being open, fair, and transparent is met.
• Only documents found on the above platforms are to be considered the “official” documents. The onus is on the vendor to check any of the above mentioned platforms to verify they have received all relevant information.

2016 Enhancements

• Introduction of BAS – resulting in weekly vendor approvals up to $5MM
• Introduction of Sourcing Managers – to collaborate with BU regarding sourcing strategies, scope development and establishment of scoring criteria
• Establish internal SLAs to assist with more accurate capital planning:
  • 35 Days average to complete an RFQ
  • 65 Days average to complete an RFP
  • 7 days to execute an agreement post award approval
• Creation of new external webpage: Doing Business with TCHC to allow potential vendors to identify area of expertise. 87 new vendors registered.

Ms. Kobal answered questions raised by the Board. The following topics were discussed by the Board and Management:

• Ensuring focus on effectively managing change orders
• Ensuring regular access by venders to rosters
• Vendor performance, the use of vendor scorecards and performance tracking for vendor contract management and eligibility for future procurements.

The Board thanked Ms. Kobal for her presentation.

TERMINATION

The public meeting terminated at 11:49 a.m.