Governance

Ontario has succeeded in maintaining its leadership role through a system of decision-making that is based on communication, collaboration, and a clear understanding of and respect for roles within a Council-Manager form of government.  The City Manager meets with City Council Members on a regular basis to ensure that Council has the information they need for decision-making. Key Management Staff members submit their best professional advice and recommendations through reports and budgetary requests, generated through broad staff collaboration, to the City Manager who transmits them to Council after determining consistency with Council’s policy direction.  The Ontario Plan (which encompasses the Vision, City Council Priorities, Ontario Governance Manual, Policy Plan, Implementation Program, and Tracking and Feedback), together with the Annual Budget, helps decision makers at every level to make informed choices that move Ontario toward its long-term Vision.  In other words, the Plan is integrated into City operations at every level.

Ontario’s disciplined and ambitious approach to communication is key to sustaining its role as a regional leader and achieving the Ontario Vision. Communication is not the same as information: communication involves sending and receiving; information may be only one-way. Thus, Ontario’s communication culture is one that focuses on the end-user and values accuracy, timeliness, credibility, clarity, and the capacity to exchange ideas. The intent of this culture is to enable the people and the decision-makers of Ontario to have the information they need to understand what is happening in their City, why it is happening, and what it means for the quality of their lives. It should also enable them to decide what to do in response to what the information tells them.

Realization of The Ontario Plan and its Vision will not happen by accident.  Intentional actions are required.  Actions occur at two levels.  The first and most comprehensive carries out the policies of the Plan: initiatives, programs, organizational management, resource management, education and influence of other entities that actively move the City toward its destiny.  The second level is the administration of the Plan: applying the Plan’s policies to the City’s decisions so that development projects, budgets, public agency projects, City regulations and similar activities respond to Plan policies appropriately and do their share toward achieving the Ontario Vision.  Collectively, these actions are called implementation.

In order to achieve its Vision, the City of Ontario benefits from the dynamic environment of which it is a part, but over which it does not have direct control.  The context in which the City operates is remarkably complex and will become more so.  The City chooses to prepare for this reality by addressing external factors before they’ve had their impact, rather than taking a reactive approach. The key is an attitude of awareness, consciousness, and intent—all aimed at establishing an optimum posture regarding external factors as the future evolves.

No single action of a city government more meaningfully states its values and priorities than the budget by which it allocates City resources and reflects the Vision and City Council’s goals and priorities. The system of municipal finance includes:

Annual Budgeting Process.  The entire municipal finance system culminates in the preparation, adoption, and implementation of the annual budget.  The City intends its budget document to establish policy, guide operations, plan for future financial circumstances, and communicate to the City’s residents, businesses, and investors.

Capital Improvement Programming. To better manage large-scale investments, the City adopts an annual Capital Improvement Program that schedules engineering and design, land acquisition, and construction for large projects over the subsequent five years.

Cash Management. The process of managing cash inflows and outflows for proper collection, disbursement, and investment of cash. This involves deposits, reconciliation, and adherence to the City’s Cash Handling Policy.

Public Trust. The municipal finance system rests on a foundation of public confidence in the City’s ability to fairly and effectively manage municipal finances over the long-term.  The City preserves the public trust with clear and concise communications and transparent and accountable financial decision-making.

Fund Balance and Reserves. The City seeks to maintain certain levels of funds in reserve for unforeseen cash flow disruptions and for specific purposes, such as post-retirement health care expenses.  Reserves differ from “rainy day” funds, which are more like savings for periods of overall economic stagnation or retrenchment.

Revenue and Expenditure Forecasting. Key to effective budgeting, the City conservatively forecasts future revenues and expenditure needs and constantly tracks those assumptions.

Risk Management. The risk management program includes special funds for reserves to cover potential losses, risk control programs and activities, and self-insurance pools.