Mission

Mission:

The Ontario Municipal CAOs Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI) is a voluntary collaboration between progressive Ontario municipalities, led by the Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and City Managers from each participating municipality, to foster a culture of service excellence, and demonstrate accountability and transparency in municipal government.

Values

Values:

Municipal Service Excellence, Accountability, Transparency, Collaboration and Innovation

Purpose

The purpose of OMBI is to:

• Identify and collect comparable service specific performance measures across the partner municipalities.
• Analyze the data to provide an external peer perspective to complement each municipality’s examination of their own internal performance over a multi-year time frame.
• Share different practices and policies, to provide senior management with insights into opportunities for how the municipal services delivered by member municipalities can be improved.
• Report performance measurement information using established protocols, to Council and the Public in order to demonstrate the accountability and transparency of municipal government

Critical Success Factors

Critical Success Factors

• Approval and support of each CAO/City Manager for the OMBI Charter and Annual workplan, as well as communication and demonstration of that support within their municipality.
• Commitment of appropriate staff resources; both for the OMBI work within each municipality, and externally; to benefit the collective OMBI process for all partner municipalities.
• Adherence to common methodologies, definitions and costing protocols to ensure comparability of results.
• Open and transparent sharing of results, ideas, practices and policies.
• Constructive peer review of expert panel data.
• Respect each individual municipality’s right to the use, communicate and interpret their own results in dealing with their council and public, while at the same time not interpreting or making inferences on the relative efficiency or effectiveness of other municipalities.
• Demonstrated use of the OMBI results within each municipality to show how municipal partners are performing better.
• Sufficient number of comparator municipalities to make meaningful comparisons and analyses.
• Evaluating other initiatives on performance measurement and benchmarking that could benefit future OMBI direction.
• Sharing of OMBI’s experience with other municipalities, levels of government or public institutions.

OMBI is the creation of the MARCO CAO/City Managers, who act as the governing Board of OMBI.

Reporting to the OMBI Board is the Management Committee with a voting representative from each partner. The Management Committee oversees and directs to the work of the OMBI Project Office, the OMBI Expert Panels and the OMBI Financial Advisory Panel.

Attachment A outlines the governance structure of OMBI. Attachment B outlines the Roles and Responsibilities of the different elements of the OMBI organization.

The OMBI Board is the MARCO CAO / City Manager’s group. The Board may or may not include all OMBI partners; however, all partner municipalities are voting members of the OMBI Management Committee.

• Provide overall guidance to and governance of the OMBI partnership
• Approve the annual OMBI workplan, budget and annual membership fees
• Appoint lead CAO(s) to be the main point of contact for the Management Committee
• Provide the Management Committee with direction on key priority areas to focus OMBI resources for further analysis, or for case studies to bring forward for discussion

• Appoint appropriate staff member as Municipal Champion and provide the necessary support
• Determine the level of analysis and reporting of OMBI data desired in their municipality
• Communicate and demonstrate support of the OMBI process to all staff in their municipality including the analysis and use of OMBI data
• Provide staff and other resources as necessary to participate on OMBI panels

The Management Committee is accountable to the OMBI Board. Voting members of the Committee are comprised of the Municipal Champions of those partner municipalities paying annual membership fees. The Municipal Champions are appointed by their CAO or City Manager and have delegated authority to represent the overall interests of their respective municipality and CAO in meetings of the Management Committee and other related OMBI matters. The CAO Lead would be an ex-officio member of Management Committee and should receive all meeting notices, agendas and minutes.

• Recommend an annual workplan and budget, including annual membership fees for approval by the OMBI Board
• Monitor the approved workplan and budget in accordance with good, municipal operating practices and policies
• Recommend significant and strategic level issues to the Board for their consideration
• Present case studies, and other analysis or reports requested by the OMBI Board

• Provide direction to the OMBI Project Office and staff on implementation of the approved workplan and other applicable OMBI related matters
• Approve appropriate policies and procedures for each municipality to follow regarding data collection, public reporting, standardized costing methodologies and protocols (done in conjunction with the OMBI Financial Advisory Panel)
• Approve appropriate measures for annual data collection and measures for inclusion in public reports after consideration of recommendations and views from Expert Panels and the facilitating Municipal Champion assigned to that panel, as well as any direction provided by the OMBI Board
• Recommend the annual OMBI Public Report, and other communication media, to the OMBI Board for approval
• Establish, manage and monitor sub-committees as appropriate to ensure that other special projects of OMBI (Fall Forum, citizen surveys) are well managed and productive
• Select (co)chairs / leadership from among voting members and ensure continuity and orderly succession
• Review, policies and procedures (for OMBI as an entity) to ensure the efficient and effective operation of OMBI and the OMBI Project Office
• Oversee the maintenance and enhancements of the OMBI data warehouse
• Provide input and guidance to the host municipality (home municipality of OMBI Project staff) on the performance appraisal of OMBI Project staff

Municipal Champions have an important role within their own municipalities as well as in the management of inter-municipal liaison between OMBI partners. The new governance model gives them the added responsibility of overseeing the administration and management of OMBI. They are accountable to their CAO with respect to work done in their own municipality as well as collectively accountable to the OMBI Board through the Management Committee.

• Provide a leadership role championing OMBI efforts
• Communicate OMBI information internally to their Expert Panel leads / contacts, and other relevant parties
• Ensure timely and proper data collection in accordance with policies and procedures established by the OMBI Management Committee, including appropriate allocation of program support costs and other costing protocols
• Ensure adherence to OMBI policies on data sharing and public reporting
• Review of their municipality’s annual OMBI results for reasonableness and variance from prior years, and in relation to comparable municipalities, or ensure this occurs elsewhere in the organization
• Coordinate OMBI data collection with other performance measurement initiatives within their municipalities (MPMP, FCM Quality of Life)
• Coordinate or provide assistance for the use of OMBI information in other municipal planning and resource-allocation processes such as budgets, strategic plans or program reviews
• Provide analysis and reporting on case studies or other priorities directed by their CAO / City Manager
• Monitor and provide progress reports to their CAO / City Manager on OMBI process (e.g., participation in Expert Panels) and provide advice or recommendations as appropriate

• Participate as an active voting member of the OMBI Management Committee and sub-committees
• Assist, provide guidance and facilitate as necessary, the work of specific Expert Panels assigned to each municipality and represent the overall position of the OMBI Management Committee and the OMBI Board
• Work closely with Expert Panel representatives to develop / clarify data definitions, appropriateness of indicators, and development of meaningful influencing factors for each measure
• Bring forward OMBI issues identified by their respective Expert Panel or within their municipality for discussion at Management Committee
• Facilitate consistency across different Expert Panels by encouraging common approaches or lessons learned
• Assist and facilitate the sharing of any information, data, business practices and processes between OMBI partners to support service improvement and be a focal point for inter-municipal communication as well as interaction between different Expert Panels as necessary
• Work with applicable Expert Panels on the development of sections for public reports

The OMBI Project Office (currently: Project Manager, Consultant / Data Analyst and Project Assistant) has responsibility for general support of the Management Committee, and of all the OMBI partner municipalities and for the general administration of OMBI. The Project Office is accountable to the Management Committee with primary direction to the Office coming out of Management Committee meetings directly or the Chair(s) acting on behalf of the Management Committee.

• Develop the annual workplan and budget for review and recommendation by the OMBI Management Committee to the OMBI Board
• Implement elements of the Board approved annual workplan assigned by the Management Committee
• Provide advice, proposals, research initiatives and recommendations that advance the work of OMBI to the Management Committee for their consideration
• Assist with, and/or develop support material and presentations for any case studies or other analysis the Board may ask the Management Committee to prepare/present
• Participate in OMBI special projects and subcommittees and support the work of these groups as directed by the Management Committee
• Generally be the first point of contact for OMBI with all external bodies, agencies, non-OMBI municipalities, researchers and other interested parties, and report to Management Committee those noteworthy contacts
• Prepare regular reports, as directed and required by the Management Committee to track progress and timing of key projects and priorities, and status of other initiatives that may have been deferred and budget variance reports
• Attend meetings as directed by the Management Committee

• Analysis of data and report preparation for joint OMBI reports and other work as directed by the OMBI Management Committee
• Prepare and maintain program maps of service areas (along with Management Committee)
• Maintain and communicate / distribute key supporting documents (data dictionaries, listing of measures, program mapping, contact lists, etc.) that support the annual data collection process as well as develop key background materials such as orientation binders and training courses
• Develop any required OMBI communication strategy for approval of the Management Committee and implement that strategy, including liaison with communication experts in the OMBI municipalities
• Provide day-to-day administration, payment processing and accounting of OMBI budget subject to approval of Management Committee Chairs (e.g., quarterly variance reports) and coordination with the host municipality
• Adhere to the operational policies and procedures as established by the Management Committee
• Provide logistical support and coordination of meetings, including scheduling, agendas, minutes, etc.
• Manage and update the OMBI website to keep it current
• Provide support to the municipality hosting the OMBI Data Warehouse for its maintenance and enhancement
• Prepare contracts, RFP’s and other documents as required for OMBI conforming to the policies and procedures of the host municipality

Expert Panels should provide a cooperative, consultative forum to ensure common measurement, and to extract opportunities for continued improvement on a program / service basis.

Expert Panels are established by the OMBI Board, and report to the OMBI Management Committee.

• Review and identify measures for annual data collection and establish the detailed technical definitions that provide guidance of what is and is not included, and identify influencing factors that should be considered in any review of results
• Undertake “peer” review of the data collected to ensure the quality of the data and integrity of the OMBI process
• Review the results of measures for insights, and any optimal practices that can be learned and shared
• Follow the technical definitions and OMBI established methodologies or protocols (reporting, costing, etc.) in the collection of data by Expert Panel members in their own municipality, and use the notes section of the OMBI data warehouse to provide any supporting narrative on results
• Report on results of data analysis and insights, as appropriate, such as at the OMBI Fall Forum
• Conduct in-depth examination of any business questions established by the Expert Panel or requested by the OMBI Board, as well as any other special projects the Panel may choose to undertake
• Identify Chair(s) from among the Expert Panel members and establish an annual workplan and meeting schedule, record and issue minutes, etc.
• Work with other OMBI members in the spirit of cooperation and respect, providing information to help others with analysis, etc.
• Suggest improvements on OMBI data gathering, reporting and analysis process to the OMBI Management Committee
• Inform the Management Committee, through their Municipal Champion facilitator, of developments or concerns the panel has that the Committee should be aware of
• Assist with development of support material for any case studies the OMBI Board may ask the Management Committee to prepare / present
• Participate in the development of relevant portions of the OMBI Public Report or any other joint publications
• Share data, information and resources with other OMBI partners, including other Expert Panels
• Recognize and consider the views and workplans of other organizations involved in a joint Expert Panel (e.g., joint Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police / OMBI Police Expert Panel)

Common measurement is a key ingredient of the OMBI initiative. Finance representatives ensure that costs are measured in a consistent manner. This is particularly important for “back office” support costs that are allocated, as well as for the attribution of capital and asset management costs.

The OMBI Financial Advisory Panel (formerly known as the OMBI Treasurers Group) reports to the OMBI Management Committee but also consults with and communicates progress to the (STAR) Single-Tier and Regional Treasurer’s Group.

• Establish common costing methodologies for use by all municipalities
• Review the Financial Information Return (FIR) and financial results for efficiency measures in each service area for anomalies between municipalities
• Review results of the annual OMBI data collection process and in particular the financial measures prior to finalization of the results and provide feedback to their respective Municipal Champion and the Management Committee
• Assess impact in each municipality on changes to the grouping of GL accounts that may be necessary to conform with common program mapping (specific services and activities to be included in OMBI measures) established for each OMBI Expert Panel
• Assist in the financial analysis or other projects requested by Expert Panels / Management Committee
• Work on other financial issues (i.e., TCA implementation) that have common interest across the OMBI partners

• Work in concert with the Municipal Champion in each municipality in executing the data collection process and in providing financial data and supporting information
• Ensure adherence in their municipality to costing protocols approved by the OMBI Financial Advisory Panel such as the indirect cost allocation model
• Ensure in each municipality that the appropriate GL accounts are used to develop the direct cost component for applicable OMBI measures in accordance with the OMBI technical definitions established for each measures (which activities are to be included or excluded from costs)
• Communicate financial results to Municipal Champion and experts and explain methodology on how the costs were derived along with any required supporting information

The OMBI Board will enter into a Host Agreement with the municipality where the OMBI Project Office is located. This Host Agreement identifies the type and level of administrative and other support services to be provided by the Host Municipality and identifies appropriate costs to be recovered from OMBI for those services. The Host Agreement would be reviewed on a periodic basis, such as every three years, to ensure that both the Host Municipality and the other OMBI partners are satisfied with the arrangement.

• Provide office space appropriate to the role of the Project Office staff in accordance with standards of the host municipality
• Provide information technology services appropriate to Project Office role in accordance with standards of the host municipality
• Provide financial and other support services as required in accordance with the policies and procedures of the host municipality to ensure effective administrative operations of the Project Office including Accounts Payable, Budgets, Accounts Receivable, Financial Reporting, Purchasing, Payroll, banking, time and attendance reporting, Human Resources and Legal support
• Provide administrative oversight and monitoring relative to services contained in the host agreement
• Conduct the annual performance appraisal of OMBI staff in consultation with the OMBI Board with input for that review provided by the Management Committee
• Issue invoices for and collect annual membership fees approved by the OMBI Board