Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

General Manager, Community Services Group in Consultation with the Chief License Inspector, the Chief Building Official, the Director of Legal Services, the Fire Chief, the Police Chief and the Director of Environmental Health

SUBJECT:

Better City Government Enforcement Review

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Council has approved a number of resolutions authorizing the Better City Government programs including the Enforcement Review. Council has also passed several policies regarding increasing enforcement for various properties including those in the Downtown Eastside.

SUMMARY

The need for increased, improved and better co-ordinated enforcement in the City prompted three separate but related initiatives over the past eighteen months: the Coordinated Enforcement Task Force, the Enforcement Review and a "wrap up" study which focussed on necessary management and structural changes. This report summarizes and describes staff recommended actions resulting from this work. The report recommends that Council approve a reorganization of the CSG's Licensing, Inspection and Enforcement functions and funding for a new position of Director, Licensing, Inspections and Enforcement, as well as permanent funding for the position of Deputy Chief License Inspector which has been temporary for the past year.

BACKGROUND

Enforcement involves several staff groups and departments in the City including Property Use Inspectors, Trades Inspectors, the By-law Administration Branch, Legal Services, Police, Fire, as well as the Ministry of Health. Several authorities are also called upon: Council, the Chief License Inspector, the Chief Building Official and the Director of Permits and Licenses.

Over the past few years, enforcement related work has increased dramatically for staff. Problem businesses, deteriorating hotels, vacant sites and empty buildings have all added to the workload. For example, four or five years ago, staff and Council typically dealt with one or two license suspensions and a few business license hearings each year. In 1999, over 40 license suspensions and 15 business license hearings took place. This increased workload and some problems with the enforcement process made it apparent that a review of enforcement processes and procedures as well as staffing levels and structure was required.

Prior to the following discussion of problems and solutions , it is important to note that there are approximately 8000 routine enforcement letters and orders which are issued each year along with about 60 license suspensions and hearings. Most of these have resulted in successful conclusions. As well, the formation of the Co-ordinated Enforcement Task Force (discussed below) has resulted in successful resolution of over 100 varying neighbourhood problem premises in 1999.

Notwithstanding these successes, over the past eighteen months, three related initiatives to review and improve the City's enforcement functions have been carried out:

i) Co-ordinated Enforcement Task Force

In October 1998, Council approved a Co-ordinated Enforcement Task Force, which included the temporary exempt position of Deputy Chief License Inspector. This position is due to expire in March, 2000. The primary mandate of the Task Force and the new Deputy Chief License Inspector was to focus on problem premise enforcement using a variety of methods including license suspension, by-law prosecution, business license hearings and court injunctions. Secondary mandates included providing training for enforcement personnel both on and off the Task Force, and improving communication and coordination between the Police and other City Departments. Approved total cost of the Task Force was $88,000.

ii) The Better City Government Enforcement Review

At the same time, Council approved the Enforcement Review, with a total budget of $190,000, to undertake the business process redesign of the enforcement relating to property use, business licenses, and the City's building and other related by-laws. The purpose of the review was to redesign the enforcement work in the City to make procedures more consistent, effective and efficient. The Enforcement Review was undertaken with a Project Manager, a team of six seconded staff and consultants from SMG Columbia Consultants. The review team researched the many activities involved in current enforcement processes, identified a number of issues, and developed a preliminary set of recommendations. When the review of Better City Government Projects was begun by the City Manager's office in

April 1999, the Enforcement Review Team had developed a number of recommendations for operational changes but had not finalized any recommendations with respect to the organizational structure and management of the enforcement process. (Work has already begun on the operational recommendations.)

iii) Enforcement Management Report

In the Fall of 1999, Management Consultant Larry Anderson was hired to do a "wrap up"of the enforcement work to date and to recommend management and organizational changes. His work included a review of the recommendations of the Enforcement Review, and proposals for structural changes which would facilitate recommended directions. This work was done within the existing budget.

All of the above work led to the identification of a number of issues as well as recommended changes to procedures, organizational structure and management.

DISCUSSION

1. Identified Issues

The review work done has been prompted by a recognized need for: increased enforcement; better coordination; greater consistency; and more effective enforcement of both routine infractions and problem premises. The specific issues identified by the work include:

· the already identified need for more co-ordination and communication among Departments;
· a fragmented process with costly and time consuming hand-offs;
· inconsistent practices in using the various enforcement mechanisms;
· conflicts and inefficiencies among by-laws including the enforceability of some of our by-laws;
· a lack of preparation for and carry through to prosecution;
· a need for more staff knowledge, accountability and ownership of enforcement processes;
· a lack of monitoring and feedback mechanisms to ensure improvements are made and to review specific enforcement actions;
· bottlenecks in the process;
· unclear, shifting and uncommunicated priorities;
· inadequate access to information and systems; and
· inconsistent priorities and approaches between groups

In addition to these issues, there is a considerable backlog of license policy work for which there has been insufficient staff resources to complete, given the focus on enforcement work. This situation will be exacerbated if the Provincial Government proceeds with the proposed changes to the Liquor Licensing regulations.

The wrap up review, completed by Anderson and Associates, also identified a number of issues, many of which substantiate those identified by the Enforcement Review. Anderson's review, however, indicated that changes were also required to the existing management and organizational structure to more efficiently manage and co-ordinate the various enforcement divisions and to ensure procedural changes were made. The consultant noted organizational and management issues such as:

· unclear reporting relationships for enforcement;
· "silos" which do not have adequate cross-over, leading to ineffective hand-offs and duplication;
· no clear chain of command or co-ordinating body for ensuring effective enforcement actions or procedural improvements; and
· currently, key CSG enforcement functions are handled in separate groups in the organization. The Chief License Inspector is responsible for the Licensing Office, Property Use, Vehicles for Hire, Secondary Suites and Animal Control. The Chief License Inspector reports directly to the CSG General Manager. The By-law Administration Group, which provides critical correspondence and follow through, is located under the Director of Support Services, who reports to the CSG General Manager. The Trades Inspections report to another separate manager, the Deputy Chief Building Official, who reports to the Chief Building Official. In addition, these areas often liaise individually with Police, Fire, Health and Legal Services, sometimes on the same case.

Section 2 below, recommends changes to address these issues.

2. Recommended Organization and Management Improvements

The management consultant recommended the following changes required to accomplish the following:

· bring currently split functions of inspection and enforcement together under one administrative roof;
· provide the needed co-ordination between enforcement functions and the essential co-operation between enforcement personnel;
· ensure by-laws and regulations are clarified;
· promote understanding and use of correct enforcement measures;

·provide some system of measurement; and
· institute both case flow and file management systems.

The changes recommended by the consultant are illustrated in the chart attached as Appendix A and are outlined below:

i) Create a New Position - Director of Licensing, Inspection and Enforcement

The new Director will report to the CSG General Manager. Positions reporting to the new Director will include the Chief License Inspector, the Deputy Chief License Inspector, and the Deputy Chief Building Official (responsible for Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Gas Inspectors). The Deputy Chief Building Official would continue to report to the Chief Building Official for technical matters pertaining to by-law and code compliance.

ii) Make the Temporary Deputy Chief License Inspector a Permanent Position Responsible for Enforcement

The existing temporary position has been a real asset and should be made permanent. In order to free up the Chief License Inspector and to ensure more co-ordination between the primary inspection groups, this position would be expanded to include management of the Property Use Inspection Branch, By-law Administration Branch and Co-ordinated Enforcement. The Chief License Inspector and the Deputy Chief License Inspector would work closely together to ensure co-ordination between Licensing (remaining under the Chief License Inspector) and enforcement.

Using the existing managers and supervisory positions, divide Property Use Inspectors into supervised teams and develop more efficient working relationships with the By-law Administration staff. The current By-law Administration Manager will assist the Deputy Chief License Inspector by providing additional liaison with the Legal Services Department and other related Departments as necessary to enhance the co-ordinated enforcement function begun with the Task Force.

iii) Develop a Licensing Policy Group

The consultant also recommended providing the Chief License Inspector with a Licensing Policy Group to ensure the focus and resources needed to deal with the continuing backlog of work in this area. The outstanding items of policy work have been growing steadily over the past few years. New initiatives such as the Provincial Liquor review, Shared-Ride Van Services along with the need to update by-laws to deal with new types of problem businesses have been added to the regular workload which includes policy items such as secondary suites and bed and breakfast establishments. Until recently, there has not been a policy position

within the License and Property Use Division. A policy analyst position was created in 1999. It is proposed that an existing position also be reallocated to this group.

iv) Create a Co-ordinated Enforcement Committee

The consultant also recommended - as did the Enforcement Review - that the new Director immediately establish a Co-ordinated Enforcement Committee which would provide a formal mechanism for better cross functional co-ordination and efficiency. The Committee would include staff from CSG enforcement groups as well as from Legal Services, Planning, Fire, Police and Health. Under the direction of the new Director, the Committee would review the status of cases, develop shared solutions for specific properties, standardize procedures, review by-law provisions and provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of enforcement problems and solutions. This Committee would also be responsible for the measurement of improvement in the City's enforcement functions.

In addition to these structural changes, the consultant also recommended a variety of process changes. Many of these are dealt with in the recommended actions from the Enforcement Review discussed below.

3. Recommended Operational Improvements

The Enforcement Review identified a number of procedural and training-related actions which are, for the most part, underway. The Review team also recommended the establishment of case flow and file management systems which require the recommended structural changes noted above for implementation. The following section focusses on the procedural and training actions:

A. Training

Consistent and comprehensive training of enforcement staff was identified as very important to ensure appropriate and consistent enforcement. Two types of training are needed: legal and cross discipline.

i) Legal Training

Legal Training refers to developing the skills necessary for successful legal action in the event it is warranted. It includes the need for all inspectors to understand: a) investigative techniques (report writing, documentary/verbal evidence, determining what evidence to collect and Charter of Rights concerns - statements, search and seizure) and b) court procedures. Staff have already proceeded to develop this training in concert with the Justice Institute and training will begin in Spring of 2000. The cost will be absorbed from the current

operating budget and will be shared by CSG and Fire Services. The plan is to have all inspectors go through this training within approximately one year.

ii) Cross Discipline Training

While staff from all enforcement-related areas have overlapping interests, they are not always fully aware of the authorities, priorities and operating styles of others in the field. A schedule has been developed for nine enforcement areas to "train" the staff in each others' area through regularly scheduled staff meetings and events. These sessions will begin in January 2000 and will continue on a regular basis to encompass both new staff and new issues.

B. Enforcement Tools

During the review, it was noted that not all staff were aware of the complete range of enforcement actions which are available for their recommendation or use. The Enforcement Review staff therefore developed a list of these actions or "tools", providing an explanation of each tool, an outline of how it should be used, and the identification of the required authority to use it. This list will be used as a training tool and will assist in ensuring consistent enforcement actions.

C. Report Writing

A well written inspection report which includes accurate and complete information is essential for any future enforcement action. Inconsistent report writing was found to be a major factor in many of the delays, complications and looping back that occurred. If a report is not correct, a sometimes lengthy process of checking and rewriting takes place. While there are some quality control mechanisms in place, a number of other procedures are being established or reaffirmed. These include: clarifying the expectations for high quality reports; descriptions of how report templates should be completed; the development of a "check list" for stop work orders or work without permit and the development of a system for tracking the success of improved quality control.

D. Technology

Technology is another area which has contributed to enforcement issues. There are too many systems to be accessed: the main system used for daily operations (PRISM) has a number of inadequacies; inspectors from CSG, Fire, and Environmental Health all use different systems -the Police use yet another. These issues are complex and expensive to address. However, enforcement/inspection requirements are well represented on the MAP developmental team and it is anticipated that MAP will, in time, provide some major improvements, particularly with respect to the tracking of enforcement actions. Prior to MAP "going live", some minor PRISM enhancements - which don't cost much in development time, training or money - are being considered.

E. By-law Review

While addressing regulations was not within the mandate of the Enforcement Review, difficulties with certain by-laws were of significant concern to enforcement staff. Therefore, a few of the most troublesome by-laws will be under joint review by enforcement staff and Legal Services to determine whether the problem is with the by-law itself (e.g. the by-law language, evidence gathering, or limits on the City's power under the Vancouver Charter.) Depending on where the problem lies, different actions will be required for follow-up.

F. Preventative Measures

There are certain common complaints which are received by each Inspection Division. In some of these cases, information letters could be provided which would not only improve our customer service but potentially reduce the number of inspections currently performed. There are a number of situations in Plumbing, Property Use and Liquor Licensing where these letters might be useful and their use is being investigated.

G. Mediation

Mediation involves one or more impartial third parties intervening in a dispute, with the consent of the disputants, in an attempt to assist the opposing parties in negotiating a consensual and informed agreement. Community mediation applies the principles of mediation to conflicts and disputes between communities and/or individuals. While this may not be applicable to many of our enforcement situations, there are some cases where mediation may well be an alternative to the legal system.

Community mediation is used in various forms in more than 550 cities in the US and Canada to resolve numerous types of neighbourhood disputes (including some by-law matters like those involving pets, property maintenance, and noise). Representatives from several Departments within the City have confirmed that they would be interested in exploring the use of community mediation by their Departments. In fact, the Police authorities successfully use this technique. Staff from Permits and Licenses indicated that mediation might be used to resolve disputes around the impact of new construction, over-height or the location of the fences, illegal suites and property maintenance. For Police, it might be useful to be able to refer parties disputing issues that don't require Police involvement. Environmental Health would find this dispute resolution mechanism quite helpful with neighbour-to-neighbour noise disputes, as was highlighted in the recommendations of the Urban Noise Task Force. Planning has also indicated some possible uses.

There are several models of community mediation which are employed by other cities. Two of the commonly used options are:

Further work is required to develop and form a recommendation to Council. Once the above noted improvements are in place, staff will report back on this in more detail.

H. Co-ordinated Enforcement

The co-ordinated approach to problem premises and businesses will be continued and strengthened. The changes outlined in this report will help to support this method of dealing with problem buildings and businesses in the City and will continue to strengthen relationships with the Police, various City Departments and the Neighbourhood Integrated Service Teams.

All of the improvements will be measured and monitored where tracking systems allow.

4. Financial Implications

The annual cost to the Community Services Group of the licensing and enforcement associated with business licenses is approximately $1.1 Million. The additional ongoing cost of the two positions requested is $176,620. This is offset by revenues of $9 Million collected each year from business licenses. In addition, these positions will help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the enforcement, assessment and collections processes.

CONCLUSION

By-law enforcement is becoming increasingly significant and is demanding an increasing amount of time and resources. Closing problem businesses, cleaning up vacant sites, demolishing or boarding up unsafe buildings and improving maintenance of buildings assist in maintaining a sense of orderliness in the City. The changes proposed in this report, as a result of the recent reviews, will provide the basis for staff to respond more effectively to the issues that are impacting negatively on our neighbourhoods.

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