Item - 2022.AU12.6

The Audit Committee directed the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to provide the next Performance Update of Urban Forestry Contractors and City Crews to the first meeting of the Audit Committee in the 2022-2026 Term of Council, in lieu of a report to the July 2022 Audit Committee meeting given the limited additional data available since the June 2022 Audit Committee meeting will not result in a significant update in one months' time.

On February 9, 2021, the Auditor General released a report entitled "Getting to the Root of the Issues: A Follow-Up to the 2019 Tree Maintenance Services Audit", which was tabled at the Audit Committee meeting on February 16, 2021.

Council provided direction to Parks, Forestry and Recreation (PFR) to report to each meeting of the Audit Committee on experiences and data collected on the performance of Urban Forestry Contractors and City crews.

The purpose of this report is to provide the third performance update of Urban Forestry Contractors and City crews.  This report highlights the continual improvement in productivity and operational efficiency being exhibited by the crews as a result of the implementation of the Auditor General's recommendations and PFR's increased oversight and enhanced contract management. When issues of unproductive time are found, PFR has tools to take immediate action to hold Contractors and City crews accountable in accordance with contract terms and the collective agreement. The performance update data presented in this report reflects the current arboricultural services contracts which came into effect on July 1, 2021.