Item - 2024.EX13.6

The Executive Committee:

1. Received the report (March 22, 2024) and the supplementary report (April 3, 2024) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for information.

At its meeting on September 6, 2023, City Council considered the Updated Long-Term Financial Plan. As part of the report, staff committed to developing a capital prioritization framework for the 2025 budget planning process. The framework is intended to provide the City with an objective tool and approach for prioritizing capital projects based on a set of weighted criteria - according to capital project categories, spend rates, availability and eligibility of funding, risk assessment, environmental, social and governance contributions, and strategic alignment with the City's priorities.

Item EX7.1: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2023.EX7.1

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer will be submitting a report to Executive Committee before its meeting on April 9, 2024, that provides a status update on the development of a capital prioritization framework, including key considerations and next steps.

At its meeting on September 6, 2023, City Council considered the Updated Long-Term Financial Plan (LTFP), which identified immediate and long-term opportunities to address the City's fiscal challenges. As part of the report, staff committed to developing a capital prioritization framework for the 2025 budget planning process. This report provides a status update on that work.

Following completion of the 2024 budget process, staff began developing a comprehensive framework for capital prioritization, which is intended to provide the City with an objective tool and approach for prioritizing capital projects within the City’s financial and project delivery capacity, based on a set of weighted criteria. Consideration is being given to a variety of criteria, including capital project categories, state of good repair requirements, spend rates, availability and eligibility of funding, risk assessment, environmental, social and governance contributions, and strategic alignment with the City's priorities. The framework is intended to ultimately enhance the City’s existing prioritization process.

As a next step, staff will continue to consult with similar government entities and City Division and Agency stakeholders to develop final prioritization criteria and applicable weighting. In addition, staff will develop a tool to facilitate the prioritization process across a multi-billion dollar capital program. During the 2025 budget process, the framework will be applied to capital project data collected, starting with new capital projects, before expanding to the full 10-Year Capital Budget and Plan and unfunded priorities. Further updates on the capital prioritization framework will be provided during the 2025 budget process.