Item - 2024.IE14.11

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to report to Infrastructure and Environment Committee on the results of the quality services pilot in the third quarter of 2025, with the report to include a review of the quality of tree pruning on all 2024 service orders and whether they were conducted in accordance with the ANSI 300 standards.
 

2. Requested the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to include in the scope of review of its tree maintenance programs:

a. What training and certifications are required, industry best practices for conducting tree maintenance services, and the training and certification status of the employees and contractors utilized by the City for tree maintenance;

b. Investigate and review the feasibility for City staff and contractors who perform, supervise, and / or manage tree maintenance to verify that they have read the ANSI 300 Standards and become ISA certified over a period of time;

c. Review of the City’s tree maintenance policies and procedures against the industry standards and practices to ensure tree maintenance quality service outcomes; and

d. Review and assess the feasibility of adopting tree maintenance approaches not currently employed by the City of Toronto such as “cabling trees”.

3. Requested the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to report back to Infrastructure and Environment Committee by the first quarter of 2025 with a plan to protect and enhance Toronto’s tree canopy in all parts of the city as climate change intensifies, with particular attention to the importance of trees in reducing the adverse effects of extreme heat on children, seniors and other vulnerable populations.

Since 2021, Parks, Forestry and Recreation committed to key improvements in contract management, crew oversight and operational efficiencies as guided by Auditor General recommendations in their report entitled "Getting to the Root of the Issues - A Follow Up to the 2019 Tree Maintenance Services Audit" and City Council direction.

To date, the service improvements have been focused on strengthening processes and improving productivity and service quality, through the implementation of recommendations that drive a more effective and efficient tree maintenance operation. Improvements to date include: improved contract management practices with better contract language, increased oversight of crews to ensure time is efficiently used, and daily work activities completed, and complaints responded to in a timely manner. Parks, Forestry and Recreation is now turning focus to the quality of tree maintenance services provided to the public and strives for service excellence. 

The purpose of this report is to respond to the outstanding directions from City Council to review options to continuously improve tree maintenance services, the feasibility of the City providing the services directly as well as a summary of the organizational improvements Parks, Forestry and Recreation has implemented over the last two years. The City engaged two consultants to review organizational changes and services that should continue to be outsourced all of which were intended to deliver better service outcomes.

This report includes the consultant's recommendations and findings including data analysis and jurisdictional scan to benchmark Toronto's services against other peer cities and an assessment of the feasibility of better-quality tree maintenance services. Parks, Forestry and Recreation is in the process of implementing these recommendations.