Ms. Bloomfield,

The responses to the questions below will provide residents with a better understanding of the value of this $108,000 study as reported and will provide some insight into what work the contractor actually performed, as well as the validity of the analysis and recommendations.  If there is not sufficient time for detailed responses to these questions, I ask that written responses be provided at a later date and that those responses be published on the city’s website for residents to review.

Questions on Process for the City Manager:

1. How many respondents were there to the RFP for the Service Review and how did MNP’s price compare to the others?

2. Given that the value of this project exceeded $100,000 did an elected official sit on the proposal review committee? If not do you think that it would be a good idea to invite a member of council to sit on proposal review committees when the project cost exceeds $100,000?

3. Who wrote the contract for this engagement? Did the contractor provide you with a draft suggested contract or did staff construct the contract first and send it to the contractor for review?

4. The final report was only made available to the public on 13 April which only gave members of council and residents three days to review before the day of the Council Meeting.  Given the cost and complexity of this report is it possible that in the future, reports of similar value and importance be made available to the public at least one week prior to the Council Meeting?

Questions for the MNP Consultants:

1. Please explain why you believe that the city of Cornwall, which is a single tier municipality, with a population which is nearly two and half times that of Owen Sound, is a valid comparator to Owen Sound?

2. There are only about a dozen Ontario municipalities that are close to the size of Owen Sound in Ontario. Strathroy-Caradoc, Huntsville, Amherstburg, Essex, Tillsonburg, Thorold, and Kingsville are urban municipalities that all have populations and total occupied dwellings within 15% of Owen Sound’s and delivered very similar services. Why did you not see any of these municipalities as valid comparators?

3. Protective Services accounts for nearly 42% of total expenses in 2023. You conducted a service review aimed at finding service efficiencies. How do you justify ignoring 42% of the city’s expenses? [ed. note: Fire, Police and Library were not included in the original Request for Proposals from the City nor the MNP contract].

4. Owen Sound has some services that are used by nearly 100% of residents. The city also has services that are used by less than 10% of the population. When calculating Service Value, you didn’t give any weight to service usage. Do you believe that a service that is used by less than 10% of the population is of equal value to the municipality and in the eyes of residents than a service that is used by nearly 100% of residents? How do you justify not considering service usage as a factor in assessing Service Value?

5. You state in the report that: “The Art Gallery is a major cultural attraction within the region”. Did you arrive at this conclusion by reviewing the Gallery’s visitor logs? If not, what empirical data did you rely on to conclude that the Art Gallery is a major attraction drawing visitors to the region?

Jim Hutton, Owen Sound