The Long-term Financial Framework is an important tool to support the financial health and sustainability of City services. The framework rests on three pillars to evaluate the financial health of our City:
- Sustainability – the ability to maintain services over an extended period of time
- Vulnerability – the level of resiliency to mitigate unexpected negative factors
- Flexibility – the ability to adapt to changing opportunities
The framework uses these three measures to guide, balance and maintain City service levels and the financial health of the organization over the long-term. In addition, we use the framework to guide decisions and influence corporate policies to ensure we are consistently complying with our long-term financial plan for the City.
The corporate financial policies that guide financial decisions and that are within the scope of the Long-term Financial Framework include:
- Budget Policy
- Reserve and Reserve Fund Policy
- Debt Management Policy
- Procurement By-law
- Investment Policy
- Asset Management Policy
- User Fees and Charges Policy
Financial Dashboard
There are several metrics that Finance tracks each year under the three pillars of the Long- term Financial Framework which are presented as part of the annual Treasurer’s Report accompanying the consolidated financial statements.
Additionally, there are two corporate key performance indicators that are reported on annually with respect to the City’s financial position:
- The City’s credit rating – reviewed annually by an external credit rating agency and indicates the credit quality of the City’s debentures. A credit rating is based on several factors, some within, and some external to the City’s control. The target is a rating of AA+ or higher. This supports the objective of affordable and predictable property tax and utility rates by providing access to debt financing at the lowest possible rates, reflecting sound fiscal management and enabling sustainable community development and service delivery.
- Property taxes and utility rates as a percentage of household income – an important measure for assessing affordability and financial burden on residents from municipal services. The target is to maintain this indicator within 0.5 percentage points of the yearly average of comparator municipalities.