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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Conditional Grants In Ontario: A Case Study Of The Municipal Modernization Program, Elizabeth Reimer
Conditional Grants In Ontario: A Case Study Of The Municipal Modernization Program, Elizabeth Reimer
MPA Major Research Papers
The intent of the 2019 Regional Government Review (Review) was to find ways to expand service delivery and reduce costs in 82 Ontario municipalities. However, no changes resulted. Instead, the Province allocated significant funding to the existing Municipal Modernization Program (MMP) for municipalities to utilize in hopes of achieving the same results the Review had. Accordingly, this paper looks at whether the MMP, a provincial conditional grant, is effectively achieving its stated intended purposes. It is clear that intergovernmental relations as they pertain to grants is a much-researched topic, with a vast collection of research to draw upon spanning much …
Alternative Revenue Generation In Ontario Municipalities: The Utilization Of Municipal Accommodation Tax (Mat), Hayley Watts
Alternative Revenue Generation In Ontario Municipalities: The Utilization Of Municipal Accommodation Tax (Mat), Hayley Watts
MPA Major Research Papers
In recent years the Province of Ontario has enabled municipalities to adopt accommodation taxes as a revenue generating tool. There is an absence of data in Canada as to what this revenue is being utilized for. Most of the literature on the topic comes out of the United States and Europe, where hotel and accommodation taxes have been commonplace for many years, although a lot of the research focuses on the impacts of accommodation taxes on tourism. Hypothesising that the accommodation tax in Ontario is being utilized as a revenue-generating tool to offset other line items in municipal budgets, this …
Financial And Strategic Planning In Ontario Municipalities: Examining The Theoretical Framework And Linkages Between Municipal Financial And Strategic Planning In Ontario, Brian Geerts
MPA Major Research Papers
Municipal councils in Ontario are charged with the administration and control of organizations through the Municipal Act, 2001. Councils are responsible for the financial and service performance of a wide variety of activities. Should the activities and finances be poorly linked, this could lead to an accountability disconnect. This research explores how well municipalities in Ontario link strategic planning to financial planning, and how they communicate this to the public. Nine municipalities were randomly selected representing small, medium, and large municipalities in the south, central, and northern regions of the province. Municipalities primarily rely on their corporate strategic plans and …
Incorporating Stakeholder Input Into Financial Decision Making In California School Districts, Leann R. Nowlin
Incorporating Stakeholder Input Into Financial Decision Making In California School Districts, Leann R. Nowlin
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
As of June 2013, all California public school districts are required to incorporate stakeholder input into their operational goals and expenditures to increase stakeholder trust. Trust is a belief by one party in a transaction that the other party in the transaction will act in a way that is fair and in the interest of both parties. The problem is that no guidance or direction relative to the methods or extent to which stakeholder input should be gathered and incorporated was provided within the new regulations. Lawmakers and stakeholders had no insight into the effectiveness or level of school district …
Waterright: An Examination Of Drinking Water, Tax Policy, And Water Affordability In Southwestern Ontario, Robert Sharon
Waterright: An Examination Of Drinking Water, Tax Policy, And Water Affordability In Southwestern Ontario, Robert Sharon
MPA Major Research Papers
There is an extensive regulatory framework embodying the operational supply of drinking water in Ontario, including the need for all municipalities to provide a self-sustaining financial plan for their system. This has resulted in the price of water in Ontario significantly outpacing the Consumer Price Index and general property taxation rates. This cost increase is impacting Ontario residents, causing poorer residents to pay a larger percentage of their disposable income on water required for basic human needs.While provincial regulation is thorough from a quality assurance approach, it is silent on the matter of ensuring residential water affordability. Municipalities can improve …
Does The Province Have Enough Financial And Statistical Data Available To Execute A Needs-Based Grant Allocation To Target Municipal Infrastructure Investment Instead Of Utilizing An Application Process To Allocate Funds?, Brenda Garrett
MPA Major Research Papers
Municipalities across the Province are grappling with infrastructure deficits. Small, northern, and rural municipality’s tax assessment base limits its ability to garner sufficient revenue to support operations as well as renew and replace infrastructure. Federal and Provincial governments must step in and assist. As a result, the province introduced the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) as a permanent program to fund critical infrastructure projects for core assets—roads, bridges, water and wastewater. This paper analyzes provincially mandated municipal Financial Information Returns (FIRs) in conjunction with OCIF statistics to assess whether the Province can efficiently and effectively re-distribute revenue using existing financial …
The Role Of Local Government In China’S Urbanization: The Relationship Between Local Land Finance And Government-Led Urbanization, Ying Qiu
MPA Major Research Papers
Over the past several decades, dramatic growth and institutional reforms have taken place in the Chinese economy and society, which has been accompanied by accelerated urbanization. This paper examines the rationale behind the local government’s pursuit of urbanization and its deep relationship with fiscal reform, local land management, and the political performance evaluation system of local cadres by central officials. The findings reveal that, rather than being a natural consequence of economic development and a complex outcome of population urbanization and land urbanization, China’s urbanization in recent decades can be identified as a local government-led development deriving from the municipalities’ …
Public Health Funding: Results Of A Quantitative Analysis Exploring The Influence Of Local Public Health Unit Characteristics On The Provision Of Provincial And Local Funding, Sandy Stevens
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper attempts to identify what local public health unit (PHU) characteristics, if any, may be contributing factors to the variations in provincial and local per capita funding levels between PHUs. Financial data was collected on the size of the grant provided to each health unit by the Province of Ontario and the total expenditures spent by each PHU. This data was analyzed in relation to four health unit characteristics: the governance model of the board of health; the population density of the area overseen by each health unit; the economic health of the local communities; and the workload experienced …
The Perfect Storm: Emergency Management Regulations And Small Municipalities In Ontario, Jennifer Alexander
The Perfect Storm: Emergency Management Regulations And Small Municipalities In Ontario, Jennifer Alexander
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines emergency management legislation in Ontario with a specific focus on identifying the barriers that small municipalities experience with implementing provincial emergency management regulations. Through a qualitative research approach, this study examines three small municipalities in southwestern Ontario – Bluewater, Goderich, and Middlesex Centre – which have a similar population size and geographic location. Interviews with key municipal stakeholders were conducted and their responses are analyzed within this report. The findings demonstrate that small municipalities are struggling to maintain emergency readiness due to a lack of financial capacity to invest in resources and proactive emergency measures.
The Impacts Of Land Use Growth Restrictions Upon Municipal Finances: A Comparative Study Of A Rural Municipality, An Urban Settlement Municipality, And A Primary Settlement Municipality, Douglas Herron
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the impact of growth controls on the finances of local government. It focuses on the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the growth controls imposed through the Growth Plan upon the County of Simcoe and the local municipal governments within the boundaries of the County of Simcoe. The impact of growth controls is analyzed using a detailed analysis of three sample municipalities, which include the Township of Tiny, a rural municipality, the Town of Wasaga Beach, a high growth municipality, and the Town of Collingwood, a high growth municipality designated for population intensification. The findings …
Policing In Ontario: Financial Impacts And Opportunities, Michael Touw
Policing In Ontario: Financial Impacts And Opportunities, Michael Touw
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines police forces across Canada and the United States in an effort to determine why there are such large discrepancies in per capita policing costs between Ontario and North American comparators. While there are obvious differences between the various states, provinces, and territories in North America, and not all are similar to Ontario, all jurisdictions were nonetheless assessed and compared with the expectation that the variances might help to explain the figures for per capita police cost. The data was collected from a variety of sources, including Statistics Canada and the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as various …
Public Participation In Municipal Service Delivery Review, Noah Atlin
Public Participation In Municipal Service Delivery Review, Noah Atlin
MPA Major Research Papers
One of the techniques used by municipal administrators to evaluate their spending is the Service Delivery Review (SDR), for which a “how-to” manual, known as the Guide to Service Delivery Review for Municipal Managers, was created. This paper examines the Guide to determine whether it proposes a useful SDR structure that has adequate provisions for public participation. It analyzes the literature pertaining to the SDR process and public participation and it also provides an examination of public participation using case studies of six municipal SDRs in Ontario: Brockville, Port Hope, Brantford, Halton Hills, Barrie, and Hamilton. The findings reveal that …
Three Essays On Local Government Debt, Robert Greer
Three Essays On Local Government Debt, Robert Greer
Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration
The local government tax-exempt debt market is a growing, and complex, sector of public finance. As local governments turn to debt financing the factors that contribute to interest costs of that debt have become important considerations for local government officials and politicians. Governance at the local level involves a network of overlapping governments some of which share a tax base. This system of overlapping governments that share a tax base are subject to externalities that arise from taxation, expenditures, and debt. These externalities are usually analyzed in terms of tax or expenditure reactions, but there are implications for local government …
Water Pricing In Ontario: Is The Price Right For Water?, John Presta
Water Pricing In Ontario: Is The Price Right For Water?, John Presta
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines whether major municipalities in Ontario have changed their water rate structure in order to raise additional resources for their capital and operating requirements. The data presented has been gathered from a sample of medium and large urban areas and is based on a questionnaire, interviews, and municipal websites. The findings reveal that municipalities in Ontario have had to increase their water rates since the Walkerton tragedy in order to become compliant with new regulations and to address capital infrastructure replacement programs, but there is no evidence that they have changed their water use rate structure in order …
Ontario Business Improvement Areas: Opportunities Gained And Lost, Michael De Rond
Ontario Business Improvement Areas: Opportunities Gained And Lost, Michael De Rond
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines whether Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) in the Durham Region are taking advantage of the opportunity for greater exposure and increased profits using indicators that measure five BIAs and one business association throughout the area. They include: the Pickering Village BIA; the Downtown Ajax BIA; the Downtown Oshawa BIA; the Port Perry BIA; the Downtown Orono BIA; and the Brooklin Business Association. The findings reveal that, with the notable exception of the Port Perry BIA, the BIAs in the Durham Region are not taking full advantage of opportunities for development and they do not have the same level …
Deliberative Democracy And Empowerment: An Analysis Of The Toronto Community Housing Corporation’S Tenant Participation System, Sewit Tamene
Deliberative Democracy And Empowerment: An Analysis Of The Toronto Community Housing Corporation’S Tenant Participation System, Sewit Tamene
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines whether programs that adopt the principles of deliberative democracy can evoke feelings of empowerment among participants. Interviews with residents of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) were conducted to determine whether tenants who participate in the Tenant Participation System, specifically the participatory budgeting program, become empowered. The findings reveal that deliberative democracy is consistent with high levels of empowerment and tenants felt that empowerment was derived from a decision-making process that they were able to control.
Law Enforcement Expenditures And Crime Rates In Canadian Municipalities: A Statistical Analysis Of How Law Enforcement Expenditures Impact Municipal Crime Rates In Canada, Matthew Slotwinski
Law Enforcement Expenditures And Crime Rates In Canadian Municipalities: A Statistical Analysis Of How Law Enforcement Expenditures Impact Municipal Crime Rates In Canada, Matthew Slotwinski
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines what impact law enforcement expenditures have on municipal crime rates. An analysis of 65 municipalities representing nine provinces across Canada was conducted using data collected from the Police Resources in Canada reports from 1997 to 2007 and Census data from 2001 and 2006. The findings reveal that although a significant absolute relationship between expenditures and crime rates exists, there is no indication that law enforcement expenditures have an impact of statistical significance on crime rates.
Tangible Capital Assets Accounting Policy Implementation In Middlesex County, Glenda Ogilvie
Tangible Capital Assets Accounting Policy Implementation In Middlesex County, Glenda Ogilvie
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the implementation aspects of the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) standard for tangible capital assets (TCA) accounting in Middlesex County. A series of interviews with treasurers who work for municipalities in the region were conducted to evaluate the success of the new policy. The findings reveal that in order for local governments to effectively implement the new accounting procedure, having the necessary resources, especially in terms of money and people, is absolutely critical.
Attitudes Toward Public Health Funding: Results Of A Survey That Explored Differences In Support By Ontario Municipal Elected Officials For Local Public Health Programs, Elaine Reddick
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the reluctance of municipal officials towards public health funding in Ontario based on a survey that aimed to determine if there was a difference in attitudes towards the municipal funding of public health by type of program. The findings reveal that while the respondents exhibited strong overall support for government funding of both types of programs, municipal politicians in Ontario showed a significant preference for committing municipal funds to protection-type programs than for promotion-type programs.
Municipal Capital Works Projects: An Analysis Of Scheduling Delays And Cost Escalations, Doug Mackay
Municipal Capital Works Projects: An Analysis Of Scheduling Delays And Cost Escalations, Doug Mackay
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the primary reasons for the delays and cost overruns in municipal capital works projects in Ontario. Interviews with experts in municipal infrastructure projects – including employees from the municipal sector, the Ministry of the Environment, a conservation authority, and the Ministry of Transportation – were conducted. The findings reveal that there are numerous factors that have resulted in municipal capital works projects becoming increasingly difficult to deliver, but the primary factor was the introduction of the Environmental Assessment Act, which resulted in a lengthened schedule and added costs.
Capital Expenditures In Metropolitan Toronto: A Comparison Of The Capital Operations And Written Literature On Capital Infrastructure For The Municipality Of Metropolitan Toronto, Caspar Hall
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines whether the assertions made by key literature on capital infrastructure in Metropolitan Toronto are empirically supported based on an analysis of annual capital operations financial statements. The findings reveal that, with a few exceptions, the historical analysis of capital operations does support the assertions made by the literature on capital infrastructure.
Potential Alternative Revenue Sources For Municipal Infrastructure Maintenance – A Case Study: County Of Peterborough Transportation Infrastructure, Chris Bradley
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines whether the funding system for local infrastructure is adequate to ensure a sustainable, well-maintained transportation network and if there is a single, more effective means of funding local infrastructure maintenance based on a case study of the County of Peterborough. The findings reveal that the current funding system for local infrastructure maintenance is inadequate to ensure a sustainable, well-maintained transportation network and alternative revenue sources include the federal GST, the provincial PST, the gas tax, income tax, subsidies and transfers, infrastructure maintenance funding programs, and user fees.
Devolution Or Downloading: The Financial And Service Effects Of Local Services Realignment On Ontario Ambulance Services, John Prno
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the devolution of ambulance services in Ontario from provincial to municipal control to determine whether it has resulted in a more efficient, accountable, less costly, and simplified process. Data from a sample of municipalities in the province is analyzed in an attempt to determine differences in cost and service levels between municipalities that choose to contract ambulance services and those that decide to deliver ambulance services themselves. The findings reveal that although ambulance services in Ontario have been historically under-resourced and have experienced increased service levels, the cost of providing the service has almost doubled since devolution …
Financing Urban Transit: An Analysis Of Ontario Urban Transit Trends, John Cicuttin
Financing Urban Transit: An Analysis Of Ontario Urban Transit Trends, John Cicuttin
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the public policy issue of transportation funding by analyzing the urban transit trends in Ontario regarding operating subsidies, ridership, service levels, cost and efficiency, revenue and fare, and productivity. The findings reveal that the elimination of provincial funding for urban transit in Ontario contradicts the integrated policy approach that is required for balanced urban transportation systems.
Development Of A Model For User Fees: A Model On Policy Development In Creating And Maintaining User Fees For Municipalities, Jim Mcqueen
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the relevance and significance of user fees in Ontario based on case studies that assess user fee policies in four municipalities in the Halton Region – Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakville. The findings reveal that user fees have become a more prominent revenue source and they are an important component of a municipality’s revenue base.
Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy In California: The 1993 Property Tax Shift, Lynndee Ann Kemmet
Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy In California: The 1993 Property Tax Shift, Lynndee Ann Kemmet
Theses Digitization Project
No abstract provided.
Fiscal Impact Analysis: Applications And Usage In Ontario Municipalities, Jeffrey Celentano
Fiscal Impact Analysis: Applications And Usage In Ontario Municipalities, Jeffrey Celentano
MPA Major Research Papers
This paper examines the overall effectiveness of financial impact analysis (FIA) in local government based on a survey of 48 municipalities in Ontario with populations over 25,000. The findings reveal that despite the usefulness of FIA as an evaluative technique for municipal expenditures and revenues, it remains an unpopular tool for local government administrators in the province.