Toronto Parks staff are spending much less time on job sites than logs suggest, according to a new report from the city’s Auditor General.
The report analyzes data on operational maintenance and service standards in Toronto’s parks department and found multiple inaccuracies in the city’s records.
Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford says taxpayers deserve better.
“Torontonians are feeling the impact of rising taxes, yet we’re not seeing the promised improvements in city services,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.
It’s time to hold City Hall accountable for delivering real value for money.
— Brad Bradford✌️ (@BradMBradford) October 9, 2024
Torontonians are feeling the impact of rising taxes, yet we're not seeing the promised improvements in city services.
We must demand transparency and improvement in performance from our leaders,… pic.twitter.com/0ThKgeC54P
The parks branch requires its employees to record their activity in daily logs that must be accurately completed, signed by the crew leader, and submitted to the designated Foreperson at the end of each day. However, the audit indicates these practices are not being followed.
“Daily logs were not always properly completed. Park locations and working times were not always accurately reported on daily logs and did not always match GPS records,” the report says.
In its review of 564 daily logs across multiple districts, 13 per cent were not signed off and 28 per cent did not specify what tasks were performed at one or more park locations, the audit states.
Additionally, 75 per cent of daily logs, where GPS also indicated the time in and out of a location, were not accurately recorded by staff.
These administrative oversights were compounded by vehicles spending a significant amount of time in non-park areas, the audit also found.
For example, in 73 of the 85 logs reviewed, GPS data showed vehicles stopping at locations that were not parkland, transportation garages, or waste disposal sites.
Instead, the stops were near retail and food establishments, industrial areas, residential addresses, and places of worship.
The total time spent at these locations, combined with reported lunches and breaks at other parkland locations, exceeded the allowable 60 minutes per day for lunches and breaks in 30 of 73 instances.
On average, crews reported spending about four hours per day performing park maintenance but GPS indicates crews spent about 2.5 hours at park locations.
Bradford also called upon the city’s leadership to take responsibility for the lapse in parks service quality.
“I’m here to demand accountability and fight for getting the quality services Torontonians deserve—no more excuses,” he wrote.
To improve park maintenance services, the Auditor General is recommending further integration of GPS technology, improved scheduling, more accurate monitoring of tasks, and setting consistent and clear performance expectations.
The city told Now Toronto that the Auditor General’s findings reinforced its own analysis.
“City staff are already working to address many of the Auditor General’s recommendations including developing actions to improve reporting, enhanced training and technological changes to modernize processes,” Russell Baker, manager, media relations and issues management for the city said in an email statement on Wednesday.
“We are committed to supporting City staff through the development and implementation of new tools, enhanced training, and oversight. Our goal is to ensure the recommendations are implemented in a timely fashion,” Baker concluded.
