Finance and Economic Development Committee
Comité des finances et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
25 October 2011 / le 25 octobre 2011
Submitted by/Soumis par : M. Rick O'Connor
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Catherine Bergeron , Manager, Elections & MFIPPA / Gestionnaire, Élections & LAIMPVP
City Clerk and Solicitor/Greffier et Chef du contentieux
(613) 580-2424 x 44127 , catherine.bergeron@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°: ACS2011-CMR-CCB-0088 |
SUBJECT: |
2010 ELECTIONS - CONTRIBUTION REBATE PROGRAM: STATUS UPDATE II |
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OBJET : |
ÉLECTIONS 2010- PROGRAMME DE REMISE DES CONTRIBUTIONS : RAPPORT DE SITUATIONS II |
That the Finance and Economic Development Committee and Council receive this report as supplemental information to the 2012 Draft Budget.
Que le Comité des finances et du développement économique et le Conseil prennent connaissance de ce rapport à titre d’information supplémentaire au budget préliminaire de 2012.
On April 2, 2002, the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee considered a report from Councillor Hume entitled “Municipal Elections Act - Contribution Rebate Program” (ACS2002-CCS-CSE-0005). This report identified that the primary objective in establishing a contribution rebate program (for campaign contributions made by individual persons) would be to level the playing field between corporate and individual contributions. It was believed that such a program could act as an incentive to encourage more individuals to make contributions and therefore becoming more involved in the democratic process. The report also anticipated that the increase of contributions made by individuals could result in reducing the apparent dominance of corporate campaign contributions to municipal campaigns.
Following Councillor Hume’s report, Council directed staff to prepare a report that provided Council with options for establishing the Election Contribution Rebate Program. After reviewing the staff report, Council passed By-law 2003-26 to establish a contribution rebate program for the 2003 regular election. In 2005, Council amended this By-law so that the program was in effect for all future elections, until such time the by-law was further amended or repealed.
Assessing the Program
As noted above, the intent of the program was to bring a balance between corporate and individual campaign contributions. Set out below is a preliminary assessment of the program based on this stated intent. However, it is important to appreciate that this preliminary assessment was undertaken with the following limitation: Prior to the introduction of the contribution rebate program in 2003,candidates only disclosed contributions of over $100, as required by the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Therefore, comparing the contributions of the 2000 regular election to subsequent elections present a challenge as a comprehensive, baseline pre-rebate program is not available. In other words, a comparative analysis of pre and post rebate figures is not possible
Notwithstanding this challenge the findings show that the program has worked to increase the number of individual contributions since the 2003 election. The contribution rebate program has effectively reversed the percentages of contributions from corporations and individuals. Approximately two-thirds (2/3) of contributions now come from individuals, whereas two-thirds (2/3) of contributions came from corporations in the 2000 elections. Table 1 outlines the breakdown of corporate contributions versus individual contributions for the last four regular elections.
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Table 1. Corporate and Individuals Contributions – 2000 – 2010 Municipal Elections |
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2000 |
2003 |
2006 |
2010 |
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Corp.* |
Ind.* |
Corp.* |
Ind.** |
Corp.* |
Ind.** |
Corp.* |
Ind.** |
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N/A |
N/A |
524 |
2,924 |
820 |
7,400 |
585 |
4142 |
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Value of Contributions |
$671,350 |
$384,830 |
$192,114 |
$395,902 |
$366,529 |
$1,403,594 |
$377,801 |
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% of Total Contributions |
65% |
35% |
33% |
67% |
21% |
79% |
24% |
76% |
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*over $100 **$50 and over |
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The 2006 Alex Munter mayoral campaign demonstrated the potential to significantly increase individual contributions. This mayoral campaign was responsible for more than half of the individual contributions in 2006. By the same token, this campaign represents an anomaly and not a trend. With the Alex Munter campaign removed from the analysis, the findings demonstrate a modest increase (1%) in individual contributions from 2003 to 2006. (See Table 2). Staff will prepare a similar assessment of the 2010 contributions as part of the comprehensive report planned for Q1 2012.
Participating and Non-Participating Campaigns
Participating Candidates
In each of the last three elections, more than half of the candidates participated in the rebate program. The number of participating candidates as well as the number of campaigns has steadily increased over the three elections. In 2010, there were a total of 150 campaigns for Council.
Number of candidates who participated in rebate program
· 2000 - no rebate program
· 2003 - 52 of 77 campaigns (68%)
· 2006 - 64 of 100 campaigns (64%)
· 2010
- 82 of 150 campaigns (55%)
Also, over the last three elections, a strong majority of candidates who were elected participated in the contribution rebate program:
Number of participating candidates who were elected
· 2000 - no rebate program
· 2003 - 19 of 22 Members on Council (86%)
· 2006 - 20 of 24 Members on Council (83%)
· 2010 - 21 of 24 Members on Council (88%)
Maximum Rebate Benchmarks
Other Ontario municipalities with a contribution rebate program have established various amounts as the maximum rebate:
· Toronto - $1,000 maximum rebate
· Markham - $350 maximum rebate
· Ottawa - $187.50 maximum rebate
· Ajax - $150 maximum rebate
· Vaughan - $150 maximum rebate
· Whitby - $150 maximum rebate
Potential Options Going Forward
The following potential options going forward will be outlined in detail in the report to Council for Q1 2012. For now, the potential options are listed below:
Option 1 - Raise the Minimum Contribution Eligible for Rebate
Consider raising the minimum amount eligible for a rebate. For example, raise the minimum contribution eligible for a rebate from $50 to $100.
Option 2 – Cap Rebates at $50
Consider lowering the maximum rebate amount. For example, decrease the maximum rebate amount from $187.50 to $50.00.
Option 3 - Reduce the Rebate Percentage
Consider reducing the City’s costs by reducing some of the rebate rates. For example, reduce the rebate for a contribution of $50-150 from 75 percent to 50 percent.
Option 4 – Cancel the Program
Cancelling the program would address the issue that the contribution rebate program is unbudgeted.
Option 5 – Assign a Budget the Contribution Rebate Program
Consider assigning a budget to the contribution rebate program, perhaps in the form of a reserve fund.
Budget
As Council is aware, the contribution rebate program has been in effect since 2003.However, there has never been a budget established for this program. Instead, rebate payments have been made through the Election Reserve Fund. Therefore, a decision on this program will not affect the 2012 budget. However, continuing to operate an unfunded program could affect the funding for future elections
There are no specific rural implications with this information report.
No consultation was undertaken in the preparation of this information report.
This is a City-wide information report.
There are no legal/risk management implications associated with this information report.
There are no risk management implications associated with this information report.
This no implications to the City’s Strategic Plan associated with this information report.
There are no technical implications associated with this information report.
There are no financial implications associated with this information report.
ACCESSIBLITY IMPACTS
There no accessibility impacts associated with this information report.
N/A
Staff will act on any direction received as part of consideration of this report.