Auditor General Committee

Summary

• The Auditor General presented findings from an audit of the Arts, Culture, and Community Services (ACCS) community grants program, which distributed $34 million across 931 grants to non-profit organizations in 2024.
• Audit covered 19 of 62 grant streams, representing about 75% of total grant funding; overall criteria were found to be only partially met.
• Key findings: most grant streams lacked specific measurable objectives; performance metrics tracked activity levels but not impact or efficiency; assessment criteria were not consistently published for applicants; documentation of final grant decisions was incomplete; some grant agreements lacked final reporting requirements; and monitoring was inconsistent across teams.
• Auditors highlighted a structural tension between "attribution" grants (fewer, larger, targeted for demonstrable impact) and "contribution" grants (many smaller grants with broader but less measurable reach), and noted that with 62 streams and $34 million, council should have a frank conversation about where it wants to achieve the greatest impact.
• No evidence of inappropriate grant awards was found; concerns centred on the city's inability to consistently demonstrate fairness, objectivity, and impact through documentation.
• ACCS management accepted all 10 recommendations in whole or in part, noting some work is already underway (e.g., expansion of multi-year grants), and committed to checking in with council at the start of each term to align grant priorities.
• Committee members raised concerns about accessibility for cultural communities with language barriers, feedback to unsuccessful applicants, responsiveness of the program to emerging city needs (e.g., affordability, food security), and the use of technology to reduce administrative burden.
• Committee endorsed all 10 audit recommendations and directed staff to report back by spring 2027 on implementation, with specific attention to alignment with council priorities, mid-term outcome reviews, efficiency metrics, time-bound grant streams, and published assessment criteria.