Toronto City Manager
The Toronto 'city manager is the most senior civil servant in the City of Toronto's administrative structure and the head of the Toronto Public Service. Appointed by the mayor of Toronto, the city manager is responsible for providing advice to Toronto City Council and implementing its decisions. The position is statutorily known as the chief administrative officer', which was also the title used in Toronto until city manager was adopted in 2005.
Paul Johnson has been the city manager since December 2, 2022. Johnson was appointed by Mayor John Tory, and previously worked for the City of Hamilton, before joining the City of Toronto as a deputy city manager in 2021.
Overview of role
Under the City of Toronto Act, the city may appoint a city manager, who is delegated managerial authority to direct the operation of the municipal government, manage its staff, and develop policy and budgetary recommendations for City Council to consider. The city manager reports to City Council and is appointed by the mayor, who is head of council and the city's statutory chief executive officer. This role is common in the council-manager system used across Ontario municipalities.A mayoral decision issued in 2023 delegates the power to hire and fire the city manager to City Council, the power to hire and dismiss department heads to the city manager, and the power to determine the city's organizational structure to the city manager.
History
Evolving role in former municipalities
Departmental model
The department model was once the most popular administrative management model, before falling out of favour with Canadian municipalities in the 1970s. In this model, each department and its head report directly to city council. Decision-making was decentralized, with a noted weakness being little opportunity for internal coordination to align on initiatives on a corporate level.Centralization in the 1970s
In the mid-1970s, there was a push for centralization. Two models – the chief administrative officer model and the city manager model – were common. Under the CAO model, the heads of most "line departments" reported directly to city council, except for heads of administrative departments who reported to the CAO. The city manager model saw department heads reporting to a single official hired by council. The City of York, City of Etobicoke and City of Scarborough each had a city manager. The Borough of East York and the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto had chief administrative officers, and the City of North York had a city administrator. Uniquely, the City of Toronto introduced a Board of Management.Toronto Board of Management (1996–97)
The City of Toronto was the last major Canadian city to use the departmental model. It had initially attempted to introduce reforms in the early 1970s by introducing a "committee of heads", where senior staff selected an internal committee chair. As the chair did not have the authority to direct the other heads, the committee could not enforce cooperation or a corporate perspective on departments.In 1996, city council adopted the Board of Management. Under this model, the heads of four service areas – known as commissioners – shared the powers of a CAO or city manager. This blended the departmental model and the CAO/city manager models. While each commissioner was appointed to head a service area which housed a cluster of departments, the board could direct all service areas and their departments. members were appointed as equals, decisions were made by consensus, and commissioners shared the same staff and office.
Chief Administrative Officer (1998–2004)
Following amalgamation in 1998, the new "megacity" adopted the model used by Metro Toronto and most of its former municipalities. The senior civil servant in the City of Toronto was known as the chief administrative officer, who reported directly to council and oversees each department head. Mike Garrett was appointed as the city's first CAO. In June 2001, he was replaced as CAO by Shirley Hoy.City Manager (2004–present)
In 2004, following a review of the city's organizational structure, City Council endorsed a plan to rename the position of CAO to city manager, with its responsibilities largely remaining the same. The new title was formally implemented when a by-law was passed on April 14, 2005, giving effect to the change the following day.In 2022, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, which gave the mayor greater powers over municipal administration. This includes the ability to appoint and terminate executive staff such as the city manager, however, the city manager remains accountable to city council as a whole rather than directly to the mayor. Certain powers of the mayor, such as the ability to hire and dismiss the city manager, are delegated to City Council. Additionally, the mayor's power to determine the organizational structure of the city and hire or dismiss department heads are delegated to the city manager.