Municipal Performance and Direction de la performance Accountability Branch et de la responsabilisation des municipalit‚s 777 Bay Street, 13th Floor 777, rue Bay, 13e ‚tage Toronto ON M5G 2E5 Toronto ON M5G 2E5 Phone: (416) 585-7264 T‚l‚phone: (416) 585-7264 Fax: (416) 585-6161 T‚l‚copieur: (416) 585-6161 December 8, 2006 To Municipal Treasurers and Municipal Auditors: I am pleased to inform you that the FIR2006, including the MPMP schedules, is now available for downloading at the FIR website: http://csconramp.mah.gov.on.ca/fir/welcome.htm All information on the FIR website, including the FIR2006, Instructions and Start-Up Guide has also been updated and are available for downloading. As in previous years, a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet will be used for 2006 FIR reporting. Please remember that only FIR?s which have been created by the Ministry and downloaded from the FIR website will be acceptable means of submission. Although some minor content changes and improvements have been made, the functionality of the FIR2006 remains very similar to previous years. For a complete list of content changes, please refer to the FIR2006 Content Changes document available at the FIR website. Before downloading and completing the FIR/MPMP Schedules, we recommend that you print the FIR2006 Start-Up Guide for reference. For those of you already familiar with the FIR, we have attached a quick reference sheet to this letter. Once again, the deadline for completing the FIR and MPMP Schedules will be May 31, 2007. In the past, some municipalities have experienced difficulty in submitting required information by this date. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that filing your FIR and MPMP data by the deadline is a requirement under the Municipal Act, 2001. It is also critical for enabling the province to calculate and reconcile Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) allocations. After the FIR has been completed without any critical errors, it may be submitted by email to: FIR.mah@ontario.ca Audit Questionnaires should also be submitted to your local Municipal Services Office. /2 Municipal Performance Measurement Program (MPMP) You received a letter from Minister Gerretsen to your Head of Council dated November 27, 2006 that describes the MPMP measures and requirements for the 2006 reporting year. Formulas for the denominators for the efficiency measures for wastewater collection, drinking water distribution and storm water management have been simplified. The Parks and Recreation Working Group of the MPMP Advisory Committee has refined effectiveness measures for open space and recreation facilities, focussing on municipally owned open space and facilities. Additional information will be collected on recreation property owned by third parties that is part of the municipal parks and recreation system. This information does not need to be reported to the public, but will assist the sector in understanding how services are delivered. Detailed instructions for the 2006 performance measures will be posted on the FIR website. Workbooks to assist in completing the library measures will also be posted. Other Information Financial Statements, including a signed Auditors Report can be submitted electronically to: FIR.mah@ontario.ca It is preferred the Municipalities submit a PDF (Portable Document Format) version of the Financial Statements, although other formats such as WordPerfect, Word or Excel would also be acceptable. Municipalities that choose to submit their Financial Statements electronically are no longer required to send hard copies to their local Municipal Service Office. FIR data (excluding MPMP Schedules) from 2001 onwards can now be viewed at the FIR website either ?By Municipality? or ?By Schedule?. Look for the ?View FIR Data? links on the FIR website to access the data. Should you have any questions or require assistance with completing the FIR and/or MPMP, please contact; Al Horsman (FIR) at (416) 585-6299, Bohdan Wynnycky (MPMP) at (416) 585-6638, or your nearest Municipal Services Office. Sincerely, Janet Hope Director (Acting), Municipal Performance and Accountability Branch cc: Directors, MMAH Municipal Services Offices Allan Doheny, Director, Ministry of Finance