Some Toronto park crews spent hours of their week hanging out at plazas instead of cutting grass: Auditor General

Some City of Toronto park crews did half as much maintenance work as they reported and instead appeared to hang out at plazas and eateries, a new report from the city’s Auditor General has found.

As part of an operational review into how the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division manages and maintains Toronto’s 1,500 parks, the auditor general examined vehicle GPS data and maintenance logs.

The auditor found that on average in a standard eight-hour work day, mobile crews reported spending over four hours a day at parks maintenance locations, while vehicle GPS data indicated they were there for just two hours and 36 minutes.

“We reviewed a sample of 85 daily logs with available GPS data from 13 wards/areas across four districts and the Waterfront and found that the locations and working times reported by parks maintenance crews did not always match the GPS records,” the report says.

In almost half those logs (46 per cent), GPS data indicated crews did not stop at one or more of the parks indicated in the written logs.

In one case, the auditor found, a crew did not stop at five of the eight parks indicated in its log.

“Instead, the vehicle was parked at a plaza for about 2 hours and 35 minutes and returned to the yard approximately 3 hours before the end of the shift. In addition, of the three parks that were visited by the crew, less time was spent at each location than was indicated on the daily log, and the ‘time in/time out’ was not accurately recorded by the crew.”

In another example, the auditor found that a crew spent more than 10.5 hours – more than a quarter of its 40-hour work week – at plazas and other non-city locations.

“The GPS data shows that the crew was only at the park locations they reported on the daily logs for about 11.5 hours (48 per cent) of the 24 hours that the crew reported they were performing parks maintenance,” the report says. “On the first day of the work week, the crew did not stop at any of the five parkland locations that they reported working at for over 4.5 hours on their daily log.”

By the numbers

• 
  4+ hours a day – amount of time crews reported spending working on parks in an eight-hour work day
• 
  2.5 hours – amount of time vehicle GPS indicated crews were actually at city parks
• 
  46% Number of reviewed logs where GPS indicates crews did not stop at one or more park locations
• 
  75% Number of reviewed logs where GPS indicates the time in/time out at many locations was not accurate
• 
  28% of daily logs sampled did not indicate which maintenance activities were completed
• 
  13% of sampled daily logs were not signed off by a foreperson or supervisor

Most of the GPS logs (86 per cent) sampled by the auditor in fact indicated crews stopped near retail establishments, eateries, industrial areas, residential addresses, and/or places of worship. As well, 75 per cent of the sampled GPS logs indicated that the time in/time out reported by crews at many locations were not accurate.

“The total time spent at these locations, together with reported running lunches and breaks at other parkland locations, exceeded the allowable 60 minutes per day for lunches and breaks in 30 of the 73 (41 per cent) instances,” the report found.

Around a third of the vehicles used by the park department don’t even have GPS units installed, so they can’t be tracked aside from the logs.

Lack of oversight, service levels not met

The auditor’s report found that the extent of monitoring varied between districts and supervisors, that there were no specific guidelines for supervisors with regards to reviewing, documenting, communicating and following up on park inspections.

The department failed to consistently achieve standard service levels in June and August of 2023, the report found. It is also failed to established key performance indicators to measure compliance with established service levels.

The auditor is recommending that the Parks Department fully utilize GPS technology to improve oversight and productivity for the maintenance crews. The auditor is also recommending that the department make sure that crews spend more time actively working on maintenance tasks such as grass cutting, washroom cleaning and picking up litter rather than doing support activities like driving. The report also recommends that the department crack down on idle time, and unreported stops and breaks.

Toronto’s park workers are represented by the Toronto Civic Employees’ Union – CUPE Local 416. In a statement, the union said it has “carefully reviewed” the auditor general’s report.

“While the report highlights important issues, it reflects just one aspect of a much larger picture,” President Eddie Maroiconda said. “Our members often face significant challenges at work, including operational gridlock and broken-down equipment. Despite these obstacles, we are extremely proud in what our members do to keep Toronto parks clean and beautiful.”

He added that the union is “committed to addressing the concerns raised in the audit” in upcoming bargaining sessions with the city, “focusing on practical solutions that support our members.”

Mayor calls findings concerning

In a statement, Mayor Olivia Chow’s office said the report is concerning and she will work to implement the changes.

“The Mayor thinks the findings by the auditor general are deeply concerning as people deserve park amenities that are well-maintained so they can be used and enjoyed,” Chow’s office said. “Mayor Chow thanks the Auditor General for her report and recommendations, and looks forward to working with councillors and city staff to implement them.”

The 2024 operating budget for the Parks department is over $190 million, with $57.5 million dedicated to general summer parkland maintenance. The department employs around 1,300 people in the summer season. An exact dollar figure was not estimated for the lost work time in the report.

Coun. Stephen Holyday, who chairs the audit committee, told CTV News Toronto that the report is frustrating, but that he doesn’t think the phenomenon is unique to the city.

“It’s both frustrating and disappointing, because this seems like an old story,” Holyday said. “And it’s not just something that plagues the City of Toronto, but many large organizations where there’s a lot of workers, there are a limited number of supervisors, and people are out working in the field.”

However this is not the first time that a lack of proper oversight and GPS tracking has cost the city. A staff report last year found that Toronto overspent on snow clearing by around $26.4 million in 2022, largely as a result of not properly enforcing contracts. Staff flagged the lack of GPS tracking as one of the major problems, as well as guidelines for acceptable break times and other factors.

The report comes as the city launches a budget process to figure out how to spend tax dollars in the next fiscal year and whether property owners might face another steep tax increase as they did for 2024.