By Tom Davey
Toronto City Council recently approved $10.6 million worth of consultants "with barely a second thought," according to a Toronto Sun report on March 27. Councillor Jane Pitfield was quoted as saying that consultants have been on a bit of a 'feeding frenzy' thanks to overwhelmed city officials. The Sun's reporter, Sue-Ann Levy, wrote: "Just look at the $159 million spent on consultants in 1999 alone, more than the value of Metro Hall."
In a Toronto Sun Editorial, April 17, Lorrie Goldstein wrote scathingly: "Why would City Hall even think about dropping dental programs for poor kids and seniors when it could maintain them indefinitely just by wiping out a tiny portion of its annual budget for consultants? We're being spun by left-wing councillors on this one, folks, just as we have been from time immemorial."
Well, consultants are many and varied and those practitioners who came under these penetrating analyses were not singled out as environmental engineers. However, the generalized criticism does focus on the persistent lack of understanding of the role of consulting engineers.
Using the value of an in-place building such as Metro Hall, to compare the monetary worth of intellectual property from learned professions, comes perilously close to economic illiteracy. Imagine a spectacular but inanimate glass and steel building being compared to the neurons and synapses of professionals who design such things. Some of the bridges, highways, water treatment and wastewater projects, many of which were designed by consulting engineers, are worth billions of dollars today. Compared to the value of any of the city's infrastructure projects -- some of which have lasted over a century or more -- then the capital cost of Metro Hall is petty cash in construction values alone. Virtually all of the above public works were essential in the development of the wealth, economic viability, and yes, the vibrant cultural ambience of Toronto.
Without its infrastructure, Canada's largest city might still be a village perched on Lake Ontario, perhaps to evolve into a quaint tourist attraction such as Niagara-On-The-Lake. Far-fetched? Just look at how Toronto's neglected highway and transit infrastructures are now seriously impacting on the city's viability. With its highway arteries becoming ever more clogged, both corporate and entertainment businesses are increasingly suffering as its population chokes on traffic fumes. Pulmonary diseases are on the increase. Add to this the economic losses emanating from a workforce fatigued, and less efficient through twice daily frustrating commuting grinds.
It is hard to realize that when Great Britain proudly began its first 70 miles of motorway, the M-1, in the late 1950s, Toronto already had in place more motorways than Great Britain -- a pretty good record for a city with a population of some 1.5 million. There are many controversial environmental viewpoints on motorways but few will argue that Toronto cannot continue with the present policy of auto asphixiation of its residents.
Unlike its highway system, Toronto's water and wastewater infrastructure still ranks among the finest and best-maintained in the world. This system manages to draw raw water from Lake Ontario, treat, then distribute it through some 5,000 kilometres of watermains.
After use, the wastewater is returned for treatment on what is often a 10,000 kilometre round trip. While far from perfect, these services are unsurpassed for value, but they do need expert and continuous care on a regular basis to maintain this record. Toronto's record of pipe maintenance and replacement -- measured even against international standards -- ranks among the best, and consulting firms have been involved with the infrastructure designs and replacements for many decades.
Paradoxically, water quality standards in Toronto are high, yet water rates are among the lowest in the world. Toronto water costs less than a fraction of a penny per litre. Watermain failures, despite climatic extremes, are so reliable that TV crews are dispatched to the scene whenever watermains fail and roads are flooded, while disgruntled homeowners' complaints are broadcast to the nation with all the solemnity of a major event. It would be hard for any comparable industry or sector to match its combination of reliability in the fields of health, fire protection and economic value.
Few recall that there were originally 13 municipalities in place before Metropolitan Toronto was formed in the mid 1950s, when amalgamation brought police, water and wastewater services under one political entity. Rather surprisingly, the six fire departments created by Metro remained separated for four decades until the Harris Provincial Government abolished the Metropolitan concept to revert to what is now simply the City of Toronto.
Council's recently avowed aim was for a five percent reduction goal in the use of consultants, with at least one councillor striving for a 20% cut in consulting usage. It may be an ominous sign when councillors display little understanding of how huge and complex municipal services are planned, designed, and maintained.
Their attitude reminds me of another great city, ancient Rome, when the Eternal City was going through one of its periodic political upheavals. Whenever governance problems emerged during discussions, with every query came a reassurance that: The guards will look after that. Juvenal's famous rejoinder is still relevant after almost two millennia. With sardonic perception he enquired: But who will guard the guards? Rome, paradoxically, became renowned for its aqueducts and pipelines which brought fresh water to the great city. Without fresh water the Roman Empire would be unknown to history and the Coliseum, the great aquaducts and fountains, and even the movie Gladiator might never have been conceived.
Which poses a simple arithmetical question if there is ever a significant reduction in consultants retained by Toronto. For Canada's largest city to do all its municipal engineering in-house, Toronto would have to hire about 1,000 engineering staff. That is without the additional construction work if Toronto is awarded the 2008 Olympiad it so desperately seeks. Meanwhile, there is already a serious shortage of engineering graduates which is reliably predicted to get worse. To paraphrase what Juvenal asked of ancient Rome, without consultants: Who then will do the engineering?
It is admirable to have highly competent core staff in any large city but symbiotic benefits occur when city engineers work alongside consultants whose mobility and skills have been cross-fertilized with experience on many different projects. When particular projects are completed and specialized disciplines are not required by a city, consultants simply move on to new projects, relieving the city of the fixed-in-place burdens of office accommodations, pension plans, severance packages, office costs, and many other expenses borne by consultants.
A huge metropolis like Toronto will always require a diversity of increasingly complex skills and talents to take advantage of emerging technologies which are changing exponentially. A mix of consultants and city staff is positively the best way to adapt to these challenges.
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