Year: 1979
Summary: Summarizes a seminar which explores the relationship between local government and the media, and public access to government-held information. Emphasis is placed on the importance of freedom of information in democratic societies.
Year: 1976
Summary: Analysis of how provincial budget cuts affected social services in Ontario municipalities and the lack of sufficient information to account for spending on these issues.
Summary: The roles, authority and limitations on municipal auditors in Ontario, including jurisdictional scan and political challenges.
Year: 1974
Summary: Study of citizen participation, with a focus on on citizen groups whose chief concern is local government decisions about the physical environment.
Year: 1972
Summary: Argues that many notices sent to city residents as though informing them of their rights and of planned action are in fact not clear, not helpful, and do not supply sufficient information.
Year: 1970
Summary: Reviews causes of neighbourhood-city conflict, and examines how ratepayers and resident associations in the city interact with elected representatives. Argues for increased participation of neighbourhood groups in local policy making.
Year: 1949
Summary: Advocates for "full and frank treatment" of important civic business in order to keep the public engaged.
Year: 1940
Summary: Suggests that city service departments should be coordinated under one commissioner, responsible to council - reducing the work of departmental purchasing, streamlining accounting, and making the use of personnel more economical.
Year: 1939
Summary: Highlights the need for increased efficiency in running the city's matters at wartime. Suggests a lack of planning for the future is wasteful, that council sessions frequently waste time, and are too dominated by the Board of Control. Suggests that candidates who run for city council are not of sufficient calibre, and that increasing term limits would remedy this issue.
Year: 1934
Summary: Need for accountability and more transparency in reporting on deficits.
Summary: Argues that city workers' salaries can be reduced in light of the increase on purchasing power with the Great Depression
Year: 1930
Summary: Highlights the importance of municipal financial reporting for both policy-makers and citizens. Traces the development of municipal financial reporting in Toronto over the decades. Stresses a need for annual report on civic expenditures to be made available to the general public.
Year: 1929
Summary: A detailed description of the organizational structure of the municipal government. Highlights the need for city planning and centralized purchasing for better efficiency.
Summary: Municipal corporations must run more efficiently, more like businesses and with a central organization.
Year: 1926
Summary: Highlights the need for careful review of all civic services to ensure efficiency before reaching decisions about salaries and benefits for city workers.
Year: 1925
Summary: An open letter highlighting a specific case of patronage and possible misconduct in city appointments - in which the Control Board attempted to appoint a man and his wife to city positions without listing their qualifications for the positions.
Summary: Urges citizen vigilance in monitoring expenditures which may put the city's credit as risk, which could in turn increase taxation. Reminds citizens to vote, and to keep credit and expenditure issues in mind when voting.
Summary: In this publication, the Bureau argues that vacant positions in the civic service must be filled based on merit and not patronage or politics.
Summary: Comparative analysis and recommendations for curing the illness of the Toronto municipal system, including changing term length, abolishing the ward system, reducing city council size, increasing efficiency.
Year: 1922
Summary: Encouraging use of the suggestion box run by the bureau; citizens can inform the bureau of local infrastructure problems and/ or other matters of local interest.
Year: 1919
Summary: Citizens are encouraged to write suggestions regarding civic services on attached cards, and submit them to the Bureau of Municipal Research for investigation.
Year: 1918
Year: 1917
Summary: This publication suggests a federation of Toronto philanthropic organizations, which would incorporate the nine Neighbourhood Workers' Associations into a greater scheme of charity work.
Summary: This publication suggests improvements in the collection of funds and the distribution of social services by civil society organizations, and proposes a federation of philanthropic institutions.
Summary: Concludes that the distribution of philanthropic giving is limited to a restricted and largely unvarying group of givers. A systematic and cooperative method would reduce waste energy and maximize the potential of these donations.
Summary: Adequate planning for community welfare work relies upon effective administration of welfare agencies and financing of community welfare programs. This can only be obtained through city-wide co-operation.
Summary: The city-wide need for welfare cannot be determined by adding up the needs of various individual agencies; a cooperative approach is needed to maximize effective expenditure of philanthropic funds.
Summary: Criticizes the lack of community planning of welfare work, and improper raising and expenditure of philanthropic funds.
Summary: A proposal for a federation of charities within the city of Toronto that can more effectively gather and disperse donations based on planning and community need. A more directed and focused form of philanthropy to better deal with Toronto's various social ills.
Year: 1916
Summary: Accurate accounting practices will provide a basis for effective vigilance in public schools. Based on the City Auditor's Report on Public School Accounting.