Minutes - February 3, 2022 - Finance and Facilities Committee Meeting 

Members Present:

Mr. Mike Steele (Chair)
Mr. Matt Reid
Ms. Kelly Elliott – arrived 9:12 a.m.
Ms. Maureen Cassidy
Mr. Selomon Menghsha - arrived at 9:33 a.m.

Others Present:

Ms. Stephanie Egelton, Senior Executive Assistant to the Medical Officer of Health/Associate Medical Officer of Health (Recorder)
Dr. Alexander Summers, Acting Medical Officer of Health
Ms. Emily Williams, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. David Jansseune, Assistant Director, Finance
Ms. Mariam Hamou, Board Member
Ms. Aina DeViet, Board Member

At 9:04 a.m., Mr. Matt Reid called the meeting to order and opened the floor to nominations for Chair of the Finance & Facilities Committee for 2022.

It was moved by Ms. Maureen Cassidy, seconded by Mr. Matt Reid, that Mr. Mike Steele be nominated for Chair of the Finance & Facilities Committee for 2022.
Carried

Mr. Mike Steele accepted the nomination.

Mr. Reid called for further nominations. None were forthcoming.

It was moved by Ms. Maureen Cassidy, seconded by Mr. Matt Reid, that Mr. Mike Steele be acclaimed as Chair of the Finance & Facilities Committee for 2022.
Carried

Mr. Steele took over as chair presiding.

Disclosures of Conflict of Interest

Chair Steele inquired if there were any disclosures of conflicts of interest. None were declared.

Approval of Agenda

It was moved by Ms. Cassidy, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the AGENDA for the February 3, 2022 Finance & Facilities Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

Approval of Minutes 

It was moved by Ms. Cassidy, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the MINUTES of the December 7, 2021 Finance & Facilities Committee meeting be approved.
Carried

New Business

2022 Annual Reporting Calendar (Report No. 01-22FFC)

Ms. Emily Williams, Chief Executive Officer presented the 2022 Annual Reporting Calendar. The purpose of this calendar is to ensure that the committee and board are provided with legislative reports from the Health Unit at appropriate times and to ensure timelines of reporting are in alignment with the budgeting process.

It was noted that the key changes to the 2022 reporting calendar are the introduction of zero-based budgeting and shifting budget timelines to be earlier in the year, to improve health unit financial planning and communication with funding partners.

It was moved by Ms. Cassidy, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the Finance & Facilities Committee approve Report No. 01-22FFC re: “Finance & Facilities Committee – 2022 Reporting Calendar.”
Carried

Canada Life Benefits – Renewal Rates (Report No. 02-22FFC)

Ms. Williams presented the Canada Life Benefits – Renewal Rates report. It was noted that the Health Unit contracts AON Hewitt to negotiate benefits rates for life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) and health/drug/dental benefits. Due to inflation industry wide, rates have gone up 7.3% since the previous year, which is an approximately $100,000 impact to the health unit. It was determined that the Health Unit wished to extend this contract to 2023 due to limited organizational capacity, but will post a Request for Proposal (RFP) in 2023 for group benefits.

Mr. David Jansseune, Assistant Director, Finance noted that the renewal will start at the end of February. Mr. Jansseune noted that Canada Life proposed the health unit increase to the manual rate (business rate) for group benefits, and AON Hewitt negotiated a reduced rate for MLHU by comparing other health unit benchmarks. The health/drug/dental benefits will be under the administrative services only (ASO) fund.

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Cassidy, that the Finance & Facilities Committee make a recommendation to the Board of Health to approve the renewal of the group insurance rates administered by Canada Life as described in Report No. 02-22FFC re: “Canada Life Benefits – Renewal Rates”.
Carried

Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) Contract Renewal (Report No. 03-22FFC)

Ms. Williams presented the Employee and Family Assistance Program Contract renewal. Ms. Williams noted that the Health Unit is requesting a 1-year extension with Homewood Health, as the current contract expires in March. It was noted that Homewood Health has been flexible and responsive to staff needs, with virtual and phone support available, and has worked with teams to provide specific support and debriefing tailored to the needs of the team (such as with the COVID Case and Contact Management team).

The Committee recognized that the cost of the services of Homewood Health is very favourable for the quality of service that is being provided during times of stress for staff.

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Cassidy, that the Finance & Facilities Committee make a recommendation to the Board of Health to receive Report No. 03-22FFC: “Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) Services Contract Extension” for information.
Carried

2022 Budget Process Update (Report No. 04-22FFC)

Ms. Williams presented an update on the 2022 budget process. Many of the Ministry timelines have been expedited, due to the June 2022 provincial election, requiring the Finance Team to complete fourth quarter reporting prior to budget completion. The budget submission to FFC will therefore be delayed until March 3rd, 2022, one month later than originally planned.

The Province is committed to providing the Health Unit $1.36 million in mitigation funding, with the application and template for receiving inflationary and recovery funds approaching shortly. There is a salary inflation pressure of approximately $500,000, for which the City of London has approved to amend their budget to provide increase funds to the Health Unit. Ms. Williams will be attending an upcoming County of Middlesex Budget meeting to discuss the increased funding request from the County as well.

Dr. Alex Summers, Acting Medical Officer of Health, noted that local medical officers of health have been discussing what post pandemic programming will look like, and how base budgets will impact public health services. Next year, public health will need to be able to provide articulate descriptions of how a health unit operates in a post pandemic world.

Ms. Williams and Dr. Summers noted that after the pandemic, there will be ongoing challenges and changes for public health units, outside of the infectious disease portfolio; such as backlogs of restaurant inspections and Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) work. An ongoing focus on health equity will be essential. Dr. Summers further noted that public health will need revenue and resources to avoid relying on staff redeployments as a way of staffing.

It was also noted by Dr. Summers that health equity is an important and foundational pillar of public health that informs all aspect of public health services. The vaccination campaign took an equity lens when considering where mass vaccination clinics were placed, where mobile efforts have focused, and the health unit’s communications strategy. Another example, specific to the underhoused and homeless population, was the outreach worker that was funded through the Program Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA) process this past fall.

Ms. Williams noted that the Health Unit at this time does not produce a multi-year budget but would consider exploring in the future.

It was moved by Mr. Reid, seconded by Ms. Cassidy, that the Finance & Facilities Committee receive Report No. 04-22FFC re: “2022 Budget Process Update” for information.
Carried

Other Business

The next meeting of the Finance and Facilities Committee will be held on Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 9 a.m.

Adjournment 

At 9:39 a.m., it was moved by Ms. Cassidy, seconded by Mr. Reid, that the meeting be adjourned.

Carried

Michael Steele
Chair

Emily Williams
Secretary