Staff Report #9
August 28, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: 2024 Work Program – Finance – Second Quarter Update
Recommendation
The report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
The following report is provided as an update on major projects as set out in the 2024 Work Program that are ongoing in nature and were scheduled to commence and/or to be completed in the second quarter, with the lead on same being the primary responsibility of the Finance department.
4.4 – Implement Smart Card on Specialized Service
The project to implement handheld devices on specialized vehicles required to validate and collect fares from the smart card system is in the final stages. The devices are similar in nature to the on-board validators (OBV’s) currently installed on the conventional bus fleet, namely the ability to confirm or validate an appropriate fare. The only difference being they are portable and do not integrate with the AVL system.
As discussed in Staff Report #3 dated April 24, 2024, the hardware had been received and the vendor, Scheidt & Bachmann (S&B), was working to develop the software required to run the devices. This development continued throughout the second quarter, with a major bug identified during QA rounds unfortunately impacting the timeline. Having resolved the bug and with fully functioning test devices, S&B scheduled User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in London during the week of July 22nd. Six representatives from S&B travelled from Slovakia, Germany and Toronto to support LTC during UAT. The result of the testing was very positive, with only a few minor bug fixes required. Amendments to the software have been completed by S&B, and at the time of writing, a second round of UAT is being scheduled. When the modifications are tested and approved, S&B will prepare the production devices for final delivery to LTC. S&B’s project timeline includes supported mini-fleet testing and full production deployment.
Administration has concurrently been working with Voyago to prepare for the receipt and installation of the devices along with the development of processes and necessary training required to implement these changes. A communication plan has been developed and is awaiting the go-ahead for full production deployment.
7.2 – Pension Plan Audit
As discussed in Staff Report #2, dated March 27, 2024, Manulife, the pension plan administrator, had advised administration that an audit for the London Transit Commission Employees’ Pension Plan was going to be a requirement for the year ending December 31, 2023. The work plan had indicated this item would be completed during Q1.
Given KPMG had not anticipated completing the plan’s audit and had allocated their internal resources elsewhere during the audit schedule for LTC’s main audit, they had Manulife request a filing extension through September 30th, from the original deadline of June 30, 2024, in order to allow time for them to complete the audit work and present the final statements to the Commission.
It is expected that the Draft Pension Fund Audit will be the subject of a Staff Report at the Commission’s September 25, 2024 meeting.
Recommended by:
Mike Gregor, Director of Finance
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager