Legislative History: Enacted June 13, 2017 (By-law No. CPOL.-40-236); Amended June 26, 2018 (By-law No. CPOL.-347-338)
Last Review Date: July 25, 2023
Service Area Lead: Director, Financial Services
1. Policy Statement
To set out the guidelines under which the City will establish, hold, maintain and administer trust funds held by it.
2. Definitions
2.1 Auditor – means the City’s auditor appointed under section 296 of the Municipal Act, 2001;
2.2 City – means The Corporation of the City of London;
2.3 City Treasurer – means the City’s Deputy City Manager, Finance Supports, or designate;
2.4 Donation – A gift, bequest, financial contribution, or in-kind contributions of tangible property such as art, furniture, equipment, material of historical interest, which has been given voluntarily and without compensation or non-monetary consideration such as advertising, promotion or services;
2.5 Trust Fund – means a financial account which holds donations received by the City that have conditions and/or legal requirements for use agreed upon by the donor and the City.
2.6 Trust Document – means the written instrument to establish the terms and conditions of the Donation and includes without limitation a will or an agreement between the donor and the City.
3. Applicability
This policy applies to all Trust Funds held by the City.
4. The Policy
4.1 The City Treasurer shall establish, hold, maintain and administer Trust Funds in accordance with:
a) all applicable statutes, regulations and any related policies of the City; and
b) the Trust Document that governs the Trust Fund.
4.2 Legislated Trusts
Trust accounts established and maintained by the City for residents of the Dearness Home under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007, S.O., c.8 shall be administered in accordance with that Act, any regulations made under it and any policy established by the City that may be required under the Act.
4.3 General
a) The City Treasurer shall be responsible for establishing and administering all Trust Funds under this Policy.
b) For all Donations except bequests, a Trust Document signed by the donor and the City shall be required prior to opening a new Trust Fund.
c) This policy should be read in conjunction with the City’s Donations Policy which is applicable to all Donations received by the City of London.
4.4 Management and Reporting of Trust Funds
a) All investment of Trust Funds shall be in accordance with the Trustee Act, R.S.O. 1990, C. T.23, the Municipal Act, 2001, any other applicable legislation and the City’s Investment Policy.
b) Interest on short term investments shall be credited to each Trust Fund not less than semi-annually, in arrears. The interest credited to said trust funds shall be equal to the amount earned by the City by the deposit or investment of said funds on an individual or pooled basis.
c) Interest on long term investments shall be accounted for on a "cash" basis (i.e. credited to Trust Funds, in arrears, based on the timing of receipt of interest proceeds for each specific fund).
d) The accounting policies for Trust Funds shall follow generally accepted accounting principles as set out in the CPA Canada Public Sector Accounting (PSA) Handbook and conform to the City’s accounting policies prescribed from time to time by the City Treasurer with the exception of accounting for interest on long term investments as outlined in subsection (4.4)(c) above.
e) In accordance with all applicable legislation, the City Treasurer shall have the financial records of all Trust Funds audited annually by the City’s Auditor.
f) The City Treasurer shall report to Municipal Council once each year, as at December 31 on the financial position and income and expenditures of trust funds administered during that period. The report format will be consistent with that required under the CPA Canada Public Sector Accounting (PSA) Handbook.