Naming of Corporate Assets Policy

1.1 In this policy, unless the context requires otherwise:

City means The Corporation of the City of Kingston;

CMT means the members of the City’s corporate management team;

corporate asset means any City-owned or controlled facility, physical asset or space within a facility that is deemed by the City to be available for naming rights;

council means the council of the City;

director means the director of a City department or the manager of a City department that reports directly to a member of CMT;

exterior naming rights refers to the naming rights granted to a naming rights holder with respect to exterior corporate assets, including public parks, sports facilities, buildings, monuments, or other outdoor structures;

interior naming rights refers to the naming rights granted to a naming rights holder with respect to interior spaces or areas within corporate assets, including auditoriums, meeting rooms, gymnasiums, or exhibition halls;

naming rights means a contractual arrangement between the City and a naming rights holder that involves the payment of a fee or payment in-kind by the naming rights holder in return for the inclusion and display of the naming rights holder’s name on a corporate asset or a subcomponent of a corporate asset and includes exterior naming rights and interior naming rights;

naming rights agreement means a formal written agreement between the City and a naming rights holder outlining the terms of the naming rights;

naming rights holder refers to an external corporation, organization or person(s) that enters into a naming rights arrangement with the City; and

values alignment review means a due diligence process that evaluates a potential naming rights holder's track record, business practices, and public reputation to ensure compatibility with the City’s social, environmental, and cultural values.

1.2 In this policy, include, includes and including indicate that the subsequent list is not exhaustive.

1.3 A reference to any legislation, regulation, bylaw, rule, policy or provision thereof includes a reference to any legislation, regulation, bylaw, rule or provision thereof enacted in substitution thereof or amendment thereof.

1.4 A reference to legislation includes all of the regulations made thereunder.

1.5 A reference to the position or title of any City employee includes a reference to any position or title created in substitution thereof.

2.1 The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the assessment, approval, implementation, management and monitoring of naming rights arrangements intended to generate new revenues and alternative resources to support City programs and facilities.

2.2 This policy recognizes that the naming of a corporate asset is critical for public awareness, promotion, community identity, and emergency access. Accordingly, it is the intention of this policy to ensure that naming rights granted under this policy are consistent with the City’s mission, vision, values and strategic priorities, and do not reflect negatively on the City’s image or reputation.

2.3 To facilitate timely naming rights arrangements, a formal competitive process is not required when pursuing naming rights opportunities. At times, the City may use its discretion to explore multiple potential naming rights holders to help maximize the value of naming rights opportunities. Accordingly, naming rights may arise from competitive processes, non-competitive processes, direct solicitation, or unsolicited proposals.

2.4 This policy applies to:

1. naming rights arrangements between the City and third parties in of corporate assets; and
2. City employees involved in or responsible for generating, assessing, implementing, managing and monitoring naming rights on behalf of the City.

2.5 This policy does not apply to:

1. naming rights arrangements or naming rights agreements entered into prior to the date of this policy;
2. street naming administered in accordance with the City’s Civic Address and Road Naming By-law 2005-98;
3. interior naming rights of corporate assets that are leased by the City to third parties, such as public libraries, Kingston Police stations, and Utilities Kingston buildings;
4. commemoration requests pursuant to the Commemoration Policy; and
5. other classes of sponsorship activity pursuant to the Corporate Sponsorship Policy.

3.1 The City will consider all naming rights arrangements that satisfy the requirements of this policy, but the City has no obligation to accept any such arrangement. The City may refuse any naming rights arrangement for any reason, including where:

1. the naming rights are perceived to be incompatible with the City’s mission, vision or values or the strategic priorities of the City;
2. the naming rights could negatively impact the City’s image or reputation;
3. the naming rights may be perceived as granting preferential treatment or a competitive advantage to a naming rights holder outside of the naming rights arrangement;
4. the naming rights could cause confusion due to the same or similarly named locations in the City of Kingston;
5. the naming rights could lend themselves to inappropriate short forms, abbreviations, acronyms or modifications;
6. the naming rights promote:
7. 1. pornography;
   2. tobacco, cannabis or vaping products;
   3. gaming or sports betting;
   4. adult entertainment; or
   5. weapons;
8. the naming rights portray or condone demeaning or derogatory portrayals of individuals identified by a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19;
9. the proposed naming rights holder or the naming rights violate municipal, provincial or federal consumer protection and advertising laws, including those under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A, the Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34, or the City’s advertising standards;
10. the proposed naming rights holder is currently or has been, within the last 15 years, the subject of legal proceedings where the City is named as a party;
11. the proposed naming rights holder is not in compliance with the City’s by-laws, policies or regulations or is in arrears of payments to the City; or
12. the proposed naming rights holder is otherwise disqualified from doing business with the City.

3.2 The selection of a naming rights holder will be based on the following criteria:

1. the compatibility of the proposed naming rights holder’s brand, products, customers and promotional goals with the City’s programs, services and facilities;
2. the proposed naming rights holder’s record of involvement in community projects, programs and/or events, with consideration for the naming rights holder’s demonstrated interest in the community and willingness to participate in the community;
3. the results of a values alignment review;
4. the desirability of the association of the naming rights holder with the City’s image and reputation;
5. the value and revenue-generating capacity of the naming rights proposal; and
6. consideration for future City initiatives, such as capital improvements to the corporate asset.

4.1 All naming rights arrangements must be documented in a naming rights agreement.

4.2 All naming rights agreements must permit the City to terminate the naming rights agreement where it is determined by the City that the naming rights holder or the naming rights are no longer in compliance with this policy.

4.3 All naming rights agreements must be for a fixed term of not more than five years, unless otherwise approved by council.

4.4 No form of indemnification will be provided to any naming rights holder without the express written approval of the City Solicitor.

4.5 Naming rights agreements should generally contain the following provisions:

1. the identity of the parties;
2. the value of the naming rights;
3. the fixed term of the naming rights;
4. terms of payment;
5. a waiver from liability and an indemnity clause for damages or losses incurred by the City;
6. naming rights to be received by the naming rights holder;
7. the obligations of the parties;
8. a statement confirming that the naming rights holder is aware of, and will comply with, the provisions of this policy; and
9. the termination clause described in subsection 4.2 above.

4.6 The granting of naming rights will not entitle a naming rights holder to any preferential treatment by the City beyond that described in the naming rights agreement.

4.7 In no event will the City relinquish any aspect of its right to manage and control corporate assets in relation to a naming rights arrangement.

4.8 The City’s grant of naming rights does not constitute an endorsement of the products, services or ideas of any naming rights holder.

4.9 The sale of naming rights must not result in incremental net costs to the City and, as such, the naming rights holder will be responsible for all costs of implementing a naming rights agreement, including the cost of any signage.

4.10 The following factors must be considered prior to approving a naming rights arrangement that renames an existing corporate asset:

1. the historical significance of the existing name of the corporate asset;
2. the cost and impact of changing existing signage and branding, rebuilding community recognition, and updating records, including letterhead, databases, and promotional materials;
3. the impact of the proposed renaming on the local community;
4. whether there are suitable alternative solutions to renaming the corporate asset, such as incorporating supplementary names, dedications or plaques, particularly where the corporate asset has significant historical or cultural value; and
5. the potential impact of external factors, such as shifting public sentiment or controversy, to ensure that any renaming aligns with evolving social and cultural norms.

4.11 Naming rights may only be transferred or assigned by a naming rights holder with the written consent of the City. Where a naming rights holder changes its name, the naming rights may, with the written consent of the City and at the expense of the naming rights holder, be modified to reflect the new name.

5.1 The Director, Strategy, Innovation & Partnerships may approve or refuse all naming rights arrangements for internal naming rights in consultation with the director responsible for administering the corporate asset.

5.2 All naming rights arrangements for external naming rights must be referred to council for a decision.

5.3 All naming rights agreements must be executed by the Mayor and City Clerk.

5.4 The City’s Marketing & Revenue Development Division is responsible for the solicitation, assessment, implementation, management and monitoring of naming rights arrangements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Marketing & Revenue Development Division will:

1. ensure naming rights opportunities are promoted;
2. consult with directors and CMT members to identify corporate assets that are available and not available for naming rights;
3. conduct a values alignment review of any proposed naming rights holder or naming rights arrangement;
4. solicit new and steward existing naming rights opportunities;
5. negotiate terms and conditions of naming rights agreements in consultation with the City Solicitor; and
6. notify the City’s Chief Financial Officer of all approved naming rights arrangements for financial tracking purposes.

5.5 The Manager of Marketing and Revenue Development is responsible for ensuring that:

1. all directors and CMT members are notified of any proposed new naming rights holder and provided with an opportunity to comment on the proposed new naming rights holder; and
2. all relevant directors are consulted on the implementation of an approved naming rights agreement.

5.6 CMT members and directors must take reasonable steps within their authority to direct compliance with this policy.

5.7 City employees must take reasonable steps to refer any naming rights opportunity to the City’s Marketing & Revenue Development Division.

5.8 No City employee may accept any product, service, or asset for personal gain in connection with a naming rights arrangement.

5.9 The City’s Director, Strategy, Innovation and Partnerships is responsible for maintaining a registry of all active naming rights agreements.

5.10 The CAO shall have the authority to make final determinations regarding the interpretation and application of this policy, including assessments of whether the proposed naming rights align with the mission, vision and values and the strategic priorities of the City, unless the naming rights are subject to council approval.

5.11 All funds generated by naming rights agreements shall be allocated to the City department that administers the named corporate asset to be used for departmental operations unless otherwise specified in the naming rights agreement.

Include a list of approval authority

8.1 This policy relates to or supplements the following City policies:

1. Commemoration Policy
2. Corporate Sponsorship Policy
3. Donation Policy
4. Advertising and Revenue Generation Policy
5. Employee Code of Conduct Policy
6. Employee Conflict of Interest Policy
7. Visual Identity Policy

8.2 In the event of a conflict between this policy and another City policy or procedure involving naming rights, this policy will prevail to the extent of the conflict.