City of Owen Sound Presentation to Council

Municipal Act, 2001 (Bill 130) Legislative Requirements as of January 1, 2008 Presentation to Owen Sound City Council November 19, 2007 Glen Henry, C.M.O., Director of Corporate Services Marion Koepke, C.M.O., City Clerk TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED  General Overview “MANDATORY POLICIES” (January 1, 2008)          Closed Meeting Complaints and Meeting Investigator Public Notice Sale and Disposal of Land Hiring of Employees Procurement of Goods and Services Accountability and Transparency Delegation of Powers Agencies, Boards, Commissions/Committees – Accountability and Transparency Notice Requirements in the Procedure By-law “OPTIONAL POLICIES” Code of Conduct and Integrity Commissioner  Ombudsman  Auditor General  Lobbyist Registry  Presiding Officer  Financial Administration  Corporations and Municipal Service Boards  Fees and Charges  Licensing  General Overview    Policies and/or By-laws to be adopted by January 1, 2008 dealing with mandatory topics Report to Council dated April 19, 2007 (Attachment 1) Powers of Municipal Council  Mandatory   and Optional Requirements Related Bill 130 Items Table Format of Report  Topic  Issues to Consider  Staff Comments  Recommendations  Attachments Closed Meeting Complaints and Meeting Investigator     Revised Municipal Act, 2001 enables any person to request that an investigation of whether a municipality or local board has complied with either the statutory requirement for closed meeting or a Procedure By-law As of Jan 1,2008 all municipalities shall have a “noncourt” process in place whereby any person may request an investigation into closed meetings of Council and its local boards/committees As of Jan.1, 2008 all municipalities shall appoint an investigator charged with independently investigating whether the City or its local boards/committees have complied with closed meeting rules as outlined in legislation or in the City’s Procedure By-law If investigator has not been appointed such responsibilities will fall to the Ontario Ombudsman Closed Meeting Complaints and Meeting Investigator  Investigator must be:  Independent  Impartial  Maintain confidentiality  Maintain credibility of the investigative process Closed Meeting Complaints and Meeting Investigator  “Local Board” Does not include Police Services Board or Public Library Board  “Committee” An advisory or other committee, subcommittee or similar entity of which at least 50% of the members are also members of one or more Councils or Local Boards Closed Meeting Complaints and Meeting Investigator  Meeting Investigator Requirement applies to:             City Council Owen Sound Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation (under review) Owen Sound Housing Company (under review) Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery Board Downtown Improvement Area Board Escarpment Centre Ontario (ECO) Board Budget Committee Financial Advisory Committee Tourism Advisory Committee Environmental Waste Advisory Committee Land Bank Advisory Committee By-law Committee Closed Meeting Complaints and Meeting Investigator OPTION  Appoint Investigator on Own (by Jan 1/08)  Investigator would likely be familiar with Owen Sound  Council involved in recruitment and selection process  Terms of Reference must be prepared  Complaint process to be in place  Council could be criticized for selecting an individual who is “sympathetic” to Council  Costs negotiated  Agreement to be signed  Appointment could be part-time, full-time or on-call Closed Meeting Complaints and Meeting Investigator OPTION  Appoint Joint Investigator (by Jan 1/08)  Seek partners to share an investigator  Willing partners need to be determined  Surrounding municipalities have not pursued this option  Grey County selection is LAS Notice Requirements in the Procedure By-law  New section of Act establishes Head of Council as Chief Executive Officer of municipality with following roles:  Uphold and promote the purposes of the municipality  Promote public involvement in municipality’s activities  Act as representative of the municipality both within and outside the municipality and promote the municipally locally, nationally and internationally  Participate in and foster activities that enhance the economic, social and environmental well being of the municipality and its residents Notice Requirements in the Procedure By-law  Notice of Meetings  Procedural By-law contains provision where public notice is given of meetings  Notice is provided through posting Council and Committee Meeting calendar on web site  Council and Committee Meeting calendar is posted on Clerk’s door  Council and Committee Meeting calendar is circulated to media  Notice board in lobby of City Hall provides information of meetings on a weekly basis Notice Requirements in the Procedure By-law  Closed Meetings  New provision for the purpose of educating or training members provided no member discusses or otherwise deals with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision making of Council or the local board or committee  Records of meetings for education purposes are required to be kept and are subject to MFIPPA rules therefore records of these closed meetings are public Notice Requirements in the Procedure By-law RECOMMENDATION:  Repeal By-law 2002-210 and replace it with a new By-law (Attachment 10) to include:  Role of Council  Role of Head of Council  Notice of Meetings  New Closed Meeting Provision Code of Conduct (Optional)              Items that may be considered as part of a Code of Conduct include: Pecuniary Interest Perceived Interest Gifts and Benefits Concurrent Employment Post-service Employment Use of Municipal Equipment Confidential Information Hiring and Employment, Including Nepotism Council Decorum Compliance and Enforcement Council Access to Municipal Offices Whistle blowing Integrity Commissioner (Optional)  Contravention of Code of Conduct  Reprimand  Suspension of the remuneration of the member of Council or local board for a period of up to 90 days Ombudsman (Optional)  Municipalities have explicit authority to appoint an Ombudsman, whose function is to:  Investigate administrative decisions/recommendations/actions    Duties to be carried out in an independent manner Investigations conducted in private No review by courts of proceedings and decisions of Ombudsman except on grounds of jurisdiction  Considerations:     Independence Impartiality Credible investigation process Confidentiality Auditor General (Optional)    Responsible for assisting Council in holding itself and its administrators accountable for the quality of stewardship over public funds and for achievement of value for money in municipal operations May also carry out responsibilities in respect to local boards as well as municipally controlled corporations and grant recipients according to Council’s discretion Statutory duties not include those of the municipal auditor Lobbyist Registry (Optional)  Authorizes the municipality to appoint a Registrar who would be responsible for performing duties related to a lobbyist registry which may include:  Conducting inquiries with respect to a request made by Council or a member of the public regarding compliance with the system of registration or a lobbyist code of conduct Presiding Officer   Can be delegated all the roles and responsibilities of the head of Council with respect to presiding over the meetings of Council when the Head chooses to vacate the Chair Responsibilities include:        Chair the meeting Maintain order and decorum Decide questions of procedure and privilege Expel any person for improper conduct at a meeting Sign By-laws passed at the meeting they presided over Head of Council retains right to preside over a Council meeting at all times Presiding Offer may be elected by secret ballot Financial Administration  Revised Municipal Act, 2001 allows municipalities to adopt a budget for a period of five years  Second and subsequent years, municipality may review budget, make changes as required and readopt budget for that year and subsequent years  Once multi-year budget has been established, it can require bodies it raises money for (Police Services Board and Public Library Board) to provide estimates for the current year and all remaining years  Budget can be adopted for a year at any time during the preceding year and can require local boards and commissions for which the municipality is required to provide money to submit budgets on or before the date established by the municipality Financial Administration RECOMMENDATION:  Direct Financial Advisory Committee to review budget options under revised Municipal Act, 2001 Corporations and Municipal Service Boards  Municipality may establish corporations for any purposes related to its broad powers under its natural person powers, spheres of jurisdiction and the expansion of municipal powers    Business case must be prepared in connection with public consultation prior to incorporation but municipalities allowed to determine appropriate content of the business case study and public consultation process for particular proposed corporation Municipality may not transfer any of its assets to a corporation until it adopts a policy on asset transfers to corporations Permits municipalities to decide the name, quorum, budgetary process, selection of members, votes, and rules for Municipal Service Boards Corporations and Municipal Service Boards   Give municipalities broad permissive powers to establish, change and dissolve certain local boards Exemptions:       Children’s Aid Society Board of Health Homes for the Aged Management Committee Police Service Board Library Board Municipal Service Corporation RECOMMENDATION:  Receive information on Corporations and Municipal Service Boards Other Bill 130 Items  To be addressed at a later date:  Fees and Charges  Licensing QUESTIONS??? ... member of Council to preside at meetings of Council    Speaker would not loose their right to vote at meetings they are presiding over City has in place a By-law to delegate powers to the Director... Imposition of Taxes  Adoption of Budget  Adoption of Official Plan  Zoning By-law  Community Improvement Plan Delegation of Powers  Council can with the consent of the Head of Council, appoint...        City Council Owen Sound Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation (under review) Owen Sound Housing Company (under review) Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery Board Downtown Improvement