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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 1, 2007 - 13 New legislation aimed at making councils more open By Kim Arnott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER TWO COMPANIES - ONE LOCATION Local residents will soon be able to do more than just grumble if they think municipal politicians are acting unethically or secretly. Beginning in January, members of the public will have the right to call for an investigation into whether Town Council, or other local boards, are abiding by the provincial rules governing closed-door meetings. Municipal councils are allowed to hold closed meetings to receive legal opinions, or deal with issues relating to labour relations, personnel matters or property acquisition. Closed training or education sessions for councillors are also permitted. However, a new clause in the Municipal Act will come into effect at the beginning of 2008, to allow for an independent investigation into whether those conditions were met in the case of a specific closed-door meeting. For the short term, Oakville residents with complaints will take them to the Ombudsman of Ontario for investigation. However, Town Council has agreed to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to determine whether it wishes to contract out the service to a Closed-Door Investigator it would appoint and pay. While the Ombudsman will provide the service without charge to the Town, a staff report suggests that hiring an Oakville investigator would allow council to determine the duties of the investigator, establish procedure for investigations, and levy fees or costs for investigation requests. The Region of Halton, which is also affected by the legislative change, has opted to appoint Local Authority Services Ltd. (LAS) as its investigator. LAS was created by and is a subsidiary company of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) -- a non-profit organization that represents almost all of the province's municipalities. The new clauses under the Municipal Act also provide the town with the option of appointing an Integrity Officer, an Ombudsman, a Lobbyist Registrar and an Auditor General. Town councillors have decided not to pursue appointing either a Lobbyist Registrar or an Auditor General, but will consider appointing an Ombudsman and an Integrity Officer. The Integrity Officer would provide advice to councillors or board members, and be responsible for conducting inquiries around whether councillors or local board members have violated applicable codes of conduct. A report by Town staff suggests there is merit in having "an independent body to address any public requests for investigations into any alleged violation of ethical practices by any member of council or its local boards." Before the end of the year, Council is to consider the adoption of a municipal code of conduct. If an inquiry determines that a member has violated the code of conduct, council could opt to either impose a reprimand or suspend the pay of the member for up to 90 days. However, reports by the Integrity Officer would be made confidentially to Council, and would not be subject to provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Mon-Wed & Fri 9-6, Thurs 9-7, Saturday 10-5 Sunday Closed When you were younger your parents couldn't help but worry about you. Now it's your turn. Sure, they're still active, but you can't help but worry just a little ­ especially when you're away. We can help. Vacation stay packages at our award winning residences include furnished accommodations, meals, activities and our exclusive LivingWell program that will help them remember their stay with us even after they're back home. Call Margaret at (905) 469-3232 for all the details or to book a tour. Bring your parents; we may even invite you to lunch. Give your parents a vacation and take the worry out of yours OAKVILLE TM 1459 Nottinghill Gate, just south of Upper Middle, west of Dorval pp www.delmanor.com · RICHMOND HILL