MUNICIPALITY OF PORT HOPE INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER, ROBERT J. SWAYZE
Citation: Miller v. Thompson et al., 2013 ONMIC 9
Date: 2013-11-26
CODE OF CONDUCT COMPLAINT FROM MR. JOHN MILLER
Notice: Municipal Integrity Commissioners provide investigation reports to their respective municipal council and, in most cases, make recommendations for imposition of penalty or other remedial action to the municipal Council. Therefore, reference should be made to the minutes of each particular municipal council to obtain information about the particular council's consideration of each report. When possible, a link to the relevant municipal council minutes is provided.
Please find below the link to the corresponding council decision.
https://porthope.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Id=704 (see item 1.1.2)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RECOMMENDATION.. 3
BACKGROUND.. 3
REPORT. 3
CONCLUSION.. 3
RECOMMENDATION
That Council receive the report of the Integrity Commissioner dated November 26, 2013.
BACKGROUND
I received a formal complaint from Mr. John Miller sworn on October 21, 2013 against three members of Council that the Code of Conduct for Members of Council (the "Code") was contravened. It alleged that Mayor Thompson, Deputy Mayor Gilmer and Councillor Austen, acting in concert, disbanded a Committee that had not finished its work and that the disbandment was never considered by Council. The committee was known as the Area Rating Review Committee and comprised 5 citizen members and the three members of Council. It was set up by Council to review the distribution of the tax levy between two areas of the municipality originally established in 2001 at the time of amalgamation. The committee met 22 times between June 2012 and July 2013 but failed to reach a consensus by its last meeting in July. It is the position of the Complainant that terminating the committee by the three members of Council amounted to failing "to carry out their duties in a fair, impartial, transparent and professional manner" as required by the Code. He also invited me to request Council to delay action on setting the area levy until the complaint is decided.
REPORT
The complaint did not contain any corroborating evidence that any of the members of Council took any positive action to disband the committee. After pointing this out to the Complainant, he referred me to a web site that appeared to confirm that the Mayor advised the July meeting of the Committee that it was disbanded. I have reviewed the minutes of the May 27th 2013 meeting of the Committee and the Mayor is quoted as telling that meeting that it is Council's direction to require a recommendation by July 2013. I am advised by the Municipal Clerk that these minutes were presented to Committee of the Whole on June 25th and were not contested by any member of Council. Accordingly, the Mayor or the other two members of Council, did not unilaterally disband the Committee but rather delivered a message from Council that since no recommendation was possible, the Committee had completed its work.
CONCLUSION
The complaint is hereby dismissed and I have sent an advance copy of this report to the Complainant with the date it will be considered by Council. I have also advised him that I have no jurisdiction to require or request Council to delay or change its work on setting the tax levy.
Robert J. Swayze
Integrity Commissioner