London firm preferred to Ombusdman for county’s closed-meeting investigations

CORRECTED vote count

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe November 23 2011

Site 41 activist Stephen Ogden had to deal with JGM Consulting of London – Simcoe County’s closed-meeting investigator – on two occasions prior to the 2009 quashing of the dump site project – and he wasn’t impressed. 

“I had two contacts with JGM Consulting in an effort to find out why a topic was held in camera,” Ogden said today. “I was not pleased with my dealings. The communications were less than helpful.”

Yesterday, county councillors voted 22-9 (weighted vote 84-27) to retain JGM Consulting of London to carry out closed-meeting investigations. 

These are investigations that can be requested by any member of the public who feels a matter has improperly been discussed behind closed doors when it should have been in public. 

County Clerk Brenda Clark recommended renewing the contract with JGM in preference to the bid of a competing firm, and in preference to using the services of the provincial Ombudsman (which would have been at no cost). 

Clark said she consulted with municipal clerks throughout the county (member municipalities can participate in the contract) and the feeling was the the Ombudsman “may have reported more than was really necessary for the purposes of closed meetings.”

Ogden said it was “painfully obvious” that the Ombudsman was the better choice. “Why would councillors not want to save valuable taxpayer dollars?”    

Ogden filed many Freedom of Information requests during the last years of the Site 41 battle, and said it was clear that in those days, county councillors were constantly going behind closed doors to discuss information that should have been discussed in open forum.

Despite the 2010 election in which almost all candidates campaigned on a platform of openness and transparency, “it is not surprising to me that there are many county councillors who want to maintain this culture of secrecy,” Ogden said.

Tiny Mayor Ray Millar spoke forcefully in favour of using the Ombudsman. 

Midland Deputy Mayor Stephan Kramp said his town voted to do exactly that. 

But Springwater Mayor Linda Collins, Ramara Deputy Mayor Basil Clarke and Collingwood Deputy Mayor Rick Lloyd were among those who argued in favour of staying with JGM. 

The recorded vote was 21-10 in favour of JGM (weighted vote 84-27). 

YEAS:  Councillors Baguley (6); Burkett (3); Clarke (3); Cooper (5); Collins (4); Dowdall (3); Duffy (3); Ferguson (3); Foster (4); Hough (4); Deputy Warden Hughes (5); Councillors Lloyd (4); Macdonald (3); MacEachern (6); McLean (3), Milne (5); Warden Patterson (5); Councillors Rawson (2); Savage (3); Walsh (2); Warnock (3); White (5) – TOTAL – 84

NAYS:  Councillors Davidson (6); Keffer (4); Kramp (3); Lawrence (4); Marion (1); Marshall (2); McKay (4); Millar (5); Small Brett (2) – TOTAL – 31 

Cost is $1,000 a year for the county, plus $300 a year for each participating municipality and $100 an hour plus expenses for any investigation of a complaint.