County nixes discussion of closed meeting investigator
UPDATED with recorded vote
Councillors vote down motion to invite Ombudsman to address allegations in clerks and treasurers letter
By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe March 3 2012
A letter from the Simcoe County Clerks and Treasurers Association to Simcoe County Council opposing appointment of the Ontario Ombudsman to investigate in camera decisions won’t be discussed by council until the fall of 2013.
At council’s January meeting, Penetanguishene Mayor Gerry Marshall gave notice of a motion to invite the Ombudsman to address possible inaccuracies in the letter and provide information on the services his office provides.
Marshall gave notice of his motion after Warden Cal Patterson, on the advice of Clerk Brenda Clarke, made an incorrect decision, ruling that Midland Deputy Mayor Stephan Kramp could not call for a recorded vote immediately after a vote had been taken.
In fact, the county’s procedural bylaw states clearly that a recorded vote may be called for in such circumstances. Kramp called for a recorded vote because the count was so close.
It was Kramp’s motion in January to invite the Ombudsman that had been declared defeated by Patterson, and that Marshall wanted to see revisited for “educational purposes.”
On Thursday, councillors proposed, and then voted down, a variety of amendments to Marshall’s motion, for instance, to include the SCCTA in the discussion, and to invite JGM Consulting, the firm that the county chose to investigate any complaint by the public that a matter had improperly been dealt with behind closed doors.
Finally, the motion was amended to defer discussion until the fall of 2013, before JGM’s contract ends.
Then the motiion went down to defeat in a vote of 17 to 12 (55-44)
Text of motion
THAT Simcoe County Council revisit, for educational purposes, the decision to invite the Provincial Ombudsman to appear before Simcoe County Council to present the services provided by his Office and speak to the correspondence submitted by the Simcoe County Clerks and Treasurers Association, dated November 18, 2011;
AND THAT this educational session be arranged for the Fall of 2013 before any action is taken to enter into future Closed Meeting Investigator arrangements.
Recorded vote:
YEAS: Councillors Davidson (6); Clarke (3); Duffy (3); Hough (4); Keffer (4);
Kramp (3); Lawrence (4); Macdonald (3); Marshall (2); McLean (3); McKay (4);
Millar (5) – TOTAL – 12-44
NAYS: Councillors Burkett (3); Cooper (5); Collins (4); Cox (3); Dowdall (3); Ferguson (3); Foster (4); Deputy Warden Hughes (5); Lloyd (4); Marion (1); Milne (5); Warden Patterson (5); Rawson (2); Savage (3); Walsh (2); Warnock (3) – TOTAL – 17- 55
DEFEATED
AWARE Simcoe wrote to county council in January to question whether it is appropriate for the Simcoe County clerks and treasurers to be lobbying on the issue of who will provide oversight with regard to decisions in which their members play a pivotal role in advising councils.
AWARE Simcoe also pointed to some inaccuracies in the SCCTA letter.
On Thursday, Kramp pointed out that although the letter was not included in the agenda of the meeting in November where the decision was made to appoint JGM, a number of councillors had seen it, and may have been influenced by possible inaccuracies. Other councillors had not had an opportunity to review it before the vote to choose JGM
Previous coverage
AWARE Simcoe suggests another look (includes links to letters)
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