County councillors angered that county told their staff to withhold information

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe April 24 2012
Simcoe County councillors today denounced a request by one of their top administrators that local municipal councillors be kept in the dark about proposed changes to the county`s Official Plan. County planning director David Parks apparently sent an email to planners in the county`s 16 municipalities – but asked that they withhold its contents from their councils and senior administrators. The changes are aimed at reaching a settlement with the province to avert an OMB hearing on the county’s 2008 Official Plan.
Tiny Mayor Ray Millar characterized the email as evidence “of a stunning lack of awareness of Section 239 of the Municipal Act, one that I find inexcusable.“ Section 239 deals with open meetings and confidentiality.
“Ìt`s not local planners that set policy, it`s councils that set policy,“ Millar insisted. “If we`re excluded from that conversation, we subvert the process.“
The debate revealed that the planning memo was the reason New Tecumseth council last week passed a motion demanding that the county circulate proposed modifications to its Official Plan to local municipalities for review and comment, prior to the modifications being presented to the county`s corporate services committee and county council.
New Tecumseth Mayor Mike McEachern said he objected to county staff negotiating policy with his planning department without local council direction. `Many of the policies are going farther than the amendment that was provided by the province,“ he said.
He said New Tec`s lawyer advised council to register its concern with the process in order to be able to appeal any changes it doesn`t like. “Otherwise we could be in a position where the modifications get approved or settled on by the province and the county, and we would have very little opportunity to move forward,“ McEachern said.
He expressed the hope that there will be “a transparent and open process around this because to date that doesn`t seem to be the case.“
At the centre of the issue is the allocation of an extra 20,000 in population that the province granted Simcoe County when it enacted a finalized growth plan in January. In reference to that, Chief Administrative Officer Mark Aitken assured council that county planning staff will report next month “to clarify some of the information from the province which came forth in February which we think will actually defuse some of the concerns around the 20,000.“
He added: “Ìf we`ve been guilty of anything, we`ve probably been guilty of being too open and transparent.“
The discussion today arose around a report in which Parks updates county council on the province`s growth plan amendment and the county Official Plan. The three-paragraph report, characterized by Severn Deputy Mayor Judith Cox as “vague,“ states that “to this date the discussions and work with the province have been positive and productive. County staff is very confident that we will be able to resolve most if not all issues with the province.  It is our goal to bring a Settlement Agreement on the County Official Plan to County Council prior to the summer break.“
Parks, who until recently was Severn`s top planner, was not present at today`s county council meeting, leaving Aitken to defend the email.
Aitken descrbed it as `diplomatic“ and said that it is important for information to be kept confidential at this stage because the county is in litigation with the province over the OMB appeal of its Official Plan.
`While I appreciate that discussions need to take place between local planners and the  local councils in terms of colliding interests into this process, the discussion at this (the county) level needs to take place first – this is a Simcoe County Official Plan,“ Aitken said.
“At some point we`ll work through a process where municipalities have enough time to review, not the draft… but the actual information and wording that`s proposed,“ he said.
Millar responded that every member municipality has procedures `to ensure that what needs to remain confidential does, so that argument rings hollow in my mind.“
Local planners were placed in an uncomfortable position by being given information and told not to give it to their superiors, said Essa Deputy Mayor Sandie Macdonald. “We need some kind of rules to not to have that happen again.“
Bradford West Gwillimbury Deputy Mayor Rob Keffer said that, despite having been on council for a year and a half,  he hasn`t had any opportunity to have input into the Official Plan with regard to agricultural issues that he`d like to see incorporated.
Penetanguishene Mayor Gerry Marshall said he`s concerned that information on other matters has been withheld from council. For instance, he was thwarted in his efforts to get the details of the bids and bidders for the waste collection contract, if necessary behind closed doors, and was told by staff that the Municipal Act did not allow it. “Ì`ve read the Municipal Act and would argue that it absolutely did allow us to do that.“
Marshall said councillors should be involved in the early `kicking-the-tires“ stage of the decision-making process.
“We don`t get to kick the tires at county council,“ Marshall said. “We seem to have this decision making point that we will talk to county council when staff have gone so far down the path… I think our process needs to be looked at.“
Warden Cal Patterson said the matter wasn`t handled well and “we`ll have to correct the process in the future so it doesn`t occur again.“
Tomorrow: BFI gets waste collection contract… County launches Blue Grew promotion…