Committee approves budget boost for Vaughan integrity commissioner
Yorkregion.com
May 4, 2016
Vaughan’s ethics watchdog is getting a budget boost to address, in part, the rising demand for her services.
The city’s finance committee approved Integrity Commissioner Suzanne Craig’s request to transfer $52,700 from reserves to her office budget this year to cover a projected shortfall.
That decision is expected come up for Vaughan council approval at a May 17 meeting.
That transfer brings the integrity commissioner’s 2016 budget to $248,000 from $195,300.
The committee also signed off on a request to boost her budget to $257,100 and to $257,900 for 2018.
Craig is primarily responsible for investigating complaints, both formal and informal, that city councillors may have violated Vaughan’s code of ethics and behaviour.
She is also charged with providing advice to elected officials related to code of conduct issues and handling inquiries from the public, city staff, councillors and others on issues that may or may not relate to Vaughan’s code of conduct.
From 2011 to 2015, there’s been a 40 per cent increase in the number of inquiries passing through the integrity commissioner’s office, according to a report presented to the finance committee Monday.
In the 2014/15 reporting period, Craig received five formal complaints - the first time since 2011 that she’s had any.
That year Craig investigated allegations against Deputy Mayor Michael Di Biase that ultimately led to a scathing report and his being docked 90-days pay.
Di Biase is seeking a judicial review to quash the integrity commissioner’s investigation report, which found he created a “culture of fear” at city hall and interfered in the procurement process, and to overturn the penalty imposed by his council colleagues based on her findings.
