Code of conduct recommended to Stouffville council

YorkRegion.com
July 15, 2016
Ali Raza

Does Whitchurch-Stouffville town council need a code of conduct? And does the municipality require an integrity commissioner?

Council will deal with those questions Tuesday afternoon during its only meeting this month.

Among contract awards and plan reviews, council will be asked to approve a request for proposal for consultant services.

The consultant would receive input from council members and the public to develop a code of conduct. This would involve interviews with councillors and the mayor, organizing a public forum for input from the community and preparing a council code of conduct to present to council.

The request is recommended by the director of corporate services/clerk Michele Kennedy. The current staff code of conduct does not outline rules and regulations for council.

In place of a council code of conduct are other measures, including the Municipal Act, 2001, that outline the role of council, and the town’s procedural bylaw, which provides rules governing council meetings.

Whitchurch-Stouffville is one of the few York Region municipalities that does not have an integrity commissioner.

It’s not mandatory in Ontario, but without a commissioner “there is no one to assess compliance with the code of conduct,” reads the report going to council.

The estimated cost for a consultant to develop a code of conduct is $20,000.

Council meets Tuesday at 3 p.m. in council chambers at 111 Sandiford Dr.