King Township to hire its first integrity commissioner

Every Ontario municipality must have a code of conduct and access to an integrity commissioner by March 1, 2019

Yorkregion.com
October 1, 2018
Sheila Wang

How big a difference will the Township of King see after it appoints the first integrity commissioner later this fall?

Not much, as far as Mayor Steve Pellegrini’s concerned.

An integrity commissioner’s primary responsibility is to investigate and assess complaints regarding possible breaches of the code of conduct for council members. But there have never been any complaints regarding breaches of the code of conduct in King’s history.

Nonetheless, King will appoint an integrity commissioner to hold the council members to account in order to comply with the new legislative requirement in Ontario.

Every municipality is required to have a code of conduct and access to an integrity commissioner by March 1, 2019, according to the Modernizing Ontario’s Municipal Legislation Act, which was introduced in the legislature in 2016 and passed last year.

“We have to comply,” Pellegrini said. “I don’t think residents of King will see any change because our council members are very aware and transparent.”

The council of King doesn’t have many closed sessions as some other area municipal councils would, the mayor added.

“We’re not a confrontational body.”

Statistics show King’s chief administrative officer has received a total of 11 formal complaints in the past two-and-a- half-years. There were four complaints in 2016, seven in 2017, and one so far this year, said Denny Timm, King Township’s manager of legislative services.

None of them involved a breach of the code of conduct or conflict of interest, said Timm.

“Those are serious claims and charges that are with regards to the code of conduct violation and under the conflict of interest act as well have to be vetted through the court unless you have an IC,” said King Township Clerk Kathryn Moyle.

No such claims or complaints have ever been taken to court in King Township, she added. “We don’t have a lineup of inquiries of individuals wanting to in the past.”

Coun. Avia Eek said she had little knowledge about the type of service an integrity commissioner provides, because councillors' conduct has never been an issue in the township.

“In King, we have a high level of integrity to start with,” Eek said.

The township has not updated or revised its code of conduct for more than 10 years because violation has rarely been an issue, said a clerk's department report.

King approved its code of conduct in June 2007 as a part of accountability and transparency measures taken at that time. It was updated earlier this summer for the first time in order to comply with the new requirements for mandatory code of conduct.

Focused on the same core principles, the new code of conduct has added, elaborated and expanded on the standards set by the previous code based on consultations with area municipal clerks as well as the township’s legal counsel Aird and Berlis, said municipal staff.

The township clerk said the new municipal requirement is an “enhancement” to the demonstration of the accountability and transparency policies, which would open up "a direct opportunity locally" to make it easier for members of the public to hold the elected officials accountable.

“But the ease of doing so is commensurate to the frequency of the actual claims,” she added.

The impact of having an integrity commissioner in place varies from municipality to municipality. In King’s case, the impact will be little, Moyle said.

Pellegrini said the complaints the CAO has received generally involve the general administrative actions or decisions of the township.

“If they’re not satisfied with the result, they’ll be referred to ADR Chambers,” Pellegrini added.

ADR Chambers Inc. is a third-party dispute resolution service provider, which provides ombudsman services for York Region, Halton Region, Durham Region, and various municipalities within these regions.

King appointed its municipal ombudsman at a council meeting on Jan. 11, 2016, by opting into a five-year contract between the Region of York and ADR Chambers Inc.

“It’s not utilized that much,” Pellegrini said.

Residents are required to first file a formal complaint about municipal services or operation to the township before the ombudsman will investigate a complaint.

There has been one complaint in 2016, two in 2017, and zero so far in 2018 that have gone to the ombudsman.

The investigation of the three complaints cost the township more than $15,000. ADR Chambers charges a fee of $250 an hour for service. For that reason, the total expenses of the service depend on the length and complexity of an investigation.

But ombudsman service does not deal with complaints or claims regarding violation to the code of the conduct and conflict of interest, which will fall under the responsibilities of an integrity commissioner, said Moyle.

The clerk's department report states that King’s integrity commissioner will investigate complaints of contraventions of the code of conduct, any ethical behaviour procedures, rules or policies governing the members and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.

“There is certainly a lot of basis in (the previous Liberal government's) reasoning and logic in the amendment to the municipal act and the municipal conflict of interest act,” Moyle said. “They want to impose certain requirements in order to instil that type of accountability. That’s what the legislation dictates and that’s what we’ll have to advise and make sure we comply with.”

The cost of an integrity commissioner will vary based on the number and complexity of complaints. The township will consider the cost in the hiring process and accommodate the cost within the existing 2018 budget.

The report says integrity commissioners typically charge an annual retainer with a second daily or hourly rate for investigations or other services. The township will also cover the cost of the educational or advisory services that the commissioner may be invited to provide related to the code of conduct or the municipal conflict of interest act.

Even though the integrity commissioner will not be utilized in King as much as some other municipalities, Eek said it was not a bad idea to have it in place.

"I think it’s good for the residents. The public has to be able to understand and trust that if they’re not getting the answers that they need, there is another level that they can go to.”

It is left up to municipalities to decide whether or not to appoint their own full-time integrity commissioner, share the service with other municipalities, or retain one on a fee-for-use basis.

During the bill’s third reading in the legislature, the then Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Bill Mauro said changes to the act would do a number of things to strengthen Ontario communities right across the province.

“They would improve access to justice for both the public and municipal councillors by allowing integrity commissioners to investigate conflict-of-interest issues if a complaint was brought to them,” he said to the Speaker of the House. “They ensure municipalities have a code of conduct for members of municipal councils and certain local boards.”

York University Professor Dennis Pilon doubts forcing all of Ontario’s 444 municipalities to have an integrity commissioner and council code of conduct will have the desired effect policy-makers envisioned.

“These kinds of approaches don’t always work,” he said. “Often there is an underlying political problem that is at the root of the (conduct) issue. There has to be a political will for these (systemic) changes to work.”

The most prominent issue is council members have final say on what goes into the code of conduct and any recommendations made by the integrity commissioner, he added.

For example, if there isn’t a consensus on a point some councillors believe should be in the code of conduct, it won’t be included and the code of conduct can be changed upon council’s desire.

“There was an integrity commissioner in British Columbia who was too good at his job and was digging up all kinds of information and the council pulled funding for his office,” Pilon said. “It’s not an ideal model.”