Orillia councillors contravened code of conduct: integrity commissioner

simcoe.com
Aug. 11, 2014
By Frank Matys

Orillia’s integrity commissioner says three councillors contravened the city’s code of conduct.

But Suzanne Craig’s exploration of councillors’ involvement with the contentious recreation file doesn’t end with Coun. Patrick Kehoe, Pete Bowen and Tony Madden.

Craig calls into question “the collective actions of council” while giving voice to the community’s frustration over the languishing project.

“Members of the public who have come forward through telephone calls or correspondence to my office have feelings that span from outrage to hopeless resignation,” she writes in a report to committee this week.

Craig investigated Code of Conduct complaints related to councillors’ involvement in the recreation proposal from two people.

Coun. Michael Fogarty’s complaint concerned what he said were efforts by Kehoe, Bowen and Madden to lobby on behalf of Tribal Partners for a recreation proposal at 174 West St. S. - after council had approved a project for James Street.

The second complainant, who is unidentified in Craig’s report, named Kehoe, Bowen and Madden, as well as Councillors Andrew Hill, Paul Spears and Wayne Gardy.

Among other concerns, that complainant argued the decision to strike a partnership with Tribal and suspend work at James Street was made without adequate due diligence and concern for the financial impact on the city.

Several councillors had been “well engaged” with Tribal and should have “refrained from “interacting so closely” with the developer to avoid potential conflicts of interest, the complainant added.

After an extensive investigation of the concerns, Craig said the information “strongly supports the conclusion” that Kehoe, Bowen and Madden contravened the code in relation to having a personal interest.

The code defines personal interest as having an interest “that can include bias or undue influence that could reasonably call into question their impartiality and/or independence, as weighed upon the grounds of a reasonable person in comparable circumstances.”

Adds Craig:

“However, it is my determination that the contravention occurred through an error of judgment made in good faith.”

Craig goes on to stress that “good faith” should not be taken to mean the three councillors’ actions were “appropriate or an innocent mistake.

“I believe that the actions of Councillor Kehoe, Councillor Bowen and Councillow Madden had serious implications but were not made with an intent to deceive or contravene their ethical obligations as elected officials,” she adds.

Kehoe said he was acting in the city’s best interests by meeting with Tribal Partners in the hope of securing investment in the city.

Craig, however, determined Kehoe was “overly engaged” in administrative matters of the city related to procurement.

Bowen, who led a petition effort allowing Tribal Partners an extended deputation before council, “clearly has put a considerable amount of effort and time into seeking information in relation to opportunities on the recreation file,” she added.

“However, his actions, while they may have been well meaning and with the intention to seek out opportunities and not advocate for any one proponent, were tantamount to advocating for Tribal Partners Inc. to get before council to deliver their proposal,” she said.

While appearing open to receiving information to make an informed decision on the project, Madden “demonstrated an entrenched view on where the development site should be,” Craig said.

Hill, Spears and Gardy “acted in accordance with the rules of the Code of Conduct,” Craig added.

Craig recommends the city implement policies that ensure councillors “keep at arms-length from a potential proponent” during the procurement process and avoid possible conflicts.

She encourages all councillors to consider, “with solemn seriousness,” a section of the code that calls on members to deal with one another in a ways that “maintain public confidence in the position to which they have been elected or appointed.”

Councillors also should refrain from making disparaging remarks about one another, members of the public or council’s decisions.