Submitting a Complaint to the Township of Essa
What is a complaint?
A
complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the action or lack
of action taken, operations, facilities or the service provided by the
Township of Essa or by a person or body acting on behalf of the
Township of Essa. All complaints filed necessitate a response. Complaints imply that the complainant is unhappy with
the service received and that they require a follow up response in
regards to the issue.
Concerns
can be resolved in an informal manner with responsible staff.
Complaints are expressions of dissatisfaction about the action or lack
of action taken, operations, facilities or the service provided by the
Township of Essaor by a person or body acting on behalf of the
Township of Essa. All complaints filed necessitate a response.
Complaint Policy
Please see the 
A07-09 Municipal Complaint Policy for further information.
How can a complaint be submitted?
A formal complaint form will be made available for this purpose. The form can be completed and submitted by:
- Mail to the Township of Essa Administration Centre, 5786 County Road 21, Utopia ON L0M 1T0
- In person at the Administration Office
Privacy
Complaints
will be processed in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act and other applicable
legislation. The identity of the complainant and any associated personal
information that could lead the complainant to be identified will be
made known only to those who require the information to assess the
complaint effectively. All participants in the complaints process will
keep the personal information of the complainant confidential except
where required by law.
Formal complaints cannot be anonymous.
What is not deemed to be a formal complaint?
Regular feedback is encouraged and an important part of quality customer service. Feedback of a positive or general nature, comments on a service or facility that do not require a response, or requests for service, are not complaints. Regular feedback includes the following:
- Compliment: an expression of appreciation for satisfactory or above-satisfactory service.
- Feedback: input from a client providing input or ideas.
- Service Request: a request for a specific service provided by the Township of Essa.
Complaints about Council
For complaints in relation to a breach in the Council Code of Conduct or the Conflict of Interest Act, please refer to the Code of Conduct page on our website.
Closed Meeting Complaints
Under Section 239 of the Municipal Act,
2001, as amended, any individual may request that an investigation be
undertaken to determine whether a municipality or local board has
complied with the Municipal Act or its Procedure By-law in respect of a
meeting or part of a meeting that was closed to the public.
Statement
The
Township of Essa is committed to ensuring that any
request for an investigation under Section 239 of the Municipal Act,
2001, as amended (the “Act”) is dealt with in a fair, open and
expeditious manner.
The municipality commits to full co-operation
including the provision of all information requested by the Municipal
Closed Meeting Investigator (“Investigator”), either written or through
interviews, to assist the Municipal Investigator in his investigations.
In
accordance with Section 239.2(11) of the Municipal Act, 2001, the Township of Essa shall ensure that any reports received from the
Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator by the municipality are made
available to the public.
The Township of Essa commits to including any
report received from the Investigator related to an investigation under
the Act, on a public agenda and to considering such report in an open
public session of Council or a Standing Committee of Council.
Questions
can be directed to the attention of the Clerk at the Township of Essa, 5786 County Road 21, Utopia ON , L0M 1T0 or by
contacting the Clerk at 705-424-9770 Ext. 117.
This procedure applies to all appointed Boards and sub-committees of the municipality.
Background
Council of the Corporation of the Township of Essa passed resolution CR207-2016 at its meeting of October 19, 2016, which supported the County of Simcoe in their appointment of Local Authority Services (LAS) to provide Closed Meeting Investigator Services for participating municipalities. The appointed Closed Meeting Investigator is authorized to conduct investigations upon receipt of a complaint in respect of meetings or part of meetings that are closed to the public, to determine compliance with the Municipal Act or the Municipal Procedural By-law, and to report on the results of such investigations. Aird & Berlis is the Closed Meeting Investigator appointed by LAS to perform the services for Closed Meeting Investigations.
Procedures - Request for Investigation of Closed Meeting
Prior
to submitting a request for investigation of a Closed Meeting, members of the public,
including corporations, are encouraged to discuss their concerns or
inquiries with the Township's Clerk.
Members of the public,
including corporations, may submit their formal request for a Closed Meeting Investigation to the Township Clerk.All
requests will be treated confidential by the municipality and the
Investigator, unless authorization is given by the requestor to release
his or her identity.
Request forms may be downloaded from the Township’s website by visiting the Forms page, or are available by contacting the Clerk’s Department. Requests may be submitted on the 
Closed Meeting Investigation Form or
otherwise in writing in a sealed envelope clearly identified as a
complaint under Section 239 of the Municipal Act and forwarded by mail
to:
Township of Essa
c/o Clerk
Administration Centre
5786 County Road 21
Utopia, ON
L0M 1T0
All complaints must contain:
- Name of the Township
- Requestor’s name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (if applicable)
- Date of closed meeting under consideration
- Nature and background of the particular occurrence
- Any activities undertaken (if any) to resolve the concern
- Any other relevant information
- Direction with respect to release of identity
- Original signature
When requests are submitted to the Clerk directly, the Clerk shall:
- Ensure that the requests remain confidential;
- Assign a file number and record a file number on the envelope;
- Log the file number together with the date and time received;
- Forward, forthwith to the Municipal Investigator by regular mail.
The municipality shall supply forthwith to the
investigator the following or any other information or documentation as
requested by the Investigator related to a complaint:
- Certified copy of Notice of Meeting
- Certified copy of the agenda
- Certified copy of the Minutes of meeting
- Relevant resolutions
- Municipal contact list
- other
