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 Essaor by a person or body acting on behalf of the Township of Essa. All complaints filed necessitate a response. 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. Complaints imply that the complainant is unhappy with the service received and that they require a follow up response in regards to the issue.

What is not a formal complaint?

Regular feedback is encouraged and an important part of quality customer service. 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 Clearview.

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 may not be anonymous.

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. 116.

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 appoint a Closed Meeting Investigator (Amberley Gavel) to act as the Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator 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 Procedure By-law, and to report on the results of such investigations.

Procedures - Request for Investigation

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 requests to the Investigator relating to compliance with the Act or the Municipal Procedure By-law for meetings or part of meetings that are closed to the public.

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 Municipal 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 follow the following procedures:

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.

For all requests 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