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
