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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLEG 02-14 C,t j of Report to Council PICKERING Report Number: LEG 02-14 Date: February 24, 2014 From: Paul Bigioni Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor Subject: Council Code of Conduct Annual Report - . File: A-1400 • Recommendation: 1. That the Annual Report of the Integrity Commissioner regarding the Council Code of Conduct be received; 2. That the suggested commentary' recommended by the Integrity Commissioner noted in Attachment 1, be received and incorporated into the Council Code of Conduct; . 3. That the revised Disclosure Statement, Attachment 2, be approved; and 4. That the appropriate officials of the City of Pickering be given the authority to give effect thereto. Executive Summary: On March 26, 2012 the Council of the City of Pickering. approved a Code of Conduct to enhance the transparency and accountability with which Members of Council conduct themselves. On July 9, 2012, the Council of the City of Pickering appointed Suzanne Craig as Integrity Commissioner. City staff, in consultation with the Integrity Commissioner, prepared and implemented appropriate policies and procedures to give effect to the Code of Conduct as of January 1, 2013. . Financial Implications: n/a Discussion: Over the past year, the City has worked with the Integrity Commissioner implementing the Council.Code of Conduct and educating Council, staff and the public on the procedures and interpretation of the Code. 57 Report LEG 02-14 February 24, 2014 Subject: Council Code of Conduct—Annual Report Page 2 Members of Council have submitted Disclosure Statements for gifts, as defined within the Code of Conduct Policy, to the Integrity Commissioner on a monthly basis. All • Disclosure Statements are a matter of public record. The Integrity Commissioner has investigated complaints and educated Council, staff and the public throughout the year. The Integrity Commissioner has submitted her Annual Report (Attachment 1) for review , and consideration of recommended updates/commentary to the Code of Conduct. Also throughout the year, we have determined that the Disclosure Statement needs to be changed in order for Council to report-on gifts with more detail. Staff and the Integrity Commissioner therefore recommend an updated Disclosure Statement in the form included as Attachment 2. Attachments: 1. Integrity Commissioner Annual Report 2. Revised Disclosure Statement Prepared By: App,•v:d/Endorsed By: • • Debbie Shields Paul B'•io i City Clerk Directs r, Corpo ate Services & City So • • or DS Recommended for the consideration of Pickering .ty Counc'I • I //, . 27, 2_o(4 Tony Prevedel, P.Eng. Chief Administrative Officer • 58 ATTACHMENT#6_L_Tp REPORT# �= b - .of. January 9,2014 The Honourable Mayor Dave Ryan Members of Pickering City Council • City of Pickering Pickering, Ontario I present to you the Office of the Integrity Commissioner Annual Report 2013 which covers the period January 1,2013 to December 31,2013. Respectfully, Suzanne Crai Integrity Commissioner • • • • 1 • 59 • Commissioner's Remarks This is the first Annual Report submitted to City Council since I was appointed as Integrity Commissioner for the City of Pickering in July 9, 2012,by Resolution#103/12. It covers the period July 2012 to December 31, 2012 and January 1, 2013 to December 31,2013. The Office of the Integrity Commissioner was established with the view to developing rules around ethical conduct for elected officials so that they may carry out their duties with impartiality and equality of service to all,recognizing that as leaders of the community,they are held to a higher standard of behavior and conduct. The mandate of the Integrity Commissioner is to ensure that the code of behaviour and ethics governing elected officials is objectively and effectively applied,which may include: • Conducting inquiries into requests made by a member of the public,Council,or a Member of Council,into whether a Member of Council has contravened any applicable code of conduct; • Providing written and oral advice to individual Members of Council about their own situation under the Code and other policies and protocols governing the ethical behaviour of Council; • Publishing an annual report on the work of the Office of the Integrity • Commissioner,including in general terms,the advice rendered and complaints received and disposed of and • • Working with the Legislative Services Division and Clerk's Office to review current policies and procedures,the Code of Conduct of Members of Council as well as,developing confidentiality,accountability and transparency rules regarding City Council. Since being appointed in July 2012,in addition to responding to inquiries from City Council Members,City staff and the public and adjudicating formal and informal Code compalints,I have worked with Legislation Services and the City Clerk's Office to draft and develop policy and guidance documents to supplement Code rules,Delivered 2 Code of Conduct Information Sessions for Members of City Council,Drafted a Gifts and Benefits Commentary to the Code and reviewed Council Member Disclosure Statements. To ensure my continued receipt of current information relating to Ethical Decision- Making in municipal government,I have attended the bi-annual meetings of the Municipal Integrity Commissioner of Ontario. There are currently approximately 22, municipal governments that have appointed an Integrity Commissioner. 2 60 1. Activities of the Office of the Integrity Commissioner: July 9, 2012 — December 31,2012 As I was appointed in July 2012 'pursuant-to Resolution #103/12, the period up to December 31, 2012 was spent developing policy and guidance documents to supplement the Code of Conduct rules and complaint procedure. 2. Activities-of the Office of the Integrity Commissioner: January 1, 2013 = December 31,2013 The Office received 2 informal complaints and 2 formal complaints under the Code rules. In addition, the services of the Office were employed in providing information, advice • and recommendations on Code compliance to members of the public, City staff and Members of Council. In 2013, I received 3 inquiries from the public, 8, inquiries from City staff and 17 inquiries from Members of Council. I have no data against which to measure the statistics in relation to activities of this Office, however, most inquiries sought clarification on Code rules and did not relate to complaints. TABLE 1 Office of the Integrity Commissioner Code Activities Code Complaints and Inquiries ,Jan—Dec 2013 Formal complaints L2 Informal complaints 2* Inquiries on Code , application From the public i3 From City staff 8 • From Members of Council 117 Total Code-related . 28 • *Formal and informal complaints were mediated and therefore,no report was submitted to Council 3. Statement of Expenditures July 2012—December 2013 Salary 4,377.48* • *Total for Integrity Commissioner services,including mileage under City.mileage policy 3 61 I __ i • 4. Jurisdiction: Education and Outreach The Code applies to the Mayor and all Members of Council. The mandate of the Integrity'Commissioner is to ensure that the rules of the Code governing elected public officials are objectively communicated and applied. The Complaint Protocol for the Code of Conduct outlines the direction that the Integrity Commissioner takes when a complaint,including any supporting affidavit,is not, on its face,a complaint with.respect to non-compliance with the Code of Ethical Conduct. It has been my experience to date, that emphasis should.be placed on proactive education and the development of Code commentary to facilitate a better understanding and commitment by each Member of Council of their roles and responsibilities under the Code. An analysis of the questions received demonstrates that it would be useful to have commentary around rules of the Code, as new situations arise, in the changing environment of the City, generally speaking in the area of gifts and benefits,.disclosure statement and benevolent activities. I am pleased to report that Members of Council have pro-actively sought input from this Office prior to making decisions regarding their day- to-day official duties. While the punitive element of a Code is not to be overlooked, the real strength of an ethics document can be seen in how effectively it is utilized by stakeholders to ensure the intended outcomes are achieved. As stated by the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario in her 2010 Annual Report, "[i]ncreasing awareness of the Integrity Commissioner's work can contribute to confidence in government". In my work to date with Members of City Council and staff of the Legislative Services and the City Clerk's Departments I have witnessed a demonstrated desire on the part of elected officials and administrative executives to realize the full potential and benefits of ethical decision-making through their commitment to an effective application of the Code rules. 5. Sample Suggested Commentary 01.01 Definitions Commentary: "legitimate municipal purpose"when used in this Code means that the activity or event in which the Member participates relates in the first instance and directly, to the fulfillment of duties as a Member of Pickering City Council and not in relation to a private • interest or individually to that Member of Council. • 4 62 04.02 Gifts and Participation at Events Commentary: Gifts and benefits are often received by Members in the course of their duties,and attendance at public functions is expected and considered a legitimate part of their role. The object of this rule is not to prohibit Members from participating in events in their community, but rather to provide transparency around the receipt of incidental gifts and benefits, where the total value may be perceived as potentially influence decision making. Maintaining a public record of Member disclosure statements functions as a transparency tool and not an impediment to Member participation at community events. Personal integrity and sound business practices require that relationships with vendors, contractors, or others doing business with the City, be such that no Member of Council is perceived as showing favoritism or bias toward the vendor,contractor or other. Each Member of Council is accountable to the public and should Commentary: When a Member receives an invitation to attend an event where the invitation is connected directly with the performance of the Member's duty as an official City representative,the attendance and participation at the event is not considered to be a gift. Attendance is considered to be the fulfillment of an official function or duty. When a Member receives an invitation to attend an event in his or her capacity as an individual Member of Council and not as an official City representative,receipt of the food and beverages consumed at lunches, dinners charity fundraisers,banquets, receptions,ceremonies or similar events,is deemed to be a gift or benefit under the Code and triggers the requirement of filing a'disclosure statement if the value of the gift or benefit exceeds the monetary threshold set by the Code. Commentary: This Code recognizes that Members of Council are community leaders and may, within the rules of City Expense policies,lend their support to and encourage community donations to registered charitable and Not-for-profit groups; urge constituents,business 5 • 63 - • • and other groups to support community events and advance the needs of a charitable organization put on by others in the City,in addition to collaborating with the City of Pickering and its agencies to hold community events. Members of Council should not handle any funds on behalf of any organizations or community group and should remain at arm's length from the financial aspects of these • community and external events. Recommended clarification: Rule 21.02 should indicate that it is the responsibility of the Integrity Commissioner to determine whether a complaint is frivolous,vexatious or made in good faith and whether there are grounds for an investigation. 6. Closing Remarks 2014 is an election year for municipalities in Ontario.Many municipal organizations have been the focus of some most eventful occurrences.While I will not comment on the behavior of Members of other municipal Councils,I can state that Members of Council of the City of Pickering have sought advice from me in relation to Code rules and have respectfully adhered to my recommendations on compliance with the current Code. As I have stated in the past in relation to the role of an Integrity Commissioner, it is up to Council and not me, to determine how relevant the Code of Conduct will be and the standards to be set under the ethics document. My role is to apply the rules of the Code. In my view, the Code currently requires commentary to clarify the policy objectives of the document. While there are some minor revisions that should be made to the Code, in an effort to not politicize the document, I will make recommendations on amendments to the Code after the 2014 election. Respectfully ultted by: Alp ■ -zarine C Integrity Commissioner 6 • 64 Copies of this and other Office of the Integrity Commissioner publications are available by contacting the office at: 1 Mailing Address: City of Pickering One The Esplanade Pickering,ON L1V 6K7 Telephone 905.420.4660 ext.2280 • Email:integritypickering a.gmail.com This report is also available in PDF format available at 7 65 ATTACHMENT# ` TO REPORT# o -14 j .of. PICKERING Council Member Disclosure Statement 1. Description of Gift/Benefit received: 2. Date Received: 3. Name of individual or organization from whom Gift/Benefit was received: 4. Estimated amount: 5. Additional Information: Member. Signature: Date: 66