HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN 03-14 (-Hy co x Report to
--- Executive Committee
I KERIN Report Number: FIN 03-14
Date: January 20, 2014
From: Paul Bigioni
Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor
III
Subject: Notice of Motion, Council Expenses— Monthly Reporting
- File: A-1400
Recommendation:
1. That the Notice of Motion dated December 9, 2013 regarding Council
expenses, as amended in Attachment 2, be approved;
2. That Council Compensation Policy ADM 190 be amended as necessary in
the opinion of the Chief Administrative Officer, the Director, Corporate
Services & City Solicitor, the Treasurer and the City Clerk to give effect to
the said Motion; and
3. That the appropriate officials of the City of Pickering be given the authority
to give effect thereto.
Executive Summary: Having reviewed the Notice of Motion and related City
Policies, and having considered best practices in nearby municipalities, City staff have
no concerns with Council approving the Notice of Motion subject to amendments shown
in Attachment 2.
Council expenses are currently reported to the public on an annual basis. Reporting
Council expenses on a monthly basis, and posting a Monthly Council Expense Report
on the City's website, would increase the transparency and accountability with which the
City and its Council conduct themselves.
Financial Implications: Approval of the amended Notice of Motion will require some
additional staff time. The additional time required is not trivial, however, it is anticipated
that there will not be a requirement to hire additional staff to implement the change in
procedure as suggested in the Notice of Motion. Staff will monitor this situation and, if
required, will request additional resources as part of the 2015 budget process.
Discussion: On December 9, 2013, Councillor McLean (seconded by
Councillor O'Connell) brought a Motion before Council regarding the monthly reporting
of Council expenses (Attachment 1). Council referred the Notice of Motion to staff for
review and required staff to prepare a Report for January, 2014.
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Report FIN 03-14 January 20, 2014
Subject: Notice of Motion, Council Expenses— Monthly Reporting Page 2
Having reviewed the Notice of Motion and related City Policies, and having considered
best practices in nearby municipalities, City staff have no concerns with Council
approving the Notice of Motion subject to the amendments shown in Attachment 2.
At present, Council expenses are a matter of public record, and are disclosed on an
annual basis in a report prepared by the City's Treasurer. Reporting Council expenses
on a monthly basis, and posting a Monthly Council Expense Report on the City's
website, improves the transparency and accountability with which the City and its
Council conduct themselves.
At present, City staff already assist Councillors with expense claims that they wish to
submit for reimbursement. Processing Council expense claims and posting them on the
city's website on a monthly basis represents more than a trivial additional workload for
City staff, however, the additional workload is manageable without any current need to
hire or reallocate additional staff.
The changes to the Notice of Motion shown in Attachment 2 will result in greater
accountability and will permit City staff the flexibility necessary to efficiently process the
monthly posting of Council expenses.
The publication of the names of individuals who attend meals with City Councillors does
not, in most cases, violate the requirements of the Municipal Freedom of Information
and Protection of Privacy Act(Ontario), as amended("MFIPPA"). Section 14(1)(f) of the
MFIPPA requires that the City not disclose personal information unless it is "not an
unjustified invasion of personal privacy". Section 14(2)(a) of the MFIPPA allows the City
to take into account the desirability of subjecting the City's activities to public scrutiny
when considering whether or not anything constitutes "an unjustified invasion of
personal privacy". On the basis of section 14(2)(a), the monthly publication of an
Expense Report identifying an individual who has attended a meal with a Councillor
would, in many, though not all cases, be permitted by the MFIPPA. There may be
occasions when the mere fact that a person has had a meal with a Councillor might
constitute sensitive information about that person as an identifiable individual. In such
event, the MFIPPA would require that the individual's name not be disclosed within a
published Expense Report. Furthermore, the Office of the Information and Privacy
Commissioner advises that the name of the meal recipient should not be disclosed if the
purpose of the meal/meeting related to that person's individual (as opposed to
business) concerns or issues.
Part of the original Notice of Motion would disallow reimbursement to Councillors for
reasonable liquor expenses. Staff are not aware of an objective basis upon which to
distinguish liquor expenses from meal expenses. Consequently, staff suggest that
reasonable liquor expenses continue to be allowed. It must be noted that the City's
Code of Conduct Policy ADM 070 permits Councillors to charge as an expense to the
City "reasonable alcohol costs associated with a legitimate business meeting, lunch,
dinner or event involving business representatives or dignitaries, consistent with
conducting City business." If Council does decide to disallow reimbursement for
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Report FIN 03-14 January 20, 2014
Subject: Notice of Motion, Council Expenses — Monthly Reporting Page 3
reasonable liquor expenses, then section 14 of the Code of Conduct Policy will have to
be amended accordingly.
The City of Toronto posts Council General Expense Budget Reports on a quarterly
basis. Backup for expense claims, in the form of receipts, are viewable on the City of
Toronto website. The City of Vaughan updates its website on a monthly basis to post
expenses claimed by Councillors, however, it does not post the receipts which backup
the expense claims because Vaughan's staff regard that to be too labour intensive.
Attachments:
1. Original Notice of Motion
2. Proposed Text for Amended Notice of Motion
P - • red/Approved By: Approved/Endorsed By:
� e
Paul :ig • Stan Karwowski -
Dire•tor, Cor•orate Services & City Solicitor Division Head, Finance & Treasurer
• Approved/Endorsed By:
�J .
Debbie Shields
City Clerk
PB:ks
Recommended for the consideration
of Pickering . ty Cou c'
sr, '/ / . 2,®t3
Tony Prevedel, P.Eng.
Chief Administrative Officer •
Attachment No. 1 to Report FIN 03-14
�Lfl� o0 =_
PI RN
NOTICE OF MOTION
Council Expenses — Monthly Reporting
DATE December 9, 2013
MOVED Councillor Bill McLean
SECONDED BY Councillor Jennifer O'Connell
WHEREAS Council have discretionary accounts to cover expenses incurred while
conducting business on behalf of the City, as prescribed under the Council
Compensation Policy ADM 190; and
WHEREAS in the interest of accountability and transparency, expense information for
Council expenses should be easily accessible to all members of the public; and
WHEREAS at this time, the City of Pickering reports Council expenses on an annual
basis to the public through a report to Council; however, this report only shows total
costs incurred and does not provide specific expense breakdowns; and
WHEAREAS all expense details submitted by Members of Council are public record,
and therefore a member of the public should not have to make a request to the City
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Clerk to be provided expense details. Many municipalities and political parties have
decided to make detailed expense information available online.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
As of January, 2014, any expenses being submitted for reimbursement from the Mayor
and Members of Council must submit the original receipts, as well as an electronic copy
that can be uploaded to the City's website. That the Clerk's office and the Website
Coordinator post the detailed expenses within 30 days of reimbursement to the City of
Pickering's website.
And that the Council Compensation Policy ADM 190 be amended to reflect the above
procedure for submitting expenses by the Mayor and Members of Council.
And that the Council Compensation Policy ADM 190 section 10 be amended to no
longer allow for"reasonable liquor" expenses to be reimbursed by the Mayor and
Members of Council.
And further that any meal receipts being submitted for reimbursement should provide
the names of those who attended the meal and the purpose of the meeting, and should
be included in the detailed expenses being uploaded to the City of Pickering's website.
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Attachment No. 2 to Report FIN 03-14
Now Therefore Be It Resolved:
That, as of February, 2014, any expenses being submitted by any Member of Council
for reimbursement/payment by the City must be accompanied by the original receipts.
That City staff post to the City's website, on a monthly basis, the details of expenses
reimbursed/paid to the Members of Council in the previous month.
That any meal receipts submitted for reimbursement/payment should, subject to the
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act(Ontario), as amended,
include the names of those persons who attended the meal, and the purpose of the
meeting, and that all such information shall be included within the expense information
posted each month on the City's website.
And that Council Compensation Policy ADM 190 be amended as necessary to give
effect to the foregoing.
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