The following article appeared in the January 1 edition of the Guelph Tribune:
City council meetings that are closed to the public are expected to come under closer scrutiny, starting today.
As of Jan. 1, any person will be able to ask that an investigation be done to determine whether a municipality or local board has complied with rules about closed meetings in Ontario’s Municipal Act.
At its last meeting in December, council approved using a new meeting-investigator service provided by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, for an annual fee of $300. A daily fee of $1,250 plus expenses would apply if someone seeks an investigation and AMO appoints an investigator.
AMO’s service will also include providing councils with ongoing educational information related to the closed-meeting provisions of the Municipal Act.
“We need the information. This has not been done before,” said Coun. Vicki Beard, who chaired a committee this fall that looked at new transparency and accountability policies for the city.
Most Ontario municipalities are taking advantage of the AMO service, rather than using the default option of having such investigations carried out by the Ontario Ombudsman, said a report by city staff.
The Ombudsman’s services would not carry a fee, but investigations by the Ombudsman’s office can take a long time, said Coun. Gloria Kovach. Council voted 11-2 to opt for the AMO service.
The Municipal Act allows municipalities to close a meeting or part of a meeting to the public if the matter being considered relates to:
• the security of property belonging to the municipality
• personal matters about an identifiable individual
• labour relations or employee negotiations
• litigation or potential litigation, including matters before tribunals
• advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege
• a matter that another act says can be discussed in private
• consideration of some Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act matters.
A meeting can also be closed to the public if it’s only for training or educational purposes, the staff report notes.
Kovach lauded Beard’s work as chair of the committee set up in response to the provincial government’s amendments to the Municipal Act aimed at boosting accountability and transparency in city operations.
“She has done a great job with ground that has not been walked before,” Kovach said.