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HomeMy WebLinkAboutADMIN-17-97~° ;~,.. THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON - rNC ~o~rx~-nn REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and .Administration Committee ~ # ~~~( (n,~~o Date: Monday, May 5, 1987 ~. gyp;-Q~ Report #: ADMIN-17.97 Rle #: l3ydaw # Subject: MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED NEW MUNICIPAL ACT Recommendations: It is respec~fulty recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report ADMIiV-17-97 be received; 2. THAT the comments contained in Report ADMIN-17-97 be approved forthwith as the Municipality's response to the proposed New Municipal Act; 3. THAT the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing be requested to .provide further opportunity to the municipalities to comment on the new Bill in#roducing the New Municipal Act; 4. THAT a copy of the Report be forwarded to the Honourable AI Leach, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario; and 5. THAT the BowmanviAe, Newcastle and. Orono Business Improvement Areas be forwarded a copy of this Report and be encouraged to participate in the legislative public meeting process subsequent to the First Reading of the New Munictipal Act. 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 On March 10, 1997, the Minister of Municipal Affairs released a proposal for a New Muniapal Act. Also contained in the News Release are the following: "The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is sending the consultation paper to municipalities, municipal associations and other interested groups for their comments before legislation is drafted for introduction in the legislature. Comments will be accepted until May 9, 1997". REPORT NO.: ADMtN-1.7-97 PAGE 2 The Government intends to introduce a Bill. before the legislatur® for first reading in ,birte and to have the New Municipal Act in place early in 1998. 1.2 The Municpality first learned of the above through the "Municipa{:Alert" from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. Council at its meeting. heW on March 24, 1997, received the correspondence from the Association and referred the matter ' to the Chief Administrative Officer for review and report back on the impacts to ..the Municipality of Clarington. 1.3 On April 10 and on April 24, 1997, staff attended inforrnation sessions held by the :Ministry and subsequently obtained the Consultation Paper with respect to the. proposed New Municipal Act. In order to meet the May 9th deadline,. review was underway immediately with the assistance of all Department Heads which cumulated in this Report. 2 SUMMARY OF THE CONSULTATION PAPER The Consultation Paper looks at why a -New Municipal Act is needed, what it should do and how it would be organized. 2.1 Whg a Nsw Municipal Act? The current Muniapal Act dates back to 1849, contains countless amendments- and many provisions that are no longer relevant. It has become very complex, cumbersome, inefficient and confusing. In 1994, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. asked the Province for a New Municipal Act that is less restrictive and simpler and also provides for greater municipal autonomy and authority to make dedsions with little provincial supervision and participation. The Provincial Government stated that it intends to act on .its commitment to introduce a New Municipal Act thatwould be a cornerstone of a new relationship s REPORT 1+10.: AQM1N-77.87 PAGE. 3 between murdapalities and the Province. The new Act would incorporate other recent changes found in the Savings and Restructuring Act 1996-and the Better Local.Govemment Act, 1996. 22 What the. new Act should do? The proposed New Municipal Act is based on the concept that municipalities should. have broad authority to carry on their business within defined areas of responsibility. Fundamental to implement the concept of broad authority is the inttoduction of the powers of a "natural person" to the municipalities. This means a rnuniapality car- do anything a person can do including the power to enter into agreement, invest, organize its affairs, buy and sell land, provide and charge for , goods and services. In addition to the "natural person' power, the new Act would continue to grant muniapalities the "government powers" to tax, licence, make and enforce local taws. Where two tier system is in place, the proposed Act clarifies these "governmant powers'. While the proposed. new Act appears to broaden the responsibility of the Municipality, it also specifies certain limitations and restrictions including,. but not limited to, the inability to declare bankruptcy, prohibition of licensing manufacturers, natural resource based companies and wholesalers, and the inability to grant bonuses to industrial or commercial business. 2.3 The Consultation Paper also contemplates other changes to reflect the recommendations of 'The Who Does What Panel". These include: • setting out the duties of municipal councils and municipal administration • updating theprovisionsforfinaneialreporting,economicdevelopment,user fees, special area taxation and tax collection REPC3RT NOs AGYIN-97-87 PAGE 4 • Mowing fi•xibility to transfer responsibility for services between local and. upper tier muniapalities • allowing.municipalities to choose their own names 2.4 in order to assist the municipality 's understanding of the proposed. new Act, portion of the draft legislation was provided to the muniapalities. This draft legislation contains only the core part of the new Act. Details regarding municipal. finance are not yet available other then the information contained in the Consultation Paper. 2.5 The above represents a brief synopsis of the proposed changes contemplated in the New Municip~ Act. The balance of this Report will address and discuss those proposed d~anges from the perspective of the Municipality of Glarington. An executive summary of the Municipality's comments is provided. REPORT NO.: At~MtN-17-97 PAGE 5 MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED NEW MUNICIPAL ACT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Grouping of authorities is one of the most significant changes proposed under the Mew Act This change allows a municipality the flexibility to deal with many. emerging situations in each of these groupings of authority without the need for legislative changes.. The municipaldy should be able fo respond quickty to local issues. We, therefore, support this initiative. Fkx~d control authority should be assigned to the conservation authority. !f such authority is given to the municipality, the new Act must clarify the role between municipality and conservesion authority to eliminate duplication. The concept of "natural person" power to be incorporated in the New Municipal Act is supported We eruforse the confirmation ofthose exclusive authorities currently granted to the Region of Durham with the exception that the Municipality of Clarington be allowed to continue its efforts fn-the retention of local businesses and the promotion and marketing. of local businesses including all tourism opportunities. We agree to the. approach that upper and lower municipalities should be allowed tc transferand/or share services provided it is on a voluntary basis. This would allow both upper and lower tier municipalties to work together and to determine how best arnicost- effiaient certain services can be provided fo dte cdizen. The local and regional municipality should have the direct power to cor-trol and regulate any waste management issues within its boundaries through the planning process. The ability of the Province to subsequenity restrict municipal powers by regulations is corarary to the concept of providing broad base power to municipalities and therefore should be removed. The Municipality of Clarington concurs with the concept of promoting financial disclosure and accountablllty provided the financial reporting mechanism is not overly onerous. We request that the to-be-drafted prescribed procedures honour the approach of granting municipalities with broad based non-descriptive powers. REPORT NO,; A[iMt1+i-17-97 PAGE 6. EXECUTNE ts'UMMARY (Corrt'd) The requirement of a supplementary audit report is a costty process. as it presents a greater burden of audit veniication before the municipal auditors would be wiNing to express an opinion on the proposed content. This serves no useful purpose and therefore should be deleted. We feel that bonding of the Treasurer is important, particularly in Jight of the proposed derv Act suggested a specific person be assigned by Council to handle rrtunkipaf frrarnces. The. concept of granting the authority to municipalkres to impose special area taxation is ~• We do not support the transfer of taxing power to the upper-tier municipality as if diminishes one of the main. government functions of lower-tier municipality. This should vnty be allowed. upon request by the lower-tier municipality. We support the change to allow municipality the option to use a collection agency for outstanding debts instead. of being restricted to bailiff. We have no objection to the removal of tax-free allowance provided the new Act does not restrict local Council to make the necessary adjustment to the base salary of the elected officials, sunilar to the approach taken by the Provincial Government. Def-tingr the responsibilities of Council and its administration appears to be an attempt m .reduce the confusion between the roles of Council and staff and ai the same time, to pviotect the L#egnty and to ensure the accountability of municipal operation. In this regard, the Municipality of Clarington endorses this proposed change. We consider documenting the notice procedure is a reasonab/e requirement as long as the new Act does. not dictate or specify how focal municipality chooses to conduct its: .own consultation and notification procedures. In the eveiu tegislafions are introduced in the New Municipal Actto deal with the issue of municipal restructuring or amalgamation, the Municipality of Clarington requested the Minister to include, as a condition of any municipal government restructuring or amaVgerrration, that such initiative must be voluntary and initiated by the participating municipal Council and supported by the majority of the local citizens. REPORT NO.: ADMiN-iT-97 RA~aE 7 ~. c©Ii~~Hts The Consultation Paper and the draft core legislation contains many changes. In our: review of these documents, we concentrate our effort on key changes and moose other changes .that would be of interest/concern to the Muniapality of Clarington. For each issue, a ganeral discussion of the proposed change is, provided and where applicable, staff comments/recommendations are set out in italic type. 3.1 Proposed Broad Areas of Authority Under the existing Act, if a specific power is not contained in the legislation,. a municipality has no authority to act. The proposed new Act takes a whole new approach by providing municipalities with broad based authority under the following general groupings: • the health, safety, protection and. well-being of people and the protection of property • public utilities • .waste .management • public highways, including ..parking and traffic on highways • .transportation systems other than .public highways • the natural environment • culture, recreation and heritage • economic development • nuisances, noise, odour, vibration and dust • drainage and flood control, except storm sewers • structures, .including fences and signs • parking, except on public highways • animate and human activities in relation to them. trouping of authorities is one of the most significant changes proposed under the new AcL This change allows a municipality the flexibility to deal with many emerging situa#ions in each of these groupings of authority without the need for legislative changes. The municipality should be able to respond'quickty fo local issues. We, therefore, support this initiative. a~ =~ x REPORT N0.:. ADbMN-17-97 :PAGE 8 Under the proposed new Act, municipalities can pass by-laws to regulate speafic matters arising. out of these broad based responsibilities anal can apply the by- laws to a speafic area within the; muniapality. We note that majority of these broad based powers -are contained in the existing Muniapal Act and .other .legislations. In the area of flood control, we aze concerned that this power witl overlap the jurisdiction of the local conservation authorities and could place undue financial burden on the local municipality to implement flood control works. Flood control authority should be assigned to the conservation authority. If such authority is given to fhe municipality, the new Act must clarify the role between tnunicip~ty a»d conservation authority to efimtnate duplication. 3.2 The Concept oi'N~tural Person" Power This is a legs! concept that means the municipality can. do whatever a person can do such as the ability to enter into contracts/agreements, invest, buy and sell lands and other assets, organize its affairs, set administrative. priorities, delegate administrative responsibilities to other individuals or bodies, hire and dismiss employees, provide employee benefits. etc. Although these natural person powers do not appear to be much different from the powers under the existing Act, they do provide both clarity and flexibility to the municipalities in the exercising of the "natural person".power. The: concept of "natural person" power to be incorporated in the New Municipal Act fs supported. REPORT iNO,a ADMIN-17-97 PAGE 9 3.3 Q~nrarrunent Powera In addition to natural person powers, the Ministry also proposes to .provide municipalities certain government powers that are not. available to the individual. These include the authority to regulate, to prohibit, to .provide a system for licenses, permits, approval and registrations, to enforce by-laws, to levy taxes on real property and to expropriate lands. These authorities are generally found in existing legislations. Details of titese govemment powers are not included in the draft legislation at this time. Ws assume these government powers will be carried forward to the new Act, and we will further examine the detailed draft legislation when it becomes available. 3.4 Area of Authority in Two-Tier System The draft legislation proposes certain limitations on the aforementioned areas of authority as they apply to a local. tier municipality in a two-tier Govemment system. These limitations as they apply within the context of Durham Region and its local muniap~ities are identified as follows: R~ll~oar into.: arrNU~-~~-o~ pa~l~ ~o Ana of Auttwrlgr -- . t3ubJ4ea Region Authority Looel Authwrity tiesRh, oafaly, protection of people ~ Wo~tY communkxtlon sy~em for emergency response services Non-exclusive Permissible PubNc l~tias 3eviege Treatment Excd~sive NO SeNtary Sewer Exclusive NO Bonn Sewer Non-Excusive Permissible Water production, distribution Exclusive NO Fuel energy, heating and cooling services Non•ExclusMe Permissebte WeWO AAr4nagemsrrt Whole area except waste oouection Exclusive NO Public Highways, k~luding Parking and Whole area Non-exclusive Permissible Tranaporfatfon systems Wirer than public Sys Akport Non-exclusive Permissible Handicapped transit service. Non-exclusive Permissible Passenger transportation services Non-exclusive Permissible OuMiuxe, recreation and Wtble arse Non-exclusive Permfassble :Economic Daveloprnerrt Promotion Exclusive NO Industrial, commercial sites Exckrsive NO Drainage & Flood C:brdtol Whole Area Non-exclusive Psrmissable Perkk[g, except on Pub h~'+eYe Municipal parking lot and structure Non-exclusive PermissaWe The above-noted limitations generally reconfirm the exclusive powers now assigned to the Region of Durham under the existing Municipal Act and the Regional Municipality of Durham Act. Notwithstanding this status quo approach, the Provinaal Government is considering to allow certain authorities to be transferrable between upper and lower tier municipalities. This includes transit, fire protection, economic development, business licensing and waste management. r REP(3ai NO.: AQMIfN-17-97 PAGE 11 We gels have no difficulty to have the new Act to .reconfirm those powers a~n'ently granted exclusively to the Regional Government. However in the area of econ©mic development, we suggest that the new Act should allow the local muruapality the authority to promote the municipality, including .such efforts in tourism and marketing promotion as well as in the area of business retention.. These areas of responsibilities are curcently practiced in Clarington and in other munic~palit;es in ~ufiam Region. The local municipality is easily accessible to focal businesses and should be given the opportunity to assume these area of responsibilities. We endorse the confirmation of those exclusive authorities currently granted to the Region otOwham w/th the exception that the Municipality of Gtarington be allowed to continue Its. efforts in the retention of local businesses and the promotion and marketing of focal businesses Including all tourism opportunities. !n addition, the proposed new Act also allows municipalities to enter into agreements with each. other for the delivery of services, except for general welfare assistance, family benefits, police services and homes for the aged. We agree fo the approach that upper and lower municipalities should be allowed to transfer and/or share services provided it is on a voluntary. basis. This would allow both upper and tower tier municipalities to work together and to determine how best and cost-efficient certain services can be provided to the citizen. The local and regional municipality should have the direct power to control and regulate any waste management issues within its boundaries through the planning process. RFP©RT NO.: ADIVAtN-17-97 P1-GE i2 3.5 Umit~ons Aside from those .limitations of power identified within atwo-tier system, the proposed :new Act also sets out the limits of the municipal powers; These limits are: • Muniapai by-laws would not be able to conflict with provincial or federal statutes or regulations. • The Rrovince would be able to restrict municipal,powers by regulation, but these would sunset after three years. After this period, these restrictions t~uld .only be continued by placing them in legislation. • A municipality would have jurisdiction only within its own boundaries, with limited exceptions as set out in the draft legislation. • A municipality's ability to license would be subject to the limits set out in Section 257.1 of the current Municipal Act. This provision prohibits munidpalities from licensing manufacturers, wholesalers and natural resource-based .businesses. • A municipality would not be able to declare bankruptcy. • h would not be able to create or hold shares in a corporation, unless specifically authorised. • It would not be able to grant bonuses to any industrial or commercial. enterprise. • Its ability to borrow and invest would be limited. • A municipality would not be able to pass by-laws to restrict inter-municipal trar~portation systems not. owned or operated by, or on behalf of, a municipality. • A municipality would not be able to pass by-laws respecting waste management systems owned by persons oth®r than the .municipality. • A munidpality would not be able to pass by-laws to close or alter a highway. if it deprived an owner of access to his or her property. • A by-law respecting the placement or removal of fill would not .apply. on lands .affected by fill regulations under the Conservation Authorities Act. BY and .large, many of those limitations are currently in place in current legislations either explicitlyexpressed or indirectly referenced. The consolidation of these limitations in the New Municipal Act would make for easy reference by the users. We have reviewed these limitations which do not appear to have any significant. impact to the. Municipality of Clarington. However, we are concerned with the ability of the Province to restrict municipal powers by subsequent regulations. REPt)RT I~IO.t ADMINI.17-97 P/iQE 13 The abf~tyofthe Province to subsequertily restrict municipal powers byreguiations is contrary to the concept of providing broad base power to municipalities and therefore should be removed. One other matter that may be of interest.to Council pertains to the prohibition to grant bonuses to industrial or commercial enterprise. This restriction is currently in place and could be interpreted to .prohibit the municipality to grant development charge exemption to industrial or commercial development. in the future. We wits further advise on this issue when the Development Charges legislation is passed. 3.6 Municipal Finance The Ministry has yet to release the draft legislation portion of the proposed New Munlapal Rct dealing with financial matters. in the absence of such details, we rely. only. on the information provided through the Consultation Paper. What is known to date is that the financial rules that would apply to municipalities would be more detailed and restrictive than those that would apply to most other muni+dpai activities. In other words, the concept of providing a municipality with broad authority may not be applicable. It appears the proposed new Act will continue to build on those financial requirements found in the current. Municipal Act and. at the same time, consolidate those recent changes or initiatives contained in Bill 106 (proposed Fair Municipal Finance Act}, Better .Local Government Act 1996, and the Savings and Restructuring Act 1996. The changes in municipal financial reporting and administration is to promote disclosure and to enhance accountability: s REii:i}RT ~s ADMIN-17A7 PAGE' i4 The A~#fuMcfpaldy of Clartngton concurs with the concept of promoting frrrancia! disclosure entfaccountability provided the financialreporting mechanism is not - overly onerous. We request thatthe to-be-drafted. prescribed: procedures. horrour the approach of granting municipalities with broad based non-descriptive powers. 3.6.1 Procedural Chanoss The proposed procedural changes that would be new to the current. pracrice a# the Municipality of Clarington include: • supplementary audit report in addition to annual audit report. The requirement of a supplementary audit report is a costly pr©cess as it presents a greaterburden of audit verification before the municipal auditors w+ouid be willing. to express an opinion on the proposed content. This serves. no useful purpose arxf therefore should be deleted. • the option to choose whether to have a single consolidated audit op+nion for boards and agencies, or to have separate audit opinions • chE~9es in fmanaal reporting which impact on budgeting wick be subject tt> reguiaGons set by the Minister • discontinue the requirement to report on each separate. reserve fund. except for development charges reserve funds- • bonding of Treasurer or penmen assigned financial duties is no longer required We feel that bonding of the Treasurer is important particularly in tight of the proposed new Act suggested a specific person be assigned by tvurtct to handle municipal finances. • Treasurer would have authority to make allowances for the purpose of financial statement without Council's approval 3.6.2 4~a Taxation The-proposed new Act considers to allow a municipality to impose an additional mill rate or- a delineated aces to cover the costs of some services which benefit only that area. REPORT NO: AF)AAlN-17-97 PAGiE 15 Services currently provided by Clarington are based on a municipal wide approach with the exception of street lights. The proposed change would not change the ways Clarington assess its mill rate. Nevertheless, the ability to levy a special .area taxation should be a welcomed authority in the event Clarington has to rely on it in future years. 7trs concept of granting the authority to municipalities to impose special area taxation is supported. .3.6.3 MunicJg~l Tax Sale Several new provisions are proposed. Some of the major issues are outlined below. • The requirement that municipal treasurers automatically register a vesting certificate#o give ownership of the property to the municipality when a tax sale is unsuccessful is proposed to be removed. This is particularly important in cases of environmental. contamination concerns for which he municipality does not wish to assume liability be vesting ownership in the municipality. • The proposed Act would clarify that charge-backs to the School Board and Region would apply where a properly vests in a municipality as a result of an unsuccessful tax sale (for a cancellation price exceeding $10,000}. Only if the property is ultimately sold would the charge-back be reimbursed proportionately. This is an improvement since the municipality would be able to "share" the cost/lost tax revenue from an unsuccessful tax sale with the Region and/or School Board. ~ The proposed legislation will allow non-registered owners who have an interest in the property to enter into extension agreements to pay the amount owning over a period of time. This presents same concerns as it may delay the proceedings as well as cause potential notification issues. Mortgage companies currently must pay in fuel to protect their interest in the property. In general, the proposed changes in municipal tax sale are supported in principle - ,r REPORT. NO:; AflMii+l-17-97 PAGE 16 3.6.4 Tax. Gdlection.and Recovery of Monies Proposed key changes in this area include: • The proposed Act would allow for the migration of the. tax collection fur-ction to upper tiers. We do not support the transfer of taxing power fo the upper-tier municipality as if diminishes one of the main government functions of lower-tier municipality. This shouhf only be allowed upon request by the lower-tier municipality. • The Municipal Interest and Discounts Rates Act would. be .repealed. and: - municipalities would be allowed to establish the penalty for late tax payments; - municipalities would be required to pay those who make overpayments, due to a clerical error or an assessment appeal, the same rate of interest as they charge those who make fate tax payments; and - municipalities would be permitted to pay interest or provide a discount at a rate of their chace for other early payments. • Municipalities would not be permitted to declare realty taxes uncollectible for properties on which a tax sale can be conducted, except after ah unsuccessful tax sale. • Municipalities would be permitted to sell their receivabtes, except their realty tax receivables, at a discount and to convey to the purchaser any security rights. • Municipalities, and the collection agencies (registered in good standing under the Collection Agencies Act) that are hired by municipalities, would be permitted to collect outstanding debts (including, but not limited to license fees, user fees, business tax and Business Improvement Area levies) and to add .reasonable costs of collection to the. amount owing, which they can recover from debtors. We support the change to allow municipality the option to use a coNection agency for or#sYanding debts instead of being restricted to bailiff. r REPORT NO.: AII314/IN-iT-97 PkGE i7 • Ali. unpaid taxes would be subject to late payment charges. • The Minister would be given regulation-making authority to set the minimum tax. it is proposed that the minimum. be set at $50. Municipalities would have the discretion to use this amount or a lower amount. • A partial tax reduction would be permitted where an in•year status change occurs. • Municipalities would be given the means to have monthly tax billing. 3.6.5 User Few There -are now about 80 specific legislative provisions giving authority for muniapat[ties to charge fees for an extensive list of services. These include the Savings and Restructuring Act, 1996 which provides municipalities with_the authority to establish. fees for any municipal service or activity provided these broader user fee pcswers cannot be used to impose a poU.tax, an income tax, a sale.4 tax or any other consumption-related tax.. Tice proposed Act would eliminate all specific user fee provisions in various Acts except those provisions which are currently "deemed" as taxes, hence retaining the municipalities' priority lien status for collection purposes. In addition, trartsitiona! provisions would be provided so that existing by-laws are not affected by this general elimination of powers. This proposed change in user fee is essentially a consolidation exercise, and it does not appear to affect Clarington's ability to impose user fees under the current legislations. REIPORT ~.. afl~nrrr-»~~ Pa~E is 3.t3:6 Business: Improvement Areas B.I.A.) Business improvement Area legislation has been in place in the Municipal :Act since 1970. A Business Improvement Area (BIA) is a self-help mechanism deigned to assistJocal business and retell communities to improve and promote tlieir cx~mmerctiai and shopping districts. The BIA can only be established with the support of the business community and municipal council On January 16, 1997, the Government introduced Bill 11716: The. Fair. Municipal Finance Act, 1997. This. proposed. Act sets out a number of revisions to the BIA legislation that primarily reflect the proposed elimination of the. Business Ocxupancy Tax. In brief, the Act would: • transfer responsibility for payment of the BIA levy from. the business owners/operators to the property owners; • allow both owners and tenants to be appointed to the- BIA .board of management. The proposed Municipal Act would make further changes to: • set out the mandate of the BIA and provide municipalities with the authority to establish, dissolve and grant certain powers to Business Improvement Areas and to apply and coiiect a levy for BtA purposes. Budgeting, operational and procedural aspects of BIAs would beset out in regulations. • .permitting amendments to the boundaries of a BIA allowing for expansion or reduction without requiring that the by-law designating the area be first .repealed.. • clarifying the methods of calculating the BIA levy and permitting minimum and .maximum levies,. when determining the charge. • providing for continuity between councils by allowing the Board of Management to hold office until such time as the new council appoints a new Board. • objections to BIA. by-laws would be made directly to council. Ontario Muniapal Board (OMB) approval of BIA by-laws would not longer be required. The .period for objecting to establishing or changing the _r F~PORT NO.: A~MIN-17-®7 PAGtE 19 boundaries of a BlA would be extended to 45 or 6Q days: (dependent on the nature of the BIA by-law). Where less than one-third of those affected object, or the objectors represent less than one-third of the affected assessment, the municipality would be permitted to pass BIA by-laws.. • those responsible for paying the levy would have an opportunity to voice their support or objection to BIA by-laws, to the make up of the executive body of the organization, and to their annual budget, and to decide whether the BIA continues to have a useful role in their community. .The shave noted changes affect the property owners and businesses operated. within the three (3) BIA areas of the Municipality. Given May 9, being .the deadline date for response to the Ministry, there will not be suffiaent time to solicit comments from the BIA. In any event, we feel that the information regarding the proposed changes should be passed on to them for comments. In the event the. B.I.A.s have any concern or comment, they are encouraged to respond directly to the Minister and to participate in the public meeting process subsequent to the First. Reading of the New Municipal Act. 3.7 Other Changes There are several other changes contemplated in the proposed New Municipal. Act. These Include: 3.7.1 Removal of Tax-free Allowance The proposed Act will remove the tax-free allowance for municipal councillors,. school tnastees and utility commissioners in keeping with. similar provincial initiatives. We have no abjection ro the removal of tax-free allowance provided fhe new Acf does not restrict local Council to make the necessary adjustment to the base salary of the elected officials, similar to the approach taken by the Provincial Government. 4 . R~RT Nt9s AfllallN-17.97 PAti£ 2tf 3.72 C~pgirto a Muni~iRal Name Under the proposed new Act, a municipality can change its name without the need for change in legislation. Councillors are aware that the Municipality of Clanngton has. gone through a fairly cumbersome name change exsrase. AtthauQh the dartge in legislation may not be of assistance to Clanngton, we support the basic principle that the name of a muniapafity is a local issue: 3.7.3 }~soonstbilities of Council and Administration The present Act says little about the responsibilities of the Council nor does ii provide. a clear distinction between the governing powers exerased by >~ Council and the administrative responsibilities of municipal staff. The proposed new Act: wiil spefl out the responsibilities of Council, Read of Council, and municipal administration respectively as follows: A. Responsibilities of Council would be: • representing the residents of the municipality; • developing and evaluating the municipality's policies andprograms • ~suring that there are administrative practices and procedures in place to effectively implement Council's decisions; • maintaining the municpality's financial integrity; and • carrying out other duties set out in the legislation. B. Responsibilities of the head of Council. would be: • providing leadership to the Council; • presiding over Council meetings; • representing Council at official functions; and • carrying out other duties set out in legislation or assigned. by Council. C. Responsibilities of the municipal administration would be: • undertaking research. and providing advice to Counal on the policies and programs of the municipality; • establishing administrative practices and procedures. to carry out Council's decisions; Y t REPURT NO.: ADMiN-77-97 PAGE. 21 • keeping and preserving the records of the munidpality; • administering the financial affairs of the municipality; and • carrying out other duties set out in legislation or assigned by Council The proposed Act would also make it clear that members of Council are not eligible. to be appointed or assigned to administrative positions. In particular the handling of muniapal financial matters must be assigned to a staff person. Defusing the responsibilities of Council and its administration appears to be an attempt to reduce the confusion between the rotes of Council and staff and at the. same time, to protect the integrity and to ensure the aecountebiiity of municipal operation, to this regard, the Municipality of Clarington endorses thisproposed change. 3.7.4 Mina Council Vacancies Existing legislations dealing with this subject matter will be consolidated and standardized for all municipalities. Staff review the proposed rules which do not appear to be any different from those rotes which the Municipality was subject to previously. In this regard, we offer no farther comment on this issue. 8.7.5 Pubh;~Gonsuftation and Notification The proposed Act authorizes municipal Council to establish its own public consultation and notification procedures that it deems appropriate for its own local arcumstances exceptfor those by-laws dealing with financial matters and by-laws passed under the Planning Act. This proposed change will require the municipalities to put in place comprehensive procedures respecting public consultation and notification. - 4ti5 REPORT NO.. ADNIlf~17-97 PAGE 23 We consider docurraer#ing the notice procedure is a reasonable naquirement as long as the new Act does not dictate or specify how local municipality chooses to conduct its own consultation and notification procedures. 3.8 Other Miscellaneous Changes The proposed New Municipal Act also contemplates the following changes: • To remove any uncertainty in current legislations so that. the municipality will. have dear authority to enter onto private property .for the purposes of inspections and by-law enforcements. • To relieve municipalities from nuisance claims associated with failure of municipal water and sewer systems. Claims relating to maintenance of roads and bridges will also be considered for relief. • To continue the validity of all by-Laws passed under the current legislations. 3.9 Other Related Initiatives in addition to the proposed changes to the Municipal Act, the Consultation Paper indicates that discussions are under way for other possible legislative.initiatives that mould :impact the proposed changes. These include: • the possibility of allowing municipalities in regions to amalgamate, change their boundaries or remove a tier of municipal government • consultation on the Farm Practices Protection Act which protects farmers from court action because of odour, noise or dust; and • proposed changes to the Provincial-Municipal relationship irrthe areas of education, financing, social, community, health services, police, financing, property tax assessment, local transportation, emergency services, water and sewer services and libraries, arising from the Who Does What Panel recommendation. At this time, there_is no draft legislation. to detail these initiatives and. therefore the Muniapality of Clarington will reserve its comments. However, the Municipality of Clarington is on record, through its submission on the Greater Toronto Services r M REF~RT NQ.z ADMIN-17.97 PACaE 23 Board, that any restructuring or amalgamation of local governments must be locally driven and supported by the majority of the citizens. In the event legislations are introduced in the New Municipal Act to deal with the issue of municipal restructuring or amalgamation, the Municipality of Clari»gton requested the Minister to include, as a condition of any municipal government restructuring or amalgamation, that such initiative must be voluntary end i»itiated by the particpata-g municipal Council and supported by the majority to the local ckiaens. 4. CONCLUSION: Comments contained herein are general in nature and .are limited to the infom~ion provided in the Consulta#ion Paper. Staff will continue to monitor the development leading to the drafting of the complete new Act. We anticipate the draft New Muniapal Act will encompass at least 200 pages and will contain many details that are not available in the current Consultation Paper which is only 33 pages. In this regard, municipalities must be given further opportunity to comment on the complete draft legislation, Recommended for presentation to the Committee W.H. Stockwell... Chief Administrative Officer ~S'JiP May 7, 1997