Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCLD-003-18Clarftwn Clerk's Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Report To: General Government Committee Date of Meeting: January 2, 2018 Report Number: CLD -003-18 Resolution: GG -026-18 File Number: By-law Number: 2018-002 Report Subject: Bill 68 - Summary of Impact and Proclamation Dates Recommendation: 1. That Report CLD -003-18 be received; and 2. That the draft by-law, Attachment 1 to Report CLD -003-18, be enacted. Option — to consider Electronic Participation in Meetings 3. That staff be directed to report back on implementation requirements, process and any associated costs for electronic participation in Council, Committee and Local Board meetings. Municipality of Clarington Report CLD -003-18 Report Overview Page 2 Bill 68 Modernizing Ontario's Municipal Legislation Act, received Royal Assent on May 30, 2017, and is now law in Ontario. This Bill makes several changes to various provincial acts governing municipalities. This Report provides a brief summary of the changes and the respective dates on which the changes come into force. 1. Background Bill 68, a bill entitled "Modernizing Ontario's Municipal Legislation Act, 2017", received Royal Assent on May 30, 2017. A phased approach to the proclamation of Bill 68 has been confirmed, which would bring some of the legislative amendments into force on January 1, 2018, while other amendments will not come into force until March 1, 2019. The changes made through Bill 68 that will come into force on January 1, 2018, include provisions respecting small business programs, open meetings, and other provisions. The second proclamation date is March 1, 2019, and will bring into force changes to municipal accountability and transparency framework that include provisions respecting codes of conduct, integrity commissioner, conflict of interest, mandatory policies and other provisions. 2. Discussion 2.1 Changes to be implemented effective January 1, 2018 2.1.1 Definition of a Meeting The definition of "meeting" in subsection 238(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001 (the "Act") will be repealed and the following substituted: "meeting" means any regular, special or other meeting of a council, of a local board or of a committee of either of them, where (a) a quorum of members is present, and (b) members discuss or otherwise deal with any matter in a way that materially advances the business of a decision-making of the council, local board or committee. The purpose of this revised definition is to clarify the ambiguity of what constitutes a meeting, and thereby clarify the scope of applicability of a municipal procedure by-law. It is recommended that the definition of "meeting" currently included in the Clarington Procedural By-law 2015-029 be deleted and replaced with the new definition contained in the Act. Attachment 1 to this report, being the recommended amending by-law, includes this proposed amendment. Municipality of Clarington Report CLD -003-18 Page 3 2.1.2 In -camera / Closed Meeting Exceptions Bill 68 provides for further exemptions to the rule that Council, Committee and Local Boards must meet in open session. According to the AMCTO Meetings Backgrounder of September 2017, these additional exemptions were included in response to municipal stakeholder feedback to meet the current needs including the need to deal with the current level of complexity of municipal business and the need for a clear legal basis for conducting a closed meeting. As well, these new exceptions provide for greater consistency between the provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Prior to these Bill 68 changes, there was some uncertainty as to whether information that is subject to the privacy provisions of MFIPPA was susceptible to disclosure at Council meetings. The new provisions will provide Council with some degree of added flexibility and greater clarity with respect to Council's discretion to conduct a closed meeting. Under the amendments the manner of moving into closed session and process of rising and reporting following a closed session will remain unchanged, as does the presumption that meetings will be open to the public unless otherwise stated. The new exceptions to section 239 of the Act, the open meeting requirement, in addition to the seven that are currently contained in the Act, are as follows: Exceptions (2) A meeting or part of a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter being considered is, (h) information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them; (i) a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization; (j) a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality or local board and has monetary value or potential monetary value; or (k) a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board. Municipality of Clarington Report CLD -003-18 Page 4 Section 4.7.1 of Clarington's Procedural By-law 2015-029 refers to sub -section 239(2) of the Act but does not specifically list the exceptions to the open meeting requirement. The Procedural By-law as currently written can therefore accommodate these changes to the Provincial legislation. 2.1.3 Electronic Participation at Meetings Bill 68 expressly permits Council/Local Board to provide, in the Procedural By-law, that a member of Council, of a local board or of a committee of either of them, can participate electronically in a meeting which is open to the public. The member will not be counted in determining whether or not a quorum of members is present at any point in time and members may not participate electronically in closed meetings. Clarington's current Procedural By-law does not provide for electronic participation Should Council wish to consider amending the Procedural By-law to provide for electronic participation, it is recommended that direction be given to Staff to report back with recommendations for implementation measures and any other pertinent information that would assist Council to make a decision. 2.1.4 Reporting Back on Closed -Meeting Investigations Under the new requirements of Bill 68, following a closed meeting investigation by the Municipality's Closed Meeting Investigator, if Council (or a local board as the case may be) receives a report from the Closed Meeting Investigator, Council must pass a resolution stating how it intends to address the report. For example, if the report of the Closed Meeting Investigator identified deficiencies in process, Council may consider passing a resolution that describes how they would overcome the deficiencies. In response to this new legislative requirement, the Municipality's administrative procedure, which details the process for processing Closed Meeting Compliance Investigations, will be amended to expressly state the obligation of Council to pass a resolution stating how it intends to address the findings in a report from the Closed Meeting Investigator. 2.1.5 Appointment of Alternate Member to Upper Tier Council There is existing authority in Section 267 of the Act for Council to appoint an alternate to substitute for a Regional Councillor who is unable to fulfil their duties for a period in excess of one month. Such appointments can be made on a case-by-case basis as the need arises. In addition to the powers of appointment under Section 267, Bill 68 has added new provisions to Section 268 that give additional authority for Council to appoint a substitute Regional Councillor. Pursuant to the newly enacted Section 268, Council may identify one (and only one) of its local Councillors to serve as an alternate to Regional Council when either of the two Regional Councillors, or the Mayor is unable to attend a meeting of Regional Council for any reason. The purpose and scope of the newly enacted Section 268 is not yet altogether clear, but staff have tentatively concluded that such an appointment may be useful and appropriate in situations where there is a short-term (ie. one month or less) non-availability of a Regional Municipality of Clarington Report CLD -003-18 Page 5 Councillor. In the draft By-law attached to this Report, staff propose that the Procedural By- law be amended to include the optional appointment of an individual local Councillor as a part of the business during the first meeting of a new term of Council, similar to the appointment of a Deputy Mayor. It would be the responsibility of this Councillor to substitute for the absence of a Regional Councillor in the circumstances of a short-term absence, and the term of the appointment would be for the duration of the term of Council, unless replaced sooner. The rationale for this staff recommendation is that it would provide for Clarington to maintain its representation on Regional Council in the event of an absence of one of the Clarington Regional Councillors. For clarity, the appointment of alternate Regional Councillors is not mandatory. It is at the discretion of Council as to whether or not to accept the proposed amendment to the Procedural By-law, and whether or not to appoint an alternate Regional Councillor pursuant to Section 268 of the Act. In late December, 2017 Regional Council considered Report #2017 -COW -289, Recommended Actions related to: Bill 68 — Modernizing Ontario's Municipal Legislation Act, 2017, and approved the Temporary Replacement — Alternate Members of Regional Council Policy which is attached to this report as Attachment 2. This Regional Policy details the process for how a designated alternate notifies the Region, their powers and duties as an alternate, clarifies any discrepancies should both the Member and an alternate attend the same meeting, and speaks to remuneration and legal expense indemnification. Should Clarington Council choose to appoint an alternate, the Regional Policy would apply to the designated alternate. 2.1.6 Other noteworthy amendments that come into force as of January 1, 2018 include: x Regulations regarding small business counselling; and x A requirement that, following the regular election in 2018 and every second regular election afterwards, a regional municipality shall review the proportion of Regional Councillors from each of its constituent area municipalities to determine if any adjustments would be appropriate. 2.2 Changes to be implemented for March 1, 2019 A number of provisions included in Bill 68 will come into force on March 1, 2019, after the next term of Council has begun, including the following: x Mandatory requirements to adopt a Code of Conduct for council, its committees, and local boards, including new regulations governing the contents of the Codes of Conduct. The regulations have not yet been prescribed. Staff will continue to monitor the situation and review any proposed regulations that are released by the Province with a view to identify any amendments that may be needed to the existing Code of Conduct for Clarington Council. x Mandatory appointment of an Integrity Commissioner to investigate alleged breaches of the Codes of Conduct and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act for by Councillors and members of local boards. Currently, Clarington's Integrity Commissioner's authority is limited to Council and does not include local boards. Municipality of Clarington Report CLD -003-18 Page 6 x requirement that all alleged conflicts of interest be supplied in a written form, and that all written submissions are recorded in a public registry. x The mandatory adoption of policies to provide for several matters including: o The manner in which the municipality will preserve its tree canopy and natural vegetation; o The relationship between Council and officers/employees of the municipality; and o Parental leave for members of Council. Staff will report further on the impact of these provisions prior to the effective date of the requirements in 2019. In addition to the changes detailed in this Report, there are further amendments to the Act for which declared date of proclamation has yet to be named. These include provisions related to regulations to expand the scope of eligible investment tools available to the municipality, property taxes, tax collection, and tax sales. Staff will report on these provisions when more information is available from the Province. 3. Concurrence Not Applicable 4. Conclusion It is respectfully recommended that Council enact the draft by-law attached to this Report as Attachment 1 to amend the Procedural By-law to replace the definition of a meeting, and to provide for the appointment of an alternate Regional Councillor. It is further recommended that Council provide direction to staff as to whether or not to proceed to identify implementation requirements for electronic Council, Committee and Local Board meetings. 5. Strategic Plan Application Not applicable. Municipality of Clarington Report CLD -003-18 Submitted by: C. Anne Greentree, B.A., CMO, Municipal Clerk Page 7 Reviewed by: Andrew C. Allison, B. Comm, LL.B CAO Staff Contact: Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk, 905-623-3379 or agreentree@clarington.net There are no interested parties to be notified of Council's decision. Attachments: Attachment 1 — Draft Amendment to By-law 2015-029 Attachment 2 — Region of Durham Policy - Temporary Replacement — Alternate Members of Regional Council Policy Municipality of Clarington Attachment 1 to Report CLD -003-18 The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington By-law 2017 - Being a by-law to amend Procedural By-law 2015-029 WHEREAS Ontario Bill 68 makes certain amendments amends to the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, AND WHEREAS the Council of the Municipality of Clarington has considered the legislative effects of the Bill 68 amendments and deems it appropriate to revise certain provisions of its Procedural By-law 2015-029. Now therefore the Council of the Municipality of Clarington hereby enacts as follows: That Section 1.2 of By-law 2015-029, being the Procedural By-law, is amended by striking out the definition of "meeting" and substituting with the following: "meeting" means any regular, special or other meeting of a council, of a local board or of a committee of either of them, where (a) a quorum of members is present, and (b) members discuss or otherwise deal with any matter in a way that materially advances the business of a decision-making of the council, local board or committee. 2. That By-law 2015-029, being the Procedural By-law, is further amended by deleting heading 3.2 and substituting for it the following: 3.2 Appointment of Deputy Mayor and Alternate Regional Councillor 3. That By-law 2015-029, being the Procedural By-law, is further amended by adding to it, immediately following Section 3.2.2, the following section: 3.2.3 At the first meeting of a new term of Council, or at any subsequent meeting the Council considers it appropriate, Council may appoint one of its members as an alternate member of the upper -tier council, to act in place of a person who is a member of the councils of the local municipality and its upper -tier municipality, when the person is unable to attend a meeting of the upper -tier council for any reason. Municipality of Clarington Implementation Attachment 1 to Report CLD -003-18 4. This amending By-law shall come into full force and effect on the date of enactment. Passed this 15th day of January, 2018. Adrian Foster, Mayor C. Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk CORPORATE SERVICES- LEGISLATIVE SERVICES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL Date Originated: January 1, 2018 Revision Date: Authority/Reference: Council/Regional Clerk Subject: Temporary Replacement — Alternate Members of Regional Council 1.0 Purpose: 1.1 To outline the policies and procedures with respect to Alternate Members of Regional Council, if appointed by the lower -tier municipalities. 2.0 Definitions: 2.1 "Regional Council Member" means a member duly elected to a lower -tier council and to Regional council in The Regional Municipality of Durham. 2.2 "Lower -Tier Council Member" means a member duly elected to the council of a lower -tier municipality within The Regional Municipality of Durham. 2.3 "Alternate Council Member" means a Lower -Tier Council Member who has been appointed by the lower -tier council to act as a substitute member on Regional council when another member of that lower -tier Council is unable to attend a Regional council meeting. 3.0 Background: 3.1 The Municipal Act Subsection 268 (1) allows that the council of a local municipality may appoint one of its Lower -Tier Council Members as an Alternate Council Member, to act in place of a person who is a member of the councils of the local municipality and its upper -tier municipality, when the person is unable to attend a meeting of the upper -tier council for any reason. This subsection does not authorize the appointment of more than one Alternate Council Member during the term of council, or the appointment by the local municipality of an alternate head of council of the upper -tier municipality. 4.0 Policy: 4.1 Each of the eight local area municipalities of Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge, and Whitby, may choose to appoint one (1) of their local councillors to act as an Alternate Council Member should one of their CORPORATE SERVICES- LEGISLATIVE SERVICES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL regional councillors be unable to attend a Regional Council meeting. Alternate Council Member attendance is limited to Regional Council meetings only. 4.2 In accordance with the Act, only one Alternate Council Member is to be appointed by each area municipality. The Alternate Council Member would be appointed for the entire term of Council. Should the seat of the Alternate Council Member become vacant, then the municipality may appoint another member to act as the Alternate Council Member to Regional Council. The area municipal Clerk will notify the Regional Clerk if an Alternate Council Member has been appointed and provide the Regional Clerk with a copy of the Alternate Council Member's oath of office. 4.3 Alternate Council Members may only substitute when a Regional Council Member from their area municipality is unable to attend a meeting, substitutions for part of a meeting will not be permitted. 4.4 If more than one member is absent from a lower -tier municipality, the alternate may only substitute for one of the absent members from their municipality. 4.5 This policy applies to short-term substitutions only such as when a member must be absent for a Council meeting for any reason (planned or unforeseen). Section 267 of the Act may also apply and is a provision the area municipality may consider for longer-term absences. 5.0 Procedure re Notification: 5.1 When a Regional Council Member knows that they will not be able to attend a Regional Council meeting and that their municipality's Alternate Council Member will be attending in their place, they should attempt to notify the Regional Clerk, in writing, as soon as possible prior to the meeting. Written notification may be sent to clerks@durham.ca. The Clerk of the area municipality may also send notification on behalf of the Regional Council Member subject to their municipality's procedures, if any. 5.2 The Region is not responsible for notifying Alternate Council Members that they are expected to be in attendance. Regional Council Members should refer to their area municipality's procedures, if any, in this regard. 5.3 It is understood that unforeseen circumstances may arise when a Regional Council Member is unable to send notification prior to the meeting that an Alternate Council Member will be attending in their place. When notification has not been received by the Regional Clerk prior to the meeting, an Alternate CORPORATE SERVICES- LEGISLATIVE SERVICES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL Council Member may advise the Clerk, or the Clerk's representative, at the meeting that they are acting as a substitute for a Regional Council Member. 6.0 Powers/Duties of the Alternate Council Member: 6.1 While in attendance at a Regional Council meeting, the Alternate Council Member will have all of the same powers and duties as a Regional Council Member e.g. may move motions and vote. The Alternate Council Member must adhere to all applicable policies and procedures that apply to Regional Council Members while in attendance at a meeting e.g. the Region's Procedural By-law and Council Code of Conduct. 6.2 The Alternate Council Member will only have the same powers and duties of a Regional Council Member during the meeting they are attending. Prior to, or after the meeting, the Alternate Council Member cannot submit agenda items such as notices of motion, or pull items from the Region's Council Information Package for inclusion on an upcoming Agenda. 7.0 Administrative Matters: 7.1 The Regional Clerk's office will maintain a record of the names of the Alternate Council Members appointed by each lower -tier municipality, as provided by the lower -tier municipal clerk. 7.2 The minutes of Regional Council meetings will reflect when a Regional Council Member is absent and that a named Alternate Council Member attended in their place. 7.3 Alternate Council Members may access the Region's Council agenda package via the web at www.durham.ca or may request a paper copy from the Clerk. Confidential agenda material will only be provided to the Alternate Council Member upon the Regional Clerk being advised that the alternate member will be attending the meeting, or upon attendance at the meeting if notice is not provided. 7.4 The Region will make every attempt to prepare for the attendance of an Alternate Council Member provided that sufficient notice is given. Preparation may include updating the name plates in Council Chambers; provision of a paper copy of the Agenda, including any confidential material to be discussed at the meeting in advance of the meeting; and a mileage expense form. CORPORATE SERVICES- LEGISLATIVE SERVICES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL 7.5 Alternate Council Members will receive mileage compensation at the approved corporate rate from the Region for attendance at a meeting. As attendance as an Alternate Council Member is seen as fulfilling part of the duties as a Lower -Tier Council Member, no further compensation from the Region will be provided. 7.6 Once appointed, Alternate Council Members will receive a copy of the Region's Procedural By-law and may also request a brief orientation session from the Clerk. 8.0 Discrepancies: 8.1 If a discrepancy should arise where a Regional Council Member and an Alternate Council Member are both in attendance at the start of a meeting, the Regional Council Member shall assume their role at the meeting. Regardless of whether the Alternate Council Member is under the belief that they are attending on the Regional Council Member's behalf, they will not be permitted to act in the capacity as Alternate Council Member when the Regional Council Member is in attendance, but may attend the meeting as a public spectator only. 8.2 Once the determination has been made that an Alternate Council Member is attending on a Regional Council Member's behalf, the Alternate Council Member shall remain on behalf of the Regional Council Member for the duration of the meeting, regardless of whether the Regional Council Member shows up. The Alternate Council Member will be noted as the member in attendance for the entire meeting and the Regional Council Member may attend the meeting as a public spectator only. 9.0 Legal Expense Indemnification 9.1 An Alternate Council Member member will only be considered a Regional Council Member during attendance at a Regional Council meeting. At all other times they will be considered as a private citizen for the purposes of the Region's Legal Expense Indemnification Policy. The Alternate Council Member would not be entitled to Legal Expense Indemnification from the Region for any statutory prosecution or disciplinary proceeding brought against them, unless such action is the result of an incident that occurred during the Alternate Council Member acting in good faith, in the course of their duties, at a Regional Council meeting, if during such time they were acting as an Alternate Council Member member of Regional Council.