Baldwin, Township of

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin to discuss the qualifications of candidates for the municipal works foreman position. The Ombudsman found that as a general practice council did not report back in open session, as council stated that members of the public were not present after an in camera session. The Ombudsman recommended that council publicly report back on in camera discussions despite the fact that members of the public are not usually present.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the council for the Township of Baldwin discuss the qualifications of candidates for the municipal works foreman position. The resolution to proceed in camera only contained the wording of the exception council relied upon to go into closed session and did not provide any meaningful information for the matter that would be considered in the closed session. The Ombudsman recommended that the municipality ensure that resolutions to proceed in camera include as much information as possible, and at the very least provide a general description of the subject matter to be discussed in closed session.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin to discuss the qualifications of individual and identifiable candidates for the municipal works foreman position. The Ombudsman found that it was not clear from the meeting record that all of the discussions during the in camera meeting were captured in the minutes. The Ombudsman recommended that township council keep comprehensive and accurate minutes of meetings and also consider audio recording its closed meetings.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin. The meeting was closed under the labour relations or employee negotiations exception. During the meeting, council voted to select a candidate for the position of municipal works foreman using a secret ballot. Council then directed staff to offer the position to the candidate who received the most votes through the secret ballot process. The Ombudsman found that while voting on a direction to staff is permitted in a closed meeting, this direction came from a secret ballot vote which is a violation of the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin to discuss the qualification of candidates for a staff position. The meeting was closed under the labour relations or employee negotiations exception. Council discussed the applications and the possibility of extending an offer to a potential future employee. The Ombudsman found that the labour relations or employee negotiations exception refers to the collective relationship between an employer and its employees. Therefore, the discussion fit within the labour relations or employee negotiations exception.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin to discuss candidates for the job of municipal works foreman. Council discussed the applications, résumés, work histories, and the possibility of extending an offer to one of the candidates. Individual councillors expressed opinions on which candidate would be best suited for the job and on the candidates’ qualifications. Although the municipality did not rely upon it, the Ombudsman found that council’s discussion fit within the personal matters exception.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin. The Ombudsman found that council did not report back in open session about the in camera discussion. He recommended that the municipality report back publicly to the extent that is appropriate.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin. The Ombudsman found that the resolution to proceed in camera failed to meet the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001. The resolution did not provide a general description of the nature of the subject matter to be discussed in closed session and did not cite a proper closed meeting exception. The Ombudsman noted that publicly identifying what issues will be discussed in a closed session is of fundamental importance to the transparency of local democracy. It is a significant accountability measure to ensure that council only engages in discussions of permitted subjects when in closed session. Failure to comply with the requirements for council resolutions and for closed meeting discussions can result in a loss of public confidence in municipal government.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin. During the meeting, council voted on an open tender using a show of hands. The Ombudsman found that the closed meeting did not fit within any of the open meeting exceptions. Further, the vote was neither procedural nor a direction to staff. Therefore, the vote was improper.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Baldwin. The Ombudsman found that the municipality’s procedure by-law failed to adhere to the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001 in a number of ways, including authorizing council to meet in closed session for reasons beyond the exceptions contained in the Act. The Ombudsman recommended that the municipality update its by-law to require notice for all meetings, properly reflect the Act’s closed meeting exceptions, establish agenda procedures, and require complete and accurate records for all council meetings.