Tehkummah, Township of

The Ombudsman reviewed two meetings held by council for the Township of Tehkummah. During the meeting, it was alleged that the doors to the municipal building where the meeting was being held were locked and remained locked until the meeting was over. The Ombudsman was not provided with any evidence that could substantiate the allegation that the doors were locked. The Ombudsman noted that in future, the municipality should take steps to develop a clear policy on when the doors to the municipal building are locked and train its staff accordingly.

The Ombudsman reviewed a special meeting held by council for the Township of Tehkummah. Through inadvertence, the municipality failed to post notice of a special meeting in accordance with the procedure by-law. The Ombudsman wrote to remind the municipality of its obligations under the open meeting rules.

The Ombudsman reviewed a meeting of council for the Township of Tehkummah. Notice of the meeting was provided one day prior and stated that it was an emergency meeting. The Ombudsman found that the municipality failed to provide proper notice of the meeting since the procedure by-law required notice be posted at the municipal office two days prior to a meeting. The Ombudsman also found that the procedure by-law was silent on the calling of emergency meetings.

The Ombudsman reviewed a meeting of council for the Township of Tehkummah. During the closed session, the clerk left the meeting room, and no closed meeting minutes were taken. The Ombudsman found that the municipality failed to fulfill its statutory obligation to record council’s proceedings. The Ombudsman recommended that the township ensure that both open and closed session minutes are kept of all meetings of council, local boards, and committees. The Ombudsman also recommended that meeting records are complete and accurately reflect all of the substantive and procedural items that were discussed, and that meetings are audio and/or video recorded.

The Ombudsman reviewed a meeting of council for the Township of Tehkummah, relying on the personal matters exception to discuss an ongoing third-party workplace investigation relating to an employee. Council’s discussion centered on the employment status of an identifiable staff member. While not cited by the township, the Ombudsman found that the discussion fit within the labor relations exception.

The Ombudsman reviewed a meeting of council for the Township of Tehkummah, relying on the personal matters exception to discuss an ongoing third-party workplace investigation relating to an employee. During the discussion, council deliberated about whether the best course of action would be to suspend the staff member pending the completion of the workplace investigation. The Ombudsman found that a discussion to change employment status or job performance of an individual staff member constitutes personal information. Accordingly, the discussion fit within the personal matters exceptions.

The Ombudsman reviewed five closed meetings held by council for the Township of Tehkummah. The Ombudsman noted that the resolutions to proceed in camera did not clearly state the subject matter to be discussed in closed session, which is contrary to the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001. Simply citing the closed meeting exception is not sufficient. The Ombudsman noted that to ensure that the resolution to proceed in camera maximizes the information available to the public, the municipality should include in its resolutions a brief description of the topic to be discussed. Doing so provides meaningful information to the public about the issues to be discussed in camera and inspires confidence that the meeting has been properly closed for a legitimate purpose.

The Ombudsman reviewed five closed meetings held by council for the Township of Tehkummah. The Ombudsman identified several best practices to enhance the accountability and transparency of council meetings. The Ombudsman stated that keeping complete and accurate minutes of closed session meetings ensures that members of the public feel confident that matters dealt with in closed session were appropriate for in camera discussion, and that the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001 and procedure by-law have been followed. Similarly, fulsome open meeting minutes allow members of the public who were unable to attend council meetings to understand how and why council reached certain decisions.