Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008 - (Page 14)

Ottawa, staff took into consideration the best-practice open meeting procedures already in place, such as advertising meetings; publishing agendas and reports seven days in advance of the meeting; disclosing the specific reason for moving in camera and providing ‘reporting out dates’ for confidential reports once decisions have been finalized.” “The legislation will make us more alert and aware of closed sessions and how we report.” O’Connor says Ottawa City Council is looking at still other ways to further expand the City’s transparency. This includes ensuring more reports are made public such as reports about appointments to various agencies, boards, commissions and advisory committees which are routinely drafted as “confidential” for privacy reasons and kept in camera until approved by City Council. “Upon approval, the names of these individuals are made public,” says O’Connor. “While this cautious approach was originally implemented to meet the requirements of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, staff Additional Measures O’Connor says the City of Ottawa already has in place additional transparency measures to ensure that members of the public and the media are aware of the specific reasons why Council is going in closed session. Council also requires staff to provide a “reporting out date” on every confidential report. “The underlying rationale for this is to ensure that as much information as possible, that is no longer required to be kept confidential, is available to members of the public and the media,” says O’Connor. members are now considering obtaining the consent of each individual who applies for one of these positions to release their name publicly upon being referred to committee or Council. Therefore, more than a dozen reports would no longer have to be addressed in closed session by committee or Council.” O’Connor says various other members of senior staff are contemplating alternative measures in order to produce reports that could be addressed in open session, while maintaining confidentiality only on a narrower, “asneeded” basis. Ottawa is one of the largest municipalities in Ontario and O’Connor expects the City may experience a number of complaints which would be better served by a single investigator who can respond to all inquiries in a short period of time and in a uniform manner. Conversely, a smaller municipality may benefit from the resources and the expertise offered by either the LAS service or the Ontario Ombudsman’s office. AMO’s Local Authority Services Limited (LAS) was created in 1992. Nancy Plumridge, President and Secretary-Treasurer of LAS, says it was created to develop and market innovative and cost efficient services to municipal governments. LAS decided to offer the service for several reasons. “It is complementary to our existing suite of municipal programs and services whereby value can be enhanced through group procurement,” says Plumridge. “The LAS program will ensure a consistent standard of service to all participants and LAS believes that this initiative will assist municipalities in demonstrating that they are a mature and accountable order of government, capable of managing their own affairs. LAS also believes it can add an educational component to a degree not possible if municipalities act independently or in small groups, which will serve to enhance transparency and accountability, ultimately reducing the frequency of requests for closed meeting investigations.” March/April 2008 municipal 344074_Giffels.indd 1 14 • MONITOR 9/26/07 8:49:07 PM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008

Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008 Contents President's Message: Stress and Change Viewpoint: Much Ado About Nothing? Covering the Cost: Tapping into Safe, Sustainable Water and Sewage Services Closed Session Investigations: What Do They Mean for Your Municipality? Subtle Sabotage: Female Bullying Trends in the Workplace Water Under the Bridge Municipal Memos Index to Advertisers

Municipal Monitor - March/April 2008

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