Mayor DiCarlo confirmed that it was a Board decision to provide a cheap silver retirement badge to Sgt. Jim Saxon and he did anticipate it might be an issue. Nothing changed.
Two sets of badges were ordered – one in silver for all retiring officers in 2013/2014 and another in gold for everyone but Sgt. Saxon.
As of November 18, 2014, APSB members were John Sutton, Frank Cleminson, Pauline Gemmell and Wayne Hurst.
Also posted to bullyinginpolicing.com on the saxon page.
theburgwatch inquiry to Mayor DiCarlo was for the number of times in each of the past two years that Windsor Police has had to utilize specialty units in the town of Amherstburg. (November 26)
Mayor DiCarlo: The appropriate avenue to get that information is through a written inquiry sent to the Windsor Police Freedom of Information Coordinator, Shelley Gray. I have copied her on this email. (November 28)
theburgwatch: Given recent emails, i thought you were the appropriate person, “I follow up with all taxpayer requests for information wherever and however possible. I also follow up with the media in the same way.”
How disappointing that requests for information require formal requests; maybe a new policy is required to increase transparency? (November 28)
related posts:
Windsor Police Requires FOI Request – Telephone Survey
Windsor Police Proposal Requires FOI Application
I hoped the Windsor Police Service would disclose the survey questions put to residents via phone but, once again, Windsor Police requires a formal FOI request.
theburgwatch requested a copy of the Windsor Police Service survey questions to post here. (November 12)
WPS: The survey is now complete, and no further phone calls from the initiative are anticipated. If you do still seek the questions, I would refer you to LEGER – as they conducted the survey. (November 16)
LEGER has not responded. i would like a copy of any Request for Tenders, quotes, etc. for the Windsor Police Survey, as well as a copy of the purchase order/contract with LEGER for the same. thank you. (November 26)
WPS: In order for you to move forward with the below inquiries, I would direct you to a Freedom of Information Request. Step-by-step information on how to proceed with such a request is available on our website at: https://www.police.windsor.on.ca/services/info-requests/Pages/Freedom-of-Information.aspx (November 27)
related post: Windsor Police Proposal Requires FOI Application
The Town of Amherstburg has disclosed further records following the Information and Privacy Commissioner Ontario ORDER MO-3934-I regarding the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act request to the town for correspondence regarding the police costing from the town’s CAO and his staff to the OPP.
The IPC Adjudicator’s Analysis and Finding were:
(27) I find that the town’s search was not reasonable, and I will order it to conduct a new search.
(28). I am persuaded by the appellant’s argument that the electronic search was too narrow and that it ought to have included the EA’s email address. The town does not dispute that the scope of the request included the CAO’s staff and it has explained that the CAO has only one staff member. While I acknowledge that the town stands by the reasonableness of the search, it has not provided a sufficient explanation for why no electronic search was undertaken of the EA’s email.
(29). I further acknowledge that the town takes the position that the electronic search was only complementary to the paper-based search. However, the town has also emphasized that both components of the search are important. To that end, in this case, I have concluded that it is in fact because the town itself relies on the electronic component of the search that the omission of the EA’s email from the search renders the search incomplete.
(30) I am also persuaded that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that there ought to be additional records. Using the content of the records that were disclosed to her in this appeal, the appellant has established a reasonable basis that additional records ought to exist. Further, the appellant has possession of responsive records that have not been disclosed by the town in this appeal. Although it had the opportunity to do so, the town has not provided an explanation for this fact.
The town requested an extension of the August 10, 2020 deadline as it had commenced the additional searches, which yielded a large volume of records that required review; and there had been some delays in completing the additional searches due to demands on staff time because of emergency declarations for COVID-19 and flooding.
Nicholas Renaud’s affidavit states, in part, he conducted the search and provided 24,223 records for review. Kevin Fox’s affidavit states, in part, the IT Division provided 24,223 emails for review that he manually reviewed.
Paula Parker, the town’s FOI Coordinator, states three further records were disclosed: M-2018-16 Decision theburgwatch.com copy. note: format originated from the town.
An Order will be issued.
Related posts:
Town of Amherstburg Ordered to Conduct Further Records Search
Nine years ago, the burg watch premiered to create a permanent record of Amherstburg town council’s performance and to remind voters about some of the actions elected officials undertook on behalf of taxpayers.
In 2014, the burg watch created another historic first when it facilitated ratepayers’ questions to the then-candidates for municipal election and re-election. Hot topics emerged like policing costs, tourism and the town’s financial situation.
It also became noticeable how informed/uninformed the candidates were, depending on answers or if answers were even provided.
Early posts noted council’s Municipal Act contravention following the Ombudsman Review Of Closed Meetings, flip flops and a lack of commitment to accessibility.
In 2018, posts once again referenced an Ombudsman’s Report of council’s and the JPAC’s contravention regarding in camera meetings on the Policing RFP and council’s decision to choose Windsor Police Service without obtaining an OPP costing as promised.
In 2020, posts mentioned a lack of transparency and accountability, a lack of commitment to accessibility and what seems to be an ongoing issue, requests for information – informal and formal, all of which encompasses transparency.
Thank you to those who support the burg watch.
In response to the RTT article, ‘County will not endorse Amherstburg’s request for AODA website compliance’ letter by Linda Saxon as published on November 4, 2020.
I appreciate Essex County Council not endorsing the town’s request.
Is COVID a convenient excuse?
For eighteen years, since September 2002, I appeared before town council and the town’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, emailed the town’s IT Department, wrote letters to the editor and appeared before the provincial Standing Committee on Justice Policy regarding the need for an accessible town website. The Manager of Information Technology assured me twice that a new website was being launched and would comply with web accessibility standards and informed council the site was standard compliant in July 2007. I provided site check results indicating the site failed minimum standards in June 2008 and in January 2009 after the launch of the newly designed site.
I served on the Essex County Website Redesign Committee when the county launched its redesigned site in 2014. Why did Amherstburg wait until 2016 to hire the same web design company? And, in the four years since, what is the town’s excuse for non-compliance? Obviously, it isn’t COVID.
The Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee should have also ‘vehemently’ opposed the town’s resolution that was distributed to all other municipalities in the province.
Most disappointing was that council members placated administration when the question on behalf of the community they serve should have been, why are we not compliant by now?
Although the report to council claims COVID is the reason, administration explained at the council meeting that it was due to third parties. I guess no one on council realized the town is also responsible for third party vendors because no one commented.
From the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, nothing in the legislation prevents a community from implementing accessibility earlier than deadlines that were carefully considered and allowed for plenty of time to comply. It is shameful that the town requested an extension when it was aware of the compliance deadline for years; certainly, for longer than COVID has existed.
Related posts:
Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Recommendation.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Resolution
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Vote
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Follow Up Questions to Council
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Circulation of Resolution
Amherstburg requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Third Party Vendors
Councillor Patricia Simone asked if it was possible to get assistance from a third party that deals specifically with websites; if it was possible to potentially get a quote and then weigh that against the time staff would need to be in compliance. (September 14, 2020 council meeting discussion).
The Town of Amherstburg’s website is already designed by a third party, eSolutions (stated at the bottom of the town’s site).
Other third parties:
Wired Solutions
Next ideas
Cinnamon Toast New Media Inc.
Bang the Table Pty Ltd. for the Town of Amherstburg’s TALK THE BURG.
CAO Miceli and town clerk, Paula Parker, also referred to third party vendors during council’s discussion regarding non-compliance. Miceli referenced third party vendors that the town hosts on its own website; Parker mentioned the town has some third party vendors who are responsible for such things as the tourism website, the fire website is another one that is third party.
Email request for information
Ms. Parker’s response to my request for information regarding third party vendors for the town’s website was:
There are a number of third party vendors providing services to the Town in a variety of manners and a review by Town staff is ongoing as to redundancy, duplication and contract terms/conditions. While this review is underway and not yet complete, I cannot at this time provide a thorough list. A report is expected to be available in 2021 with suggestions from Administration for efficiencies in service delivery and a streamlined approach to web content delivery.
FOI request for information
Ms. Parker sought clarification. Ms. Parker was advised, the wording was based on the wording CAO Miceli and she used at the September 14, 2020 town council meeting when both referred to the town’s website non-compliance of the accessibility standard due to third party vendors.
Ms. Parker then issued two decision letters:
more to follow.
Related posts:
Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Recommendation.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Resolution
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Vote
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Follow Up Questions to Council
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Circulation of Resolution
The River Town Times reports that on Wednesday October 21, Essex County council voted to not endorse the town of Amherstburg’s Resolution.
In a letter to county council, the Essex County Accessibility Advisory Committee (ECAAC) stated, “The ECAAC does not support the resolution from the Town of Amherstburg, but also vehemently opposes any extensions to this deadline for compliance.”
“The members of the ECAAC noted that “fifteen years is long enough to take the necessary steps in achieving website compliance” and “not only does this request undermine the legislation as it stands, but also sends a message that meeting accessibility standards is not important”.
Kingsville Deputy Mayor Good Queen spoke against the resolution and Amherstburg Deputy Mayor Leo Meloche, in the absence of Mayor DiCarlo, offered an explanation.
View the discussion at county council meeting.
More to follow.
Related posts:
Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Recommendation.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Resolution
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Vote
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Follow Up Questions to Council
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Circulation of Resolution
The town of Amherstburg circulated its September 14, 2020 Resolution to The Right Honourable Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility and cc: The Right Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, The Association of Municipalities of Ontario and All Ontario Municipalities.
As of this writing, five of the other 443 municipalities endorsed and supported The Town of Amherstburg’s resolution related to the website compliance deadline extension.
The letter as it appeared on the Town of Essex Agenda: CORRESPONDENCE – Town of Amherstburg Resolution RE AODA Website Compliance Extension Request.
More to follow.
Related posts: Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Recommendation.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Resolution
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Vote
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – Follow Up Questions to Council
Members of Amherstburg town council were asked to provide the reasons for voting in favour of the Resolution on September 14, 2020.
The following responded.
Councillor Michael Prue: Please view the tape or the video. I was very passionate about why this should not be done. If this is not possible call me.
Councillor Patricia Simone: After reading the report provided in the agenda, discussion with administration and staff and research I conducted before the meeting.
Follow up question: What kind of research did you conduct and would you cite the sources you relied on to reach your decision?
No response.
Councillor Donald McArthur: I voted the way I did because I believe the extension request was earnest and made in good faith by staff, who are diligent, dedicated and hard-working.
As the report to Council makes clear, the Town’s robust response to the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on operations and established work plans.
“The work plan to address website accessibility did not anticipate the interruptions and redeployments caused by the declared pandemic, COVID-19,” said the report. “The demands of addressing the emergency declaration have devoted key resources away from other projects to ensure the safety of the community and staff, continued operations and new procedural changes to how the municipality ensures the provision of its services during a pandemic.”
Follow up question: regarding your comment at the meeting that amherstburg is not the only one of the 444 municipalities asking for this extension: would you know the numbers or names of those other municipalities?
McArthur: I based my comments off the report: ‘The Town of Amherstburg is not alone in finding it difficult to meet this timeline. Other municipalities have stated that they understand they may not be able to meet this target, especially given that there have been no funding announcements from the provincial government.’
Related posts: Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Recommendation.
Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Resolution
Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Vote
More to follow.
On September 14, 2020, the following members of Amherstburg town council voted in favour of the Resolution to request the province to extend the compliance deadline ‘to meet the compliance standards, by a minimum of one (1) year to at least January 1, 2022.’
A discussion was held and is summarized below; disclaimer – this is not an official transcript.
Councillor Michael Prue spoke first and recalled his involvement with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) enacted in 2005. Prue wondered if they were doing the right thing to attempt to delay the website when the town has known since 2005 it had to be done and since the 2011 schedule saying it had to be done in 2020. He didn’t think they were doing a service to persons with disabilities or that it was in the municipality’s best interest.
Paula Parker, town clerk, agreed they were aware of the deadline for some time but COVID became a priority and they requested the extension to prevent the order or fines if they are non-compliant.
Councillor Michael Prue responded to Paula Parker: he didn’t understand why they would need a year extension when they only lost 5 months.
Councillor Donald McArthur disagreed and thought it was a bit of a cry for help from staff and that they should listen; that they’re not the only one of the 444 municipalities asking for this extension and he thought it was reasonable in light of COVID.
Councillor Patricia Simone asked about the possibility of a third party that deals specifically with websites and weigh that against staff time needed to be in compliance.
CAO MICELI mentioned Kevin Fox advised they can’t comply because of third party vendors and their information and those parties don’t follow the same rules.
Councillor Peter Courtney would support the extension on advice of administration and hope they have some compassion for them and hope the town doesn’t face any consequence.
Councillor Michael Prue asked if the matter went before the disability committee and wondered what people think of the town not meeting the deadline.
Councillor Marc Renaud, council’s representative on the Accessibility Advisory Committee, remained silent.
Paula Parker responded that it had been dealt with by the committee on a number of occasions and believed most recently at the end of last year. Parker responded to Courtney’s comments and pointed out the town’s website does meet the WCAG level 2.0 not only single A but double A. Parker mentioned the problem is with PDFs and some third party vendors who are responsible for such things as the tourism website and the fire website.
Councillor Michael Prue acknowledged the consensus but wasn’t sure if politically it was wise.
Deputy Mayor Leo Meloche agreed they need to get this done and mentioned part of the problem for years is administration puts in requests for help and council denies and they all just have two hands and can’t do the work of 4.
More to follow.
Related posts: Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Recommendation.
Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Resolution
The following was included in the report to council for its September 14, 2020 meeting:
It is recommended that:
More to follow.
Related: Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension.
Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension – The Recommendation.
That the municipality requests the province of Ontario to extend the website compliance deadline to at least January 1, 2022 and that the province of Ontario consider providing funding support and training resources to meet these compliance standards.
The report for council’s September 24 meeting is not a status update; it is a request, 3 months in advance of the compliance deadline, for an extension to 15 months from now.
COVID-19/the pandemic is the most obvious reason for the recommendation and it is referenced nine times in the report:
RISK ANALYSIS did not acknowledge the historical disadvantage of persons with disabilities. While the report mentioned administration will continue in its efforts to comply, the risk was relative to hypothetical consequences to the town: If non-compliant; can require; If this is the case; suggests that it cannot comply; may still enforce its timelines; there may be financial implications.
FINANCIAL MATTERS did not specify a dollar amount of hardship, given the reliance on how “COVID-19 has impacted the finances and other resources of the municipality.” Instead, it was noted the town might face financial implications in the form of administrative penalties or increased expenses in trying to meet the required standards after an order to comply. There was no mention of the AODA procedure relative to an Order.
CONSULTATIONS listed three staff; there was no mention of public consultations of ratepayers that pay for the town’s website or their thoughts on financial priorities for the community.
Council voted in favour of the resolution.
More to follow.
Related: Town of Amherstburg Requests Website Compliance Deadline Extension.
Difficulties arose when I tried to tune in to today’s meeting of the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAAC).
The September 24, 2020 AAAC meeting was advertised on the last page of this week’s River Town Times along with other meetings. A notation at the bottom includes text under the heading, Electronic Meeting Link http://www.amherstburg.ca/livestream.
I copied and pasted it but the link was invalid, as verified by a google search:
Your search – http://www.amherstburg.ca/livestreamRecycleYardWasteNorthZone519-736-0012 • http://www.www.amherstburg.ca 271 Sandwich St. South, Amherstburg, Ontario did not match any documents.
It would be so much easier for everyone to access the meetings on the town’s website if the video link was placed right next to the meeting, which it wasn’t. After navigating through a couple of links too many, I emailed Kevin Fox, Committee Co-ordinator, who advised, The livestream for all town meetings is unchanged and remains http://www.amherstburg.ca/livestream.
It turns out the meeting was on zoom and there were technical difficulties with audio cutting out for several minutes and video disappearing.
Most annoying was the sound as though someone was constantly tapping on a microphone.
Most disappointing was that one member used the outdated “handicap accessible signs.”
Most frustrating was that members did not identify themselves prior to speaking when only audio was available. Also, I couldn’t find any listed accommodations for persons who are deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing.
The three Independent Reviewers of the AODA demand immediate government action on the serious hardships facing people with disabilities in yesterday’s landmark guest column in the Toronto Star.
From the AODA Alliance: Please email Premier Doug Ford today. Write him at premier@ontario.ca Urge him to immediately act on the recommendations in this guest column. Tell him that Ontario desperately needs his government to announce and implement an effective plan to meet the needs of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I did.
I also urged him to not honour the forthcoming request from the Town of Amherstburg that the Province of Ontario extend the website compliance deadline to January 1, 2022 along with a request for funding; council was cc’d.
A more detailed background can be found at aoda.ca.
In a Report to Council by Kevin Fox for the September 14, 2020 council meeting, Administration recommends that Council request that the Province of Ontario extend the compliance deadline from January 1, 2021 to at least January 1, 2022 due to the impacts of the pandemic (COVID-19) emergency and the impacts it has had both on the finances and resources of municipalities such as the Town of Amherstburg.
And town council voted in favour.
SHAMEFUL.
COVID-19 has only existed for the past several months compared to provincial legislation that was enacted in 2005: the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act). Provincial Standards included deadlines for compliance but, suddenly, in September 2020, the town needs more time? 15 months more time?
More to follow.
