Author Archives: theburgwatch

About theburgwatch

Amherstburg's first local blogger since 2011, writing about town council and issues.

Why The Fuss About Erroneous Minutes?

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There was no fuss when then-Councillor Prue mentioned erroneous minutes regarding his wife during a 2022 regular council meeting so why all the fuss when Councillor Pouget rightfully notes errors? After all, minutes are legal records and should be accurate. The bigger question is why did no other council member note the errors?

Councillor McArthur stated it was adequate time to address this before this evening. without calling staff to task in public so he was going to oppose a motion to defer.

McArthur was present at the 2022 meeting when Prue noted errors; he also received my email noting the 2022 accessibility committee minutes error pertaining to a question by Shirley Prue. The result of my email? The minutes were not corrected prior to the council meeting and no one brought up the error during the council meeting.

Not only is it standard procedure for the chair to ask if there are any errors or omissions since only the governing body can make corrections and approve minutes, but the Municipal Act states one of council’s roles is ‘to ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality.’

Deputy Mayor Gibb chimed in with his judgment and concurred with McArthur. Gibb stated It could have been corrected with an email and that it could have been handled differently in his opinion. The Ontario Ombudsman investigated Amherstburg council back in 2016 and recommended members of council for the Town of Amherstburg should avoid exercising the power or authority of council or laying the groundwork to do so through email communications.

It would be more professional and efficient if members of council would just support/not support duly moved motions without speeches or judgments.

As mentioned in this post, Minutes Need To Be Corrected, the September 11 minutes, attached to the September 25 agenda contained errors: CAO Critchley was marked as present when she was absent, the wording of some of Councillor Pouget’s motions was incorrect. Words were omitted or substituted despite Pouget providing hard copies of her motions.

Related: Should Minutes Be Consistently Corrected?

Hotel Dispute Hearing Public Notice

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The public notice sets out all necessary details to view the October 6, 10:00 am hearing regarding the Zoning By-law Amendment application council approved in May for the boutique hotel at 256 Dalhousie.

From the OLT: Please note that as per Rule 22.5 of the Ontario Land Tribunal Rules of Practice and Procedures, recordings of hearing events – photograph, motion picture, audio, video, or otherwise – is not permitted unless the presiding Tribunal Member authorizes the recording. However, approval would be subject to conditions that no distribution or public re-playing of the recording occurs, and it does not constitute an official transcript of the hearing or a record for use in any subsequent proceeding. Additionally, as per section 29 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, persons found improperly recording hearing events before the OLT and/or distributing those recordings may be liable to a fine of up to $25,000.

Regional Garbage Plan Dumped

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What a waste. There were some long winded speeches during the Amherstburg town council meeting that resulted in the predictable 4-3 vote. Councillor McArthur mentioned ‘economies of scale’ five times; Crain once. Meetings would be more efficient if members would refrain from sharing personal anecdotes – do we really need to know the mayor freezes fish heads or what a councillor’s favourite coffee is and his thoughts on disposing of coffee cups? And, wouldn’t it be so refreshing if staff just answered yes or no to a question? Even better, can members just ask a question without a speech?

To move forward a majority of town councils had to vote in favour. Last night LaSalle and Lakeshore voted no, joining no votes from Essex and Kingsville. Amherstburg, Leamington and Tecumseh voted in favour.

How To Complain About Your Municipality

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The Ombudsman OntarioEvery municipality states every municipality should have a general complaint policy approved by council and posts a brochure titled, Tips for Municipal Complaint Resolution Policies. I was unable to find an Amherstburg Municipal Complaint Resolution Policy on the town’s website.

What is a complaint?
The Office of the Ombudsperson broadly defines a complaint as: An expression of dissatisfaction made to or about a public organization about some aspect of its programs, services or people where a response is explicitly or implicitly expected.

In the local government context, it is important to distinguish between a bylaw complaint and other complaints about the way their services are being delivered to the public. Most local governments have established processes for responding to bylaw complaints—enforcing bylaws and responding to bylaw complaints is a central part of a local government’s role. However, it is also in the best interests of all local governments to have an effective system in place to handle general complaints and concerns from the public apart from bylaw complaints.

Ontario ombudsman

The Ontario Ombudsman is an office of last resort so the first step is to complain to the municipality, the CAO for example and, if not satisfied, then complain to the Ombudsman by filling in a simple online complaint form.

Council Questioned On Procedural By-law

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On September 24, I emailed questions to all members of council.

Councillor Pouget emailed CAO Critchley this morning, These are all very good questions and I for one, would appreciate answers to them, concerning our new procedural by-law.  When time permits, will you or one of your staff please respond to all copied in this email?

Critchley answered the questions this morning.

the burg watch: how was it determined that Mr. Bolger will be a ‘presentation’ at the September 25 council meeting instead of a ‘delegation’ when presentation is not defined in the by-law and he will be speaking to an agenda item like a delegate? 

Critchley: A “presentation” is a form of a delegation and so the rules for delegations apply equally. Mr. Bolger registered within the time frame set out in the Procedure By-law and notice of the delegation was made public with the revised Agenda which was posted on Friday.

the burg watch: please explain the stipulation that a unanimous vote is required for council to waive the rules to allow audience members to speak freely.

Critchley: The new Procedure By-law has been changed to state that Agendas will now be posted publicly 10 days before a Council meeting. With this change, members of the public have ample time to review the Agenda and determine if they wish to register as delegations (by noon on the Friday preceding the meeting). Given this expanded timeline, there should be very few situations where someone cannot register to delegate in a timely manner. As such, there is now a rule that there must be a unanimous vote of Council to waive these rules. I would note that having procedures around delegations is a normal part of public meeting management that reflect municipal best practices, and that they are needed in order to run an orderly and professional meeting.

the burg watch: did members give any consideration to ontario human rights code accommodations of persons with disabilities when voting to approve the new by-law?  

Critchley: I cannot speak to what each member of Council considered when voting on the new by-law. However, I will say that, had any member asked if the new rules complied with the Ontario Human Rights Code, I would have advised them that it does. There is nothing in the new rules that would prohibit a person with disabilities from registering as a presentation or delegation and the Town’s Procedure By-law is in keeping with municipal best practices. 

the burg watch: on what date did members of council give direction to admin to update the by-law?

Critchley:  August 14, 2023

the burg watch: and, since my september 8 email has not been answered, would you please describe the procedure for delegates to council meetings regarding items that do not appear on the agenda?

Critchley:  By “items that do not appear on the agenda” I am assuming you are referring to items raised during “new business”. Should a member of Council raise an item at this portion of the meeting that someone wishes to speak to, Council can direct that a report on the item be prepared for a future meeting and delegations will be able to register to speak to those items in accordance with the Procedure By-law.

the burg watch: The by-law should have defined presentation and the public should have been consulted during the draft stage, a best practice other municipalities utilize. Nowhere can I find the ‘unanimous’ rule; and obviously, you cannot speak to what each member of council considered when voting. My questions were addressed to the members who, as you all know, are mandated to ‘develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality.’

Comparing Procedural By-law Delegate Rules

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The Town of Amherstburg’s newly adopted procedural bylaw seems more restrictive than it used to be.

When Mayor Prue noticed a raised hand at the September 11 council meeting, he stated a unanimous vote was required to allow Mr. Amlin to speak.

Section 5, Introduction, states: Any procedure under this By-law which is discretionary and not mandatory under statute may be suspended with the consent of a majority of the members present.

Section 14.5, CONDUCT OF PROCEEDINGS states: The rules of procedure may be suspended by a unanimous vote of Council and shall be time limited and specific.

  • Town of Essex If a Delegation is not registered with the Clerk, and Council, by a two-thirds vote of the Members present at the Meeting, gives the Delegation permission to address Council, the Delegation shall only address Council with respect to an item on the published Agenda.
  • Town of Kingsville offers residents choices to submit a request or make a written delegation instead of speaking (a procedure that I asked our municipality to establish). Also, for the Committee of the Whole, the Chair may relax the procedural rules to facilitate informal discussion as between the public, Staff and the Members, including but not limited to relaxing the rules related to delegation speaking time and registration.
  • Town of Lakeshore written request prior to the council meeting; if no application made, may be heard on a 2/3 vote of Council to speak an agenda item and have options to appear: In-person; computer or smart device or phone.There are also separate Rules for Public Presentations (a person or group wishing to present new items not on the Council meeting agenda).
  • Town of LaSalle has separate rules for Delegations – Items on the Agenda – written request by noon at least 4 days prior to the meeting; Delegations – Public Meeting -not required to provide advance written notice of their intention to speak; Delegations – Items Not on the Agenda – submit a written request as outlined in Section 9.2 by noon at least 21 days prior the Meeting; Delegations – Presentation – certain partner and external Persons may be granted presentation status in order to inform Members of matters of significance to the Town. noteworthy: the table of contents links to the sections.
  • Town of Leamington offers choices: Delegates can notify the clerk prior to the agenda or can request to delegate to address an item listed on the agenda or if not listed on the agenda as a delegation may request permission at the council meeting to address Council which may be granted upon a resolution of council members.
  • Town of Tecumseh Persons desiring to verbally present information on matters of fact or make a request of council, shall give written notice to the Clerk seven (7) days in advance of the meeting at which they wish to appear; shall state the topic to be discussed and any request to be made of the members. noteworthy: It shall be the duty of the Clerk to ensure that the minutes of the last regular meeting and all subsequent special meetings held more than three (3) days prior to a regular meeting, are placed on the next following regular Council meeting agenda.
  • Strathroy-Caradoc Right of Public Input and Notice The public has the right to have input and receive Notice of the public decision-making process. The methods for doing so include: writing to the Clerk or Secretary, submitting a petition, or speaking as a Delegation. Should an individual wish to be provided with further Notice related to a matter of business, they are required to indicate this wish to the Clerk or Secretary on the prescribed form; Anyone requesting to address the Members on an item that is not on the agenda may do so at the sole discretion of the Chair; Delegations in person may be permitted at the discretion of the Chair.
  • Scugog A delegation not listed on the agenda requires at least a Two-Thirds Majority of the Members present.
  • Lincoln The Clerk provides the Chair with all requests to delegate submitted after the deadlines for Council consideration; a majority vote is required to permit the delegate to speak.
  • Owen Sound A person may ask a question of the Members on any matter during the Public Question Period portion of a meeting.

Inconsistencies: When Is A Delegate Not A Delegate?

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The September 25 council meeting supplementary agenda is for one item: a Presentation – Re: Item 13.2 Street Naming – Brittany Crescent and Stone Street – Norbert Bolger; there are no attachments.

The September 25 revised agenda lists the same item, also without attachments.

The newly adopted Procedural By-law (August 14) definitions include: “Delegation” means a person intending to address the Council or committee on a matter where a decision of the Council may be required.

‘Presentation’ is not defined but ‘delegation’ is and section 9.4 clearly sets out the ‘rules’ for delegations.

9.4  Delegations during other proceedings of Council or Committees are permitted in relation to matters listed on the agenda stemming from all Administrative reports and by-laws; in accordance with the following:

a)  Persons wishing to delegate at any Council or Committee meetings, shall advise the Clerk, no later than the Thursday before the meeting. Delegations shall provide their name, contact information, association with any organization (if applicable and the agenda item to be addressed);

b)  Delegation requests will first be reviewed to determine if it is merely seeking information and if so, will be directed to the appropriate member of Administration for a response;

c)  All delegations shall indicate the item on the agenda they wish to speak to, what action they wish the Assembly to take and shall provide a copy of any material intended for public distribution;

d)  Delegations appearing before Council, who have previously appeared before Council on the same subject matter, shall be limited to providing only new information in any subsequent delegation request.

Since Mr. Bolger will be speaking before council ‘in relation to matters listed on the agenda stemming from all Administrative reports,’ why is he a ‘presentation’ and not a ‘delegation’?

Inconsistent Evaluation Tours

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Some of the accessibility committee’s 7 members will tour 7 facilities over the course of the next year while ALL of the parks and rec committee’s 9 members will tour ALL 24 parks by the end of the year.

Three members of the two committees are the same: Shirley Curson-Prue, who chairs both, and Councillor McArthur and Tony Pietrangelo.

At the August 24 Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting, Pietrangelo noted the document title is municipal property audit locations and asked if playgrounds are municipal properties. The clerk advised they do playground audits as well; they were just waiting on the AODA standards to be updated and that it’s anticipated within a year or so that might move forward for legislation.

At the September 19 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting, members viewed a document wherein accessibility was mentioned twice in quotes from the Parks Master Plan, currently being updated:

  1. To reflect the evolving role of parks in the Town – including a greater emphasis on events, passive uses and accessibility – a new system for classifying parks in Amherstburg has been developed. 
  2. It is essential that parks are inclusive and barrier-free, as guided by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). To ensure that the parks system is able to serve people from all segments of the community, accessible seating, washrooms, shade (structures and trees), parking, connections to key destinations and safety must be prominent considerations.

Using the Assessment Form, the accessibility committee will tour:

  • Town Hall
  • Libro Centre & Property Tony Pietrangelo, Councillor McArthur
  • Visitor Information Centre Christine Easterbrook
  • Gordon House
  • Amherstburg Public Library Tony Pietrangelo
  • Gibson Gallery Christine Easterbrook
  • Community Hub Tony Pietrangelo, Christine Easterbrook

Prue thought the biggest contention is probably the town hall and suggested they don’t need to do that first because they have the data from the last round.

Christine Easterbrook mentioned she’d never been in the Gordon House, the Gibson Gallery and the community hub. She also asked if they need to do the police station again; the clerk advised it wasn’t included because its public facing areas have been reduced significantly since COVID and it really is only a vestibule.

The parks and rec committee will tour:

  • Alma West Lookout
  • Anderdon Park
  • Angstrom Park
  • Bar Point Park
  • Beaudoin Park
  • Belle Vue House
  • Bill Wigle Park
  • Briar Ridge Park
  • Canard Estates
  • Centennial Park
  • Co-An Park Golfview Park
  • Jack Purdie Park
  • King’s Navy Yard Park
  • Libro Credit Union Centre
  • Malden Centre Park
  • North Gateway
  • Ranta Memorial Park
  • River Canard Park
  • Scodeller Park
  • Seagram’s Garden
  • South Gateway
  • Thrasher Park
  • ‘Toddy’ Jones Park
  • Warren Mickle Park
  • Waterfront Property Project