Category Archives: Inconsistencies

Bolger’s Presentation/Delegation To Council September 25

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Warning – long post; put the kettle on or skip the details and read the summary below.

SUMMARY

Bolger was a presentation which, according to CAO Critchley ‘is a form of delegation and delegation rules apply equally’; no delegation request form was on the agenda, no speaking notes, and no letter. Bolger’s letter was on the August 10 Heritage Committee meeting agenda; the RTT reported on Bolger’s letter and the committee meeting; the heritage committee meeting Brittany’s Gate audio portion is unavailable; Critchley advised Bolger would be available for questions and would not be making a formal delegation – he was placed under the “Presentations’ and the letter was available in the Council In Camera Share Point folder; if I wanted a copy to please submit a Freedom of Information request; there was no notice of in-camera meeting.

DETAILS

Friday, September 22, 2:25 PM email notification from the town: Supplementary Agenda – September 25, 2023 contained only one item: PRESENTATIONS, 9.1 Presentation – Re: Item 13.2 Street Naming – Brittany Crescent and Stone Street – Norbert Bolger.

Sunday, September 24, 6:53 PM, I emailed questions about the procedural by-law to all members of council, including question 1: 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? 

Monday, September 25, 9:11 AM Councillor Pouget emailed all members of council and CAO Critchley: 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?

September 25 9:33 AM, Critchley emailed answers in red below my questions:

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?

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.

September 25 council meeting AGENDA contained three items related to Bolger’s request:

  1. item 9 PRESENTATIONS, item 9.1 Presentation Re Item 13.2 Street Naming – Brittany Crescent and Stone Street – Norbert Bolger with a note that this item has no attachments;
  2. Item 13.2 under REPORTS – PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES Street Naming – Brittany Crescent and Stone Street with three attachments: Brittany Gate – Street Naming.pdf; Appendix A – Street Naming Policy.pdf; Appendix B – Street Name Inventory (unused names).pdf.
  3. item 19.1.Minutes – Heritage Committee August 10, 2023

September 25 DISCUSSION RECAP:

Mayor Prue noted he didn’t have any delegations; he had one presentation, Mr. Norbert Bolger, who he asked to come forward and stated before he does, he needs a motion from council to bring forward items 13.2 and 19.1 which both deal with the matter. 

Bolger stated he was not going to make a presentation; he was just going to be there to answer any questions, that he sent a letter in to the town and everybody has it. He also said he’s talked to some members of council regarding the naming of the street, one of the streets and Britney’s Gate. He went to the heritage committee and got their endorsement on it so he’s here for the final endorsement from council and if there’s any questions he’d be happy to answer. There were no questions.

Councillor Crain said he will be supporting the motion, the heritage committee, which he’s a part of, did endorse it so he thinks it’s only fair that they follow recommendations from their committees; without them he’s not sure why they would even have committees if they’re not going to listen to it. Norbuilt and their family has played an integral part of helping shape our community and he thinks it’s only right that they help them recognize their daughter while also acknowledging our history with Stone Street recognizing the world war two veteran as you make your way into the subdivision and that’s why he’ll be supporting it.

Crain also asked staff, the current street naming policy that we have in place I can’t recall, looking for clarification is that policy out of date or currently being reviewed? Knowing that this was a topic for committee and then council decision, he could’ve just checked for himself.

Later, Bolger wanted to speak and Prue said it had to be a unanimous vote to allow it. Deputy Mayor Gibb spoke against allowing Larry Amlin to speak at the September 11 council meeting, citing a question of equity; Councillor McArthur also voted against. The motion allowing Bolger to speak carried.

FOLLOW UP EMAILS

After the meeting, at 9:01 pm on September 25, 2023, I emailed all members of council and CAO Critchley and requested a copy of Mr. Bolger’s delegate request form as it was not included with the agenda as has been standard practice. I also requested a copy of his letter which was referred to but also not attached to the agenda. 

September 27 at 12:55 PM, Councillor Diane Pouget emailed: I fully support your request. I am also requesting the form and speaking notes Mr. Bolger was required to submit as per the policy. It appears Mr. Bolger submitted his speaking notes to the Heritage Committee, so why wasn’t it submitted to Council and the public as required?

September 27, 2023 7:11 PM, I emailed all members of council and CAO: thank you Councillor Pouget. I really appreciate all your efforts to represent your constituents and to ensure rules are equally and fairly applied to everyone.  

September 28, 2023 12:32 PM Councillor Pouget emailed all members of council and CAO and thanked me; I believe that each and every member of Council should be equally concerned if the proper protocol was followed and should be entitled to view the form and speaking notes by Mr. Bolger, as required by every delegate according to our policy. As a Councillor for the Town of Amherstburg, I am requesting a response to this question.

September 28, 2023, 4:35 PM, Critchley emailed, As Mr. Bolger had indicated to the Clerk’s Office that we would be available for questions and would not be making a formal delegation, he was placed under the “Presentations” section of the meeting. It was clarified when the item came forward that he was there for questions only. I would also note that, as Mr. Bolger was available for questions regarding his application that was before Council, we already had all of his contact information. In all of these circumstances, a form was not required. In addition, section 9.5 of the Procedure By-law states the following: (original yellow highlight)

The Clerk may, from time to time, establish or amend procedures related to the Delegation Process, provided that such procedures do not conflict with the provisions of this By-law.

I am attaching a copy of the Procedure in this regard. With respect to the letter sent to Council by Mr. Bolger, as it contained personal information about an identifiable individual, it was provided to Council as a P & C attachment prior to the meeting and is available in the Council In Camera Share Point folder. Particularly, an email alerting all of Council to the letter were sent on Monday at 3:57pm by the Deputy Clerk and a follow up email was sent to all of Council from the Clerk at 4:41pm. I have attached a copy of that email for your reference. (see emails below).

Ms. Saxon – should you wish to request a copy of the letter submitted to Council please submit a Freedom of Information request.

September 28, 5:09 pm, I emailed members of council and CAO Critchley, an FOI request will not be submitted since I already have Bolger’s letter; it was posted publicly on the heritage committee’s public agenda. but this does indicate the urgency by which council needs to create a routine disclosure and active dissemination policy in keeping with municipal best practices.

Critchley’s attached emails:

Deputy Clerk Sarah Sabihuddin September 25, 2023, 3:57 PM, email to members of council, the CAO and clerk, subject: Council SharePoint Site – Additional In-Camera Documentation – September 25th: An additional item has now been uploaded to the Council SharePoint site in the Special In-Camera folder. This is in relation to tonight’s presentation 9.1 and report item 13.2. 

Clerk September 25, 4:41 PM, email to members of council, the deputy clerk, the CAO, subject: RE: Council SharePoint Site – Additional In-Camera Documentation – September 25th: For additional clarity, this is the correspondence you will have already received from the applicant, Norbert Bolger, during previous communications, but a request was received to provide it under separate cover owing to the personal and confidential details about identifiable individuals noted therein and the sensitivities around those details. Out of an abundance of caution and in respect to the privacy of the associated individuals, we have done so. 

When Is A Motion Not A Motion?

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When the clerk has been invited to speak to the matter before the motion has been seconded. Amherstburg’s Procedural By-law, MOTION PROCESS states, ‘Where deemed in order by the Chair, every motion shall be moved and seconded before being spoken to, questioned, debated, or put to a vote.’

The report to council on the new 2023 Procedural By-law specifically mentions a form of the word ‘consistent’ twelve times; for example, consistency in the application of rules is crucial for maintaining fairness, transparency, and trust in any organization or community, including the Town of Amherstburg.

At the August 10 Heritage Committee meeting, Frank DiPasquale spoke about Ontario Heritage Ministry nominations to award outstanding service to protect history and heritage; he thought of three people, two are committee members Shirley Curson-Prue and Robert Honor and author Meg Reiner.

DiPasquale moved a motion that these three people get recognized in the Ontario Heritage Ministry and he said he hoped there was a seconder for that.

Instead of asking if there was a seconder, Chair Simon Chamely recognized the clerk, who stated it could be put on the agenda, but whenever you want to introduce new items; introducing and moving those items in the same meeting can sometimes be problematic. So perhaps the best approach here may be to ask administration to investigate this and bring it back so that way it can be before the committee at their next meeting. Even if that’s the September in-camera session, they could deal with it during the public session if that was appropriate.

The September 21 in-camera committee meeting, according to the minutes, dealt with one item: review of expressions of interest and it’s not listed in the October 12 committee meeting agenda.

I couldn’t locate ministry awards, but I did find Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards and an October 15 deadline for all nomination forms and supporting materials.

Inconsistencies: Survey Participants Names Displayed/Not Displayed

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I reviewed 10 surveys on talk the burg and only 1 displayed names, along with mine – a survey I completed while logged in as ‘the burg watch.’

I questioned CAO Critchley why the survey with names was posted to the June 22 Accessibility Advisory Committee Agenda titled, Survey Responses Report – Public Consultation 2022, although it states 22 September 2017 – 20 September 2022.

Critchley: This information was freely submitted in a public forum as part of a public discourse. Should you have further concerns, have included the links to the applicable information on the website and she included links to the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan Public Engagement Site, Public Survey from Last Year and Privacy Policy.

After completing the town’s Open Air survey, I emailed all members of council with my critique and my comment, I hope to see all the names and all responses of all survey participants publicly posted as CAO Critchley advised this information was freely submitted in a public forum as part of a public discourse.

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?

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

Procedure By-law Needs An Update

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There are inconsistencies in the delegate application process and Amherstburg’s Procedure By-law, signed on January 21, 2015 needs an update.

The by-law governs ‘the proceedings of Council, the conduct of its members and the calling of meetings in the Town of Amherstburg.

k)  “Delegation” means a person intending to address the Council or committee on a matter where a decision of the Council may be required.

I applied to be a delegate at the March 13 council meeting as I was advised an Open Air report would be presented to council on that date; it is now an agenda item.

CAO Critchley emailed, As noted in the provided attachment, speaking notes have not yet been provided. In accordance with Section 5.4 of the Procedural By-law any materials intended to be presented to Council are required to be provided to the Clerk’s Office in order to review the submission. Once you have these materials together, we can provide further information on this request.

I replied that section 5.4 did not apply since I already knew it would be an agenda item.

CAO Critchley responded, Although your delegation is governed by section 5.2 of the Procedure By-law (and not section 5.4 – my apology for the error), as indicated on the application form to speak at a Council meeting, speaking notes and presentation materials must be provided as part of the application. As you have delegated before Council in the past, I believe you are familiar with this procedure. Please submit your materials before noon on Friday, March 10, 2023.

Before noon Friday, I let CAO Critchley and all members of council know about the inconsistencies. The online delegate application form states, “please upload speaking notes and/or presentation materials.”

The hard copy delegate application form differs in that it states, “**Speaking notes and presentation materials must accompany this request.”

Procedure by-law section 5.2 does not stipulate anything must be submitted, but states, any material submitted to the Clerk shall be circulated to Council as a “Delegation” submission – implying if anyone has any material.

I believe administrative forms should conform to the by-law and the by-law, 2014, should be updated to conform to accessibility legislation and other Acts pertaining to freedom of expression. People with disabilities may have difficulty meeting strict deadlines and requirements. I did inquire, ‘what accommodations does the town provide for persons with disabilities who are unable to attend council/committee meetings in person but wish to provide input?’ 

Other municipalities welcome residents to delegate via a variety of methods: in person, zoom, telephone and written submissions that are not placed under consent correspondence.

Should Minutes Be Consistently Corrected?

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Background

During a council meeting earlier this year, Councillor Michael Prue had a question about committee minutes, the presence of his wife, Shirley Curson-Prue, at a committee meeting and the recording of votes.

Mayor DiCarlo said the minutes would be looked into and any corrections required would be made.

Present

On August 4, 2022, I read the August 8 town council meeting agenda and emailed all members of council that the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAAC) meeting minutes June 23, 2022 were incorrect.

“The minutes indicate the motion was ‘that the delegation be received.’ However, following my presentation, Chair Shirley Curson-Prue asked, “May I have a motion to receive this document?” Chris Drew said he’d make the motion which was then seconded by Angela Kelly and carried. The audio is available online.”

I assumed errors were to be corrected.

On Friday, August 5, Mayor Aldo DiCarlo emailed, “Thank you for the clarification.”

On Monday, August 8, council received the AAAC minutes without comment.