Will Councillor Sutton’s Motion Restore Public Trust?
time will tell if it’s posturing or an attempt to make real changes following the Ombudsman’s investigative findings that the town contravened the Municipal Act in its handling of several in-camera meetings in January 2011. according to the amherstburg echo, (full story), sutton believes his january 23 motion will serve as a starting point towards rectifying the damage done by the ombudsman report.
the damage was done by members of council who continued to participate in the practice, despite the Ombudman’s March 17, 2011 letter to the town, in which it stated, “In the future, Council should be vigilant in ensuring that the most appropriate exception or exceptions are cited in the resolution to proceed into closed session, and that all discussions taking place in camera fall within the cited exception(s). This ensures that the public is fully aware of why Council is proceeding into closed session, and increases the transparency of the Council process.” The letter further stated, “In the future, Council should ensure that no voting takes place during closed session, unless the vote is for a procedural matter and/or giving direction to staff, in accordance with s. 239(6) of the Act”.
sutton also mentioned that some of the errors found by the Ombudsman were clerical errors that have to be corrected; some clerical errors at the amherstburg police station had to also be corrected.
i requested an amherstburg police services board motion regarding my correspondence to the board, but i received a criminal records check of another individual that was emailed to me in error. during the course of an Information and Privacy Commission Ontario investigation, i learned that Chief Tim Berthiaume explained that the secretary scanned and attached the email and attachment without confirming the contents. Additionally, the board explained that unfortunately, it was not until my second email that the person responsible for the error understood the situation. i had emailed twice that i was not interested in any personal information but my own. in an october 28, 2011 letter, the IPC analyst advised that she was satisfied with the assurances that the board would continue to take any steps they felt appropriate to obtain my confirmation that the record had been deleted.
chief tim berthiaume sent two letters requesting that i immediately delete and confirm that it has been deleted as soon as possible. in his june 28, 2011 letter, he stated, in part, “the amherstburg police service takes privacy issues very seriously.” how ironic that my june 2011 inquiry to the board related to a breach of my information and the board decided to dismiss it; read john sutton’s letter. note: clerical errors in the letter are not mine.
it will take time to restore the public trust. council should act as councillor pouget suggests: thank the Ombudsman, take the report seriously and take the free training – that would be a good starting point.
Ombudsman Posts ‘Behind Closed Doors’ Report
The Ombudsman Ontario, Ontario’s Watchdog, posted its report, which confirmed that the council for the Town of Amherstburg repeatedly contravened the Municipal Act and its own procedure by-law. Council discussed issues in closed session that were not permitted under the exceptions to the Municipal Act, and also routinely engaged in improper voting behind closed doors. Read the full report.
Amherstburg Police Chief Berthiaume Tight-lipped About Deployment
Commentary by Linda Saxon
it’s time for budget deliberations and wish lists and i was curious about some of the costs associated with the amherstburg police service. in a december 5, 2011 letter from chief tim berthiaume, legal fees, as of december 5, 2011, were $18768.57 for 2011. in a december 9, 2011 letter from chief tim berthiaume, he stated, “the amherstburg police service does not ‘breakdown’ legal expenses.” he further stated that, “as of december 5, the amherstburg police service has spent $23,589.85 on consultants.”
in response to my request for the number of days in 2011 where less than four officers were on patrol, berthiaume stated,”i will not be providing you with this information for the following reason. the release of this information could reasonably be expected to make their work more dangerous in many situations endangering the life or physical safetly of our law enforcement officers.”
where is the logic to a claim of endangerment in the present/future tense when the year has passed?
the ontario civilian commission on police services considered the amalgamation proposal to abolish the amherstburg and anderdon police services and stated, in its decision, “From the standpoint of staffing, deployment and supervision, the proposal overall appears sound, and if the proposal is implemented as presented, it should allow for adequate and effective policing in the Town of Amherstburg.”
one of the proposals for consideration in the application was:
“Patrol Zones:
The Town will be divided into three patrol zones by using the former boundaries of the old Town of Amherstburg, Township of Anderdon and Township of Malden. Accordingly, the new three patrol zones are as follows:
Each zone will be patrolled 24 hours a day. The maximum strength per 12 hour shift will be six officers:
Zone 1: Amherstburg
Zone 2: Anderdon and
Zone 3: Malden
Each zone will be patrolled 24 hours a day. The maximum strength per 12 hour shift will be six officers:
Zone 1: 3 officers;
Zone 2: 1 officer and
Zone 3: 1 officer
Another officer will support all three zones as may be required.
The minimum strength per 12 hour shift will be one officer per zone. However, it should be noted a four officer minimum strength will be in place until 4:00 a.m. (12 hour night shift). On the night shifts, there will be a minimum of four officers (two officers will cover zone 1, one officer in each of zone 2 and zone 3). After 4:00 a.m., there will be one officer in zone 1 supplying additional coverage to all other zones if required.”
NOTE: i noted the map in the community room with two patrol zones; also, the Amherstburg Police Service 2010 Annual Report states, “The Town is divided into 2 patrol zones ensuring that all areas receive an ongoing police presence.” The Patrol Zone map can be viewed on page 8 of the report.
The proposal also outlines a community business plan with three broad initiatives; number 1 was, “establish a police service – with an overall strategy, targets and accountability.”
how will we know if we’re getting the service that was proposed, if there is no accountability?
Hurst’s Campaign Expenses To Be Audited
following a June 6, 2011 complaint filed by Jason Lavigne, regarding Mayor Wayne Hurst’s election campaign expenses, the amherstburg municipal election compliance audit committee unanimously voted in favour of an audit. read more the amherstburg echo.
Another A’burg Police Officer Charged
a third amherstburg police officer has been charged in over two years:
- Sgt. Jim Saxon in June 2009
- Sgt. Colleen Sterling in September 2011 under Chief Tim Berthiaume
- Const. Andrew Challans in November 2011 under Chief Tim Berthiaume
Only Sterling’s and Challlans’ cases were reported in the media. i have to wonder – what is the cost to the burg residents? isn’t it time for council to compare municipal policing costs with the OPP?
Ombudsman Review Of Closed Meeting
Voting during a closed session, including informal votes such as “straw polls” or “show of hands”, is not permitted. Council therefore contravened the Municipal Act by voting during the February 10, 2011 closed session. Read the letter to Ms. Brenda Percy, Clerk, who was requested to make copies of it available to the public.
Mayor Told His Shed Is Illegal
Mayor Wayne Hurst has been ordered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority to move a shed he built illegally on a breakwall near his home. Read more: The Windsor Star
Councillors Refuse To Rate Themselves
sticky post: we’ll be inundated with how they think they performed and/or will perform if re-elected; however at the end of each year of this term (2010-2014), everyone was asked, “if you would provide a comment regarding how you think you have performed.”
year 1: no one responded.
year 2: no one responded. Edit: Read Davies’ response
year 3: no one responded.
Amherstburg Accessible Customer Service Feedback Form
ONTARIO REGULATION 429/07 made under the ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2005, outlines the Accessible Customer Service Feedback process in section 7. (1) Every provider of goods or services shall establish a process for receiving and responding to feedback about the manner in which it provides goods or services to persons with disabilities and shall make information about the process readily available to the public.
I find the town’s web site difficult to navigate and the link to the Amherstburg Accessible Customer Service Feedback Form on this page is broken.
To Locate the Amherstburg Accessible Customer Service Feedback Form:
Visit www.amherstburg.ca
Click on residents
Click residents tab at top
Click accessibility on the left side bar (not in alphabetical order)
Click customer service under accessibility on the left side bar
Scroll down until you find the link to the Accessible Customer Service Standards Policy
The feedback form is the last page of the policy.
Note: it doesn’t state any action will be taken, just that feedback will be responded to within three (3) business days of its receipt by the Town.
the burg watch 