Whereas on January 1, 2008, subsection 239.1 of the Municipal Act came into effect which permits any person to request an investigation be undertaken to determine whether a municipality or local board (excluding a police service board or library board), or a committee of either, has complied with the closed meeting rules contained within the Municipal Act; and,
Whereas the Whitby Town council appointed Local Authority Services (LAS) through By-law # 6040-08 as Whitby’s Closed Meeting Investigator; and,
Whereas current agreements with LAS include a renewal section that stated that the agreement would automatically renew from year to year unless, and until, terminated by either party upon 90 days prior written notice; and,
Whereas LAS outsources the closed meeting investigator service to Aird and Berlis LLP; and,
Whereas Aird and Berlis would appoint one of five “Review Officers” and the fee ranges from $495 to $875 per hour in 2024; and,
Whereas hourly fees are expected to continue to increase each year, and,
Whereas according to the Ontario Ombudsman 2022-2023 Annual Report, the Ombudsman is the closed-meeting investigator for approximately 266 Municipalities; and,
Whereas the Ombudsman reviewed 79 meetings of 47 different municipalities and local boards and issued 17 reports and 22 letters on their findings. All of these reports and letters can be found on the Ombudsman website and in a searchable online database; and,
Whereas the Ontario Ombudsman has the expertise and experience to handle any closed meeting investigation requests, will provide consistency in decisions with other Ontario Municipalities, and will be the single source for complaints against the municipality; and,
Whereas there is no fee to the municipality to use the services of the Ontario Ombudsman.
Therefore be it resolved:
That the Town of Whitby give a minimum of 90 days written notice to terminate the agreement with LAS and further save the taxpayers of the Town of Whitby when the Ontario Ombudsman is appointed.