Accountability and transparency

Accountability, transparency and openness are standards of good governance that enhance public trust. These principles apply to the political process, decision-making and to the administration of the municipality.

The principles of accountability and transparency are reflected in many municipal policies and procedures, including:

Closed session investigator

The municipality has appointed Local Authority Services Limited (LAS) – Aird Berlis LLP as the closed meeting investigator for the municipality and authorized them to conduct investigations as per section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001. All requests for a closed meeting investigation are submitted to LAS to review and investigate accordingly.

Individuals may submit closed meeting investigation requests to the municipal Clerk. The Clerk will forward all investigation requests to Aird Berlis LLP, the municipality’s closed meeting investigator. Once received, Aird Berlis LLP will investigate the circumstances of the closed meetings referenced and report publicly on the results of that investigation.

Should you have a concern regarding municipal council or committee closed session meetings, where it is alleged that topics discussed in closed session do not comply with the Municipal Act, 2001, please start the process by contacting the clerk's department:

Jamie Eckenswiller
Clerk
clerk@westgrey.com
519-369-2200 x 229

Council expense reporting

Compensation and expense reports for elected officials are available for public review. To review expense reports, please see below:

Council code of conduct

The Municipality of West Grey adheres to a code of conduct, pertaining to municipal elected officials. Members of council must adhere to other laws and statutes, as well as municipal bylaws, policies and procedures, which serve to support the council's code of conduct.

Council code of conduct complaint process

Any person or a representative of an organization who has identified or witnessed behaviour or an activity by a member of council that they believe is in contravention of the council code of conduct, may submit an informal or formal complaint regarding the witnessed behaviour.

Prior to submitting your complaint, determine if it should be dealt with formally or informally. We encourage all members of the public to communicate any and all complaints to the municipality, in an informal manner prior to initiating the formal complaint process.

Please review Part A of the complaint process if you would like to proceed with an informal complaint.

To submit a formal complaint, please review Part B of the complaint process, fill out this form and contact the municipal integrity commissioner, Principles Integrity:

Principles Integrity, Jeffrey A. Abrams and Janice Atwood-Petkovski
Administrative Office Address:
30 Haddon Street, Toronto ON M5M 3M9
E-mail: postoffice@principlesintegrity.org
Telephone: 647-259-8697

Declaration of pecuniary interest

The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act requires members of council to declare any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in relation to a matter under consideration. A pecuniary interest in a matter is one where there is a reasonable likelihood or expectation of financial loss or gain of the member or related persons as per the Act. The onus to declare a pecuniary interest rests with the member, with the opportunity to declare at the meeting. Members of council who declare an interest will be required to complete a written declaration and submit said declaration to the municipal clerk for filing.

To view the current online declaration registry, please see below. To view a hardcopy of past declarations, please visit the Municipal Office at 402813 Grey Rd 4, RR2, Durham, ON N0G 1R0, during regular business hours.

Registry for declaration of pecuniary interest and general nature thereof

Integrity commissioner

The responsibilities of an integrity commissioner include:

Providing advice to council on the code of conduct for members of council, committees and boards
Providing advice to council on the development of procedures, rules and policies of the municipality governing the ethical behaviour of members of council and local boards
Acting as a proactive educator for council and local boards, administration and the public
Serving as an advisor to individual members of council and local boards in relation to the applicable code of conduct and any procedures, rules and policies of the municipality governing their ethical behaviour, including the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act
Receiving and reviewing complaints about breaches of ethical behaviour including conflict of interest matters, and seeking an appropriate resolution in each case
Where it is in the public interest to do so, conducting formal investigations and making findings and recommendations to council or the applicable local board
Providing periodic reports to council, summarizing their activities and summarizing important developments in the field
The integrity commissioner performs functions with respect to the application of the council code of conduct, along with any legislation, procedures, rules and policies governing the ethical behaviour of municipal elected officials

Contacting the office of the integrity commissioner

Council appointed Principles Integrity, and its principals Jeffrey A. Abrams and Janice Atwood-Petkovski as the integrity commissioner for the Municipality of West Grey.

Members of the public wishing to submit a formal complaint should contact the integrity commissioner directly at:

Please review the public complaints process before issuing your complaint to determine if the complaint is informal or formal in nature.

Integrity commissioner reports:

Procedural bylaw

The conduct of council and committee meetings is governed by the municipal procedural by-law, which is a requirement of the Municipal Act, 2001. The procedural by-law provides rules of order for meetings, closed session topics and defines public notice requirements for council and committee meetings.

Accessibility of Documents:
Documents are available in alternate formats upon request.
Please contact the clerk's department at 519-369-2200 x 229 or by email at clerk@westgrey.com if you require an accessible format or communication support, to discuss how best we can meet your needs.