Funding sought for electric vehicle charging station

The Town of Erin is applying for funding to get a high speed charging station for electric vehicles at Centre 2000.

Wellington County already has plans to install a charging station at the new Hillsburgh Library, which is expected to open this spring.

Erin town council is hoping for 50 per cent funding from the federal government, and that the Upper Grand District School Board will cover half of the remaining cost, since the station would be a benefit to Erin District High School.

The fast charging (Level 3) stations cost about $85,000 each. If the federal and school board funding comes through, the town would pay the balance up to $25,000 out of the 2017 Nestlé voluntary levy. The water bottling company makes payments to the town based on the volume of water pumped at its Hillsburgh well.

Natural Resources Canada has a funding program designed to create a Canadian network of Level 3 stations. These can charge two electric vehicles (EVs) to 80 per cent of battery capacity in about 30 minutes, with a travel range of about 250 km per hour of charging.

These are expected to be common in public places and along major highways. Users would pay about 28 cents per Kw or $12 per hour pro-rated by the minute, with a $2.50 flat fee per session.

The non-profit group Plug’n Drive says less expensive Level 2 stations are expected to be installed by many employers and commercial building owners, taking four to six hours for an 80 per cent charge, with a range of about 30 km per hour of charging.

EVs can also be charged at Level 1 through a regular wall socket, providing only about 8 km of travel range per hour of charging.

Chong’s Reform Act could give MPs real power

As published in The Erin Advocate

2015 is shaping up as a momentous year for MP Michael Chong, with his Reform Act expected to come up for Third Reading and a final vote in the House of Commons this month.

It would be turning point in the history of Canadian democracy, tipping the balance of power away from party leaders, in favour of members of parliament.

“I am cautiously optimistic that the Reform Act will be passed into law,” he said. “We are up against the hard deadline of the 2015 federal election. It’s important that the bill be passed into law before the House rises next June.”

The act would reinforce the traditional concept of “responsible government”, making the executive (prime minister and cabinet) more accountable to the legislature and ensure that leaders maintain the confidence of their MPs – similar to systems in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Return of Homechild highlights local talent

As published in The Erin Advocate

The new production of Homechild – The Musical at Centre 2000 this week is a showcase of local musical and dramatic talent, shining a light on a dark corner of Canadian history and celebrating the power of family ties.

Hillsburgh playwright and composer Barb Perkins remains passionate about telling the story of the hundreds of thousands of impoverished British children who were shipped to colonies including Canada between 1860 and the 1930s. They were promised a better life, but often experienced hardship, abuse and discrimination as indentured farm labourers and domestic servants.

The story of Perkins’ own family history has been transformed into a play that has an evolving life of its own. It centres on Nan and three other children taken from a family of nine in Wales, and their desire to be reunited.

September 28 was British Home Child Day in Ontario and some members of the cast performed songs from the play at a day of special events held at Black Creek Pioneer Village.

Stephanie Baird and Jeff Bathurst share a song of hope. 

Watching a rehearsal on Sunday, it was interested to see that even with the hustle and bustle of set changes and getting the cast of 31 on and off the stage in an efficient manner, the moments of hope and anguish and fighting spirit shone through bright and clear.

The play originally had a workshop staging at the Charlottetown Festival in 1999, but found its home in Erin with a full production in 2005. Since then it has been mounted by groups in Oakville, Ottawa, and in January of 2013 by Orangeville Music Theatre.

Drama teacher Steve Sherry, who helped with the show in 2005, is artistic director this time around. Music is directed by Pam Claridge, Jim Hanenberg and Barb Perkins, who is also co-producer with Chris Bailey. The Stage Manager is Stephanie Giugovaz, assisted by Jim Baker and Nancy Larocque.

Set Design and Construction are by Steve Sherry, Michael Russel and a crew of helpers, with painting by Klara Gooding and Stephanie Baird, who is also the Choreographer. The Dance Captain is Tori Ridley. Props are coordinated by Susan Wilson and costumes created by a team of nine: Barb Perkins, Christine Turnbull, Gillian Bailey, Cecile Bull, Lorraine Fennell, Sue Harvey, Nancy Larocque, Kim Pearson and Jacqueline Pilote.

The cast includes Jeff Bathurst as Will, the father of the family, and Stephanie Baird as his wife Ellyn. Young Nan is played by Paula Turnbull, Young Mary by Sierra Virgin, Young James by Brett English and Young Thomas by Dylan Larocque. The Matron is played by Candace Kelm, Older Nan by Sarah Martin, Older Mary by Racheal Seifried, Older James by Dexter Adkin and Older Thomas by Corey Kalynchuk.

The Male Chorus is Des Baxter, Brad Finch, Jim Hanenberg, Mark Keir, Mark Ladouceur, Dick Murray and Keith Smith. The Female Chorus is Tori Bennett, Karen Heckman, Elyse Hodgson, Kathy O’Shea, Kim Pearson, Tori Ridley, Sierra Virgin and Cathy Waters. The Youth Chorus is Theo Adkin, Tessa Dandy, Klara Gooding, Josie Larocque and Brad Pearson.

Tickets are available at the Brighten Up Toy and Game store in Erin – call 833-9258. More about the show is available at www.homechildmusical.com and about the Child Emigration movement at www.canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com.

Mayor launches Code of Ethics court challenge

As published in The Erin Advocate

As soon as Erin’s Integrity Commissioner had dismissed a series of complaints under the Council Code of Ethics by Mayor Lou Maieron last week, calling them unfounded and in some cases “vexatious”, the mayor announced that he would launch a formal challenge of the process in Ontario Superior Court.

The mayor declared a conflict of interest and vacated his seat at the council table as Integrity Commissioner Robert Williams presented his findings – summarized in last week’s Erin Advocate.

The four other councillors, who were all subjects of Maieron’s complaints, received the reports without comment. The full text of the reports is in the October 7 agenda, at www.erin.ca.

The mayor is launching the judicial review at his own cost, and demanding that fees charged by the Integrity Commissioner during this term of council be refunded to taxpayers. The current case will cost the Town about $7,000 and previous ones have cost up to $18,000. In addition, the commissioner’s contract guarantees that the Town will pay all of his costs, including legal fees and damages, if he is taken to court.

In a flyer distributed inside the council chambers, Maieron says that by submitting affidavits to the court on each complaint and report, he expects that, “The Truth will be revealed to all and a Judge will decide what’s fair and what’s not!”

Although he was the author of 15 out of the 17 current complaints, Maieron said he is the victim of “government bullying”, and complains that the Code has been used “to attack a person’s good name with no substantial evidence or validating court process”.

In Erin’s first Code case last year, an Integrity Commissioner ruled that Maieron was a “bully” who had violated the Code by abusing Town staff and improperly leaving a council meeting. In a case this year, he was found in violation on seven complaints, including improper handling of conflicts of interest linked to his lawsuit against the Town and improperly revealing confidential information. In each case, council imposed a penalty of one month’s pay.

He hopes the new council will abolish use of the optional Code of Ethics, which he calls a “kangaroo court”, and that it is ultimately removed from the Municipal Act, “so small town municipalities do not needlessly suffer as Erin has.”

Commissioner Williams admitted that there are uncertainties in Erin’s Code and provincial law, including right of reply for the defendant and how a council would decide on penalties if several of them were found to have violated the Code. He plans to write a report on the issues.

Williams suggested a blackout period so complaints could not interfere with an election campaign. He also said council should consider a “chargeback” provision, so that anyone making unsupported allegations could be forced to pay for the cost of the process.

He said a Code complaint involves an affidavit, essentially swearing an oath that the evidence supplied is true. The current complaints were largely without evidence and composed of broad allegations that did not even identify how the Code may have been violated, Williams said. The mayor contends that his complaints were “backed up by solid evidence”.

As soon as council had received Williams’ reports, Maieron accused him publicly of violating the Municipal Act by not maintaining confidentiality in a previous case, by naming an individual in his report. Williams disagreed, saying that he had acted properly with the powers granted to him by the Municipal Act, and that the identity of that individual had already been made public in court documents related to the complaint.

The Code of Ethics is intended to set behaviour standards for elected council members only. Complaints can be made by anyone, with the name of the complainant and defendant remaining confidential until the Integrity Commissioner makes a public report.

The commissioner has broad powers to conduct an inquiry, but it is an informal process of private interviews and non-public examination of evidence. After the report is made, the complaint itself and any evidence not reported by the commissioner remain confidential.

Mayor again ruled in violation of Code of Ethics

As published in The Erin Advocate

Erin’s Integrity Commissioner has ruled that Mayor Lou Maieron violated several sections of council’s Code of Ethics, including improper handling of conflicts of interest linked to his lawsuit against the Town and improperly revealing confidential information in support of a court action against Councillor Deb Callaghan.

In a report to Town Council to be discussed Tuesday, Robert Williams upholds seven Code allegations made against the mayor by Councillor Callaghan, and recommends Council impose a one-month suspension of pay. He suggests that Maieron may also have violated both the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Since he is suing the Town on an issue that involves stormwater issues, Williams said Maieron should not have participated in discussion of the Town’s handling of another stormwater dispute, concerning the pond at Madison Lake subdivision in Ospringe. The commissioner said he “failed to clearly distinguish his personal interests and the public interest.”

After investigating another allegation, Williams said the mayor should not have been involved in the budget discussion of increased legal costs, since it included the Town defending itself against his lawsuit.

The mayor’s disregard for rules about confidential information is “unacceptable”, said Williams, finding him in violation on three related allegations. The full report is available in the first section of the council agenda for July 22, at www.erin.ca.

Council gave the mayor a 30-day pay suspension last December after previous Integrity Commissioner John Craig found him in violation of the Code for his treatment of staff, revealing confidential information and leaving a meeting in progress. Code of Conduct investigations are entirely separate from the court system, with no public proceedings or examination of witnesses.

Councillor Callaghan is currently defending herself in a Conflict of Interest Act court case initiated by Erin resident Mark Adamiak, who alleges she failed to declare a conflict, and improperly voted on staff pay and other issues that affected her husband, the fire chief. That case will be heard in September, with Callaghan saying any errors on her part were inadvertent.

At Adamiak’s request, the mayor filed an affidavit with the court. He referred to a 2013 Code of Conduct complaint against Callaghan that had never been made public. Code complaints remain confidential until they are investigated and council gets a report. That complaint did not proceed, partly because the alleged voting on conflict of interest matters happened before the Code was enacted.

Maieron provided the court with a copy of the complaint letter, written by Pauline Follett to then CAO Frank Miele. His affidavit says the letter “prompted” a closed council meeting – an education session with a lawyer, who he said, “enlightened Councillor Callaghan on the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.”

The specific complaint was not addressed by the lawyer, but it was improper for the mayor to reveal the topic of that closed session and release the letter, said Williams. In his affidavit, Maieron said he believed he was “required by law” to provide the information. He took guidance from the Municipal Act in the interests of “accountability and transparency”, saying the Act made it “incumbent on me to provide the missing facts which would not be in Mr. Adamiak’s knowledge.”

Williams said the Municipal Act “does not give the Head of Council the power to unilaterally override the Town’s procedural by-law or its Code of Ethics.” Even though the letter had been shared with some residents of Erin, Williams believes it is “personal information”, the release of which is prohibited under the Privacy Act.

“The letter is not a public document and should not have been used by Mr. Maieron as if it were,” he said. While admitting it is not his job to address possible violations of provincial law, “the legality of Mr. Maieron’s use of Mrs. Follett’s letter is questionable.”

Williams also noted that responsibility for the process of potentially releasing private information is assigned to Town staff, not elected officials. Therefore, he upheld Callaghan’s allegation that the mayor violated the Code of Ethics by interfering in an area of staff responsibility.

Compared to the allegations related to the mayor’s lawsuit, the ones involving confidential information are “much more serious, since he chose in his sworn affidavit to divulge information about in-camera Council business and to include correspondence with a senior Town official that had never been shared with Council, let alone the public,” said Williams.

The mayor’s suit against the Town seeks $75,000 in damages and repayment of about $39,000 in taxes he paid to avoid a forced sale of a buffer block of property between his fish farm and a subdivision. He seeks full ownership of that land as provided by the Ontario Municipal Board, without the easement reserved by the developer on behalf of the Town to deal with potential subdivision stormwater problems.

Although the mayor has no direct financial interest in the Madison Lake pond dispute, he eventually declared a conflict of interest in May after participating in council discussions of the matter. Williams said it should not have taken him almost three months to identify this potential conflict.

“Because Mr. Maieron’s business is based in part on the role the Town plays in water management systems, he has an ‘interest’ in whatever decision Council might make,” said Williams, ruling there had been a Code violation.

Another allegation says it was not proper for the mayor to request explanations of Town payments to a law firm advising the Town on the Madison Lake issue. He made seven such requests before declaring a conflict of interest on the matter, and three requests after he declared. Williams ruled that another Code violation.

In April this year, a report was coming to council about legal expenses over the last two terms of council. The mayor properly declared a conflict of interest at the start of the meeting. However when it was time to receive the report he remained as presiding officer, which Williams said “is an unambiguous breach of Section 5(1) of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.”

The mayor said any error was due to “inadvertence”, that it was a report for information only with no discussion, and that there was confusion over procedure. He thought he needed to remain at the table to maintain a quorum of three members, while the rules state that two is a quorum when members have to step away due to conflict of interest. Williams rejected his explanations and again found him in violation of the Code.

Permaculture author predicts major upheaval

As published in The Erin Advocate

It’s difficult to put your finger on permaculture. It’s more than a way of gardening, but it’s not a formal science. It’s more than an attitude, but it’s not quite a religion. In its purer forms, it is too radical for most people, but it is having an influence on our culture, and it could become more prominent if things really start to fall apart.

Permaculture author Peter Bane was in Erin last week promoting the core strategies of this “way of thinking” to a receptive audience of about 50 at All Saints Church. The meeting was hosted by Transition Erin, which is part of a movement that sprang from the ideals of permaculture.

Bane is the author of The Permaculture Handbook and publisher of Permaculture Activist journal. Farmer Val Steinmann introduced him as a North American leader in the field, helping make permaculture a global movement, taking it “from the fringes, to the mainstream of church basements”.

Bane calls permaculture “a design system rooted in ecological science”, focused on care of the earth, care of people and fair distribution of surplus. This is linked to awareness of limits within nature, and the need to limit population and consumption.

“It’s a way of thinking about problems and turning them into solutions holistically – we can do it in our lives, we can do it in our businesses, we can do it in our communities,” he said.

“Permaculture is fundamentally about economic democracy, about recreating resources at the local level so that everyone has enough. The problem with our economy is that is continues to concentrate wealth in a few hands. There are more than a billion people on this planet who are hungry every single day.

“In the process of building the industrial economy over the last 200 years, we have destroyed large parts of the earth. We have to recreate the wealth that our ancestors inherited and used up to bring us to where we are today.”

The idealism of the movement can be seen in goals such full employment, with full enjoyment of worthwhile work.

“If we were all doing more of what we really liked and loved to do, those would be those jobs that need doing. Planting trees, cultivating gardens, taking care of people, building community among wonderful people like this,” he said.

“The answers are in our front and back yards, in our neighbourhoods. By turning our attention to building soil at home, growing food, processing and trading it locally, we can build the local economy, rebuild our health and restore the basis for economic democracy by creating real resilience. Food sovereignty means political sovereignty.”

The message also has that familiar apocalyptic tone. The ravages of climate change, energy shortages, overpopulation and depleted soils will destroy the wasteful economy that we know, and if we survive, we will all have to manage with less of everything. Bane says the problems are too entrenched to be solved by governments, and that it will take grassroots movements to make progress.

“Now, we’re living in the time of the whirlwind – all these things are squeezing us into smaller and smaller space,” he said. “What we’re about is redesigning human culture. It’s a complete cultural transformation we’re after. Everyone is going to go through a traumatic and amazing cultural upheaval over the next two decades. We’d better be prepared, because it’s coming at us, like it or not.”

In practical terms at home, permaculture means taking control and looking for opportunities to conserve water and energy, recycle waste of every sort, grow food or buy from local producers and let nature do more work for us. Within the economy, it means shifting from oil to wind, solar and biomass energy and producing much of what we need locally.

The ideas are already well known, but we have not been forced to really take them seriously. When the crunch comes, the permaculture folks want to be ready to throw humanity a lifeline.

Council member facing Ethics complaint

As published in The Erin Advocate

An unidentified member of Erin Town Council is the subject of a Code of Ethics complaint, CAO Kathryn Ironmonger announced at the June 17 council meeting.

The Code requires that the announcement be made, but that the identities of the member and the person making the complaint remain confidential.

Anyone can make a complaint under the Code, which covers a wide range of issues, including honesty, use of influence, use of Town property, acceptance of gifts, treatment of staff and the public, confidentiality and personal financial dealings.

The complaint has been reviewed by Integrity Commissioner Robert Williams, a retired political science professor who is on retainer to the Town and charges $125 per hour for his services.

He believes it is within the scope of the Code, so he will investigate and report to council as required within 90 days of the June 4 complaint, said Ironmonger.

The identities of those involved would be revealed at that time, along with recommended penalties if the councillor is found to have violated the Code. Council would vote on the penalties, which can range from an apology to a suspension of pay, but cannot include removal from office.

Legal costs way up in this council term

As published in The Erin Advocate

The costs of dealing with lawsuits and other legal issues has risen 61.4% during this term of council, with much more to come in 2014 according to Finance Director Sharon Marshall.

She was asked by council last year to compare legal costs in the current term, compared to the previous four-year term.

Costs for the last three years, plus three months, total $182,834, including a high of $96,943 for 2013. That compares to $113,252 for the four years ending in November 2010.

“We are currently dealing with several lawsuits that are not being defended by our municipal insurance provider, so I expect the 2014 legal costs will be substantial,” said Marshall.

Steve Garrod is the Town’s primary lawyer. His firm accounted for $130,492 of legal expenses in this term, including $55,921 last year alone. That compares to $59,105 from 2006 to 2010.

The spending this term is spread among eight providers, including $2,104 to meeting investigator Norm Gamble and $16,465 to John Craig, hired to investigate the Code of Conduct complaint against Mayor Lou Maieron.

Other highlights from the current term breakdown include: general legal advice for various departments - $73,347; human resource matters - $20,153; tax arrears - $5,783; freedom of information issues - $2,370; a lawsuit - $7,408; SSMP - $9,439; fill bylaw and enforcement - $11,761; severances and OMB appeals - $18,480; fire hall construction lawsuit - $2,768 and the Station Road project - $12,560.

Liaison Committee views needed in SSMP Report

As published in The Erin Advocate

In the strange parallel world of the Servicing and Settlement Master Plan (SSMP), the action seems to go around in loops rather than a straight timeline. That’s all fine and dandy, as long as one does not expect anything to actually happen.

There was a huge interest in the sewer issue last spring, with lots of people at public meetings wanting to have input.

With talk of an expensive decision being made soon, there was support for an election referendum on whether to proceed with further environmental study. This, however, was considered too complicated to put into a single question.

Plan B was to set up a committee with broad community representation to give Town Council advice on how to proceed. But then they asked, why set up a community committee when we already have one?

Plan C was to add representatives of two citizen groups to the SSMP Liaison Committee, and it would become more directive in its functioning. Twice I urged councillors to specifically change the terms of reference, so the committee could report directly to them, but that did not happen.

Sure enough, when the committee met in December, BM Ross Consultant Matt Pearson said he had no mandate to change the committee’s function. So we looped back to the old routine, rehashing events from years gone by and feeding bits of information to the members that they would somehow transmit to the broader community.

Never did he ask the members what they thought about how things were going or what recommendations the study should make to council. It was never his job to do that.

Committee members who were expecting to have serious input could well feel cheated. I think the technical term is “bamboozled”.

To their credit, new members Matt Sammut of Concerned Erin Citizens (CEC) and Roy Val of Transition Erin, along with Mayor Lou Maieron, did pepper the consultant with questions.

Sammut said the SSMP has to fit into a proper Strategic Plan, which the Town has not finished developing. As usual, the idea of looking into alternative technologies was deferred to a future post-SSMP stage of environmental assessment.

“We can’t stick it to the people,” said Sammut. “First we have to make sure it’s fiscally responsible.”

BM Ross has reported that a traditional gravity based sewer system (very expensive and disruptive) could be Erin’s best solution. Val said it is important that “all viable wastewater solutions” be considered.

He also pointed out that the possibility of a “Big Pipe” now being investigated by BM Ross, to dispose of sewage via Peel Region treatment facilities, with discharge to Lake Ontario, is specifically prohibited by the Wellington Official Plan.

Member Bob Wilson noted that having a treatment plant would actually limit development, because if Erin got permission for a Big Pipe, there would be no limit.

“This process has been developed ass-backwards,” said Mayor Maieron. “If we wanted a sewage treatment plant, we should have focused on that.”

Pearson reported that an unnamed person at the regulatory level had said to him, “The people of Erin do not get to decide how big they’re going to be.” Pearson said if Erin wants to deviate from the provincial policy that favours sanitary sewers, it will have to have a convincing business plan.

By this spring, the SSMP is expected to report the maximum urban population that the West Credit River can support, along with new financial and hydrology analysis. Pearson is trying to negotiate the highest possible sewage and population limits for Erin’s urban areas, based on new river data from Credit Valley Conservation.

There won’t be another big public meeting until after council decides whether to move forward with some sort of wastewater system. That meeting will be to explain the decision, not to ask anyone’s opinion on the matter. Opinions will still be flying, of course, but the people who will have to pay the costs could end up feeling like spectators rather than players.

There is no consensus on how the Town should proceed, so anyone who wants to influence the process needs to figure out what they realistically want, and communicate with their elected councillors.

I think the members of the Liaison Committee, who have endured four years of meetings, should have the privilege of stating their views in a brief letter. That batch of letters should be included in the SSMP Final Report, just for the record.

Council gives CAO vote of confidence

As published in The Erin Advocate

Town Council has given Chief Administrative Officer Kathryn Ironmonger a vote of confidence, and attempted to set the record straight about events that led to announcement of her promotion last June.

The CAO had requested the support after months of conflict between herself and Mayor Lou Maieron. At the December 17 council meeting, the public waited for three hours while the politicians and staff met privately with the Town lawyer.

They hammered out a motion, as well as a statement that the mayor was obliged to read out in public, even though he disagreed with sections of it. This is in the wake of the recent report by an Integrity Commissioner, who found that the mayor had violated the Code of Ethics, saying he had bullied staff.

Council previously accepted the recommendation that Maieron’s salary be forfeited for one month, and has now agreed with his request that the money be donated to the Food Bank.

At the December 3 meeting, the mayor offered a vigorous defense of his positions,  rejecting all the allegations. Some of the controversy swirls about the June 25 meeting, at which Ironmonger was appointed. The mayor had wanted other candidates considered before hiring internally.

He walked out in protest from that meeting, arguing that it was improperly held under council rules. His request that the process for hiring a CAO should be discussed publicly at that meeting was placed at the end of the agenda, after the hiring. Ironmonger said she followed proper protocol in preparing the agenda, since the mayor’s initiative was a reconsideration of something that had already been decided in closed session.

Here is part of the December 17 statement, with details that were previously confidential:

“Council offered the CAO/Town Manager position to the Acting CAO on June 4th, which was accepted. Mrs. Ironmonger requested a written employment agreement be signed before her appointment was publicly announced. Council was prepared to ratify the agreement at the June 18th meeting, however, Council agreed to defer the item at the request of the Mayor to the June 25th meeting with the understanding that it would be ratified during that meeting.”

On June 25, Councillor Barb Tocher said to Maieron, “you're pretending you don't know what's going on and you do – you are part of it." Maieron replied that he did know what was going on, but that he was acting to make the process “open, transparent and accountable”. Councillors had legal advice that they were not obliged to discuss the process in public.

Here is Councillor Tocher’s motion that was approved December 17:

“Council hereby passes a ‘Vote of Confidence’ that the CAO/Town Manager is fulfilling the roles and responsibilities of the position to the satisfaction of Council; and that Council further confirms that they have confidence in their staff as a whole.

“Council adopts a ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’ in an attempt to take all reasonable steps to ensure that staff has a safe work environment from harassment and bullying; and that Council will not tolerate unacceptable conduct; and that Council agrees to implement the recommended solutions outlined in the Closed Session Report presented by the Joint Health and Safety Committee to address the hazard.”

No details of that report were made public.

Regarding the legality of the June 25 meeting, council asserted in the new statement that the meeting was properly scheduled, with normal notice provided. The agenda was emailed to the media and posted on the Town website.

“Council directed staff to add additional items to the scheduled meeting in order to have items addressed in a timely manner because only one meeting was scheduled for the following month,” the statement said.

“Council has the authority to add items, approve and/or amend the agenda, which is something Council does on a regular basis.”

Mayor says he is a victim of ‘witch hunt’

As published in The Erin Advocate

Mayor Lou Maieron has accused Integrity Commissioner John Craig of bias in his investigation of Code of Conduct complaints, suggesting there is the perception of collusion against him.

In the commentary published with the December 3 agenda, the mayor implies a connection between CAO Kathryn Ironmonger and Craig, since they are former clerks, acquainted by previously being active in the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario. Ironmonger also presented him to council as the only candidate for the job.

Maieron wrote to Craig during the investigation: “even if a direct conflict of interest does not exist, the perception of a conflict existing, given your draft conclusions in this matter and how these conclusions have been discredited on the evidence I have provided, all seem to lead to the conclusion that this is a well organized witch hunt to discredit the Mayor and make sure he is un-electable next term.”

At the December 3 meeting, council voted 3-2 to accept Craig’s report and recommendations, including a one-month pay suspension for the mayor, funding a leadership training course for him and hiring a facilitator to improve Town working relationships.

After that meeting, Craig said while he may have met Ironmonger as part of his work, the mayor’s allegation is not valid.

“He is really grasping at straws. If there was anything that would be a conflict, I would not have taken the job,” said Craig.

“The allegation that I have a personal connection with Mr. Craig is simply speculative and unfounded,” said Ironmonger. She said Craig was recommended by another municipality at a time when the Town of Erin had a deadline to get an investigation done quickly.

Normally, the Town would have a regular Integrity Commissioner, who would be obliged by the Code to investigate a complaint and report to Town Council within 90 days.

Council has now hired Robert Williams as the regular commissioner, but at the time of the complaint against the mayor, the first since the Code was adopted in March, there was no commissioner.

The complaint was made July 4, and Craig was not hired until late that month, initially leaving only two months for the investigation. The deadline was later extended, primarily to allow the mayor to prepare his defense, so the process eventually spanned 5 months.

Integrity Commissioners have broad powers through the Code of Ethics to “exercise the powers of a commission” under the Public Inquiries Act. While not judges, they have authority to gather evidence and weigh its value.

Mayor loses month's pay for Ethics Code breach

As published in The Erin Advocate

Mayor Lou Maieron was slapped with a one-month suspension of pay by Town Council last week, as they voted 3-2 to accept the results of an investigation into his behaviour under Erin’s Code of Ethics.

Integrity Commissioner John Craig investigated five allegations made by Councillor Josie Wintersinger and found Maieron in violation on three of them.

He also recommended the Town pay for a leadership training course for the mayor, and that they hire a facilitator to help council and staff “set a path to a more cooperative working relationship”.

Councillor Barb Tocher made the motion to accept Craig’s recommendations. It was seconded by Councillor Deb Callaghan and supported by Councillor Josie Wintersinger, who had made the allegations against the mayor on July 4. They offered no comments before casting their votes.

Councillor John Brennan asked the mayor if he wanted to step aside from chairing that section of the meeting, but he declined. Maieron said later that he had consulted his lawyer and was confident that he had the right to speak in a debate that concerned his pay.

Brennan voted against the motion, saying it would be an ineffective act of retribution.

“Trying to force the mayor to undergo training, that’s a waste his time and of taxpayers’ money. Suspending remuneration for a month, is that going make the situation better, or is that going to just pour gasoline on the fire?” he said.

“I think it effectively means that for the rest of this term of council there’s going to be a mini-war going on. I don’t see any way of reconciling if we do that. The hope of reconciliation is slim, but I would rather try and get that reconciliation because I think that’s in the best interests of the people of Erin.”

On the allegation that the mayor revealed confidential information by discussing the firing of former CAO Frank Miele, Craig said he “technically” breached the Code, but that it was “not a significant transgression”. On an allegation that he accepted an improper gift on his China trip, Craig ruled he had not done so.

He was cleared of providing false information to the public on the process for recruiting a new CAO. But on an allegation that he improperly left the council meeting at which former Clerk Kathryn Ironmonger was appointed CAO, as a protest of procedures, Craig found he violated the Code by failing to provide leadership.

“I did try to provide leadership, and enforce the policies and rules of this council, and council just couldn’t defer it for one week,” said Maieron.

It was alleged that statements and emails by the mayor were intimidating, demeaning and harmful to the reputation of staff and others. Craig said while the offenses could be “considered somewhat low on the range of misconduct, the Mayor's behaviour repeatedly crossed the line into forbidden territory.”

Maieron rejects the recommendations and said he was “standing up for democracy”. He said the investigation was “one-sided, with the integrity commissioner holding all the cards”, and that the complaints from Councillor Wintersinger were “frivolous, vexatious and made in bad faith”.

He says some Town staff have been hostile to him. Craig reported that the mayor rarely uses his Town office except when the public is present, “for fear that anything he does or says may lead to an accusation of Code of Ethics violations.”

Craig called this “a ridiculous assertion – unbecoming of a person in a leadership position, yet consistent with his self-portrayal as the victim.” Maieron said at the council meeting, “I don’t attend the office, because I don’t feel safe here.”

Members of the public were given permission to ask questions at the meeting, and some were surprised to learn that Craig had been hired by council for this one investigation at a cost of $175 per hour plus expenses. Although the total bill has not been compiled, Craig estimated it could be $12,000 to $15,000.

“It is a disgrace,” said one resident. After the meeting, Craig said that his rate is “cheap” compared to others doing similar work, and that the bill would have been considerably lower if the mayor had not sent him so many emails and documents.

Maieron accused him of exceeding his authority, but Craig said he has broad power under the Public Inquiries Act to seek out supporting evidence beyond that which was originally submitted.

Maieron argued that the penalty he was given is too harsh, since it is his “first offence”. The maximum is a three-month pay suspension.

He asked that his one month of Town pay, about $1,900, be donated to the local Food Bank, but councillors did not want to make that decision immediately. He will continue to receive his pay for serving on County Council.

“I’m rough around the edges, but I know my job, to look after the taxpayers,” he said, claiming the report is a “defamatory” and a “character assassination”.

He said the email that got him into trouble was about a safety issue raised several times by a resident which took 17 months to resolve.

He offered no apology, saying that there was “collusion to diminish my role as mayor” and that “the public can decide” on his conduct in next October’s municipal election.

“I will not be muzzled,” said the mayor. Within a few minutes of the vote on the integrity report, as the meeting continued with other business, Maieron publicly chastised a senior staff member, including a personal comment. This sparked a loud and bitter protest from Councillor Tocher.

After the meeting, Councillor Wintersinger said she made the Code complaints for the benefit of Town staff and Town Council.

“He has made a mockery of the whole process, twisting everything around,” she said. “You can’t talk to the man. It’s just one argument after another. We are moving backwards.”

Commissioner says mayor broke Code of Ethics

As published in The Erin Advocate

An Integrity Commissioner hired by the Town of Erin says Mayor Lou Maieron is a “bully” who repeatedly violated the Town’s Code of Ethics.

John Craig recommends that Town Council suspend Maieron without pay for one month as a sanction for various breaches of the Code, the most serious of which involve the abuse of Town staff.

“I judge the pattern of his transgressions to be harmful on a personal, corporate and community level demanding immediate corrective action,” said Craig.

Maieron strongly denies this conclusion, saying in a published commentary that it is “very disturbing and destructive without any basis in fact.”

Craig investigated five allegations made by Councillor Josie Wintersinger and found Maieron in violation of the Code on three of them.

He also suggests that the Town pay for a leadership training course for the mayor, and that they hire a facilitator to help council and staff “set a path to a more cooperative working relationship”.

The mayor rejects all of the complaints as “frivolous, vexatious and a waste of everyone’s time”. He said the Commissioner, by identifying which provisions of the Code had allegedly been broken, became the “accuser as well as judge, jury and executioner”.

The investigation under the Code was informal, with no public hearings or examination of witnesses as would happen in a court case. Details including the name of the complainant were secret until now. Authority rests with Town Council regarding penalties or other actions.

Craig’s report and Maieron’s commentary form a section of the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting, held after this issue of The Advocate went to press. The agenda and the Code itself are available on the Town website, www.erin.ca.

It was alleged that statements and emails by the mayor were intimidating, demeaning and harmful to the reputation of staff and others. Craig said while the offenses could be “considered somewhat low on the range of misconduct, the Mayor's behaviour repeatedly crossed the line into forbidden territory.”

He cited several instances of criticizing staff in public, questioning their integrity, suggesting they be replaced or excluding those who disagree with him from discussions of Town business. Some staff have feared for their jobs after communicating with him, while some others said he was “simply annoying”.

“Mayor Maieron's contrarian and argumentative style in his email messages and personal interactions is relentless,” said Craig. “It has been reported to me by multiple independent sources that he can be condescending (particularly towards females) and sometimes intimidating. Evidence supports the fact that much of the poor behaviour displayed by the Mayor has been ongoing for quite some time and continues.”

Craig acknowledged that some communications to the mayor have been “disrespectful and inappropriate”. While it is not in his mandate to judge the behaviour of others, he said, “There is plenty of ill will to go around at Town Hall ... evidence reveals a serious and persistent level of tension and grinding frustration in the workplace (including at the council table).

“It is probable that information is not being fully and properly shared with the Mayor because of the anguish caused by anticipation of another potentially relentless round of contrarian argument and criticism. Consequently, it is highly likely that informed public debate on important matters is being suppressed.”

On an allegation that the mayor revealed confidential information to the public on June 25 by discussing the firing of former CAO Frank Miele, Craig said he “technically” breached the Code. “It was not a significant transgression and most likely due to an error in judgment,” he said noting that the term “confidential” is not properly defined in the Code.

On an allegation that the mayor accepted an improper payment as a gift relating to the costs of a trip to China, Craig ruled that he had not done so, since local governments in China paid for the meals and accommodations, as permitted in the Code.

He recommended that council “review its expense policy to clarify the definition of the term ‘conference’, and consider requiring members to seek council permission for extraordinary expenses.”

On an allegation that the mayor improperly left the June 25 council meeting in progress, after a dispute over procedures, Craig ruled that he violated the Code. The mayor argued that his action was legal under the Municipal Act and did not violate council’s procedure bylaw.

“Just because doing something is legal does not mean that it is therefore the right thing to do,” said Craig, ruling that the mayor failed to meet the Code requirement to “provide leadership, build consensus, avoid discouraging and destructive conflict, and conduct himself with decorum.”

On an allegation that the mayor knowingly provided false information to the public on the process for recruiting a new CAO, Craig ruled that while he almost broke the Code, he did not actually do so.
Maieron allegedly said the selection process, which resulted in the hiring of Kathryn Ironmonger as CAO, had not been discussed, when in fact it had been discussed at a closed meeting. Craig agreed that the mayor had simply said the process had not been discussed at an open meeting.

“This is a well organized witch hunt to discredit the Mayor and make sure he is un-electable next term,” said Maieron, who sent Craig more than 65 emails and about 200 pages of of material in response to a draft report sent to him.

“There were attempts to intimidate with insulting accusations about my independence and integrity, citing completely fictitious personal and outrageous references,” said Craig in his report.

“In fact, of the nearly two hundred pages of his responses to the allegations and my findings, only several paragraphs were actually relevant to the allegations. Most of the evidence in his defence came from elsewhere.

“When called to account for his behaviour, he immediately becomes argumentative, aggressively denying everything, then counter-attacks with distorted or fabricated criticisms and allegations; if this is insufficient, he quickly feigns victimhood to evade accountability by trying to manipulate others through the use of guilt.

“It is clear that he does not care in the least to examine his own behaviour, even as it may be seen by others. To me, his responses indicate an overbearing belief in his qualities of leadership but he seems unable to distinguish between the true qualities of leadership (maturity, decisiveness, assertiveness, trust and integrity) and traits of a bully (immaturity, impulsiveness, aggression, distrust and deceitfulness).”

Craig was hired for this case only. He is charging $175 per hour, plus expenses. The Town has since hired Robert Williams, a retired political science professor, as its regular Integrity Commissioner. Maieron has sent a copy of the accusations and evidence in this case to yet another Integrity Commissioner to get a second opinion.

Craig noted that the mayor feels he has been treated in a “condescending and demeaning way” by staff and “described his frequent frustration with the responsiveness to citizen complaints”. Maieron said in his commentary that while the Town does have “some good staff”, in general he has been “unwanted, unwelcome, and disrespected” since he was elected in 2010.

“I will not cover up for Staff inadequacies any longer, nor keep all the secrets from the public,” he said. “This has been on-going for more than 10 years but public scrutiny is finally coming to bear. So now we need to shoot the messenger, the Mayor. Nice try.”

Maieron had submitted 12 resident letters to Craig, similar to character references, which the mayor said, “Identify a very dysfunctional council, but they don't blame the Mayor for this dysfunctionality. These resident letters also point to a power struggle between a former Mayor and the currently elected Mayor and a sense of entitled behaviour that exists in the municipal offices.”

Maieron complained that the original plan to have the Integrity Commissioner provide training and advice for councillors was not carried out. Craig recommended that with the permanent commissioner, “Council and senior staff be provided training on the application of the Code of Ethics.”

The bylaw to adopt a Code of Ethics was passed in March this year by a vote of 4-1, with only Maieron voting against, arguing that council's procedural bylaw and existing laws on conflict of interest, elections and privacy are sufficient to protect the public interest.

He said the code "could become a container full of sticks" that fractious councillors might use against each other, and argued that it was unfair to impose new rules during a council term.

No revisions for now to staff Code of Ethics

As published in The Erin Advocate

A push by Mayor Lou Maieron to make the Town’s Employee Code of Ethics match the Council Code did not get any traction at the November 19 council meeting.

The mayor went “fishing” for seconder, but did not get one, for his motion to hire a consultant “to review and revise the Staff Code of Ethics to bring it into conformity, where applicable, to the Councillor Code of Ethics, and that the Staff Code of Ethics consider including a standard of public service component.”

Councillor John Brennan said he has a problem with that idea, since he is not aware of which differences between the Codes are at issue.

“Before we go spending any money to hire a consultant to come in and look at this thing, I would like to see what are the areas of concern,” he said. “Maybe it’s simple enough that we don’t need a consultant.”

“I just want to do a comparison,” said Maieron. “It’s much more onerous on the council ... I don’t think we should be held to a higher standard than the staff. There’s certain things that only belong to councillors, but the general policy should apply across the board.”

The mayor is currently the object of a July 4 complaint under the Council Code, the nature of which has not been made public. Normally, complaints are to be investigated and council given a report within 90 days. Integrity Commissioner John Craig had been granted a one-month extension of that deadline, to November 4, but as of November 15, no report had been received.

The Employee Code is a section of the Town Personnel Policy. Unlike councillors, staff can be fired for serious violations. The Code guards against conflicts of interest, ensures that personal and Town interests are kept separate, limits the value of hospitality gifts to $100, and prohibits the use of a position, Town property or confidential information for the benefit (or perceived benefit) of an employee or their family members.

Since a general review of the Personnel Policy is currently being done, councillors felt it was better to allow that process to be completed before discussing the Employee Code.

Lawsuit info research would tie up town staff

As published in The Erin Advocate

A request to dig up archived information related to a lawsuit launched against the Town of Erin by Mayor Lou Maieron will take so much staff time that a researcher will be hired for the project, council decided last week.

Clerk Dina Lundy received three Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from the same person on October 29. The mayor would not confirm directly that he made the requests, but he did declare a conflict of interest and left the council chamber during the discussion.

The first request, regarding a disputed woodlot, seeks all related letters, emails, notes and phone records, dating back to 1997, between the Town (and its consultants or lawyers), and a series of organizations that includes other defendants in the mayor’s lawsuit.

“These requests are going to take probably months to compile,” said Lundy. “The staff time that is going to be required will interfere with our operations. We are going to have to enlist some help...I imagine it would be hundreds of hours. ”

The Town does not normally charge for responding to FOI requests, since the staff time required is minimal. In this case, council agreed with the clerk’s request to hire a researcher, and to charge as much of the cost as permitted by law back to the requestor.

“Once an estimate of fees has been completed form each request, the requestor will be required to pay a deposit equal to 50 percent of the estimate before any further steps are taken to respond to each request. The remainder of the fees will be payable before access is given to any of the records,” said Lundy in her report.

“It is not known if the fees charged to the requestor will fully compensate for the cost of the researcher and other related costs.”

Lundy has consulted with the CAO, a Senior Policy Advisor from the Ministry of Government Services and the municipal Solicitor.

“It is important that the petitioner understands that the fees that will be charged are for the examination and processing of these record, not for what the final product will be, said councillor John Brennan. “Technically it is possible that the person could pay hundreds or perhaps even thousands of dollars, and at the end of the process get nothing.”

The Town is obliged to respond to FOI requests, but may hold back confidential information, and may have to consult other parties named in the documents. Lundy said the fee is payable regardless of her decision on whether or not to grant access to individual records.

The cost of legal advice on what to redact (edit out or withhold) will not be charged to the requestor, and CAO Kathryn Ironmonger said there will be “significant cost to the municipality that may not be recoverable.”

The request about the land dispute targets communications with “the OMB, Gulia et al, Erin Brook Subdivision, Charleston Homes, John & Cheryl Leenders, Birdseye Farm, and any respective principle thereof and any government agency, the CVC, MOE, MNR, DFO, or other etc.”

The mayor’s lawsuit was also on the agenda for a closed session, for which the mayor declared a conflict of interest and did not attend. Councillor John Brennan reported to the public afterwards.

“We reviewed a Statement of Defense with our legal counsel regarding court file 687/13, that is the lawsuit with the plaintiff Lou Maieron, and a number of defendants including the Town,” said Brennan. “We have directed the lawyer to file it with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.”

No information about the Statement of Defense was immediately available, but it becomes a public document once it is filed with the court.

The second FOI request is for all records of communication between Town staff and Integrity Commissioner John Craig, who is expected to report soon on a Code of Ethics complaint against Mayor Maieron. Most of that communication is expected to remain confidential. The nature of the complaint itself has never been made public.

The third FOI request if for “a full accounting of all expenses for all Town of Erin Councillors and the Mayor from start of this Council term”. The information will be relatively quick to retrieve, but it will take extra time to sort since it is “to include all receipts, credit card invoices, cash payments etc. with a breakdown of conference costs, meals, accommodation costs, travel and other associated costs.”

The Municipal Freedom of lnformation and Protection of Privacy Act allows the Town to charge 20 cents per page for photocopies, $10 for each CD, $7.50 for each 15 minutes spent by anyone to search records or prepare records for disclosure, $15 for each 15 minutes for computer programming, plus any other costs of the search for which the Town is invoiced.

Mayor needs to talk less so council can do more

As published in The Erin Advocate

When 11 pm finally rolled around at last week’s council meeting, and they were only half-way through the agenda, it was obvious that this council has some serious problems.

Getting through a 220-page agenda package efficiently requires that valuable time be used only for items that really need it.

Councillors have an absolute right to speak about items they vote on, and in some cases they do not say enough about where they stand on important issues.

Mayor Lou Maeiron, however, often has so much to say that it obstructs the operation of the council.

This is an opinion formed from several years of observation, and is not intended as an insult, or a criticism of his character or views. Politicians have to be free to play their cards however they want. But when business bogs down to an embarrassing state of disarray, the public should demand the exercise of good judgement from all involved.

The Code of Ethics notes that the head of council should be providing leadership, presiding over meetings in a way that “business can be carried out efficiently and effectively”.

The mayor does take his leadership duty seriously, with many valid points to make and excellent questions to ask. He does care about controlling costs, being accountable to the public and delivering good value.

But when meetings become dominated by him and his views, constant arguing over procedures, rehashing old decisions, refighting battles from years ago and side trips into issues that don’t directly concern the Town, efficiency goes out the window.

The mayor is not the cause of all the wrangling. Other councillors and staff like to put their own spin on things, as humans naturally do, but they seem to do it with fewer words. How can there be a cooperative atmosphere when people are constantly pissed off?

It was a heavy agenda last week, with only one meeting scheduled per month in July and August, and 21 reports to discuss and vote on. Maybe we do need to move to a system (promoted by the mayor) where committees do most of the work, with council ratifying or rejecting recommendations.

Here are some of last week’s time-consuming extras:

• While the delegations watched with glazed eyes, council started with a long argument over agenda preparation and previous minutes.

• The Activity List was discussed at length, trying to manage the to-do lists of department heads. The mayor pushed for a quick report on switching to a ward system, with a new bylaw by December 31, the deadline if the change is to affect the next election.

• Businessman John Gainor appeared, asking what Erin is doing to attract Chinese investment. This allowed the mayor to tell stories of his recent trip to China.

• The skatepark project, the subject of numerous reports, was reviewed again. The mayor portrayed it as substantially over budget, while staff and other councillors did not.

• There was an update on the Station Road Dam and Bridge. If the Town does not have a repair plan ready by next June, the province could force the work to be done levy a $1 million fine. The mayor held up a big map and showed how the Town might close the road, creating dead-ends at the bridge, and build a new bypass road along the Elora-Cataract Trail starting at Trafalgar Road. The topic was shelved.

At the 11 pm curfew, there was not unanimous consent to continue. They didn’t even sit at the table to pick a date for a follow-up meeting. They milled about and didn’t announce a date until after all members of the public had left. Here are a few of issues that were deferred:

• Hiring an Integrity Commissioner to investigate the recent alleged violation of the Council Code of Conduct.

• Passing bylaws to appoint a Town Clerk and a Drainage Inspector

• Holding a closed session to review cost overruns at the new Fire Hall and get advice on potential litigation. They paid their lawyer to sit waiting for over two hours for this session.

• Appointing members to the Mill Pond Ad Hoc Committee

• Holding a series of 6-10 Community Consultations on various themes, possibly costing $1,000 each, in order to get input for completion of the Town’s Strategic Plan.

The Code of Conduct also says, “Members shall encourage public respect for the Town”. That’s a tall order, but they could start by getting their act together at meetings.