City Governance

Governance Committee of Council

NEXT MEETING:  Monday, February 27, 2012 @ 1:00 p.m. in COUNCIL CHAMBER (2nd Floor, CITY HALL).  MIRANET reps are attending all Governance Committee meetings.

► Click for the City's Governance Committee webpage.

► On November 9, 2011, Mississauga Council passed Resolution 0263-2011 (click to view) establishing a Governance Subcommittee "to examine issues including, but not limited to, the role of the Integrity Commissioner, ethics, lobbying, the Code of Conduct, and election financing."

MIRANET has identified the following concerns as needing to be addressed and has recommended that any City governance changes be implemented as soon as practicable (i.e. not set to only kick in with the next Council):

Deputy Mayor:  Large urban municipalities often have a deputy mayor(s) to assist the elected mayor, to be knowledgeable and available to deputize when the elected mayor is not available and to share some of the social and representational commitments expected of the elected mayor.  This was the subject of a question asked of the candidates at the Mayoral debate MIRANET sponsored in Fall 2010.  In Mississauga, succession planning has been overlooked and should be addressed.  A deputy mayor(s) should be selected by Council.  The proposed Governance Committee study should include the Council experience and qualifications necessary to be a candidate for this position(s).

Integrity Commissioner / Ethics Chief:  We have deputized that the Council Code of Conduct needs to be re-opened in view of the Judicial Inquiry recommendations, when they are received.  Now with the release of the report, the new Governance Committee should address this in the (comprehensive) context of other issues identified (i.e. it not be reviewed in isolation through an ad hoc subcommittee).

Budget Chief:  MIRANET has been critical of the lack of policy direction provided by Budget Committee to City staff.   At present, responsibility for the Budget preparation and all key decisions appear to be made by senior staff, with Budget Committee providing no more than approval, or last-minute cuts.  Alternative models of decision making should be considered.  MIRANET  has recommended appointment of a Budget Chief from Council to work closely with Finance staff in developing the Operating and Capital Budgets.  The Budget Chief would be required to reach out into the community to meet with key stakeholders and discuss the proposed budget and take their concerns into consideration.  MIRANET has asked for a Budget Advisory Committee including key (knowledgeable) stakeholders.  A target tax increase should be given to staff by the Budget Chief at the outset of each budget cycle: as it stands, Budget Committee members are forced to hack away at the final budget figures in a short period of time to achieve a politically palatable tax increase.  Staff need to work to a target from the beginning, thus making better use of their time and force early attention as to where savings can be realized.

Auditor General:  Questions include:  Should the role of the Internal Auditor be strengthened?  Is there justification for an independent staff position (Auditor General) to examine and report to Council and taxpayers on all aspects of City operations including waste and misuse use of City funds?  Do taxpayers receive good dollar value for the City's construction projects?  Are all projects adequately supervised by the City?

Committees Structure:  The City's decision-making model is based upon a committee structure. There are 22 committees, apart from Council and General Committee.  Some of these consist of the entire Council (Budget Committee, Planning Committee), whereas others consist of only three or four Council members (Audit Committee).  Some Advisory Committees consist primarily of citizen appointees and report through their Chair to General Committee.  It is not always clear to the public at which level of the decision-making process their concerns should be raised.  Is this number of committees optimal and which of the various committee structures operate effectively and provide good governance advice?

Executive Committee:  The governance model of the five cities larger than Mississauga (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton) should be studied to determine whether a small executive committee of Council, including the Deputy Mayor, working with the Mayor might be advantageous.
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Judicial Inquiry Report

The report was released on October 3, 2011.  For full details, view the Judicial Inquiry website.

Click for direct access to the Inquiry report: Updating the Ethical Infrastructure.

 
► Statement by Commissioner J. Douglas Cunningham: October 3, 2011.
► Statement by City Manager Janice Baker: October 3, 2011.
► Statement by Mayor Hazel McCallion: October 12, 2011.

A Corporate Staff Report on how the City will address the Inquiry's recommendations was reviewed at the General Committee of Council on Wed. November 2, 2011.  The 'Next Steps' report is now available online: see Pages 198-220 of the GC Agenda (230p PDF).

January 21, 2011: 'Response to Request for Integrity Commissioner Inquiry' (33p PDF) issued by George Rust-D’Eye, Integrity Commissioner for the City of Mississauga. Provides background into the terms of the Council Code of Conduct and the investigative role of the IC.
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Integrity Commissioner

The City of Mississauga has hired an Integrity Commissioner to oversee the terms of Council's new Code of Conduct.

Mississauga News article (Dec. 30, 2010): City hires GTA lawyer. Excerpt: "The City hired Rust-D'Eye, a former integrity commissioner for the City of Brantford, for a one-year position which expires at the end of 2011. His appointment comes just a few months after City of Mississauga councillors approved a code of conduct for themselves and the appointment of an integrity commissioner to enforce its provisions."

City of Mississauga - Press Release (September 29, 2010): City of Mississauga Appoints Integrity Commissioner With Code of Conduct in Effect December 1, 2010.
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Council Code of Conduct

MIRANET SUPPLEMENTARY SUBMISSION:

Further to discussion at General Committee (GC) on September 8, 2010 regarding the Draft Code of Conduct for members of Council, which included consideration of MIRANET's submission on August 20, 2010 (below), as well as adoption of the Code in principle, GC directed the extension of the public review period to September 22, 2010 as outlined in the press release: City of Mississauga's Draft Code of Conduct Adopted in Principle - Public Review Period Extended.

MIRANET submitted the following:

Date: September 22, 2010
Sent to: City Clerk; copied to Council, Senior Staff and City Solicitor

MIRANET is unable to provide any input on the content of the Code at this time, given points 2-4 in our original submission (below). We are, however, submitting a procedural suggestion that we believe would mitigate the concerns expressed in our original submission:

As stated at the General Committee of Mississauga Council on September 8, 2010, the Code of Conduct will be a living document. MIRANET recommends that a clause be formally added to the Code (or be included in any Resolution to adopt the Code) to the effect that: "This Code of Conduct will be reviewed publicly beginning in January 2011 (or as soon as practical) to reflect the recommendations contained in the Report of the Judicial Inquiry and the views of the new (post-election) Council concerning the Code's scope and content, including the hiring of an Integrity Commissioner and any other options for guidance on such matters."
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The Corporate Report on Public Comments Received: August 31, 2010 (102p PDF), further to the public circulation over the Summer of the Draft Code of Conduct for Council members, was discussed at the General Committee of Council on September 8, 2010 (Agenda -- Item 7). MIRANET's comments (per below) are included on pp47-8 of the Corporate Report.

MIRANET received the City of Mississauga Draft Code of Conduct (31p PDF) as circulated to residents' associations on July 9, 2010. Public comment was requested by August 18, 2010.

City Press Release (July 9, 2010): City of Mississauga's Draft Code of Conduct Available to Residents for Review. Excerpt: "Members of the public are invited to review a draft code of conduct for the Mayor and Members of Council and appointment of an Integrity Commissioner developed by a committee of Council with staff support from the City Manager and CAO and the City Solicitor."
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ORIGINAL MIRANET SUBMISSION:

Date: August 20, 2010
Sent to: City Clerk; copied to Council, Senior Staff and City Solicitor

1) Circulation of such a document over the summer months, while residents' associations are less active, and while Council and Committees are not sitting regularly, is not in the best interest of citizen engagement on this issue ;

2) The final report and recommendations of the current Mississauga Judicial Inquiry, which has the express purpose of ascertaining what best needs to be done, will be germane to the future conduct of all individuals who represent our City and should be central to the creation of any Code of Conduct for both Council and Staff ;

3) Given that the proposed Code of Conduct does not apply to the present Council nor to the existing rules for the Municipal Election on October 25, 2010, and with this election campaign underway, it is not appropriate to finalize the document until there is a new (post-election) Council in place to consider and possibly approve it ;

4) The necessity for the creation of such a Code of Conduct, rather than adjustments to the existing options for oversight and accountability of municipal conduct, should be reviewed and, along with the resultant cost to the taxpayers for any implementation, needs to be presented to the public in a comprehensive and transparent manner.

This matter will be on the Agenda for the next MIRANET meeting in the Fall, and we will be pleased to provide our thoughts on the possible content of such a document at a future time when there is the fullness of shared knowledge.
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RELATED MIRANET STATEMENTS:

MIRANET has addressed issues of municipal election campaign finance reform, further to the 2009 Provincial Review of the Ontario Municipal Elections Act. Click here to view.

Electronic monitoring of City communications. Click here to view.

Official Minutes of Council and Council Committees. Click here to view.

Public Question Period

Enersource ownership model

Annual City budget. 

We are presently reviewing the recommendations contained in the report from the Judicial Inquiry with a view to what the City may be able to implement going forward.