new term of Council as it is a policy document. In the meantime, this report is intended to consider potential temporary delegation of powers to the CAO in the event Council enters into restrictions. ANALYSIS Council restrictions are sometimes referred to as the lame duck period. The period of restrictions potentially begins on nomination day or after the election. If after nomination day it is obvious that less than ¾ of Council will be returning, Council is restricted in some to the things that it can do. In our case ¾ of Council is 5.25 councillors; therefore 5 councillors returning would be less than ¾, 6 Councillors would be more. The act reads that “The council of a local municipality shall not take any action described in subsection (3)….if…. the new council WILL include less than three-quarters of the members of the outgoing council. This has been interpreted by the Courts to mean that if it is not mathematically possible that ¾ will return then Council is under restrictions. So in our case on Nomination day if the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and at least 4 existing councilors are running for office than it IS mathematically possible that ¾ of Council will be returning and there are no restrictions. The same is true of Election Day, if the Mayor, Deputy-Mayor and at least 4 other councilors are elected than Council will not be restricted. The same would be true of any variation thereof (Mayor, and 5 Special Report No. C-115-14 Regular Meeting of Council Aug. 11, 2014 Page 1 of 3 councillors, Deputy Mayor and 5 councillors). As long as six are returning or still COULD return then we are not in restrictions. If we fall into restrictions Council is not allowed to do the following acts: (a) the appointment or removal from office of any officer of the municipality; (b) the hiring or dismissal of any employee of the municipality; (c) the disposition of any real or personal property of the municipality which has a value exceeding $50,000 at the time of disposal; and (d) making any expenditures or incurring any other liability which exceeds $50,000. 2001, c. 25, s. 275 (3); 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 114 (1). These restrictions do not apply under the following circumstances: 1. if the disposition of property, the expenditure, or the liability incurred of $50,000 or more was provided for in the most recent budget adopted by council before nomination day; 2. if a municipality has delegated to a person the authority to take an action covered by the restriction, that person is not subject to the restriction. As such Council could delegate these powers to the CAO temporarily IF Council enters into restrictions as determined by the Clerk after nomination day (September 12, 2014) or after Election Day on October 27, 2014. This would ensure that administration can continue to operate normally during that period. Any delegation should be for a specific time period i.e. until the new Council sits for the first time and it should come with a requirement that the CAO report to Council any action taken under the delegated authority. As indicated earlier in the report a comprehensive review of our Delegation By-law should be undertaken by staff and Council early in the new term of Council. INTERDEPARTMENTAL IMPLICATIONS N/A FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS No real financial impact. RECOMMENDATION THAT after a determination by the Clerk as to whether the Council of the Town of Ingersoll is impacted by Section 275 of the Municipal Act, 2001, known as Council restrictions on September 12, 2014 (Nomination Day) and after October 27, 2014 (Voting Day); and Special Report No. C-115-14 Regular Meeting of Council Aug. 11, 2014 Page 2 of 3 THAT in accordance with Section 275(6) the Council of the Town of Ingersoll delegate to the Chief Administrative Officer authority over the following actions: a) the appointment or removal from office any officer of the municipality; b) the hiring or dismissal of any employee of the municipality; c) the disposition or any real or personal property of the municipality which has a value exceeding $50,000 at the time of disposal; and d) making any expenditures or incurring any other liability which exceeds $50,000; and THAT this delegation is conditional and effective upon the provisions of Section 275 of the Act coming into effect in the Town of Ingersoll; and THAT this authority is extended only until the first meeting of the new Council; and THAT the Chief Administrative Officer provide a report to Council on all action taken pursuant to this delegation. Prepared by: Michael Graves, Clerk Approved by: William Tigert, Chief Administrative Officer
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 21:45:51 +0000
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