No concern over code of conduct

After the next council meeting South Dundas council will have their first ever code of conduct.

Staff presented council with a draft of the code of conduct at the September 18 council meeting, and no member of council had any issues, questions or suggestions for amendments to the draft.

“There’s nothing here I can’t sign,” commented deputy mayor Locke.

Of the code, councillor Jim Graham said, “This is certainly something that will be enforceable.”

“This is a trend that is happening, and it’s a good thing,” said councillor Evonne Delegarde.

“There’s nothing here that’s news, but it’s nice to have it put in writing,” said councillor Archie Mellan.

Mayor Steven Byvelds was very pleased with the draft document saying that South Dundas’ code is better than the others he had seen at the recent Ontario East municipal conference.

The document spells out the roles of council, the head of council and officers and employees of the municipality.

It sets out the minimum standards of conduct and specific rules about handling confidential information and releasing information to the media. With this new document council will also have a specific list of procedures to help them handle operational inquiries.

Compliance with this code will be mandatory, as any member of council, staff or the public who believes the code has been contravened will be able to submit a formal complaint to an integrity commissioner. The integrity commissioner will have the power to investigate the complaint filed, make a decision regarding the infraction and impose necessary penalties. 

The integrity commissioner will be retained through a contract whereby they provide the service to the municipality on an as needed basis.

Since you’re here…

… Thanks for reading this article. Local news is important. We hope that you continue to support local news in your community by reading The Leader, online and in print. Please consider subscribing to the print edition of the newspaper. Click here to subscribe today.

Subscribe to Email Alerts

Enter your email address to subscribe to Email Alerts and receive notifications of new posts by email whenever The Leader publishes new content on our website.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply