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3. ACCOUNTABILITY
AND TRANSPARENCY POLICY
POLITIQUE
SUR LA REDDITION DE COMPTES ET LA TRANSPARENCE
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Committee Recommendation
That
Council approve the Accountability and Transparency Policy attached in Document
1.
Recommandation du comité
Que
le Conseil approuve la Politique sur la reddition de comptes et la transparence
ci‑jointe dans le Document 1.
Documentation
1. City Clerk’s and
City Solicitor’s joint report dated 9 November 2007 (ACS2007-CMR-CCB-0021).
Report
to/Rapport au :
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels
et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
9 November 2007 / le 9 novembre 2007
Submitted by/Soumis par : Pierre Pagé, City Clerk/Greffier municipal
and
M. Rick O'Connor, City Solicitor/Procureur de la ville
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Leslie Donnelly, Deputy City Clerk/Greffière adjointe
City Clerk’s Branch/Direction du greffe
(613) 580-2424 x28857,
Leslie.Donnelly@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°: ACS2007-CMR-CCB-0021
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SUBJECT:
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ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY
POLICY
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OBJET :
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Politique
sur la reddition de comptes et la transparence
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REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Corporate Services
and Economic Development Committee recommend Council approve the Accountability
and Transparency Policy attached in Document 1.
RECOMMANDATION DU
RAPPORT
Que le
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande
au Conseil d’approuver la Politique sur la reddition de comptes et la
transparence ci‑jointe dans le Document 1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Assumptions and Analysis:
Bill 130, the Municipal
Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006 made numerous amendments to the Municipal
Act, 2001. The Bill provides
municipalities with greater powers and autonomy but balanced with increased
accountability and transparency measures.
As one of the new accountability and transparency measures, Bill 130
lists a number of policies municipalities must adopt and maintain, and this
section (Section 270) has been proclaimed to come into effect on January 1,
2008. While the City of Ottawa already
has four of the mandated policies (Sale of Land; Hiring of Employees;
Procurement of Goods and Services; and Public Notice), it also needs a policy
addressing “the manner in which the municipality will endeavour to ensure
accountability and transparency of municipal operations”.
The City of Ottawa has adopted a number of new,
best-practice accountability and transparency practices since amalgamation in
2001, including creating the office of the Auditor General in 2003, adopting
and implementing best practices in the area of budgeting and financial
reporting, the “It’s About Accountability”
framework, in 2004 (such as quarterly financial and purchasing reports and
producing a City of Ottawa Annual Report), developing a multi-year City
Corporate Plan and Departmental Business Plans (now City Strategic Directions),
producing a comprehensive Human Resources Plan, improving customer service with
311 service reporting, and participating in the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking
Initiative and quarterly Performance Measurement reports.
In order to meet the provincial
deadline of December 31, 2007, staff have drafted an Accountability and
Transparency Policy that reflects these initiatives and attempts to
characterize the over-arching principles, policies and programs that reflect
the City’s demonstrated, on-going commitment to accountability and transparency
in the areas of: legislated requirements; financial accountability, oversight
and reporting; performance measurement and reporting; open government; and
internal accountability and ethical standards. Further, it recognizes and
incorporates the notion that all new delegation of powers or authorities will
have corresponding accountability measures attached to the delegation.
While this draft Policy reflects
current accountability and transparency measures at the City of Ottawa and
meets the provincial deadline, staff recommends that a more thorough
examination of this policy be undertaken as part of the Mid-term Governance
Review, when Delegation of Powers will also be reviewed.
Financial Implications:
There are no financial
implications associated with approving this report.
RÉSUMÉ
Hypothèses et analyse :
Le projet de loi 130, Loi de
2006 modifiant des lois concernant les municipalités, a apporté de
nombreuses modifications à la Loi de 2001 sur les municipalités. Le
projet de loi dote les municipalités de pouvoirs et d’une autonomie plus larges
mais équilibrés avec une responsabilisation et des mesures de transparence
accrues. À titre d’une des nouvelles mesures de responsabilisation et de
transparence, le projet de loi 130 énumère quelques politiques que les
municipalités doivent adopter et conserver, et le présent article
(article 270) a été adopté en vue de son entrée en vigueur le 1er janvier 2008.
Bien que la Ville d’Ottawa dispose déjà de quatre des politiques obligatoires
(Vente de biens-fonds; engagement des employés; approvisionnement en biens et
en services; et avis public) elle a aussi besoin d’une politique traitant de
« la manière dont la municipalité s’efforcera de veiller à répondre de ses
actes devant le public et à rendre ses actes transparents pour celui‑ci ».
La Ville d’Ottawa a adopté quelques
nouvelles pratiques exemplaires en matière de responsabilisation et de
transparence depuis la fusion en 2001, y compris la création du Bureau du
vérificateur général en 2003, l’adoption et la mise en place de pratiques
exemplaires dans le domaine de la budgétisation et de la communication de
l’information financière, les activités dans le cadre du rapport intitulé
« It’s About Accountability » en 2004 (comme des rapports
financiers trimestriels, l’achat de rapports et l’élaboration du rapport annuel
de la Ville d’Ottawa), la mise au point d’un Plan directeur municipal
pluriannuel et de plans d’activités des services (maintenant appelés
Orientations stratégiques de la Ville), l’élaboration d’un plan détaillé de
ressources humaines, l’amélioration du service à la clientèle grâce au
service 311 et la participation à l’Initiative d’analyse comparative des
services municipaux de l’Ontario et à la production des rapports trimestriels
de mesure du rendement.
Afin de respecter l’échéancier provincial du
31 décembre 2007, le personnel a élaboré un projet de politique sur
la responsabilisation et la transparence qui tient compte de ces initiatives et
témoigne d’une volonté de caractériser les principes, politiques et programmes
généraux qui reflètent l’engagement manifeste et constant de la Ville envers la
responsabilisation et la transparence dans les domaines suivants :
exigences imposées par la loi; responsabilité financière; surveillance et
comptes rendus; mesures du rendement et rapports connexes; gouvernement ouvert;
et responsabilité interne et normes d’éthique. De plus, la politique reconnaît
et intègre la notion selon laquelle toute nouvelle délégation de pouvoirs ou
d’autorité sera assortie de mesures de responsabilisation.
Bien que ce projet de politique reflète les
mesures de responsabilisation et de transparence en vigueur à la Ville d’Ottawa
et respecte l’échéancier provincial, le personnel recommande que cette
politique fasse l’objet d’un examen plus approfondi dans le cadre de l’examen
de mi-mandat de la structure de gestion publique, qui donnera également lieu à
un examen de la délégation de pouvoirs.
Répercussions financières :
L’adoption
de ce rapport n’entraîne aucune répercussion financière.
BACKGROUND
Bill 130, the Municipal
Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006, came into effect, with some minor
exceptions, on January 1st, 2007.
This omnibus bill included nearly 200 pages of revisions to the Municipal
Act, 2001, and provided Ontario’s 444 municipalities with broad powers and
often the discretion to determine which powers it will use to meet its own
specific needs. This greater authority is balanced with increased accountability
and transparency tools for municipalities.
As Bill 130 revisions are quite
significant, municipalities across Ontario are just beginning to understand the
potential for improved governance and service delivery that now exist. Ottawa City Council received its first
report in October 2006, entitled “Bill 130 – Municipal Statute Law Amendment
Act”, which outlined some of the significant amendments of the Act and staff
were directed to “provide the 2006-2010 Council with an update on amendments to
Bill 130 in order to enable Council, upon its enactment, to determine its
strategic priorities arising from same”.
Council was then provided with a series of White Papers on Bill 130
amendments during the Council Strategic Planning Sessions in May 2007. Based on recommendations and feedback from
these sessions, staff is bringing forward various reports to implement the
mandatory provisions in Bill 130 as well as consider the discretionary options
City Council may wish to pursue.
Given the depth and breadth of
the potential changes the City of Ottawa might undertake in the area of
governance, particularly with respect to the new Bill 130 tools to enhance
accountability and transparency and the enhanced ability to adjust the
delegation of powers, staff intend to undertake a comprehensive review of these
tools as part of the mid-term governance review and bring forward an integrated
package in 2008 following extensive consultations.
With that, however, the revised Municipal
Act, 2001 requires the City of Ottawa (and all municipalities) to establish
a number of policies by December 31, 2007.
At the present, City Council has already adopted the following four
statutory policies:
§
Sale of Land;
§
Hiring of Employees;
§
Procurement of Goods and Services; and
§
Public Notice.
The additional policies that must be adopted are:
§
The manner in which the municipality will try to ensure
that it is accountable to the public for its actions and that its actions are
transparent to the public; and
§
The delegation of its powers and duties.
Another issue that the municipality must resolve by
December 31, 2007 is that of the appointment of a Meetings Investigator. Section 239.1 of the revised Municipal
Act, 2001 enables any person to “request that an investigation of whether a
municipality or local board has complied with” either the statutory
requirements for closed meetings or a procedure by-law. This investigation is to be undertaken by
either:
§
An independent and impartial investigator appointed by
the municipality by December 31, 2007; or
§
The provincial Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act, if a
municipality has not appointed its own investigator.
The revised Municipal Act,
2001 also requires that public notice for Council and Standing Committee
meetings be enshrined within the municipality’s Procedure By-law, and
not just in the Notice By-law.
As well, City Council has directed staff to look at
establishing a Code of Conduct for elected officials as one of the City
Strategic Directions approved in July 2007.
Reports on these items are being brought before City Council in advance
of the mid-term governance review to meet the legislated timelines where
required. They are being brought forward together, as they are related.
This report recommends an
Accountability and Transparency Policy for the City of Ottawa.
DISCUSSION
While the Municipal Act, 2001,
as amended by Bill 130, requires municipalities to adopt an accountability and
transparency policy, the provisions do not include any details on the
parameters of an accountability and transparency policy nor an appropriate
structure for the policy. Increasing
accountability and transparency has been a priority for the City of Ottawa
since amalgamation, and significant improvements have been made in this area
since 2003. A continually evolving list
of existing policies and procedures – and it’s important to note that all of
the governance reports being brought forward as companions to this report also
relate to accountability and transparency -- has been appended to this report as
a matrix (attached as Document 2) outlining each individual accountability or
transparency mechanism; the branch responsible for the activity; and a summary
of the activity.
As the matrix reveals, there are
a significant number of measures in place, but they have not been put inside
the context of an overarching policy framework. For the purposes of developing
a policy that meets the provincial deadline of December 31, 2007, staff have
drafted a policy outlining the City’s current demonstrated commitment to
accountability and transparency and pointing to a variety of policies and
procedures the City already has in place.
Below is a summary of the major components of the recommended policy. Staff intends to incorporate a review of the
other Bill 130 Accountability and Transparency mechanisms discussed as part of
the Council Priority Setting Session within the Mid-term Governance Review.
Accountability and Transparency
In establishing the policy, staff examined various
definitions of accountability and transparency, which reflected how both have
been described at the municipal level.
The following definitions are being recommended for the City of Ottawa’s
Accountability and Transparency Policy.
Accountability
The principle that the municipality is obligated to
demonstrate and take responsibility for its actions, decisions, and policies
and that it is answerable to the public at large.
Transparency
The principle that the municipality will conduct its
business in an accessible, clear and visible manner and that its activities are
open to examination by its stakeholders.
Principles of Accountability and Transparency
In preparing the policy, staff considered various
principles of accountability and transparency observed at the City of
Ottawa. These principles are reflective
of the policies, procedures and practices already in place or carried out by
staff and City Council:
The
City of Ottawa will promote accountable and transparent municipal governance
guided by the following principles:
1.
Decision-making will be open and transparent.
2.
Municipal operations will be conducted in an ethical and
accountable manner.
3.
Financial resources and physical infrastructure will be
managed in an efficient and effective manner.
4.
Municipal information will be accessible so that it is
consistent with legislative requirements.
5.
Inquiries, concerns and complaints will be responded to in a
timely manner.
6.
Financial oversight, service standards and performance
reporting and all other accountability documents will be made available and
accessible, in language that the public can understand, to increase the
opportunity for public scrutiny and involvement in municipal operations.
7.
Every new delegation of power or authority will have a
corresponding accountability mechanism.
Accountability and Transparency Mechanisms
The City of Ottawa currently
complies with a host of legislation, policies and procedures that maintain an
open and transparent decision-making process.
Being accountable and transparent means the City is committed to
producing information that measures how well we are doing in all the areas over
which we are responsible, from financial reporting to human resource management
to service delivery. This is important
not only to demonstrate to the public how well the City is doing as a steward
of public funds, but improved measurement can also help staff and Council use
the information to help the City continually improve how programs are
delivered.
For the purposes of the Policy, the City’s various
policies, procedures and practices have been divided into the following
categories:
1.
Legislated Requirements
2.
Financial Accountability, Oversight and Reporting
3.
Performance Measurement and Reporting
4.
Open Government
5.
Internal Accountability and Ethical Standards
Open Government and Legislated Requirements
The City of Ottawa and its elected officials are governed
by accountability and transparency mechanisms contained within provincial
legislation, i.e the revised Municipal
Act, 2001, the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act; the Provincial Offences Act; the Municipal Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act; the Public Health Information and Protection of
Privacy Act; and Public
Sector Salary Disclosure Act.
Financial Accountability, Oversight and Reporting
The City of Ottawa has taken a leadership approach to
accountability and transparency in the areas of financial accountability,
oversight and report.
In 2002, the City of Ottawa adopted its first
Long-Range Financial Plan (LRFP), which was the first document examining the
City’s operating and capital needs over a period of ten years (2002-2011),
setting out assumptions on which these needs were based, presenting existing
funding sources, outlining potential new funding sources (both those under
Council’s control and those which would require decisions of other parties),
and recommending actions by which the City could be more financially
sustainable over the longer term. This
first LRFP has been succeeded by two others, and led to the development and
adoption of a Fiscal Framework by the City in September 2007.
As well, in addition to the
required review and reporting of municipal financial statements by an external
auditor, the City of Ottawa also established the Office of the Auditor General
in 2003. The Auditor General is responsible for carrying out financial
compliance (excluding attestation of the City’s financial statements) and
performance audits of all programs, activities and functions of all City
departments, agencies, boards and commissions, municipal corporations and the
Offices of the Mayor and Members of Council.
The Auditor General acts independently from the City administration, and
reports to Council through the Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee. Council has the option of formalizing
the Auditor General as the statutory auditor general for the purposes of Part
V.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, which is the subject of one
of the companion reports being brought forward on governance at this time.
In 2004, City Council adopted the
“It’s About Accountability” financial reporting framework that was designed to
move the City from financial reporting that is geared towards meeting financial
requirements to reporting that is focussed on the needs of Council and the public. The framework sets out annual budget
reports, interim operating and capital reports and the annual financial
statements such that they provide more holistic and insightful information
about current City operations as well as future needs, and incorporate more
performance indicators. This Framework has led to the production of Annual
and Quarterly Financial Statements, Capital Status Reports, a more
understandable budget document that incorporates previous years’ budgets and
actuals, and multi-year budgeting.
Other financial accountability
and oversight mechanisms include the Delegation of Authority By-law and
Reports, the Purchasing By-law and
Reports, and the annual Human Resources Plan.
Performance Measurement and
Reporting
The
City of Ottawa is accountable to taxpayers by using various results-orientated
tools to measure progress on performance and the achievement of corporate
service standards and goals.
Performance measurement and reporting is not a new concept for the City
of Ottawa. The Region of
Ottawa-Carleton had established certain basic performance reporting mechanisms
in the late 1990s. The Transition Board
received a report proposing the use of high-level, “Quality of Life” type
indicators to assess the City’s sustainability in January 2001. The City has been participating in the
Municipal Performance Measurement Program (MPMP) since 2001. Various branches and departments have been
generating different types of performance reporting to meet other statutory
reporting requirements and for their own internal management purposes. In 2006, City Council adopted a
comprehensive framework for Performance Measurement that would go beyond what
had been provided to ensure the information needs of the public, external
stakeholders, Council, and City management and staff are met.
The
City of Ottawa’s performance measurement and reporting framework is informed by
a number of different initiatives, such as Ottawa 20/20 and the City Strategic
Plan; the CICA Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) recommended practice for
public performance reporting frameworks, legislative reporting requirements
such as the Municipal Performance Measurement Program (MPMP); the City’s
previous and on-going experience in this area; and best practices in municipal
performance measurement, including initiatives by leading Canadian and U.S.
municipalities in this field.
The primary components of the City’s performance measurement
and reporting framework are:
1.
City Corporate Plan
and City Strategic Directions
2.
The City of Ottawa’s
Annual Report
3.
Quarterly
Performance Reports to Council
4.
Participating
in the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative and Report
5.
Participating in
Ottawa’s Vital Signs measurements and Report
6. Participating in the Quality of Life
Reporting System (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
In addition to these performance measures,
the City is continuing to improve 311 so that residents and businesses
will be able to receive information on the progress of any service requests and
the City will be able to conduct follow-up and measure response times for these
requests.
Open Government
The City of Ottawa is a leader in
the province in open government through communication, consultation, and
collaboration. The following are
policies, procedures and practices that ensure the City is transparent in its
operations and that residents are not only aware of how decisions are made and
carried out, but that they are able to participate as well:
1. Council Procedure By-law
2. Public Distribution of Council and Committee
Agenda Meeting Documentation
3. Appointment Policy (Recruitment and Selection
of members of Advisory Committees, Boards and Task Forces, and External Boards,
Commissions and Authorities)
4. Public Notice By-law
5. Official Languages Policy
6. White Paper Pilot for Policy Development
7. Public Participation Policy
8. Multiple Formats Policy
One of the Bill 130
accountability measures, specifically the amended Section 239, deals explicitly
with issues of closed meetings. It
outlines the specific criteria for which a meeting or part of a meeting may be
closed to the public. Further, Section
239 of the amended Municipal Act, 2001 provides that an individual may
ask for an investigation into the propriety of a closed meeting either through
an investigator appointed by the municipality or, in the event the municipality
does not appoint an investigator by December 31, 2007, through the Provincial
Ombudsman.
The City of Ottawa is a leader in
the province in open meetings, and already has many best-practice open meetings
procedures in place (such as advertising meetings, disclosing reasons for
moving in camera, and providing reporting out dates for in camera
reports and decisions).
A companion report to this
recommends that City Council appoint a City of Ottawa Meetings Investigator on
retainer to ensure that investigations are conducted as a priority (within 30
days), and to the highest standards. As
well, an interim process for receiving and investigating complaints is being
proposed until such time as the City’s Meeting Investigator brings forward a
recommended process for Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee’s
and City Council’s consideration in early 2008.
Internal Accountability and Ethical Standards
The City of Ottawa has established policies, procedures
and practices that govern internal accountability and ethical standards for the
City of Ottawa, including:
1. A Code of Conduct for City employees
2. A Code of Conduct for Advisory Committee
Members
3.
A Hiring and
Employment of Family Members Policy
4.
A Responsible
Computing Policy
5.
An
Election-Related Resources Policy
6.
A Workplace
Harassment Policy
Discretionary Accountability Options
While the recommended
Accountability and Transparency Policy addresses the status quo, new
accountability mechanisms are brought in at the City of Ottawa on a regular
basis.
In the area of governance, Bill
130 introduces an entirely new component to the revised 2001 Municipal Act. These are a number of discretionary
accountability officers and tools that municipalities may choose to adopt to
strengthen accountability and transparency of their operations. These officers and tools include:
·
A strengthened Auditor-General position.
·
A Code of Conduct for Members of City Council and its
local boards
·
An Integrity Commissioner to implement/enforce the Code
of Conduct
·
A Lobbyist Registry and Registrar
·
An Ombudsman
As previously noted, a companion
report is currently being submitted to Committee and Council with respect to
the enhanced Auditor General role.
In response to direction from the
Council Strategic Planning Sessions, staff will be providing Council with a
consolidation of all policies and legislation that govern the conduct of
Members of Council in a separate staff report and are recommending that City
Council’s direction to establish clarity around a Code of Conduct for elected
representatives be delegated to the Member Services Sub-committee in the new
year. It should be noted that City
Council rejected the option of an Integrity Commissioner on July 11, 2007.
Discussion of a Lobbyist Registry
and Registrar and a municipal Ombudsman will be incorporated into the Mid-term
Governance Review.
CONSULTATION
No consultation was required for the purposes
of this report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications associated
with this report.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 – Draft Accountability
and Transparency Policy
Document 2 – Accountability and
Transparency Matrix
DISPOSITION
The City Clerk’s Branch will
further review the Accountability and Transparency policy as part of the 2008
Mid-Term Governance Review as well as any other directions from City Council.
