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How the City Will Operate

Chapter 6A Respectful City Hall

3,403 words · Mike Seiler · Owen Sound, Ontario

In this chapter

• 6.1 The Goodwill Standard
• 6.2 Council Relationships
• 6.3 Council and Staff Relationships
• 6.4 The Mayor and City Manager Relationship
• 6.5 Union Relationships
• 6.6 Resident Conduct and Municipal Respect
• 6.7 Conflict Resolution
• 6.8 Whistleblower Protection
• 6.9 Conflict of Interest
• 6.10 Gifts, Influence and Lobbying
• 6.11 Closed Meetings
• 6.12 Public Reasons for Major Decisions
• 6.13 The Integrity Commissioner
• 6.14 Respect for the Clerk, Treasurer and Independent Duties
• 6.15 No Favourites
• 6.16 Recognition Without Patronage
• 6.17 The Respectful City Hall Test

Good government depends upon more than rules.

It depends upon culture.

A City can have excellent policies on paper and still become ineffective if Council distrusts staff, staff distrust Council, employees feel unheard, residents feel dismissed, or political disagreement becomes personal.

Owen Sound already has formal accountability structures. The City maintains a Code of Conduct for Council, boards and committees, provides access to an Integrity Commissioner, maintains a registry for declarations of pecuniary interest, and uses the Ontario Ombudsman as its closed-meeting investigator. The City's current Code of Conduct states that ethics and integrity are central to public confidence and that members are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that avoids improper influence and both real and apparent conflicts of interest.

Those safeguards matter.

This plan does not replace them.

It asks us to build a culture around them.

The objective is a City Hall where:

• disagreement is expected;
• disrespect is not;
• elected officials lead;
• professional staff provide honest advice;
• employees can raise concerns;
• unions are treated as partners;
• residents are heard;
• conflicts are disclosed;
• influence is visible;
• nobody needs a personal relationship with the Mayor to receive fair treatment.

The standard is simple:

Challenge ideas freely. Treat people carefully.

6.1The Goodwill Standard

The Goodwill Compact began as a campaign commitment.

Its central idea was that candidates could compete vigorously without attacking one another personally, and that the objective of serving Owen Sound could remain shared even when leadership approaches differed.

That principle should not expire on election day.

It should become the Goodwill Standard for municipal leadership.

Goodwill does not require agreement.

It does not require politeness at the expense of truth.

It does not prevent Council from challenging:

• a budget;
• a staff recommendation;
• another councillor's proposal;
• the Mayor;
• a contractor;
• another government;
• an existing municipal practice.

Goodwill means that criticism should be directed first at the decision, policy, evidence or conduct at issue.

The Standard

Members of Council should strive to:

• debate the issue rather than the personality;
• accurately describe another person's position;
• ask questions before assuming motive;
• distinguish disagreement from misconduct;
• give colleagues reasonable opportunity to respond;
• acknowledge a good idea regardless of who proposed it;
• correct material misinformation;
• avoid public humiliation as a political tactic;
• avoid using City resources to settle personal disputes.

The best outcome is not a Council that always votes together.

A Council that always agrees should probably concern us.

The better outcome is a Council that can disagree publicly, vote differently and still return to the table capable of working together the next morning.

6.2Council Relationships

Council is a governing body.

Its members arrive with different backgrounds, priorities, neighbourhood concerns, philosophies and personalities.

That diversity can improve decisions if it is properly used.

It can paralyse government if disagreement becomes personal.

Council Should Operate on Five Principles

1. Every Member Has a Mandate

A councillor was elected by the public.

The Mayor should not treat councillors as members of the Mayor's team who are expected to follow instructions.

Councillors are independently accountable to the electorate.

2. Information Should Be Shared Fairly

Important municipal information should not become political currency.

Where information may lawfully be shared with all members of Council, it should not be selectively provided to allies while withheld from critics.

3. Questions Are Part of Governance

A councillor asking staff difficult questions should not automatically be regarded as hostile.

A staff member providing an answer a councillor dislikes should not be regarded as disloyal.

The objective is to improve the decision.

4. Decisions End the Debate, Not the Relationship

Once Council lawfully makes a decision, municipal administration must be able to implement it.

Members who voted against the decision remain free to explain their position and, where permitted, seek reconsideration through proper processes.

They should not undermine City employees who are carrying out Council's lawful decision.

5. Credit Belongs to the Community

A good idea does not become better because the Mayor proposed it.

It does not become worse because a political opponent proposed it.

The question should be:

Will it help Owen Sound?

If the answer is yes, we should be willing to build it together.

6.3Council and Staff Relationships

Council governs.

Staff administer.

The distinction is essential.

Ontario's Municipal Act, 2001 provides that municipal powers are generally exercised by Council and establishes a statutory accountability framework that includes codes of conduct and Integrity Commissioners.

Council should establish:

• policy;
• priorities;
• budgets;
• service expectations;
• major strategic direction.

Professional municipal staff should:

• provide independent advice;
• administer approved policy;
• manage operations within their authority;
• provide professional expertise;
• identify risks;
• tell Council when something cannot legally, financially or operationally be done as proposed.

Honest Advice Must Be Protected

One of the most dangerous cultures in government is one in which employees learn what answer elected officials want before completing the analysis.

Staff should never feel pressure to manufacture evidence supporting a political conclusion.

Council should expect professional staff to say:

"This will work."

when the evidence supports it.

And:

"This will not work."

when the evidence does not.

And sometimes:

"We do not know yet."

That third answer is often the most honest.

No Political Loyalty Test

Municipal employment should not depend upon:

• supporting the Mayor;
• supporting a councillor;
• campaign involvement;
• agreement with Council's political philosophy;
• silence when a professional concern exists.

Employees work for the Corporation of the City of Owen Sound.

They do not work for a political campaign.

No Micromanagement

Council should not become a parallel management department.

Individual members should not ordinarily direct individual employees.

Operational direction should move through established administrative authority except where legislation provides otherwise.

This protects staff from receiving conflicting instructions and protects Council from becoming involved in personnel matters it should not manage.

6.4The Mayor and City Manager Relationship

The Mayor and City Manager relationship is particularly important.

The Mayor provides political leadership.

The City Manager provides administrative leadership.

When those responsibilities become confused, organizations become unstable.

The Mayor should be able to ask:

• Why are we doing this?
• Is there a better way?
• What does it cost?
• How long will it take?
• What is preventing progress?
• What would you recommend?
• What information does Council still need?

The Mayor should not expect the City Manager to produce a predetermined answer.

Likewise, senior administration should not treat elected leadership as an inconvenience to be managed.

Both offices have legitimate responsibilities.

Weekly Leadership Review

I would propose a structured weekly meeting between the Mayor and City Manager focused on:

• current Council priorities;
• major operational risks;
• projects behind schedule;
• emerging public concerns;
• intergovernmental issues;
• significant financial changes;
• items requiring Council attention.

This should not become an informal decision-making body.

Significant municipal decisions still belong in the lawful process.

Its purpose is coordination.

6.5Union Relationships

Municipal employees who organize collectively should not become people the City begins talking to only when a collective agreement is expiring.

Our existing plan proposes meeting union locals early, identifying root causes inside municipal workplaces before they become formal disputes, and creating a joint approach to workplace well-being.

That should become normal practice.

The Labour Partnership Table

Create a recurring labour-management table dealing with issues such as:

• workplace safety;
• employee workload;
• overtime;
• absenteeism trends;
• training;
• equipment;
• technology changes;
• retirements;
• succession planning;
• service redesign;
• workplace culture;
• recurring grievances;
• opportunities for efficiency.

Not every discussion belongs in public.

Individual employee information and collective bargaining require appropriate confidentiality.

The public can still receive aggregate information about:

• staffing;
• vacancies;
• overtime;
• workplace injuries;
• training;
• employee retention;
• major workforce changes.

Change With Employees, Not To Employees

Municipal services will change.

Equipment changes.

Workflows change.

Technology changes.

Resident expectations change.

The objective should be to involve employees early enough that their practical knowledge influences the change.

The person doing a job every day often knows where the wasted steps are.

A serious efficiency program should listen to that person before hiring someone from outside the organization to explain the work back to us.

Volunteers Are Additive

Community volunteers, students and civic work days will be an important part of this plan.

They must not become a back door for replacing municipal employees.

Skilled, regulated, hazardous and recurring municipal work should remain appropriately staffed.

Volunteer effort should add community capacity rather than manufacture labour savings at the expense of existing workers.

6.6Resident Conduct and Municipal Respect

Respect is reciprocal.

Residents deserve respectful treatment from City Hall.

City employees also deserve to perform their jobs without threats, intimidation or abuse.

Strong disagreement is legitimate.

Profanity directed at a policy may be unpleasant but is different from threatening an employee.

A resident who repeatedly challenges City Hall is not necessarily harassing City Hall.

A resident who files many legitimate complaints is not automatically vexatious.

Government must be particularly careful about using behavioural policies to shut down persistent criticism.

The Behaviour Standard

Restrictions should focus on conduct such as:

• credible threats;
• violence;
• unlawful harassment;
• intimidation;
• deliberate interference with another person's access to service;
• repeated abusive conduct that prevents employees from reasonably performing their work.

Restrictions should not be based simply on:

• criticism;
• political opposition;
• persistence;
• embarrassing questions;
• media attention;
• unpopular opinions.

Where the City restricts a person's manner of communicating because of serious conduct, the resident should receive:

• written reasons;
• a defined duration where appropriate;
• an alternative means of accessing municipal service;
• a review process.

A person should not lose practical access to municipal government because a relationship became difficult.

6.7Conflict Resolution

Not every disagreement needs to become a formal complaint.

Often people need a fair process earlier.

Create a Resolve First approach.

Where appropriate, municipal conflicts should move through a practical sequence.

Step One: Clarify

What actually happened?

What does each party believe happened?

Sometimes the conflict is a misunderstanding.

Step Two: Identify the Rule

What policy, contract, by-law or expectation applies?

Step Three: Identify the Outcome Sought

What does the resident, employee, councillor or department actually want?

Step Four: Look for a Practical Resolution

Can the issue be corrected without escalation?

Step Five: Use the Formal Process

Where the issue involves serious misconduct, statutory rights, workplace rights, conflicts of interest, discrimination, safety, legal liability or another matter requiring formal treatment, use the appropriate process immediately.

Mediation Where Appropriate

For suitable disputes, neutral mediation can preserve relationships and save time.

It should never be used to pressure someone out of a legal right or replace a required investigation.

Its purpose is to resolve problems that are genuinely capable of resolution.

6.8Whistleblower Protection

A healthy organization needs a safe way for people inside it to identify serious problems.

Employees may occasionally encounter:

• fraud;
• theft;
• misuse of municipal resources;
• serious safety concerns;
• deliberate falsification;
• conflicts of interest;
• improper political interference;
• serious violations of policy or law.

The City should maintain a clear, confidential reporting process.

A Proper Disclosure System Should Provide

• more than one reporting route;
• the ability to bypass the normal supervisor where the supervisor is involved;
• confidential handling to the greatest extent lawfully possible;
• protection against retaliation;
• independent investigation where appropriate;
• documentation of the outcome;
• consequences for knowingly false malicious allegations.

Good-Faith Error Is Not Misconduct

Whistleblower protection should not create a culture where ordinary mistakes become accusations.

The purpose is to expose serious wrongdoing, not punish employees for making reasonable decisions that later prove unsuccessful.

There is an equally important principle:

An employee should not have to choose between protecting the public interest and protecting a career.

Where wrongdoing is substantiated, the City should act.

Where allegations are not substantiated, that finding should also be respected.

6.9Conflict of Interest

Public decisions should be made for public reasons.

Ontario's municipal accountability framework includes the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, and Owen Sound currently maintains a public registry of written pecuniary-interest declarations by members of Council.

Compliance with the law is the minimum.

This plan should aim for something residents can understand without needing legal training.

The Practical Test

Before participating in a decision, an elected official should ask:

Would a reasonable resident wonder whether my personal financial interests, family interests, business relationships or private obligations could influence this decision?

Where the law requires disclosure and withdrawal, the law should be followed.

Where a circumstance does not technically trigger a statutory pecuniary conflict but creates a serious appearance problem, the member should seek advice from the Integrity Commissioner before proceeding.

Owen Sound's current Code of Conduct already recognizes both real and apparent conflicts as important to public confidence.

The Mayor Should Meet the Highest Standard

The Mayor has additional visibility and influence.

That means additional responsibility.

Any private business, platform, organization or financial interest associated with the Mayor that might seek:

• a City contract;
• City funding;
• municipal data;
• City endorsement;
• use of municipal facilities;
• procurement advantage;
• regulatory advantage;

should receive independent review and transparent treatment.

Personal involvement in creating something does not automatically make the idea bad.

It does mean the conflict must be managed openly.

This will be particularly important elsewhere in this plan when we discuss map.ca and RealMap.ca.

6.10Gifts, Influence and Lobbying

Influence is part of government.

Residents lobby.

Businesses advocate.

Unions advocate.

Developers meet with elected officials.

Community groups request funding.

Charities seek support.

Other governments ask for cooperation.

There is nothing inherently improper about attempting to persuade an elected representative.

The problem begins when influence is hidden or access depends upon money, gifts or personal relationships.

The Influence Standard

For significant matters before the City, residents should be able to understand who is seeking a decision.

I would propose examining a simple Public Influence Register for significant organized representations concerning:

• major procurement;
• development;
• major land transactions;
• significant grants;
• major policy changes;
• substantial City contracts.

The objective is not to record every conversation a councillor has at the grocery store.

Government should remain human.

The objective is to make significant organized influence visible.

Gifts

Members of Council should follow the City's Code of Conduct and applicable law regarding gifts and benefits. Owen Sound's Code already contains detailed conduct expectations intended to prevent improper influence and maintain public confidence.

The guiding principle should be easy to understand:

If accepting something could reasonably make the public wonder whether access or influence was purchased, do not accept it.

6.11Closed Meetings

Open government does not mean every conversation can legally or responsibly occur in public.

Ontario law permits municipal meetings to be closed only in specified circumstances. Owen Sound's current accountability framework identifies examples such as personal information about an identifiable individual, litigation, solicitor-client advice and certain other matters authorized by section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001. The City has appointed the Ontario Ombudsman as its closed-meeting investigator.

The practical principle should be:

Closed because the subject requires confidentiality, never because the discussion is uncomfortable.

Before entering a closed meeting, the public should receive the reason required by law.

Afterwards, as much information as can lawfully be reported should return to open session.

Confidentiality should protect:

• people;
• legal interests;
• negotiations;
• legitimate public interests.

It should not protect elected officials from ordinary political embarrassment.

6.12Public Reasons for Major Decisions

This may be the most important discipline in this section.

Significant exercises of public authority should come with reasons.

A resident may disagree with the outcome and still respect the process if the City can explain:

• what was decided;
• who had authority;
• what evidence was considered;
• what the alternatives were;
• what it will cost;
• what public input was received;
• what legal limitations applied;
• why the final option was selected.

The Public Reasons Statement

For major Council decisions, provide a short public summary:

Decision

What was approved?

Purpose

What problem does it address?

Authority

Why is this a municipal decision?

Evidence

What information mattered most?

Public Input

What did residents and affected parties say?

Alternatives

What other reasonable choices were considered?

Cost

What is the financial consequence?

Risks

What significant risks remain?

Reason

Why did Council choose this option?

Review

When will we know whether it worked?

Different councillors may vote differently for different reasons.

Where appropriate, recorded votes and Council discussion should preserve that difference.

There does not need to be one manufactured political explanation for every decision.

6.13The Integrity Commissioner

Ontario municipalities are required to provide access to an Integrity Commissioner, and Owen Sound currently appoints Principles Integrity to perform that role. The Commissioner can investigate alleged Code of Conduct contraventions and provide advice to Council members and committee members concerning their conduct.

The Integrity Commissioner should not become a political weapon.

Complaints should concern genuine questions of ethical conduct.

Likewise, fear of a complaint should not prevent councillors from speaking forcefully on public issues.

The Standard

• Seek advice early when a conflict is unclear.
• Treat confidential advice appropriately.
• Use formal complaints for serious concerns.
• Do not threaten opponents with complaints simply to silence criticism.
• Publish findings as required.
• Implement recommendations seriously.

Ethics systems work best when they prevent misconduct rather than merely punish it afterwards.

6.14Respect for the Clerk, Treasurer and Independent Duties

Certain municipal officers carry responsibilities established by law.

Political leadership should respect the independence required for those duties.

An elected official should never pressure an official to:

• alter an official record;
• ignore a statutory requirement;
• manipulate an election process;
• falsify a financial result;
• withhold information unlawfully;
• change a professional conclusion merely for political convenience.

If elected leadership believes a law or administrative rule is wrong, the proper response is to challenge or change the rule lawfully.

It is not to ask an employee to ignore it.

6.15No Favourites

A resident should never need to say:

"I know the Mayor."

to get ordinary municipal service.

A business should never need a political relationship to receive a fair opportunity.

A developer should not receive faster treatment because of influence.

A community group should not receive special access because it supported an elected official.

A critic should not find a permit moving more slowly because of criticism.

One Standard

Similar cases should receive similar treatment.

Where circumstances justify different treatment, the reason should be explainable.

That is what equality in everyday municipal administration looks like.

6.16Recognition Without Patronage

Good work should be celebrated.

Municipal employees should receive credit for improvements they develop.

Residents should receive credit for ideas they bring forward.

Volunteers should be thanked.

Businesses should be recognized for contributions.

Community organizations should be celebrated.

But recognition should not become patronage.

City awards, appointments, advisory positions and opportunities should use clear criteria rather than political loyalty.

We should create more opportunities for residents to participate while making those opportunities less dependent on who they know.

6.17The Respectful City Hall Test

Before a major action involving people, ask:

Is it fair?

Would we treat another person in the same circumstances the same way?

Is it respectful?

Can we disagree without unnecessary humiliation?

Is it professional?

Are the proper roles of Council and staff being respected?

Is it transparent?

Would we be comfortable explaining the relationship or decision publicly?

Is there a conflict?

Does anyone involved have a personal interest that should be disclosed or reviewed?

Can someone safely disagree?

Can an employee, resident or councillor raise a legitimate concern without retaliation?

Is influence visible?

Would a reasonable resident understand who asked government to take this action?

Are reasons published?

Can the public understand why the decision was made?

If we cannot answer those questions comfortably, we should reconsider how the decision is being handled.

The Commitment

A respectful City Hall does not mean a quiet City Hall.

There should be debate.

There should be difficult questions.

There should be competing proposals.

There should be residents who demand better.

There should be employees who identify problems.

There should be unions that defend their members.

There should be councillors who challenge the Mayor.

There should be a Mayor willing to challenge an established practice when it no longer serves the community.

Respect is what allows all of those things to happen without breaking the institution.

The objective is a culture where:

Nobody is punished for an honest question.

Nobody is rewarded for political loyalty.

Nobody receives special treatment because of personal access.

Nobody needs to hide a mistake to protect a career.

Nobody needs to agree with the Mayor to belong at City Hall.

We will disagree.

We will sometimes get things wrong.

We will occasionally become frustrated with one another.

But we can establish something more durable than agreement.

We can establish trust in the way we work.

Strong opinions. Fair process. Clear boundaries. Public reasons. Respect for people.