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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-04-27, Page 2PAGE 2 CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1983 Ginflict of interest for co neil bene ti The new municipal conflict-of-interest legislation that cavae into effect March 1, is nothing to be "hysterical about" or .'ashamed of", London lawyer, John Judson told close to 70 elected officials from Huron County last week. Judson was the chairman of the Association of Municipalities in Ontario I AMO) when it reviewed the legislation before it was passed. "The act is not intended to expose you as connected with some insidious in- volvement in the community," he said. "If you're honest and frank, nobody can condemn you. But, if you act guil.y, the press will see'you act guilty and you'll find it in the paper the next day. 1 think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy." Judson and Charles Godkin, of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, held their third in a series of seven meetings in Western Ontario last Tuesday at Huronview to educate municipal politicians about the revision of the act and to clear up any concerns or misconceptions. The act, first passed in 1972, has now been revised so that a municipal polit`cian must explain the nature of any conflict in addition to declaring it in th first place. And, any citizen who suspe is a council member of not declaring conflict can report the member to a j ge within six weeks. A councillor can come inc2 nflict if he or she has a direct or indir ct cuniary financial) interest in a mater co cerning council. If the mat* involves a financial interest of a spouse, parent, child, a business partner, or an employer, the councillor is in conflict. Also, if the council member is a member of a body or has a controlling interest or is a senior officer of a corporation in which the council is concerned, he or she is in conflict. "The act does not care if you are voting for or against your interest or even if you don't affect the outcome; it only cares that you have a pecuniary interest," said Mr. Judson. Even if the councillor is a member of a local group that wants a grant from the government for a charitable cause, he is in conflict. "If you're the recreation director of the local Optimist club and also sitting on est t council, you'll have a conflict of interest if you ask council for a grant for hockey equipment for the boys. It doesn't matter if you're not going to benefit personally " Some exceptions to the conflict-of- interest act include members who have a financial interest that is rn common with the rest of the electors and members who have an interest ui land affected by work under the Drainage Act ur the Local Improvement Act. "I think the exception from the Drainage Act is an important relief especially in rural areas," Mr. Judson said. The act states that the elected official himself is responsible for declaring his interest and its nature, keeping out of any discussion or voting on the matter, and refraining from trying to influence the voting. "It's a useful symbolic gesture to move back from the council table when you declare a conflict of interest," said Mr. Judson. If the meeting is closed to the public, the councillor is responsible to declare the conflict and leave the room while the matter is discussed. When the meeting is again open to the public, he or she must then declare the conflict and its nature once again. This section of the act does not cover the committee meetings of Huron County council which are never open to the public. The way the act now stands, a conflict declared during the closed meeting would never be known to voters since the meeting is always closed. There are three penalties for councillors who do not mention their conflicts. They are removed from office and either disqualified from running for office for seven years or required to pay restitution if they received personal gain. However, if the judge determines that the council member made an error in judgement, was ignorant of the law, or received bad legal advice, the penalty could be waived. Policing is done only by citizens and other politicians even though AMO recommended that the Attorney General be given some of the responsibility. "The odds of you being caught in a conflict of interest are the same odds of being hit by a car tonight when you leave," said Mr. Judson. To Brent Redford, Lorsdosh®ro Raquel Doer, Clinton Gerrie Broome, Clinton Dale Marsh, clam®n Jeffery Riley, cit avid Smith, Clinton Tillie %(®mane Clleston Adam Blair, Blyth OIC - .April 27 pril 28 April 29 April 29 April 30 April 30 y1 M®gf 3 Furniture Riddles 1.Why did the pirate buy a vapourizer? He had a bad chest. 2.Why was the table sad? Who knows - it just pined away. 3.Why did the disc jockey go to the Calgary Stampede? He's heard it was a good radio. 4.Why weren't the wild flowers ever upset? Nothing vased them. 5.Why did the adult put medicine on the flower box? It had a planter's wart. 6.Where was the yawning loaf put? On the bread bored. 7.Why was the cabinet doing its nails? It was a filing cabinet. 8 Why did the laundry tub go lower and lower'. It was really a sink. Distributed by Canada Wide Feature Service Limited 1983 MacKay Fairfield Steve Cooke admires two original Inuit soapstone carvings from Repluse Bay, NWT. The carvings, along original paintings and other items will be offered at the Clinton Hospital Dinner and Auction on Friday night. There are still tickets available for the fund raising event. (Shelley McPhee photo) Buy an original, help the hospital fund Friday night, April 29 marks the end of the Clinton Hospital Fund Raising Drive, and it is being celebrated by a Dinner Auc- tion at the Legion. Jack Riddell, M.P.P. for Huron County will be acting as auc- tioneer. A variety of interesting items will be of- fered, including paintings by Jack McLaren, Arie VanderEnde, Elizabeth Dowler and Mr. Northgrave. Local artists such as Dr. B. Baker and Grace Peck will LAKE HURON MOVING SYSTEMS UNC® ���D ,14a.,,,,, sd.,,,,, *Local & Long Distance *Packing *Overseas ®Hilly Insured ®Free Estimates PHONE (519) 357-3148 also be featured. Handcrafted porcelain, carvings ani much, much more will be presented on the auction block. Tickets at $15 per person, which includes a roast beef dinner, are available from members of the Fund Raising Committee, or at the desk at the Hospital. Everyone is welcome, but space is being restricted to 150 people, so tickets should be purchased early. This unique dinner auction is a first for Clinton and it is hoped that a full atten- dance will result in a huge success. budget in line MITCHELL - By chopping three capital expense items from its 1983 preliminary budget in half, Mitchell town council managed to bring the increase to ratepayers down below five per cent. The three items will be equally divided and budgeted over a two-year period. They include $7,100 for furniture, $1,600 for a YES—WE WILL HELP YOU INTO A POOL. Middegaal Sales, Service Chemicals, Accessories WHIRLPOOLS & PATIO FURNITURE ULK LIQUID CHLORINE 527-0104 234 Main St., Seaforth T-PiliANF-1LF __.DISCOUNT.T, CACHET 50 mi SPRAY COLOGNE ONLY MOIR'S 5E1 ECTION CHOCOLATES 600, , 199 ONE Y a CLA1ROL 450 ml ONLY $269 CONDITION SHAMPOO & CONDITION H ULTRA BAN SPRAY DEODORANT 20o rel ONLY $ 1.19 FINAL NET HAIR SPRAY 225mf ONLY $2 69 PFPSODENT TOOTHPASTE loom( ONLY 99 N()XZFMA SKIN CREAM TWO 120 ml 'ars ONLY $3 9 e RED ROSE TEA 60 (lags ON(Y $ 1 69 There a Triangle Discount Store near you at... 172 The Square, (rnderich, Main Corner, Clinton and Main Corner, Seal oral floor maintenance machine, and $2,600 for office equip- ment and a desk. Previous to the cuts, the increase was at 6.2 per cent. The budget with these increases is in the range of $1,308,846 ( total estimated expense ), with total estimated revenue at $847,160, leaving $461,686 Iapprox. ) to be raised by taxes. For residential designation, this is about 97.7 mills, t 90.2 mills in 1982) and for commercial 111.4 mills. 1 106.2 mills in 1982). hi ton pr hHhis Preparations fur the 1983 Clinton Spruig Fair are nearing completion The main attractions for this year's fair are the Demolition Derby, Cheerleader Contest. and as usual the outstanding parade. An unportant new and exciting at- traction will be a Children's Miru-Tractor Pedal -Pull. This competition will be open fur both boys and girls under 100 lbs. t45 Kg). Entry forms are to be mailed to Box 1418, clinton prior to May 20, 1983. Entries can be found on Page 3 of the Spring Fair Prize List. This year the annual Balloon Rally will be held at the Clinton Public School, May In lcacti "t o•nh n r., All nl,„-.,,int•.r., it b ir alized children are invited to participate Prices to be awarded to Ula student s balloon travelling the farthest distance As an added feature a Guess the– Weight” contest of a beet calf will be held This is a "shar'e the wealth' contest Also a draw for a side, hind quarter and front quarter will be made On Saturday, May 28 the Spring Fan, ' Dance will be held at the t'lintun Arena. dancing to "Free Spirit " The Directors and 1.ariuw, cunulut[ees are anticipating a bigger and better 129th Clinton Spring Fair and will see yuu all 111 the Sunshine on the 3rd and 4th of June Contractor named for renovation work... ® from page 1 the most experienced with restoration work of this kind. The company has already supervised the footings and other work that has been done recently, therefore eliminating any split in responsibilty for liability if a problem should arise. As well, Gilvesy was seen as a very competent, financially sound firm, and they emphasized use of local material, suppliers and labor. The renovation project will begin as soon as possible with the library restoration. This, Mayor Archibald stressed, would be done through a "team approach" between the town council, the architect and Gilvesy Construction. Gilvesy has also been given the authority to hire and fire employees. Guarantees necessary Before any actual work begins, council will be asking for a written guarantee from Mr. Ventin, stating that the cost of the entire project will not run more than five per cent over the $1,155,000 mark. While Clerk Cam Proctor said that Mr. Ventin could not guarantee a total cost price until building specifications are completed, many councillors said that there were led to believe that Mr Ventin verbally guaranteed the cost at $1,155,000. ('ouncillor Charlie Burgess noted that the town would be, "left right open" without a written guarantee from the architects. "Unless he ( C.A. Ventin) car. guarantee us of the costs right now, we'd better drop it here and now," Mayor Archibald stressed. Councillor Bee Cooke added, "Mr. Ventin should give us guidelines for each step of progress. It's up to council to stick with there." Bylaw approved Council was given the authority to choose a project manager after passing a construction bylaw, approved by the Ontario Municipal Board. The bylaw allows council, if necessary, to debenture $465,000 of the work. However Mayor Archibald noted, "We sincerely believe that it will be less than half of that." The bylaw was approved in a recorded vote of eight to one. ('ouncillor Ross Carter was the sole opposer. Signs are illegal. e s from page 1 although Mayor Archibald suggested that small towns don't face the problem to such extremes. "By putting signs up, people advertise their business," Councillor Burgess said, noting that they make downtown Clinton bright and attractive. Highly visible signs, Councillor Rosemary Armstrong added, also assist shoppers coning to town. However ('ouncillor Hunter said that signs set side- by-side can't be easily distinguished. Councilor John beeves also noted that often signs can interfere with traffic light visibility. Council agreed to meet with building inspector Tom ('huter to discuss the bylaw and to determine whether a proper permit was issued to Pepos' Restaurant for their sign. 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