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
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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
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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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