By Staff
April 5th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Jim Thomson took exception with the way the city used or failed to use the Procedural by law appropriately.
Council took exception to how Jim Thomson chose to delegate and issued a No Trespass notice which limits what he can do to virtual appearances.
Thomson is big, BIG on detail. He filed a complaint with the City’s Ombudsman and waited.
He got a response: a 50 page report in which the Ombudsman basically agreed with him
The Gazette will wade through the report and let you know what they had to say.
The City appears to be taking the report seriously.
In a report to Council from the City Manager we learn that:
Having reviewed in detail and considered the findings of the ADRO Investigation report, the City Manager recommends that Committee accept the findings of the report and that the City Clerk report back in Q2 with recommended changes to the City’s Procedural By-law to address any outstanding procedural by-law compliance issues outlined in the detailed report.
As Committee is aware and as noted in the detailed Investigation report, the Thursday council meetings that were set up in 2022/23 to deal primarily with time sensitive items have been discontinued in the 2024 Council meeting calendar.
Jim Thomson delegating: Keeps a tight eye on what Council does.
The City Manager also acknowledges that the City is committed to continuous improvement with respect to adherence and effectiveness of the PBL. The new City Clerk working closely with department staff, as well as the City Manager, Executive Director of Community Relations and Engagement and the Executive Director of Legal Services and Corporation.
Council, will undertake a full review of the identified non-compliance items and report back by the end of Q2 with recommendations for changes to the PBL as well as any report process changes on how Committee and Council meeting are conducted.
Thomson maintains that “my complaint was justified, but there are no legal consequences under the Municipal Act.”
He adds that the item is added to the Council agenda at the last minute so that people can’t digest and prepare delegations.
I cannot speak to Mr. Thomson as I am not engaged as much but only will engage by reviewing meetings that spark my interest. I see the word “tenacity” above. Other polite adjectives are passionate, resolute and perseverance. Their less polite terms are dogged, single minded and staunch. The underlying theme is about one’s behaviour. What is Jim to staff and what is he to the elected officials. People have been held to account for their lack of candour (you know who you are). Just because someone is deemed not to be silenced, does not give them the right to be an disrespectful to staff and council. (that includes raising your voice). Delegates also need to be reminded they have one voice and one vote. The elected officials have the voices of all the electorate to consider. Remember these people were elected. That is democracy at its core and attacking their right to make decisions through bullying tactics is not right.
Anne, your personal audits are your personal opinion. If things were so bad you could have gone to the ministry for a fulsome review. You lost an election and that is on you and not on the Clerk’s department. I don’t understand the vitriol in going after the former Clerk in Hamilton based on this article about Mr. Thomson. You seem to hold a grudge against her for doing her job and I assume telling you “NO” at some point. The audit review of the election in Hamilton states in these exact words “Overall the OAG finds that the Clerk’s processes substantially complied with requirements under the MEA. While there were some deviations, they did not compromise in any material way the seven principles of the Act”. This doesn’t say much about the person that called for the audit, the current Mayor of Hamilton. Given the bullying towards the Hamilton Clerk by members of Council (see Integrity Commissioner report), she probably couldn’t get out of there fast enough. But You are trying to spin your speculation as facts which is never a good look.
Editor’s comment: A comment from you on that 14 minute rant that had the Mayor going after a Council member would be appreciated.
What are your qualifications Howard to claim Audit reports you have never reviewed are personal opinions. Both of us are well qualified and experienced in producing and reporting to the boards of provincial and Municipal public corporations on legislation compliance audits. An Ontario Chief of Police and Deputy will vouch for Dave in that regard as his audits assisted police and the Crown making our Region a safer place to live. Anne’s references are from the national, provincial and local Municipal level.
Such organizations could not accept personal opinions only well evidenced audits such as was provided to the Burlington Audit Committee at the invitation of the Chair and then buried. The Deputy Clerk who left Hamilton never refused us anything and she was in fact on good terms with us last time we exchanged pleasantries ar City Hall.
The complaint is not about Jim, who is not the subject of any behaviour control bylaws it is about the refusal of the past Clerk to do his job and enforce the bylaws he and our “democratically elected” councils past and present put in place.
He would still be Clerk if there was no problem or if the city administration had not been provided with the evidence they were by Jim and then ourselves beginning January 24th.
Haven’t heard you at the lectern Howard or indeed any member of the public supporting our Mayor or indeed any council member for non-compliance with the Procedural Bylaws or legislation that staff tell our Council they must adhere to, there is no choice.
Again Anne & Dave, if these personal reports identified failures in procedure that was contrary to the current Municipal Act you should have taken them to the ministry. Keep in mind clerks are only to provide advice, the Chair is ultimately responsible and the politicians make the final decisions. Reports are there to be “received” only. At no time is a received report an intent or obligation to act on its recommendations.
Regarding your quote “One of these Deputy Clerks went on to be the Clerk for Hamilton. She left in a hurry after overseeing an election where an emergency was declared, electorate privacy was violated and she was ordered to release information she did not want members of the public to have.” – What is your point in bringing this up? I can only think your aim was to discredit her in someway that comes back to her work at COB. You did go out of your way to discredit other members of the Clerks department with disparaging remarks and attacking their integrity in the Burlington Post. The city of Burlington should have banned you as the Region had. It is okay to question and even disagree with staff and staff recommendations but once you disrespect them, that is going to far. Sharpen your pencil and contact your elected councillor or mayor as they ultimately make the short and long term decisions for this city.
Lastly, you begin to talk about former Clerk Arjoon as the latest target. You are all over the map. It appears you will never be happy or respect anyone’s decisions.
OK Howard – Committee of the Whole – Nisan “Complaint sustained.” Paul Sharman “Thank you Jim” Tim Commisso “Thank you Jim” unheard of previous responses of Council members and senior staff to Ombudsman’s complaints.
Very interesting. Good work Jim. Power to the people. Kudos
Yes Jim Thomson’s complaint was justified, but only because of his tenacity and not backing off no matter how he was mis-treated often publicly. Contrary to the city policies and by-laws Jim has been excluded from Chambers to delegate or simply observe the proceedings, when even those who have a trespass letter, which he does not have, are allowed in Chambers to observe or delegate. Our position and that of numerous taxpayers we have discussed this matter with, “municipal taxpayers are unable to obtain accountability for gross and deliberate violations of the City’s Procedural Bylaw and Municipal Act” is also justified.
Audits show at least two former Clerks and Deputy Clerks have been empowered by two elected councils and their head of legal and other administrative staff, to set aside not only our Procedural Bylaws but also the statutes newly elected councillors are told by staff “must be complied with”. One of these Deputy Clerks went on to be the Clerk for Hamilton. She left in a hurry after overseeing an election where an emergency was declared, electorate privacy was violated and she was ordered to release informtion she did not want members of the public to have.
Time to clean up the mess that is putting our hard earned money in the wrong hands. Take a look at what these members of our city’s admin staff cost us if you don’t believe us.
Huge respect and thanks to you Jim for persevering with this. The City makes doing so extremely difficult and as you note, the Ombudsman report carries no legal consequences. However, the fact they wrote such a detailed report and agreed with you, the fact the City Manager is taking it seriously and the fact you can release this to the public is very important. The Marsdens and Tom Muir will be most interested in this matter – wonder how many Ombudsman complaints are currently in re COB …
I also can’t help but think that the awful way you have been treated at council has something to do with your tenacity on this matter. Interesting how Anne Marsden was also treated horribly when bringing up procedural errors.
I get the sense that things are blowing up pretty big in our city hall right now … No wonder council members are revolting. What a disaster of leadership.
Editor’s note: The Gazette is aware of a Complaint that is with the Ombudsman – we will report on that when there is more information.
When residents of Burlington are criticized, ostracized etc. it takes a strong person to fight for their rights. In most cases the person simply walks away.
I applaud Mr. Thomson for continuing to delegate and question this council.
Hopefully, this win will result in changes at the council level and hopefully encourage our mayor to delegate some of her “super powers” back to council members.
Residents want change and they don’t want to wait for the next election.