By Pepper Parr

December 11th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Home for you is Burlington but City Hall just might decide that  when it comes  to getting important “Public Notice”  information to you they will publish it in the Hamilton Spectator.

City Council was given a Recommendation to::

Approve the amendments to the Public Notice Policy to remove print media notices, and instead use the City’s website or online publications, where the Municipal Act, 2001, does not prescribe that a newspaper must be used for public notice.

The Municipal Act, provides that “a municipality shall adopt and maintain a policy with respect to the circumstances in which the municipality shall provide notice to the public, and if notice is to be provided, the form, manner and times notice shall be given.”  The City’s current Public Notice Policy was approved by Council on June 22, 2021, demonstrating the City’s commitment to ensuring residents are aware of when City business occurs.

There is a policy that outlines the form, manner and time that notices shall be given, unless specifically set out in the Act. The Municipal Act, 2001 has changed over the years, giving municipalities flexibility in terms of the form and manner in which notice is provided. The use of newspapers is only prescribed in limited circumstances in the Municipal Act.

When Metroland Media Group ceased the print publication of the Burlington Post, with much haste, residents were left with an online version that isn’t working all that well at this point.

The death of the print version of the Post has multi-faceted impacts on how the City provides public notice.

The Municipal Act, 2001 allows municipalities for more flexibility, other legislation is very specific as to the manner in which notice is given.

Some sections of the Public Notice Policy Schedule A provide for a publication in a newspaper, however that requirement is not legislated under the Municipal Act, 2001, but instead a requirement determined by the City.

In light of the Metroland Media Group decision, staff have undertaken a review of the City’s Public Notice Policy and are seeking to make amendments where publication in a newspaper is not a prescribed requirement under the Municipal Act, 2001. Amendments to the Public Notice Policy are based on the findings summarized below:

That’s a lot of legal baffle-gab to absorb.  What it comes down to is this:  The city is looking for a way to cut back on costs and is prepared to limit the ways in which they advise you about changes that impact you financially.

In a link set out below there is a spending matter that makes one wonder about what this city Council’s values are and where they are displayed.

Examples of public information situations:

Public notices are required to advise of the holding of a public meeting by the Standing Committee designated by Council to consider the matter prior to Council’s consideration of changes to the composition of Council.

Within 15 days after a by-law is passed, the City must give notice of the passing of the by- law to the public specifying the last date for filing a notice of appeal.

There is no prescribed manner of form of how public notice is to be provided.

Notice of both the public meeting and Council’s intention to pass a by-law in a newspaper 14 days prior to the public meeting; and on the website 14 days prior to the public meeting.

Notice to be published in the newspaper 15 days of passing of bylaw. Website posting within 15 days of passing by-law.

Seizure of Personal Property – Public Auction (Section 351(8), Municipal Act, 2001)

Subject to certain conditions, the Treasurer or their agent may seize personal property to recover taxes and costs of the seizure. The Treasurer or their agent is required to give the public notice of the time and place of public auction and of the name of the person whose personal property is to be sold.

There is no prescribed manner or form of how public notice is to be provided.

Notice of auction to be published in a newspaper once every 7 days for 14 days prior to the auction, and Notice posted on the website 14 days prior to the auction.

Newspaper notice requirement to be removed from the policy.

Local Improvement Charges (Section 400, Municipal Act, 2001)

In accordance with Section 6 of Ontario Regulation 586/06

Public notice of Council’s intention to pass the by-law imposing fees and charges to the public and to the owners of the lots liable to be specially charged.

There is no prescribed manner or form of how public notice is to be provided.

Notice shall be given by mail to those owners of lots liable to the special charge, and

Notice in a newspaper 14 days prior to the Council meeting at which the by- law will be considered, and

Notice posted on the website 7 days prior to the Council meeting at which the by-law will be considered.

Newspaper notice requirement to be removed from policy.

Providing notice where the manner of notice is prescribed

To eliminate any risk of non-compliance where there exists the legislative requirement to post notices in a newspaper, staff explored other available newspaper options for these notices under the Municipal Act, 2001 as well as any other legislation, including the Planning Act. Section 87 of the Legislation Act, 2006 defines newspaper as follows:

“newspaper”, in a provision requiring publication, means a document that, is printed in sheet form, published at regular intervals of a week or less and circulated to the general public, and consists primarily of news of current events of general interest; (“journal”)

Based on the above definition and the definition included in the policy, The Hamilton Spectator has been determined as the paper of record for the City of Burlington in the absence of a local newspaper such as The Burlington Post. The Hamilton Spectator is a daily newspaper with 4,673 subscribers in Burlington compared to The Toronto Star at 1,152 subscribers.

The Public Notice Policy provides minimum notice standards and encourages the public notice authors to consult with Corporate Communications & Engagement staff to ensure all appropriate tactics are used when providing notice to the public. The City has a dedicated News and Notices section with 1,065 current subscribers, where all City notices are posted in one centralized location.

By removing the requirement for printed media notices, where not statutorily required, the policy provides more flexibility while ensuring legislative requirements are met. In instances where newspaper notices are required, such as the Publication of Financial Statements, election notices, or notices required under other legislation including the Planning Act, the City will use The Hamilton Spectator based on the general circulation requirement, in addition to notices posted to the City’s website and digital publications. Many other municipalities have moved towards the publication of notices on their websites either exclusively or with a hybrid approach given the changing media landscape.

What is all this going to cost.
Costs will be incurred depending on the type and frequency of notice. If a legislative requirement to post notice in print media exists, the associated cost is unavoidable. Below is a cost comparison for comparable ads in The Hamilton Spectator versus The Burlington Post.  These are the preferred rates for the City as provided by Communications staff. This price list is not extensive and meant to show cost differences.

Whereas the cost to post notices in the Hamilton Spectator are nearly triple than The Burlington Post, the frequency of the required notices under the Municipal Act, 2001 can be expected to decrease. In some instances of notices required under the Planning Act, those costs are forwarded onto the applicants.

On average, there have been 250 ads placed throughout the year, but that number does fluctuate. In 2022 the print costs totalled $131,103 with the Burlington Post. Staff will monitor the increased advertising costs closely in 2024 and mitigate the financial impact where possible. Should an increase to the City’s advertising budget be required, staff will identify the need as part of the 2025 Financial needs and Multi-year Forecast for the Mayor to consider for inclusion in the 2025 Proposed Budget.

Engagement Matters:

The City’s Legal team provided advice on this issue to ensure that the manner in which notice is provided meets the legislative requirements. The recommended amendments to the policy allow flexibility to ensure that residents are provided notice of City business while balancing the legislative requirements.

So much for public engagement.

This item was on the Consent agenda, meaning it was seen as matters of a routine nature, which are not expected to require discussion and/or debate.  That City hall would take this approach to something as important as public notices is suprising.

Jim Thomson did delegate virtually – his point was that the item was on the Consent list which is contrary to the Procedural bylaw which requires that an item cannot be on the Consent list if there is a delegation.

Burlington is in a unique position where it has an option of utilizing an adjacent municipality’s local paper that has a general circulation in the city. However, the media landscape is constantly changing. This could be an opportunity for the City to advocate for changes to the legislation that would allow digital notices in the absence of a printed newspaper.

It also offers the city an opportunity to use the Town Crier more often – it could become a full time job for NAME who could ring his bell and inform the public.

Additionally, the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasures of Ontario (AMCTO) has reached out to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing seeking clarification on whether publishing notices in a digital publication, that are required by law to be published in a local printed newspaper, satisfy the legislative requirement. A response has not yet been received as of the writing of this report.

Where to from here?
The City of Burlington is committed to providing notice to the public when required by legislation or otherwise deemed necessary.

The Public Notice Policy provides a standard for the form, manner and time notice should be given. In the absence of a local printed publication, the amendments ensure that legislated requirements are met while providing flexibility to the municipality as to the most effective and efficient way to provide notice.