HomeMy Public PortalAboutCode of Conduct
COUNCIL
POLICY Effective Date November 14, 2017
Pages 1 through 9
Section: Council
Title: Code of Conduct
PURPOSE
This policy is to establish a responsible code of conduct for Town of Oliver Council.
Responsible conduct is founded by conducting oneself with honesty and integrity and in a
way that furthers a local government’s ability to provide good governance to the
community. Good governance includes:
1. Providing for the stewardship of the community’s public assets;
2. Providing services, laws, and other matters for community benefit; and
3. Acting in a way that is accountable, transparent, ethical, and respectful of the rules
of law, collaborative, effective, and efficient.
SCOPE
This policy applies to Town of Oliver Council and all persons appointed as members of
Boards, Committees, Commissions, Panels, Task Forces and other bodies by the Town
of Oliver Council (hereby collectively referred to as “Members”).
POLICY STATEMENTS
1. Key Principles
1.1 Integrity
Members are keepers of the public trust and must uphold the highest standards
of ethical behavior. Members are expected to:
1.1.1 Make decisions that benefit the community
1.1.2 Act lawfully and within the authorities of the Community Charter, Local
Government Act and other applicable enactments; and
1.1.3 Be free from undue influence and not act, or appear to act, in order to gain
financial or other benefits for themselves, family, friends or business
interests.
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1.2 Accountability
Members are obligated to answer for the responsibility that has been entrusted
to them. Members are responsible for decisions that they make. In turn,
decision-making processes must be transparent and subject to public scrutiny;
proper records must be kept.
1.3 Leadership
Members must demonstrate and promote the key principles of the Code of
Conduct through their decisions, actions and behavior. Members’ behavior must
build and inspire the publics’ trust and confidence in local government. Members
must provide leadership to Town staff through the Chief Administrative Officer.
1.4 Respect
Members must conduct public business efficiently and with decorum. Members
must treat each other and others with respect at all times. This includes not using
derogatory language towards others, respecting the rights of other people,
treating people with courtesy and recognition of the different roles others play in
local government decision making.
1.5 Openness
Members have a duty to be as open as possible about their decisions and actions.
This means communicating appropriate information openly to the public about
decision-making processes and issues being considered; encouraging
appropriate public participation; communicating clearly; and providing
appropriate means for recourse and feedback.
2. General Conduct
2.1. Members must adhere to the key principles and provisions of the Code of
Conduct.
2.2. Members must act lawfully and within the authorities of the Community Charter,
Local Government Act and other applicable enactments and exercise a
reasonable degree of care and diligence in carrying out their functions.
2.3. Members have an obligation to consider issues and exercise powers, duties and
functions in a manner that avoids arbitrary and unreasonable decisions.
2.4. Members must avoid behavior that could constitute an act of disorder or
misbehavior. Specifically, Members must avoid conduct that:
2.4.1 Contravenes this policy;
2.4.2 Contravenes the law, including the BC Human Rights Code, and other
enactments, and Town Bylaws; and
2.4.3 Is an abuse of power or otherwise amounts to improper discrimination,
intimidation, harassment or verbal abuse of others.
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3. Collection and Handling of Information
3.1. Members must:
3.1.1 Collect and use personal information in accordance with Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act legislation and the policies and
guidelines as established in Oliver;
3.1.2 Protect information that is specifically marked confidential, that is
personal information and other material identified or understood to be
confidential in nature;
3.1.3 Refrain from discussing or disclosing any confidential information with or
to staff, or with persons outside the organization except as authorized;
3.1.4 Refrain from discussing or disclosing any personal information with or to
other Members, staff, or with persons outside the organization except in
a manner consistent with the duty to protect personal information under
the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
3.1.5 Take reasonable care to prevent the examination of confidential material
or access to personal information by unauthorized individuals;
3.1.6 Not use confidential information except for the purpose for which it is
intended to be used;
3.1.7 Only release information in accordance with established Town policies
and procedures and in compliance with the Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act;
3.1.8 Not disclose decisions, resolutions or report contents forming part of the
agenda for or from an closed meeting of Council until a corporate
decision has been made for the information to become public; and
3.1.9 Not disclose details on Council’s closed deliberations or specific detail
on whether individual Councillors voted for or against an issue.
3.2 Except in the normal course of duties, Members must not in any way change or
alter Town records or documents.
3.3 When dealing with personal information, Members must comply fully with the
provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. All
reasonable and necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the personal
or private business information of individuals is protected. Personal information
includes information or an opinion about a person whose identity is apparent, or
can be determined from the information or opinion.
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4. Conflict of Interest
4.1 Members are expected to make decisions that benefit the community. They are
to be free from undue influence and not act or appear to act in order to gain
financial or other benefits for themselves, family, friends, or business interests.
4.2 Members must appropriately resolve any conflict or incompatibility between
their personal interests and the impartial performance of their duties in
accordance with statutory requirements of the Community Charter.
5. Interactions with Members and Staff and Advisory Body Members
5.1 Council is the governing body of the Town of Oliver. It has the responsibility to
govern the Town in accordance with the Community Charter and other
legislation.
5.1.1 An Oath of Office affirmation is recited by members specific to the
Community Charter, Section 7 “purposes of a municipality” and Section
115 “responsibilities of Council members” at the beginning of election
term.
5.2 The Mayor is the head and the Chief Executive Officer of the Town and has a
statutory responsibility to provide leadership to Council and to provide general
direction to municipal officers respecting the municipal policies, programs and
other directions of Council as set out in the Community Charter.
5.3 The Town adopts the one employee model where Council’s point of contact with
staff is the Chief Administrative Officer.
5.4 Members are to direct inquiries regarding departmental issues or questions to
the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer or the Department Head (Senior
Manager) of the appropriate department and refrain from contacting other staff
without first discussing the issue with the Department Head.
5.5 Members are not to issue instructions to any of the Town’s contractors,
tenderers, consultants or other service providers.
5.6 Members are not to make public statements attacking or disparaging staff or
Advisory Body Members and shall show respect for the professional capacities
of staff. Members must not involve staff in matters for political purposes.
5.7 Members must not publish or report information or make statements attacking
or reflecting negatively on staff (including the Chief Administrative Officer), or
Advisory Body Members. Complaints are to be brought to the attention of the
Chief Executive Officer or Chief Administrative Officer for follow up.
5.8 Significant information provided to any member of Council, which is likely to be
used in Council or in political debate, should also be provided to all other Council
members, and to the Chief Administrative Officer.
5.9 Members must treat members of the public, other Members, Advisory Board
Members, and staff appropriately, and without bullying, abuse or intimidation in
order to preserve a workplace free from harassment.
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6. Members Use of Social Media
6.1 It is not the role of individual Members to report directly on Town related
business. Members will use caution in reporting decision-making by way of their
social media profiles and websites prior to official communication by the Town.
6.2 Members will include an “in my opinion”, or similar disclaimer, either within the
banner of their individual social media site(s) or separately when making follow
up posts to the Town’s social media postings and when creating original posts
pertaining to Town related business.
6.3 Members will refrain from using or permitting use of their Town of Oliver social
media accounts for purposes that include:
6.3.1 defamatory remarks, obscenities, profane language or sexual content;
6.3.2 negative statements disparaging staff or calling into question the
professional capabilities of staff;
6.3.3 content that endorses, promotes, or perpetuates discrimination or
mistreatment on the basis of race, religion or belief, age, gender, marital
status, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
6.3.4 statements that indicate an actual attitudinal bias in relation to a matter
that is to be the subject of a statutory or other public hearing;
6.3.5 promotion of illegal activity;
6.3.6 information that may compromise the safety or security of the public or
public systems
6.4 Members must regularly monitor their Town of Oliver social media accounts and
immediately take measures to deal with the publication of messages or postings
by others that violate this Code of Conduct.
7. Interactions with the Public and Media
7.1 Members will accurately communicate the decisions of Council, even if they
disagree with the majority decision of Council, and by so doing affirm the respect
for and integrity in the decision-making processes of Council.
7.2 When discussing the fact that he/she did not support a decision, or voted
against the decision, or that another Member did not support a decision or voted
against a decision, a Member will refrain from making disparaging comments
about other Member or about Council’s or Members processes and decisions.
8. Gifts and Personal Gifts
The receipt and reporting of gifts and personal benefits is dealt with under sections
105 and 106 of the Community Charter. Ultimately, the interpretation of those sections
is a matter for the courts. However, the general language used in those sections
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creates some level of uncertainty and this Code of Conduct is intended to provide
some guidance to Members.
8.1 What are Gifts and Personal Benefits?
8.1.1 Gifts and personal benefits are items or services of value that are
received by Members for personal use. These would include, but are
not limited to, cash, gift cards, tickets to events, items of clothing,
jewelry, pens, food or beverages, discounts or rebates on purchases,
free or subsidized drinks or meals, entertainment, invitations to social
functions, etc.
8.1.2 Section 105 (2)(b) of the Community Charter (restrictions on accepting
gifts) prohibits a Member from directly or indirectly accepting a gift, fee
or personal benefit that is connected in some way to his or her
performance; unless it is:
• A gift or benefit that is received as an incident of the protocol or
social obligations that normally accompany the responsibilities of
office
• Compensation authorized by law; or
• A lawful campaign contribution.
8.2 What Gifts and Personal Benefits may be Accepted?
8.2.1 Section 105(1) of the Community Charter prohibits Council members
from directly or indirectly accepting a fee, gift or personal benefit
connected with the member’s performance of the duties of office.
8.2.2 In accordance with section 105(2), a Council member may accept gifts
and personal benefits received as an incident of the protocol or social
obligations that normally accompany the responsibilities of elected
office.
8.2.3 Gifts and personal benefits received in accordance with section
105(2)(a) of the Community Charter as referenced in section 8.2.2 must
be reported and disclosed in accordance with section 106 to the
Corporate Officer.
8.2.4 Where a gift or personal benefit that may be accepted under the
Community Charter has a value in excess of $250.00, the Member who
receives the gift will do so on behalf of the Town and turn over the gift to
the Town, except as otherwise permitted by Council.
8.2.5 Council members must not accept a gift or personal benefit that could
reasonably be expected to result in a real or perceived conflict of
interest, and to assist in avoiding that situation, Council members will not
accept gifts or personal benefits from business or commercial
enterprises having a value that exceeds $250.00 or, where the total
value of such gifts and benefits, received directly or indirectly from one
source in any twelve (12) month period, would exceed $250.00.
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8.3 How Must Gifts and Personal Benefits be Reported?
8.3.1 Council members must disclose to the Corporate Officer gifts and
personal benefits in accordance with section 106 of the Community
Charter.
8.3.2 If a Council member receives a gift or personal benefit that they do not
wish to accept, regardless of value, they may immediately relinquish the
gift or personal benefit to the Town, in which case a disclosure form
would not be required. If the gift or personal benefit is not immediately
relinquished to the Town, then the Member must file a disclosure form.
8.3.3 The content of the disclosure must comply with section 106(2) of the
Community Charter and must be filed “as soon as reasonably
practicable”.
8.3.4 It is the responsibility of Council members to be familiar with the
provisions in the Community Charter relating to acceptance and
disclosure of gifts and to ensure that they comply with these
requirements as contemplated by the statute.
8.4 How are Gifts and Personal Benefits Valued?
8.4.1 For the purposes of this Code of Conduct, the value of each gift or
personal benefit shall be determined by its replacement cost, i.e., how
much it would cost to replace the item?
8.5 Procedure for Dealing with Relinquished Gifts and Personal Benefits
8.5.1 Where a gift or personal benefit with value that exceeds $250 is
relinquished to the Town, the Corporate Officer will record the receipt of
the item, nature of the gift or personal benefit, source (including the
addresses of at least two individuals who are directors, when the gift is
provided by a corporation, if available), when the gift was received, and
the circumstances under which it was given and accepted.
9 Breaches, Complaint Handling and Disciplinary Action
General
9.1 Members are to abide by the requirements of the Community Charter and this
Code of Conduct, and shall endeavour to resolve disputes in good faith,
recognizing that interpersonal rancour does not facilitate good governance.
Council Members
9.2 Alleged breaches of this Code of Conduct by Members shall be submitted in a
written complaint addressed to the Mayor and the Chief Administrative Officer
within six (6) months of the last alleged breach. In the event that the Mayor is
the subject of, or is implicated in the complaint, the complaint shall be addressed
to the current Acting Mayor unless that individual is the subject of, or implicated
in the complaint.
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9.3 Upon receipt of a complaint under section 9.2, the Mayor, or Acting Mayor, and
the Chief Administrative Officer shall, if they are not able to resolve the matter
informally, within thirty (30) days, appoint an independent third party identified
and agreed between the Complainant(s) and Respondent(s) as having the
necessary professional skills, knowledge and experience to investigate the
complaint (the “Third Party Investigator”). If the parties cannot agree on the
choice of investigator, the nominee of the Complainant(s) and the
Respondent(s) shall jointly select a suitable Third Party Investigator.
Third Party Investigator
9.4 May conduct a preliminary assessment of the complaint, at the conclusion of
which the investigator may determine to continue the investigation or make a
written recommendation that the complaint be dismissed as unfounded, beyond
jurisdiction or unlikely to succeed;
9.5 If the Third Party Investigator determines to continue the complaint, the Third
Party Investigator shall:
9.5.1 Conduct an independent and impartial investigation of the complaint in
a manner that is fair, timely, confidential and otherwise accords with the
principles of due process and natural justice;
9.5.2 Provide an investigation updated within ninety (90) days of his or her
appointment to the Mayor or Acting Mayor, as applicable, and to the
Complainant and the Respondent;
9.5.3 Provide a written, confidential report (the “Report”) of the findings of the
investigation, including findings as to whether there has been a breach
of this Code of Conduct, to the Mayor or Acting Mayor, as applicable,
and to the Complainant and the Respondent; and
9.5.4 Provide recommendations in the Report as to the appropriate resolution
of the complaint, which recommendations may include:
• dismissal of the complaint; or
• public censure of Member for misbehaviour or a breach of this Code
of Conduct;
• a recommendation that the Member apologize to any person
adversely affected by a breach of this Code of Conduct;
• counselling of a Member; and/or
• such other recommendations as are deemed appropriate in the
professional judgment of the Third Party Investigator.
9.6 The Mayor or Acting Mayor shall consider whether the Report shall be
presented to Council.
9.7 The Corporate Officer will receive and retain all reports prepared under section
9.4.3 and 9.4.4.
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9.8 Where a Member alleges a breach of this Code of Conduct by a fellow
Member, all Members shall refrain from commenting on such allegations at
open meetings of Council pending the conclusion of the Report and any
decision of Council on the Report.
9.9 Members who retain legal counsel to represent them in proceedings under this
section may request in writing that the Town indemnify them for their
reasonable costs of representation, in accordance with section 740 of the
Local Government Act.