The appointment of an integrity commissioner to monitor the conduct of Toronto city councillors has hit a snag.
The city announced in late June that lawyer Geri Sanson would take over Sept. 1 from David Mullan – the city's first integrity commissioner, who was due to retire Aug. 31 – but that didn't happen.
Mullan agreed to stay for September as the city scrambled to find someone to fill the vacancy on an interim basis.
City council hastily appointed Loren Sossin, a law professor at the University of Toronto as interim integrity commissioner.
Mullan said Friday that it became apparent contractual details with his successor had not been worked out.
"I finish on Tuesday," he said. "I made it absolutely clear that I could only do one extra month."
The city had conducted a widespread, months-long search before announcing Sanson's appointment. The snag could force the city to start over, said councillor Paul Ainslie.
"My biggest concern is if they can't negotiate a contract agreement with the integrity commissioner, we could be back at square one," he said. "After the whole headhunting process, it could be very embarrassing for the city."
Councillors were told the interim appointment was only for 30 days, and that technical details stood in the way of signing Sanson as permanent integrity commissioner.
Councillor Janet Davis said she expects Sanson will join the city, but couldn't estimate when.
"We're still in discussions to finalize the terms of her contract, our agreement with her," Davis said. "I have no reason to believe at all that there is any indication that it won't have a successful outcome."
The city has touted it was the first municipality in Canada to hire an integrity commissioner, whose job is to adjudicate allegations of misconduct by city councillors.
The integrity commissioner's position came in response largely to recommendations made after the inquiry into the MFP computer leasing scandal.
Queen's Park also revamped oversight rules, requiring the city to have an ombudsperson, auditor general and lobbyist registry.
Council last week appointed Fiona Crean to be the city's first ombudsperson, effective Nov. 17. The plan was to have someone in place by June to deal with citizens who feel they have been treated unfairly by the city.
Despite touting its accountability officers, the city has had trouble hiring and keeping them. Lobbyist registrar Marilyn Abraham suddenly announced plans to quit, less than a year into the job and barely after the registry went online.
No comments:
Post a Comment