London city council is once again under investigation by the Ontario Ombudsman.
A release from city hall says a complaint was lodged against council in regard to a closed door meeting on July 26 about the relocation of some city services to Citi Plaza. It is alleged the meeting did not meet the exceptions to the open meetings requirements of the Municipal Act.
The complaint goes on to further allege that council made decisions in that closed session, another violation of the Municipal Act.
"Our council is always fully cooperative with the process and we are very cautious about the reasons for when we go in camera," said Councillor Josh Morgan. "I'm confident that everything was fine in relation to this meeting."
The city has until December 2 to send the Ombudsman the minutes from the meeting, any staff reports or documents considered at the closed session, and any other documents pertaining to the investigation.
A policy change made by the current council allows city hall to post notifications when council is being investigated. In the past, Londoners were only notified after the investigation was completed.
Morgan said it proves council is committed to being open and transparent, especially when it comes to Ombudsman investigations.
"It is healthy in our democracy for this level of oversight because it drives conclusions" said Morgan. "If people think that there was an issue, there is an easy and clear path to determining if there was one or not. I welcome the investigation as I do with all of them."
This is the third time this year, council has been in hot water over closed door meetings.
In July, the Ombudsman launched two other investigations into the conduct of London city council. The first was over the hiring of Gregory Stewart for the position of integrity commissioner. The second had to be with a report from Stewart into allegations that Mayor Matt Brown and Councillor Maureen Cassidy violated council’s code of conduct when they had a brief affair. Both meetings were held behind closed doors.
