A complaint about a closed door meeting at London city hall regarding a handful of services moving to Citi Plaza won't be investigated.
Ontario's Ombudsman sent a letter to the city clerk on Wednesday stating that his office would "not be pursuing the complaint at this time."
The complaint was lodged against council on November 2, 2016. It alleged that council did not meet exceptions to the open meetings requirements of the Municipal Act when it held an in-camera meeting on July 26 about the relocation of some city services to Citi Plaza.
The complaint went on to further allege that council made decisions in that closed session, another violation of the Municipal Act.
The letter, signed by Ombudsman Counsel Michelle Bird, does not give a reason for the decision.
"I certainly welcome that they have determined no further investigation is warranted because, as I have mentioned all along, I was always confident that everything was fine in relation to this particular meeting," said Councillor Josh Morgan. "If I didn't feel that way I would have not participated in the meeting any further."
Council was cleared of any wrongdoing nearly two weeks ago following a lengthy investigation by the Ombudsman into complaints about two other closed door meetings held last year.
Those pertained to the hiring of Gregory Stewart for the position of integrity commissioner and discussions over Stewart's report into the affair involving Mayor Matt Brown and Councillor Maureen Cassidy.
Ombudsman Paul Dubé found neither meeting violated the Municipal Act as they were permitted under the act’s solicitor-client privilege exceptions.
As part of his investigation, Dubé said his office reviewed the council agenda, minutes from both meetings, staff reports, and the integrity commissioner’s report. City employees were also questioned.
"The public has every right to complain to the Ombudsman so that an investigation can happen and a definitive answer can be given. That is what establishes confidence in government and so I very much welcome and support the process of the Ombudsman investigating our meetings," said Morgan.
In an effort to be more transparent, the current council approved a policy change that allows city hall to post notifications when council is being investigated. In the past, Londoners were only notified after an investigation was completed.
