By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On January 13, Burlington City Council held their monthly Committee of the Whole meetings to discuss items relevant to the city and its council.
Among the three consent items approved, only one was commented on by a council member. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward spoke about the Public Access and Maintenance Agreement
update on the Burlington Canal Pier.
The approval means that the city will enter an agreement with the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority for public use, municipal access, and ongoing maintenance of the Burlington Canal shipping pier.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Meed Ward said. “I was shocked to read that we’ve been at this since 2021 when the federal government closed the piers to public access and residents came to us and said ‘Do something about it.’”
Meed Ward also thanked representatives and legislatures who worked with the city to get the deal done, including Burlington MP Karina Gould, Halton Region, the City of Hamilton, and the federal government.
“We’re not quite there yet, but we’re at the finish line, so I’m very excited about this,” Meed Ward said.
Meed Ward said that it is very important to her that residents have access to Burlington’s waterfront, which she said will happen sometime this year.
She also explained that the city has worked to make the pier safer by removing trip hazards and installing pedestrian railings. The project will, subject to voting by the regional council, introduce no new costs for the city, as the cost will be borne through the regional waterfront master plan.
Meed Ward also teased that the city may hold a port festival at some point after the reopening.
The second item approved was the Transmittal of Investigation report from ADR Ombudsman.
An ombudsman is a municipal official who conducts investigations concerning the administrative actions of the municipality.
In February 2024, a complaint was filed with ADR Chambers, the city’s ombudsman, which, according to the Recommendation Report, “alleged the City insufficiently communicated with the public in 2022 with respect to the Robert Bateman School project.”
After interviews with the complainant and city staff, Chambers issued their investigation report.
“I am satisfied from the evidence that the City’s Communications staff followed City policies, and professional practices in the communications field,” Chambers said. “I further accept that City staff can only publish information they are authorized to share. I interpret that the remainder (and bulk, frankly) of Complainant’s concerns are directed to the City’s political processes or decision-making — which isn’t appropriately within this Office’s jurisdiction to address. Such questions must be addressed within the political process itself.”
The third and final item approved was the Appointment to Downtown BIA Board of Directors.
The city appointed Julie Folch to the position, whose term will expire in December 2032. The vacancy this appointment fills opened up when a board director retired.
Folch was already approved by the Burlington Downtown Business Association on December 4.
During the Community and Corporate Services section of the meeting, the council discussed council remuneration.
Sue Evfremidis, chief human resources officer, introduced the report.
“[The report is] providing you [council] with information in order to make a decision with regards to OMERS benefits for council,” Evfremidis said. “It’s important to note that the city does not make decisions about council remuneration, that responsibility and that authority lies with council.”
Meed Ward asked if council should authorize payment in lieu of OMERS [the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System] and backdate it to the beginning of the term (November 2022), and how much that would cost.
Evfremidis said it would be approximately $17,000.
Shawna Stolte, Ward 4 councillor, said that she spoke with HR employees in the public sector about this proposal and said that she was taken aback by the responses.
“I was quite surprised to experience how in-depth I had to explain what we were looking to do because, to them, it sounded so outside the norm in the public sector to even be considering this, that they didn’t understand what I was getting at,” Stolte said.
Evfremidis said that “in the private sector, it’s based on what their compensation program is.”
Stolte asked if Evfremidis had found any examples of a situation where a member is being paid full salary and pension and benefits, pay in lieu.
“I have not,” Evfremidis said.
Lisa Kearns, Ward 2 councillor, asked what other funds the city could explore as the source of funding if this legislation were to pass.
Craig Millar, the chief financial officer, explained that the city would look to accrue against the 2024 surplus.
Kearns indicated that she would only support the motion if it was funded through the city’s gapping surplus and not the tax stabilization reserves.
The final motion as voted on was to “Amend the Mayor and Council remuneration to provide Payment In Lieu, for members of council over 71 [years old] equal to the city portion of OMERS effective start to be the beginning of the 2022 Term of Office November/December 2022, all of 2023 and 2024 gapping surplus.”
Meed Ward explained the surplus is roughly one million dollars per year.
“So it would be a million minus $17,000 surplus for 2024,” Meed Ward said. “So we wouldn’t have to take it from reserves.”
Meed Ward spoke about the fact that this issue has been discussed by the city for a long time.
“We have been at this since I’ve been a councillor,” Meed Ward said. “Successive council members have raised this. It’s really, for me, an issue of equity. And perhaps we can lead the way on equity in the public sector, especially as it relates to elected members of office.”
Only Councillor Stolte and Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan voted against the motion.
