Open Government

The Office of the Clerk is responsible for the coordination and support of various statutory responsibilities as prescribed by the Municipal Act, 2001 (as amended), Vital Statistics Act, Marriage Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Planning Act and the Municipal Elections Act. Pursuant to these statutes, Township of Southgate policies, procedures, protocols and municipal best practice, the Office of the Clerk provides the secretariat support to Council and Committees of Council, documents without note or comment the official records of the reports and actions of Council, manages notice provisions related to statutory public meetings and in response to other legislative requirements, has a mandate to manage the municipalities records and information holdings, processes Freedom of Information requests, serves as Returning Officer for the administration of the Municipal and School Board Elections and By-Elections, and provides a number of other internal/external and public support services.

The following actions would continue to support CAP initiatives:

Open Government Framework;
Enhanced Procedural & Governance Processes;
Civic Engagement & Public Participation; and
Records & Information Management (RIM) and Access & Privacy Program.
Open Government

The Office of the Clerk developed an Open Government program that have made it easier for internal and external stakeholders to access municipal information and participate in the decision-making process through the use of the Township website. The vision of Open Government is to partner with and engage the community to enhance the overall accountability and transparency of the Township through communication tools, which include but are not limited to the website and Facebook.

Enhanced Procedural & Governance Processes

Enhancements will be made to the Township’s Procedural By-law and Closed Meeting Protocol Policy in order to improve overall compliance with statutory requirements and implement best practices with respect to Council and committee meeting procedures. Many of the services provided by the Office of the Clerk are legislated, which include but are not limited to, the Municipal Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), Planning Act, and the Municipal Elections Act. Compliance is a legal requirement under these statutes, and as such, non-compliance exposes the municipality to liability and risk. Risks would also be posed to broader information initiatives involved in transparency and accountability, including Freedom of Information (FOI), Routine Disclosure, and Open Government programs.

Records & Information Management (RIM) and Access & Privacy Programs

Ground work has begun in order to support the development of a Corporate Records & Information Management program for the Township. This multi-year project will commence with a Township wide records inventory assessment which will focus on documenting records holdings and practices. This data will be used to inform the development of a strategy designed to implement a corporate program focused on better securing information assets, making them more accessible and increasing the overall efficiency with which stakeholders create and share information. Full scoping and project planning began in early May 2017, following the implementation of the Records Retention By-law and will continue with an inventory assessment in the fall. The Office of the Clerk is looking for options on the use of an Electronic Document & Records Management System (EDRMS) to evaluate new and existing tools. An EDRMS will ensure that Township records are stored and managed in the most efficient and accessible way. Records Management is new to CAP and there is little to no data available from previous years. The subsequent year, 2018, will serve as a benchmark in relation performance reporting.

Initial work to undertake a comprehensive Privacy Management Program for the Township began in the fall of 2017. Such a program provides an effective way for the Corporation to satisfy Council the public and regulators that the Township is incompliance with legislated requirements. This project will be closely aligned with the RIM Program inventory assessment. Performance reporting will be based on legislated compliance requirements with respect to records retention. Under the Municipal Act and MFIPPA, the Township is required to have and maintain a records program, updated classification system, and to retain and dispose of Township records in a documented manner. The Ontario Municipal Records Management System (TOMRMS) is the municipal standard for records classification and retention which as part of the developing records program will be updated to meet the needs of the Township. Metrics will relate to TOMRMS compliant destruction as defined by the number of destructions carried out in compliance with the most current TOMRMS retention schedule.

Open Government Portal

Open government has to do with the relationship between public servants and citizens of a community. It is a critical step in modernizing services with citizens and businesses in mind. Luckily, the modernization of municipal service and information delivery through online content and communications has made this process much easier. The desired objective of open government is "governing with people" rather than "at people." This goal is achieved by building trust and accountability among citizens, elected officials and municipal administration. The four key principles that guide open government initiatives are participation, innovation, transparency, and accountability.

What We're Doing at Southgate

At the Township of Southgate our goal of governing with people rather than at people is important to us, so staff and Council are taking measures to ensure that the principles of participation, innovation, transparency and accountability are applied to all aspects of our operations.

The list below identifies certain actions that are aimed at helping us govern alongside residents in Southgate:

Multiple avenues of information dissemination, including social media (Facebook, YouTube and Twitter), print media (Dundalk Herald and Mount Forest Confederate) and web updates (www.southgate.ca and www.southgatevotes.ca).
Providing opportunities for public input through Public Information Meetings and online and print surveys.
All Council meeting videos are posted on our Township of Southgate YouTube page as soon as possible following meetings in order to make them more accessible to members of the community (please remember that using ear buds or external speakers to listen to these videos greatly enhances the audio quality).
Following Council meetings, staff prepare “Council Highlights,” which are intended to provide a snapshot of important items that were discussed in the previous meeting.
Staff attempt to keep By-laws, Policies, and other information as up to date as possible on our website.

Staff have created this “Open Government Portal” with the goal of consolidating important information related to transparency and accountability with residents in mind.

Council Member Expenses

Council expenses are reported on a monthly basis for each member of Council. Below, you will find links to each member's expense reports for the current term of Council:

Mayor Brian Milne

2022

2023

January

Deputy Mayor Dobreen

2022

2023

January

Councillor Jason Rice

2022

2023

January

Councillor Jim Ferguson

2022

2023

January

Councillor Martin Shipston

2022

2023

January

Councillor Joan John

2022

2023

January

Councillor Monica Singh Soares

2022

2023

January

2021 Statements of Remuneration and Expenses

Request for Records

The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) allows access to records held by the municipality in accordance with the following principles:

Information should be made available to the public;
Individuals should have access to their own personal information;
Exceptions to access should be limited and specific;
The privacy of individuals with respect to the personal information the municipality collects and maintains shall be protected; and
Decisions on the disclosure of government information may be reviewed by the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

For more information about requests for records, please visit our Freedom of Information page.

Integrity Commissioner

For information about the Township of Southgate's Integrity Commissioner, please visit our Integrity Commissioner page.

Ontario Ombudsman

The Ombudsman is an Officer of the Ontario Legislative Assembly who is independent of government and political parties. Our office promotes fairness, accountability and transparency in the public sector by resolving and investigating public complaints and systemic issues within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. The Ombudsman is appointed for a five-year renewable term and their powers and authorities are set out in the Ombudsman Act. To file a complaint with the Ombudsman, please complete the fillable complaint form and submit it to the mailing address or email found within the form.