Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Faulty
Recall":
Someone must have signed those contracts. I notice at
Council there will be a motion for the Mayor & Clerk to sign specific papers
about certain deals. There must be a similar situation with the Provincial
Government
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It appears the Premier of Ontario does have authority to cancel contracts on the spot.
Nobody has suggested he acted without authority.
It was done in public,on the hustings
No caucus deliberation.
No Cabinet consultation.
Just the announcement.
Months have passed. Cost of the decision has not been released. All kinds of figures have been tossed about.
Last reference in the media was to a report citing a cost of $1.3 billion. The report was said to be rejected by the Premier. He offered no information for his contention that $1.3 billion was wrong .
While the House is prorogued, the Speaker is not on hand to call upon the Premier to respond to the question.
Still ,the question persists.
A similar situation at the municipal level;
Agreements and contracts call for Council to authorize the Mayor and Clerk to sign.
Not the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer.
It's the Clerk.
Municipal cheques must bear signatures of both the Mayor and Treasurer .
Not the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer.
It's the Treasurer.
I have wondered lately about the shared responsibility between Council and Administration
Specifically about liability.
I heard of a previous Treasurer refusing to sign a cheque for legal services not previously authorised by Council.
Being a statutory officer clearly gave him that option. .
I have known a clerk halt a discussion behind closed doors because it was not previously declared as an agenda item.
This week, we are informed of a letter from the Chief Administrative officer, affirming to music festival organizers ongoing future use of town facilities .
I am a Councillor. I know nothing of the letter. Council gave no authority for such a commitment.
Permit applications are the business of the Leisure Services Department. .
Not the Chief Administrative Officer.
If the story is accurate,what does it say about the authority of Council ?
Is there such a thing as Council authority?
Or has it fallen by the wayside?
The question is relevant?
What does the electorate intend when they choose a Council ?
I thought I knew.
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
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3 comments:
Prenez garde pour le renard encore
Am I being simplistic to suggest Council simply ask the CAO why he chose to send that particular letter? It would just be a query, not a criticism of a staff member. As Councillor Gaertner would put it, " For Information. "
Is there an administrative chain of command, of authority, of responsibility?
Who is accountable to who and for what?
Where do Council and individual councillors fit in the broad scheme of things?
Is there a distinction between administrative and policy functions?
This Council is almost two years old. One would have thought that by now the above questions would have been answered.
But that is not the impression one gets.
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