Mono stays its course with integrity boss

Local Journalism Initiative
·3 min read

Mono council decided to retain its current integrity commissioner for another term with new rates.

The current term expires in June and was renewed for an additional five years. The agreement has the option for three one-year extensions.

Guy Giorno is a lawyer that specializes in ethics and accountability and he has been Mono’s integrity commissioner since 2018. He serves a number of Ontario municipalities in that role.

The provincial government made it mandatory in 2019 that all municipalities have a code of conduct and an integrity commissioner.

Fred Simpson, the town’s clerk, reached out to Giorno to see about the possibility of extending his appointment.

From January 2018 to June 2021, the town paid Giorno a $90 annual retainer in addition to $100 per hour to weigh complaints from the public and make judgements.

That rate increased from June 2021 to June 2024 to a $200 annual retainer plus $130 per hour.

But Giorno’s new agreement doesn’t include an annual retainer, it maintains the $200 per hour rate, and includes $125 per hour for any work he farms out to junior staff at his law firm.

“I’ve compared those to other rates being offered or being secured by other municipalities in Dufferin (County),” Simpson said. “These are either equal to or lower than any other rates.”

He said those rates will be locked in for the duration of the five-year appointment and possibly eight years with the three one-year extensions.

Dufferin County has decided to post its integrity commissioner as a permanent job as opposed to awarding a contract through tender.

“They’re actually interviewing as a job as opposed to a contract,” Simpson said.

The county has put together a hiring committee to evaluate applications.

Councillor Ralph Manktelow asked about money the municipality has spent on an integrity commissioner.

Simpson said he didn’t have those figures readily available and deferred the question to Les Halucha, the town’s treasurer.

“We are charged for his time whenever a member of council seeks advice and if there’s an investigation and if we ask Mr. Giorno to come up and give a presentation,” Simpson said. “We’re just billed straight out for his time.”

Halucha said he didn’t have the total cost paid out to the integrity commissioner.

“But it’s not very significant,” Halucha said, and added it could be a little as $300 per year.

Manktelow suggested that the position should have been opened to applications from lawyers who specialize in integrity matters.

“I would think that by opening it we are starting a tender or (request for proposals) process of some sort,” Simpson said. “So that would entail a formal tender or RFP.”

Simpson said the reasons the county and other municipalities would oppose the tender process is because it is long, laborious, and costly.

“If council wants to go that way, some may choose not apply,” he said.

Given the little money it’s costed the town so far, Coun. Elaine Capes said shifting to a tender process with interviews will end up costing more.

“I don’t see the pros of doing that when we have somebody that we rely on and like their work,” Capes said.

Manktelow suggested the town simply phone another person involved in that field and ask them what their rates would be and if that individual would be interested in the role.

“It’s about integrity,” Coun. Melinda Davie said. “We either renew the contract or we have to go through the whole process that you would have to go through to get somebody new.”

Given the small amount of money, Mayor John Creelman said appointing an integrity commissioner wouldn’t entail the RFP process.

“It’s even arguably within the framework of a department head’s discretion from a funding standpoint,” Creelman said.

“I think council would have to establish a process, whatever that process is,” Simpson said. “I don’t think two or three random phone calls is a process.”

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James Matthews, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Orangeville Citizen

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