NORTH BATTLEFORD 鈥� A number of changes are likely coming soon to North Battleford’s code of ethics bylaw.
The proposed update was up for discussion at Monday's Planning Committee meeting of council.
The changes were presented by City Clerk Stacey Hadley. The main revisions would involve adding greater clarity to many of the present provisions of the bylaw, including changes to the sections for council and staff protocol; public, media and social media relations; personal gain, gifts and benefits; elections and campaign work; the Integrity commissioner; and complaints.
One of the most important changes, Hadley told council, was that the bylaw calls for appointment of an integrity commissioner on an annual basis. This was a topic discussed at length at council last year, but ultimately council decided against appointing one at that time.
However, it now looks as if the city might go this route after all. Under this proposed bylaw an integrity commissioner could be appointed either for a specified period of time, on an ad hoc basis, or jointly with another municipality. The bylaw also spells out the duties and responsibilities of the integrity commissioner, whose role would include conducting investigations of complaints filed under the code of ethics bylaw.
As well, there are changes to the provisions where people can formally request an investigation, with a submission fee of $25 being added for residents and $100 for non-residents.
The next step is for the bylaw to come back to council for further discussion and eventually adoption.
