Motion by Councillor Louise Parkes

Seconded by Councillor

Whereas it is a fundamental principle of local democratic government in Ontario that a City Council (“Council”) adopt a budget on which the annual tax is based and expenditures of public money are made only in accordance with the approved annual budget; and,

Whereas, Oshawa City Council is an elected body having legislative responsibility and taxing powers in the City of Oshawa and members of Oshawa Council carry fiduciary duties and responsibilities to the people and City of Oshawa; and,

Whereas the central role of this Council is to enact and enforce its law to maintain the financial integrity of our municipality by protecting the interests of the taxpayers while promoting their vision of Oshawa; and,

Whereas the City of Oshawa's administrative practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of Council as evidenced by the Corporate Training and Financial Assistance Policy issued 2006-12-20, policy #TR16.30 (“Policy”) and duly passed by Council;

 

Therefore, be it resolved that Mayor John Gray has contravened City of Oshawa corporate Policy #TR16.30 by:

approving two fully-funded MBA requests (for Councillor April Cullen and James Anderson, Executive Assistant to the Mayor) for financial assistance that exceeded the maximum funding in a year of $2,000 or $5,000 over a three-year period and, has therefore, exceeded his authority as head of Council; and by,

not asking or receiving the City Manager’s prior approval as expressly required by Policy #TR16.30, section 19 and section 23; and for,

executing an agreement between the City of Oshawa and Councillor April Cullen and James Anderson which has not been authorized by Council and is invalid because their continued employment is contingent upon re-election on October 25, 2010, and because the Mayor and Councillor Cullen cannot guarantee their re-election regardless of best intentions, and therefore is not permitted by the Policy; and by,

not seeking Council approval for an expenditure of $2,500 or more as required by Council rules; and,

for not transparently identifying the expenditure for the two MBAs in the 2009 budget; and,

that Councillor April Cullen and James Anderson be required to return all     funds advanced to them contrary to the Policy; and finally, 

that the City Auditor, Ron Foster, be directed to contact Councillor April Cullen and James Anderson to arrange a repayment schedule and to report his recommendation to Council for consideration and, if appropriate, its approval.