NORTH BATTLEFORD - The City of North Battleford’s new Council and Committees Code of Ethics Bylaw has been formally introduced at council.
At their meeting March 28, the bylaw was introduced for first reading. It passed, which means the next step is for the bylaw to come back for second reading and further discussion at the April 11 meeting.
The new bylaw would replace the existing code of ethics bylaw and include several provisions for greater clarity. Among the major items in the new bylaw is appointment of an Integrity commissioner to handle ethics complaints.
In her presentation to council Monday, City Clerk Stacey Hadley outlined some of the budget implications. She noted a formal investigation can cost in the range of $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the investigation. The annual fee for an integrity commissioner has been quoted at $2,500 and the hourly fee Is $350.
In recent months, the city of North Battleford had taken on an independent investigator to conduct two separate third-party investigations into complaints filed against members of council. The investigations were conducted under the existing bylaw.
There has already been considerable discussion of the new bylaw, with the draft discussed at a planning committee meeting March 21. It is expected there will be more discussion and possible tweaks made in the coming month. The indication from Hadley’s memo dated March 28 is that third reading and passage is not expected to happen until the April 25 council meeting.
