City council Wednesday admitted it was wrong for deciding to spend $103,000 of taxpayer money in secret without justifying the expense for the public record.
Last August, council approved the funding to make up for a shortfall in the city’s auditor general’s pension as a result of his leaving the federal government to work for the city.
The reason the meeting was held in-camera was because it dealt with private aspects of city personnel whose privacy is protected by provincial legislation.
On Wednesday, the city’s meetings investigator- the official who examines the validity of in camera meetings, Doug Wallace, appeared before council to criticize the city’s handling of the secret contract negotiations.
He said that the city should have published the minutes of the secret meeting without the name of the auditor general, Alain Lalonde.
In response, Rideau-Rockliffe Ward Coun. Jacques Legendre tabled a motion to change the way the city handles in-camera meetings.
His motion, which was carried by council, directed city staff to set prior to in-camera meetings to release the minutes which would exclude names and other details that could be used to identify personnel.
Otherwise, Legendre’s motion said that city lawyers would have to explain why the minutes shouldn’t be published.
Legendre’s motion echoed what investigator Wallace said was the problem with the city’s in-camera policies.
“Secrecy might sometimes be necessary, but it shouldn’t be automatic.”