Niagara Compliance Audit Committee Terms of Reference

Authority

1. Section 88.33(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (Act) provides that an elector who is entitled to vote in an election and believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate has contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances may apply for a compliance audit of the candidate's election campaign finances, even if the candidate has not filed a financial statement under section 88.25.

Section 88.35(1) of the Act provides that an elector who is entitled to vote in an election in a municipality and believes on reasonable grounds that a registered third party who is registered in relation to the election in the municipality has contravened a provision of the Act relating to campaign finances may apply for a compliance audit of the campaign finances of the registered third party in relation to third party advertisements, even if the registered third party has not filed a financial statement under section 88.29.

Sections 88.34 and 88.36 of the Act requires the clerk to review the contributions reported on the financial statements submitted by a candidate or registered third party to determine whether any contributor appears to have exceeded any of the contribution limits and, if so, report any apparent contraventions to the compliance audit committee.

Section 88.37 of the Act requires a council or local board to establish a compliance audit committee before Oct. 1 of an election year for the purposes of the Act.

Establishment of committee

A Joint Compliance Audit Committee is established with the potential participants as follows, and shall be named the "Niagara Compliance Audit Committee":

Local area municipalities: Town of Fort Erie, Town of Grimsby, Town of Lincoln, City of Niagara Falls, Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Town of Pelham, City of Port Colborne, City of St. Catharines, City of Thorold, Township of Wainfleet, City of Welland and Township of West Lincoln
Region: Regional Municipality of Niagara
School boards: District School Board of Niagara and Niagara Catholic District School Board

The potential participants shall each determine its participation in the Committee, the results of which shall form the "Joint Participants".

The Committee is a statutory Committee.

References

Responding municipality and responding school board means the municipality or school board responsible for the office. Local area municipalities are responsible for the office of Mayor and Councillors and school boards responsible for the office of trustees.

The local area municipality that is the returning office shall receive applications for compliance audit on behalf of the school boards and immediately provide the same to the school board to commence the compliance audit proceedings.

Term

In accordance with section 88.37(1) of the Act, the Committee shall be established before Oct. 1 in an election year. The Committee members shall be appointed by each Council or by delegated authority prior to Oct. 1 in each election year.

In accordance with section 88.37(5) of the Act, the term of the Committee shall be the same as the term of council or local board. The term of appointment of the Committee members shall be Nov. 15 of the regular election year to Nov. 14 of the next regular election year, including any by-elections, or until such time as the applicable Committee has disposed of any remaining matters in accordance with the Act.

Mandate

The mandate of the Committee is to hear and make decisions on applications filed and reports prepared in accordance with Sections 88.33 to 88.36 of the Act.

Applications for Compliance Audit

With respect to an application for a compliance audit of the campaign finances of a candidate or a registered third party, the Committee shall:

Receive and consider applications and determine whether the compliance audit should be granted or rejected
Appoint an auditor, if the compliance audit is granted
Receive the compliance audit report from the auditor
Review the auditor's report and, if the report concludes that the candidate or registered third party appears to have contravened a provision of the Act relating to campaign finances, decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced against the candidate

The Committee is required to consider and render a decision on applications for compliance audits and reports from an auditor within 30 days of receipt.

Clerk's Report - Contributions

With respect to a report from a participating municipality's Clerk identifying each contributor to a candidate or registered third party who appears to have contravened any of the contribution limits under the Act, the Committee shall:

Consider the report(s) from any participating municipality's Clerk and decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced against the contributor

The Committee is required to consider and render a decision on reports from any participating municipality's Clerk within 30 days of receipt.

Composition

The roster of Committee members shall include a minimum of three members who are eligible electors in any of the local area municipalities and shall not include:

Employees or officers of the Joint Participants
Members of the Council or Board of the Joint Participants
Any persons who are candidates in the election for which the Committee is established
Any person who is or intends to volunteer or seek employment to assist any candidate or registered third party in the election for which the Committee is established
Any person who prepares the financial statement of, or have any other formal relationship with, any candidate or registered third party in the election for which the Committee is established
Any person who is a registered third party in any local area municipality in the election for which the Committee is established

The preference is for members of the Committee to have a professional background in accounting, auditing, law, election administration and / or public administration, an understanding of municipal campaign finance provisions, and experience with or as a member of a government board, task force or quasi-judicial body.

When an Application for Compliance Audit has been filed or a Clerk's Report has been prepared identifying contributor(s) who appear to have contravened any of the contribution limits under the Act, in accordance with section 88.37(2) of the Act a minimum of three and maximum of seven of the members on the roster for the Committee shall comprise the Committee for the purposes of reviewing and considering the matter in its entirety.

The Clerk of the responding municipality or the Secretary of the responding school board shall determine the size and selection of the three to seven sitting members of the Committee from the roster of members.

Members that do not complete the mandatory training to the satisfaction of the Nomination Committee shall be removed from the roster of Committee members.

Member selection and appointment

The recruitment of committee members shall be advertised on the websites of the participating municipalities and school boards. Other recruitment measures may be initiated by the participating municipalities and school boards, as may be deemed appropriate.

All persons interested in serving on the Committee shall participate in a recruitment process as determined by the Clerks of the Joint Participants, setting out their qualifications and experience.

A Nomination Committee consisting of a minimum of three Clerks or designates from the local area municipalities, plus the Clerk or designate from the Region, will review the applications and submit a joint short list of candidates to the Joint Participants for appointment approval.

In the event a vacancy occurs during the term, the municipality may rely on the remaining members to compose a Committee of three to seven members.

Selection criteria

Without limiting the foregoing, members shall be selected on the basis of the following:

Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of municipal election campaign finance rules
Proven analytical and decision-making skills
Experience working on a committee, administrative tribunal, task force or similar setting
Demonstrated knowledge of quasi-judicial proceedings
Availability and willingness to attend meetings during daytime and evening hours
Excellent oral and written communication skills

Chair of committee

The Committee shall select a Chair from amongst its sitting members at the first meeting held to consider an application in accordance with the procedures for the Niagara Compliance Audit Committee.

Secretary to committee

The Clerk of the responding municipality or Secretary of the responding school board shall act as Secretary to the Committee.

Compensation

Members shall receive a retainer of $350 (including mileage) for the four-year term which includes participation in one mandatory training session and any preparation / review time required for meetings the costs of which shall be shared equally amongst the Joint Participants.

Members shall receive an honorarium of $250 per meeting paid by responding municipality or school board plus mileage (from their residence or previous / next location to the meeting location, whichever distance is shortest), at the rate of the responding municipality or school board and an additional $50 for each additional application or report being considered after the first at a meeting.

Costs and funding

The responding municipality or board shall fund and pay all costs associated with the Committee, including the retention of an auditor and any costs incurred as a result of prosecution or a decision of the Committee being challenged to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The Joint Participants shall equally share in the costs associated with advertising and training.

Auditor

The Region shall, on behalf of the local area municipalities and school boards, take the necessary steps to secure an auditor or roster of auditors to undertake any audits as may be requested by the Committee.

Meetings and procedures

The Committee shall conduct its meetings in public but may deliberate in private.

The responding municipality's or school board's website shall be used to communicate meeting notices, agendas, minutes and decisions.

The Committee shall conduct its meetings in accordance with the Procedures for the Niagara Compliance Audit Committee and the Statutory Powers Procedures Act, with modifications as deemed necessary.

Conflicts

Pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, it shall be the sole responsibility of each member to:

Disclose any conflicts of interest as they arise, and in doing so, to clearly state the reason for every such conflict
File a written statement of their conflict of interest and the general nature of the interest with the Clerk of the responding municipality or the Secretary of the responding school board
Remove themselves from meetings for the duration of the consideration of the Application or Clerk's Report, including discussion, deliberation and voting with respect to the matter

In the event a member is aware of a conflict of interest when an Application for Compliance Audit or Clerk's Report is forwarded to the Committee, the member shall disclose the interest and recuse themselves from being part of the Committee for the purposes of reviewing and considering that Application for Compliance Audit or Clerk's Report.

In the event a member discloses a pecuniary interest in advance of the initial meeting, the Clerk of the responding municipality or Secretary of the responding school board may decide to continue with the sitting members if there are a minimum of three members remaining or may select another member to replace the original member on the Committee.

To avoid possible conflicts of interest, an auditor or accountant appointed to the Committee must agree, in writing, not to undertake the audits or preparation of the financial statements of any candidate or registered third party for the election for which the Committee is established.

All Committee members must agree, in writing, to not work for, volunteer for, or contribute to any candidate or registered third party in any capacity in the election for which the Committee is established. If upon being made aware that a member has participated or contributed to a candidate or registered third party, the member shall be removed from the roster of Committee members.

Practices and procedures

The Clerks and Secretaries of the Joint Participants have the authority to establish administrative practices and procedures for the Committee and shall carry out any other duties required under the Act to implement the Committee's decisions.