Councillor Brass says it's important for the Town to have a 'protected avenue to report concerns related to misconduct'
The Town of Halton Hills is taking the first step toward the creation of a whistleblower policy.
A motion on the subject by Ward 2 Councillor Jason Brass was approved at Monday’s council meeting. The resolution asks Town staff to investigate how whistleblower programs operate in other municipalities and report back on steps required for implementing one in Halton Hills.
“Strengthening accountability mechanisms is not about assuming any wrongdoing by staff whatsoever,” Brass said. “It is about ensuring strong systems are in place to prevent it.”
Staff was asked to look into legal considerations, implementation options and alignment with existing policies like the code of conduct. Staff will also investigate ways to ensure confidentiality and protect against reprisals, as well as estimated implementation and ongoing costs.
The information will be compiled into a report that's expected to go before council by July 13. Asked if the deadline was reasonable, Town CAO Chris Mills said staff would work to meet the timeline, but if the research was not complete, council would be provided with an interim report.
“There does seem to be a number of comparable municipalities that have gone down this road,” Mills said. “So I would expect that we would learn as much as we could from them and not have to reinvent the processes or the research that was previously...
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