Council & Administration

The Township of Essa is governed by five members of Council, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ward 1 Councillor, Ward 2 Councillor and Ward 3 Councillor.  These five representatives are elected by residents every four years and are tasked with maintaining the Township of Essa. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected at large while the three Councillors are elected in their respective Ward. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor also serve as members of the Council for the County of Simcoe.

• Essa's Council is committed to supporting the municipality and its operations.
• Ensures residents of Essa are represented at the County, Provincial, and Federal levels.
• Oversees that services provided to residents meet Provincial and Federal standards.
• Dedicated to accountability and transparency in the decision-making process.
• Strives to deliver high-quality services in a fiscally responsible manner.

Council/Committee of the Whole meetings are held in person on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month beginning at 6:00 p.m. These meetings are held in Council Chambers at the Essa Administration Centre at 5786 County Road 21, Utopia (east of Baxter). 

All Council meetings are open to the public.

The schedule of meetings may be altered during the summer months.  

For a schedule of Committee of the Whole and Council Meetings please view our Calendar.

• Township Council conducts official business and addresses municipal matters during Council Meetings.
• Council exercises its authority through either resolutions or by-laws.
• A resolution reflects Council’s decisions or intentions and is adopted by majority vote.
• A Confirmatory By-law is passed at the end of each meeting to formally approve all resolutions and directions given.
• By-laws are legally binding within the Township and are used for matters of broader public impact.
• The Township may enact by-laws only on matters authorized by the Province of Ontario.
• Township of Essa: Accountability and Transparency Policy A07-07 

As no member of the public is be permitted to address Council on any subject without the prior approval of the Clerk, it is required that speakers submit a written request to the Clerk.  In order to speak before Council, applicants are required to complete and submit the Delegation Request Form.

All delegations to Council take place in the Committee of the Whole meeting. In accordance with Essa's Procedural By-law, a person wishing to address Council may speak for up to ten minutes.  Delegations are limited to two speakers.

Requests from persons who have previously addressed Council at a previous meeting within the last six months on a particular item are not permitted to re-present to Council unless there is new information to present.

Under Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, any individual may request that an investigation be undertaken to determine whether a municipality or local board has complied with the Municipal Act or its Procedure By-law in respect of a meeting or part of a meeting that was closed to the public.

Statement

The Township of Essa is committed to ensuring that any request for an investigation under Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended (the “Act”) is dealt with in a fair, open and expeditious manner.

The municipality commits to full co-operation including the provision of all information requested by the Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator (“Investigator”), either written or through inte​rviews, to assist the Municipal Investigator in his investigations.

In accordance with Section 239.2(11) of the Municipal Act, 2001, the Township of Essa shall ensure that any reports received from the Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator by the municipality are made available to the public.

The Township of Essa commits to including any report received from the Investigator related to an investigation under the Act, on a public agenda and to considering such report in an open public session of Council or a Standing Committee of Council.

Questions can be directed to the attention of the Clerk at the Township of Essa, 5786 County Road 21, Utopia ON , L0M 1T0 or by contacting the Clerk at 705-424-9770 Ext. 1176.

This procedure applies to all appointed Boards and sub-committees of the municipality.

Background

Council of the Corporation of the Township of Essa passed resolution CR207-2016 at its meeting of October 19, 2016, which supported the County of Simcoe in their appointment of Local Authority Services (LAS) to provide Closed Meeting Investigator Services for participating municipalities. The appointed Closed Meeting Investigator is authorized to conduct investigations upon receipt of a complaint in respect of meetings or part of meetings that are closed to the public, to determine compliance with the Municipal Act or the Municipal Procedural By-law, and to report on the results of such investigations.  Aird & Berlis is the Closed Meeting Investigator appointed by LAS to perform the services for Closed Meeting Investigations.

Procedures - Request for Investigation of Closed Meeting

Prior to submitting a request for investigation of a Closed Meeting, members of the public, including corporations, are encouraged to discuss their concerns or inquiries with the Township's Clerk.

Members of the public, including corporations, may submit their formal request for a Closed Meeting Investigation to the Township Clerk. All requests will be treated confidential by the municipality and the Investigator, unless authorization is given by the requestor to release his or her identity.

Requests may be submitted on the Closed Meet​ing Investigation Form or otherwise in writing in a sealed envelope clearly identified as a complaint under Section 239 of the Municipal Act and forwarded by mail to:

Township of Essa
c/o Clerk
Administration Centre
5786 County Road 21
Utopia, ON
L0M 1T0

All complaints must contain:

• Name of the Township
• Requestor’s name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (if applicable)
• Date of closed meeting under consideration
• Nature and background of the particular occurrence
• Any activities undertaken (if any) to resolve the concern
• Any other relevant information
• Direction with respect to release of identity
• Original signature

When requests are submitted to the Clerk directly, the Clerk shall:

1. Ensure that the requests remain confidential;
2. Assign a file number and record a file number on the envelope;
3. Log the file number together with the date and time received;
4. Forward, forthwith to the Municipal Investigator by regular mail.

The municipality shall supply forthwith to the investigator the following or any other information or documentation as requested by the Investigator related to a complaint:

• Certified copy of Notice of Meeting
• Certified copy of the agenda
• Certified copy of the Minutes of meeting
• Relevant resolutions
• Municipal contact list
• other

Council Code of Conduct

The Township of Essa appointed ADR Chambers to act as its Integrity Commissioner providing accountability services to the Tow​nship. The servic​es of the Integrity Commissioner include:

• To provide advice on the application of the Council Code of C​onduct, Township policies, procedures and rules, complaint protocol and Section 5 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act;
• To conduct inquiries regarding whether a member of Council has contravened the Code of Conduct or section 5 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act;
• To provide advice to members of Council, upon written request, respecting the member's obligations under the Code of Conduct, Township policies, procedures and rules, the complaint protocol and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act;
• To provide opinions on policy matters and make other reports to Council as requested on issues of ethics and integrity;
• To provide educational information and training to members and to the public on matters related to the Council Code of Conduct, and issues of ethics and integrity and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act;
• To provide general information to members of the public, upon request, about the Code of Conduct, the complaint protocol and the availability of complaint resolution services or referrals as contemplated by the complaint protocol;
• To maintain custody and control of the Integrity Commissioner's complaint and inquiry files and, on completion of his or her term of appointment, to transfer open files relating to ongoing matters to the incoming Integrity Commissioner appointed by Council; and
• To provide such other services respecting ethics and integrity matters as assigned by Council or as may be required under the Municipal Act, 2001.

Complaints are to be submitted directly to the Integrity Commissioner:

ADR Chambers
Michael Maynard
Email: integrity@adr.ca
Telephone: 416-362-8555 or 1-800-856-5154

For additional information, please contact the Integrity Commissioner's office using the contact information provided above.

​Integrity Commissioner Re​​​ports

Reports issued by the Township's Integrity Commissioner are available for viewing on the Plans Reports & Studies page of our website.