July 8, 1999
CHAIR OF THE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE:
City Council, at its meeting held on July 6, 7 and 8, 1999, adopted, without amendment, the following Motion:
Moved by:Councillor Balkissoon
Seconded By:Councillor Berardinetti
"WHEREAS Council has learned, with the deepest regret, of the passing of Councillor Frank Faubert, Scarborough
Highland Creek; and
WHEREAS Section 43 of the Municipal Act states that 'where the seat of a member of council becomes vacant under
Section 38, the Council shall forthwith declare the seat to be vacant'; and
WHEREAS the City Clerk has submitted the attached report dated June 29, 1999, regarding options to fill this vacancy;
and
WHEREAS it is appropriate to hear the views of the public in filling this vacancy;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council consider the report dated June29, 1999, from the City Clerk;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Recommendations Nos. (1) and (4) embodied in the attached report from
the City Clerk be adopted;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the balance of the report of the City Clerk be referred to the next meeting
of the Scarborough Community Council for deputation purposes and report thereon to a special meeting of the
Administration Committee to be called by the Chair of the Administration Committee, and subsequently to Council for
consideration at its meeting scheduled on July 27, 28, and 29, 1999."
In so doing, Council adopted Recommendations Nos. (1) and (4) embodied in the report dated June 29, 1999, from the City
Clerk, viz.:"It is recommended that:
(1)the office of Councillor - Scarborough Highland Creek be declared vacant; and
(4)in the interim, the current staff continue to serve the constituents of Scarborough Highland Creek until the new
Councillor is appointed or elected and a decision is made by Council or the new Councillor with respect to staffing;",
and referred the balance of the report, including the following recommendations embodied therein, to the next meeting of
the Scarborough Community Council for deputation purposes and report thereon to a special meeting of the Administration
Committee to be called by the Chair of the Administration Committee, and subsequently to Council for consideration at its
meeting scheduled on July 27, 28, and 29, 1999:
"(2)Council determine which of the following options is to be adopted to fill the vacancy:
OPTION 1 - APPOINTMENT
(a)the vacancy be filled by means of appointment;
(b)the City Clerk be directed to advertise for applications from qualified electors to be considered for appointment as
Councillor - Scarborough Highland Creek;
(c)Council at its meeting scheduled for September 28, 1999, at 2:00 p.m. accept nominations and give consideration to
the appointment of a qualified elector who has applied and consented to accept the office of Councillor - Scarborough
Highland Creek for the remainder of this term of Council;
(d)each nominee be given a maximum of 5 minutes to address Council;
(e)questions may be asked of each nominee provided that the total question and answer period shall not exceed 5minutes
times the number of nominees; and
(f)the current staff continue to serve the constituents of Scarborough Highland Creek and the new Councillor when
appointed.
OPTION 2 - BY-ELECTION
(a)the vacancy be filled by means of a by-election;
(b)Council authorize the use of vote-counting machines in the Scarborough Highland Creek by-election to be held
September 23, 1999, as indicated in the attached draft Bill No. 1;
(c)Council authorize advance votes to be conducted as indicated in the attached draft Bill No. 2;
(d)Council authorize the payment of rebates to persons who make contributions to candidates in this by-election, similar
to the provisions in the 1997 municipal elections, and as outlined in the attached draft Bill No.3; and
(e)the new Councillor when elected, be urged to give first consideration to retaining the current staff;
(3)the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer be authorized to transfer the necessary funds from the 1999 Corporate
Contingency Account to cover the costs of either Option 1 or Option 2; and
(5)leave be granted to introduce the necessary Bills in Council and the appropriate City Officials be authorized to take the
necessary action to give effect thereto."
for City Clerk
J.A. Abrams/cg
Attachment
Sent to:Scarborough Community Council
Chair, Administration Committee
City Clerk
Director of Elections
c.Administrator, Administration Committee
Director of Council and Support ServicesDate:June 29, 1999
To:Mayor and Members of Council
From:City Clerk
Subject:Council Vacancy - Scarborough Highland Creek (Ward 16)
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to outline the options available to Council to fill the vacancy occurring in Scarborough
Highland Creek as a result of the passing of Councillor Frank Faubert.
Source of Funds:
Should Council choose to fill the vacancy through a by-election, the estimated cost of administering the by-election is
$130,000. Should Council decide to approve a contributor rebate program similar to the one introduced by the Minister of
Municipal Affairs and Housing in the last municipal election, an additional cost of approximately $35,000 would be
incurred by the City. If Council decides to fill the vacancy by appointment, an estimated amount of $20,000 will be
necessary to cover advertising costs. It will be necessary to allocate funds from the 1999 Corporate Contingency Account
to the City Clerk's budget for the cost of the by-election, or advertising to fill the vacancy by appointment.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that:
(1)the office of Councillor - Scarborough Highland Creek be declared vacant;
(2)Council determine which of the following options is to be adopted to fill the vacancy:
OPTION 1 - APPOINTMENT
(a)the vacancy be filled by means of appointment;
(b)the City Clerk be directed to advertise for applications from qualified electors to be considered for appointment as
Councillor - Scarborough Highland Creek;
(c)Council at its meeting scheduled for September 28, 1999, at 2:00 p.m. accept nominations and give consideration to
the appointment of a qualified elector who has applied and consented to accept the office of Councillor - Scarborough
Highland Creek for the remainder of this term of Council;
(d)each nominee be given a maximum of 5 minutes to address Council;
(e)questions may be asked of each nominee provided that the total question and answer period shall not exceed 5 minutes
times the number of nominees; and
- the current staff continue to serve the constituents of Scarborough Highland Creek and the new Councillor when
appointed.
OPTION 2 - BY-ELECTION
(a)the vacancy be filled by means of a by-election;
(b)Council authorize the use of vote-counting machines in the Scarborough Highland Creek by-election to be held
September 23, 1999, as indicated in the attached draft Bill No. 1;
(c)Council authorize advance votes to be conducted as indicated in the attached draft Bill No. 2;
(d)Council authorize the payment of rebates to persons who make contributions to candidates in this by-election, similar
to the provisions in the 1997 municipal elections, and as outlined in the attached draft Bill No. 3;
- the new Councillor when elected, be urged to give first consideration to retaining the
current staff.
(3)the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer be authorized to transfer the necessary funds from the 1999 Corporate
Contingency Account to cover the costs of either Option 1 or Option 2;
(4)in the interim, the current staff continue to serve the constituents of Scarborough Highland Creek until the new
Councillor is appointed or elected and a decision is made by Council or the new Councillor with respect to staffing; and
(5)leave be granted to introduce the necessary Bills in Council and the appropriate City Officials be authorized to take the
necessary action to give effect thereto.
Comments and/or Justification:
Council has learned, with the deepest regret, of the passing of Councillor Frank Faubert, Scarborough Highland Creek.
Section 43 of the Municipal Act states that "Where the seat of a member of a council becomes vacant under section 38, the
council shall forthwith declare the seat to be vacant." This declaration of a vacancy must be carried out before Council can
make a decision on how the vacancy is to be filled.
There are two options available to Council for filling the vacancy in the office of Councillor, Scarborough Highland Creek:
1.Appointment
Section 45 of the Municipal Act states in part that "subject to section 46, where a vacancy occurs in the office of a member
of the council of a local municipality, the council at a meeting called for that purpose shall appoint a person who has
consented to accept the office if he or she is appointed to fill the vacancy and,
(a)in the case of the office of councillor or alderman, such person is a person qualified to hold office as a member of the
council; and....".
To be qualified a person must be:
(i)18 years of age or older;
(ii)a Canadian citizen;
(iii)a resident in the City of Toronto, an owner or tenant of land in the City or the spouse of such an owner or tenant; and
(iv)not disqualified under Section 37 of the Municipal Act, or any other Act.
If Council chooses to fill the vacancy by appointment, it is suggested that the City Clerk be authorized to advertise to invite
applications from qualified electors and that Council give consideration to the appointment at its meeting scheduled for
September 28, 1999, at 2:00 p.m..
2.By-election
Section 46 of the Municipal Act states that "If the office of a member of the council of a local municipality becomes vacant
the council may, by by-law, require an election to be held to fill the vacancy, and in that case the clerk shall hold a
by-election in accordance with section 65 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996."
Under section 65 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, if Council determines that a by-election is to be held, the Clerk is
responsible for setting the date of nomination day which is to be a day not more than 30 days after the passing of the
by-law indicating a by-election is required. Voting day must be 31 days after nomination day.
Should Council choose to fill the vacancy through a by-election, the estimated cost of administering the by-election is
$130,000. Should Council decide to approve a contributor rebate program similar to the one introduced by the Minister of
Municipal Affairs and Housing in the last municipal election, an additional cost of approximately $35,000 would be
incurred by the City. The necessary funds should be allocated from the 1999 Corporate Contingency Account to the City
Clerk's budget for the cost of the by-election.
Section 47 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 states that "A person appointed or elected to an office under section 45 or
46 shall hold office for the remainder of the term of the person whose place he or she is appointed or elected to fill."
Accordingly the person appointed or elected would hold office until November 30, 2000.
Past Practices in Filling Vacancies:
In reviewing past practices, we researched vacancies in the former municipalities now making up the City of Toronto back
to 1984 and found a total of 19 vacancies that were filled. Of these 19 vacancies, 11 were filled by appointment and 8
through by-elections.
Of the 11 appointments, 9 were in an election year, 6 of which were after the mandatory March 31st date as provided in the
Municipal Elections Act. The remaining 2 appointments were made in the year preceding an election year. One was made
in the month of June and the other in the month of October. In the subsequent municipal election, 6 of the 11 ran for office.
Of the 8 by-elections, none were in an election year, 4 were held in the year preceding an election year. The remaining 4
by-elections were held in the year immediately following the previous municipal election. In the subsequent municipal
election, 7 of the 8 ran for office.
Public Consultation:
Council may wish to seek public consultation with respect to the foregoing options. If this is the direction of Council, it is
recommended that Recommendation Nos. (1) and (4) be adopted by Council at this time and that the balance of this report
be referred to the next meeting of the Scarborough Community Council for deputation purposes and report thereon to a
special meeting of the Administration Committee to be called by the Chair of the Administration Committee, and
subsequently to Council for consideration at its meeting scheduled on July 27, 28, and 29, 1999.
Staffing:
Given the experience and knowledge of the current staff in serving the constituents of Scarborough Highland Creek
through the office of Councillor Faubert since the beginning of this term of Council, it is recommended that the current
staff continue to support the office in the interim until a new Councillor is appointed or elected, and a decision is made by
the new Councillor with respect to staffing. It is also recommended that the new Councillor when appointed or elected be
urged to give first consideration to retaining the current staff.
Conclusion:
Council must make a determination on whether the vacancy in the office of Councillor - Scarborough Highland Creek
should be filled by appointment or by by-election. If Council deems that a by-election is to be held, a by-law should be
passed indicating an election is required to fill the vacancy.
Contact Name:
John Hollins, Director of Elections
Telephone No. 392-8019
E-mail: jhollins@city.north-york.on.ca
Novina Wong
City Clerk
