10 Tough Questions with Integrity Commissioner Earl Basse

Please welcome our Integrity Commisoner, Earl Basse to The Hamiltonian's 10 Tough Questions. Earl- welcome to the Hamiltonian and welcome to Hamilton.

Comments to Earl's answers are welcome.

1. Much has been said about the fact that you are Hamilton’s Integrity Commissioner while remaining at your post as Windsor’s Integrity Commissioner, as well as , reportedly, running your own business. What do you say to people who may conclude that you would not be able to allot the time required in Hamilton? How will you balance these roles?
As in any business, meeting the needs of your clients is paramount. It is feasible and may be advantageous to perform the role of Integrity Commissioner for more than one municipality. The position for each municipality is not a full time position and has never been considered as such. Even Toronto’s Integrity Commissioner is not a full time position.

In the early stages, it takes considerable time to set up the Office of the Integrity Commissioner. However, once the office has been set up, the resources required to maintain it are not excessive. In addition, I have a number of associates that can assist if there is a need for additional personnel to perform the duties. Although I would still remain the Integrity Commissioner responsible for the Office of the Integrity Commissioner, the Municipal Act allows the Integrity Commissioner to delegate others to perform the duties. Investigations may be completed by other professional, licensed investigators but the final report to Council will be provided by me.

Also, I am accustomed to scheduling my time so that I am available for clients on short notice. In addition, my business as Basse & Associates Inc. is primarily focused on performing the role of Integrity Commissioner and providing other ethics and integrity consulting. I believe that performing the role for a variety of municipalities gives me value-added experience for the City of Hamilton.

2. You are charged with overseeing the conduct of Hamilton City Council with an Integrity lens and under the auspices of the provisions of your role. Who do you see as your client, separate and apart from who you receive
your pay from? Can you explain your translation?

I report to Council as a whole and serve at the pleasure of Council. However, I am independent of Council and Council is not my client. In my view my clients are the residents of the City of Hamilton who will benefit from my role.

3. Do you plan to use education as a means to prevent conduct that otherwise may be the subject of an investigation? Please explain.

The Integrity Commissioner performs four roles:

1. Provide advice and guidance to the Mayor and Council on matters relating to the Code of Conduct
2. Educate Council about ethics, integrity and the Code of Conduct
3. Review the Code of Conduct, its protocols and procedures and make recommendations to Council where appropriate
4. Investigate complaints of alleged violations of the Code of Conduct.

Education is an integral part of the role of the Integrity Commissioner. Being proactive and providing education and advice may prevent a violation of the Code of Conduct. It has been my experience that preventing violations of the Code of Conduct is far more cost-effective than investigating them. Part of my program for the City of Hamilton is to provide an Ethics Awareness Program within the municipality to assist Council to comply with the Code of Conduct.

4. What systems will your office have in place to handle the receipt, tracking and follow up of complaints to your office?

I currently use an informal manual system. I do not see a need to initiate a formal system. The volume of complaints does not warrant the initiation of a formal tracking system.

5. How will you assess proportional consequences to complaints that lead to a substantiated outcome? How will you exercise the scale available to you and ensure some degree of consistency?

The Integrity Commissioner By-Law allows me two (2) penalty options. I may impose a reprimand or a suspension of remuneration paid to the member in respect of the member’s services as a member of Council for a period of up to 90 days.

Each alleged complaint is different. Any penalty that is imposed is based on the facts of each case. Although there are no rules governing the imposition of penalties, consistency in rulings will result as only the Integrity Commissioner will be imposing the penalties.

6. Do you ever envision a need to deploy the services of an independent investigator (s), where cases are complex, or do you foresee that all complaints will be handled through you directly?

Each case is unique. I am a forensic accountant and have considerable experience conducting investigations in accordance with the rules of natural justice. For the most part, I do not see the necessity to engage other experts. However, depending on the investigation being conducted, I may have a need to engage the services of outside experts such as forensic document examiners or computer forensic professionals to assist in gathering evidence to support the final adjudication. I also may engage outside legal counsel to provide legal advice on matters that may be investigated.

7. Will there be an opportunity in the process to allow for mitigating factors, where a claim has been substantiated? If so, at what point in the process will that be allowed for, and what shape might it take?

Mitigating circumstances are considered at all stages in the investigation and form an integral part of the decision making process in coming to a final conclusion in any matter being addressed by the Integrity Commissioner. If a Councillor for example had inadvertently violated the Code of Conduct for the benefit of his constituents and without intent of personal benefit, those circumstances would be considered in the final disposition of the investigation.

8. Do you have a network available to you that might provide for peer review ? If so, do you envision tapping into that network on difficult cases?

The role of Integrity Commissioner is a new one in Ontario. It resulted from amendments to the Municipal Act (2006). Currently nine (9) municipalities have engaged the services of an Integrity Commissioner. Each municipality has different protocols and procedures in place for the Integrity Commissioner. In an effort to develop some consistency amongst all the municipalities and to assist each Integrity Commissioner to perform his/her duties, we all met in November 2009 for half a day in Toronto to discuss issues common to each. We all found this to be beneficial and have scheduled another meeting for April 2010. This is an excellent opportunity for us all to tap into the network to expand our knowledge and profit from the experience of others.

9. What is your commitment to Hamiltonians?

As noted earlier, my clients are Hamiltonians and I am fully committed to provide the best Integrity Commissioner services to them.

10. How will you know if you are successful? What performance measures are you working toward?
It would be nice to be like the Maytag Repair Man and be so successful in my position that there is nothing to do. However, that is not realistic. Council members must be active in their community and are responsible for making decisions that affect their constituents. Regardless of the decisions made, some constituents may not be happy with the outcome and may question the conduct of the Councillor and make a complaint. As a result, there will always be complaints to respond to. Thus, it is difficult to measure success by the number of complaints received.

In my view the most important aspect of the four (4) roles performed by the Integrity Commissioner is the role as a source to provide advice and guidance. I believe that the best measure of success is the number of calls I receive from Council members for advice and guidance prior to the member taking any action. Should these calls increase over the course of the year, than I believe the program has been successful.

Thank-you Earl for your contribution to The Hamiltonian and for being open to the questions.