One of the lessons Kathy Jeffery has learned after 11 years on council is the learning never stops.
“Well, that’s something that just goes on and on,” said Jeffery. “There’s always something to learn, just when you think you’ve got it figured out.”
The veteran councillor is returning to the table for a fourth term. She was first elected in 2003, and re-elected in 2006. She ran, unsuccessfully, for mayor against Sandra Cooper in 2010, and came back to the table in 2014 where she has served as a councillor since.
Jeffery was part of the council that penned the original code of conduct for the town’s elected officials.
“It was another one of those best practices,” said Jeffery. “Other municipalities had them and we didn’t. It was setting a standard to have the best possible – we thought – open model for members to operate under.”
Since the original code of conduct document was made bylaw by the council of the day, there have been some revisions, including an expansion to the definition of “immediate relative” to include siblings and in-laws.
“It was a place to start to say 'these things are the things that council members should adhere to and follow' and if everybody is following the same rules and the same standards then you can operate the discussions on a trusting basis, or should be able to,” said Jeffery. “That didn’t quite develop.”
This year, council, including Jeffery, voted in favour of a judicial inquiry into the 2012 sale of 50 per cent of Collingwood's utility (COLLUS) and the subsequent spending of the funds received in the sale. The money was spent on two fabric membrane structures that now house Centennial Aquatic Centre and Central Park Arena.
Jeffery said the “necessity” of the judicial inquiry came as a surprise.
“I thought we had a really good handle on those processes and how we handled our governance … I thought we were in good shape,” said Jeffery. “I just didn’t think we would need something like the judicial inquiry, that was an eye-opener.”
But she does see the inquiry as an important step, and an indicator of something that’s broken.
“This is big business … these are multi-million-dollar businesses that we are running,” said Jeffery. “I think you have to have the foundation in place that everyone is taking it seriously and everyone is following it. So, I think when you hear things that suggest otherwise, then there are things to be fixed.”
The inquiry is now underway with standing rights granted to eight parties. The inquiry team is now pouring over thousands of submitted documents and conducting interviews with those who have knowledge of the decisions made in the transactions.
“I think it’s a huge undertaking,” said Jeffery. “It’s probably more information coming in than we ever anticipated would have to be gone through, but I think it’s going to serve us well.”
She’s expecting the inquiry will provide council with more recommendations on refinements for the code of conduct.
“It’s like building a house,” said Jeffery of writing a code of conduct. “Every time you build it, there’s something you’d do differently. So we’ll continue to enhance that, I’m sure.”
In her first term elected, Jeffery joined the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), which is a national organization designed to give municipalities a voice with the federal government through advocacy and funding partnerships.
Jeffery is currently the chair of the National Committee on Municipal Finance and Intergovernmental Arrangements, and is a director on the FCM board.
“It’s an honour to be able to chair one of the most influential committees of FCM,” said Jeffery. “The information that comes out of finance is a lot about our advocacy work with the federal government on what’s good for the municipalities.”
Jeffery hopes to continue her work on the board for FCM and on various committees. She said the resources are very helpful for the member municipalities since there’s inevitably another Canadian town that has faced similar circumstances to those Collingwood faces as it grows.
In the coming term, Jeffery wants to see the previous council’s implementation of a “pay-as-you-go” system continue and for the town to continue to pay down debt.
“We still have one of the highest taxes per capita, and that’s hard to tackle to get that down while you’re spending,” said Jeffery.
She’d also like to explore growth in the town’s bylaw enforcement department. Currently, the town’s system of enforcement for most bylaws is to respond on a complaint basis to bylaw infractions.
“The complaint basis, I think we’ve grown out of,” said Jeffery. “Neighbours don’t want to be the bad guy. So it’s not equal. Residents aren’t being treated equally because some have neighbours that call and complain and some don’t.”
However, Jeffery said it will take some review and a dedication of funds and possibly staff to increase levels of bylaw enforcement.
“If you want something, you’ve got to be able to give staff the resources to make it happen,” she said.
According to Jeffery, while four years may sound like a lot of time, it goes by fast and a council has to pick a few things to set its sights on.
She’d like to see some more waterfront master plan projects completed, some work on human resources at town hall, and she’s expecting the fate of the Collingwood Terminals building to be a big part of council’s next term work.
Jeffery was sworn in for her fourth term of council at a council inauguration ceremony on Dec. 3.
The first meeting of the new council will take place Dec. 17, beginning at 5 p.m. in the town hall council chambers.
