City withholds in-house legal costs (Ont.)

City withholds in-house legal costs

Council rejected releasing staff time on the 2003 controversy.

By PATRICK MALONEY, SUN MEDIA

 
 

The saga of a controversial closed-door council meeting that's cost London taxpayers more than $300,000 isn't over yet.

With the outside legal costs to the city recently made public, Controller Bud Polhill now wants to know how many hours city staff spent working on the protracted fight that was sparked by a 2003 development freeze.

Along with Coun. Roger Caranci, he raised a motion at council Monday to make the in-house cost public. It was defeated by a vote of 12-4, raising Polhill's ire.

"I just want the public to know how much this cost us, to take this to the end," Polhill said. "How can you say you're open and transparent if you won't tell people how much we paid for a case we lost in court?

"Accountability and openness would have said 'Yes, let's do it. It's over with.' "

Councillors Stephen Orser and Bill Armstrong supported the motion along with Caranci and Polhill.

It was late 2003 when RSJ Holdings Inc. applied to demolish a house at 915 Richmond St. with a plan to build a fourplex in its place. Council temporarily froze development in that area, stopping RSJ in its tracks.

But the freeze was later quashed by the Ontario Court of Appeal because council had twice debated it in sessions closed to the public.

The city then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. It ruled council broke the law when it met behind closed doors to talk about the freeze it passed without public debate.

Polhill and Caranci signed affidavits, used by RSJ in court, stating council voted on the matter in the closed session. Several other councillors signed affidavits saying no such vote, or even discussion of the matter, took place.

Adamant council did nothing wrong, Coun. Joni Baechler questioned why Polhill and Caranci have never asked for in-house costs from any previous city legal fight.

"These questions have never been asked about any other court proceedings," she said yesterday. "It seems to me the issue here is more of a personal nature. We're tired of getting into personal matters."

The city's total costs for the three-year legal fight, excluding the hours worked by city staff, is $328,000, board of control was told last week.

 
 

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