Accountability and Transparency

It's our responsibility to provide an effective government for everyone in Woodstock. This means doing everything we can to be accountable and transparent by encouraging public access and participation in the matters that affect our city.

We will:

• Be responsive to the needs of our constituents and receptive to their opinions
• Deliver high quality services to our citizens
• Promote the efficient use of public resources

Our commitment

Accountability, transparency and openness are achieved by adopting measures that ensure that all activities and services are undertaken using a process that is open and accessible to our stakeholders.

Read the complete accountability and transparency policy.

Delegation of powers policy

Delegation of power policies are provided to increase efficiency and effectiveness of certain public services. To better serve you, city council has passed the delegation of powers and duties policy.

Code of conduct

Our code of conduct ensures that city council conducts business in an appropriate manner. The code also outlines the process for informal and formal complaints. Formal complaints regarding alleged contraventions of the Code of Conduct or section 5, 5.1 or 5.2 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, 1990 must be submitted in writing by an identifiable individual directly to the Integrity Commissioner at:

Robert J. Swayze, Integrity Commissioner, City of Woodstock

Telephone: 519-942-0070       Fax: 519-942-1233

email: robert.swayze39@gmail.com

Further information about the complaint process can be found directly in the code of conduct.

Closed Meeting Complaints

The City of Woodstock holds the vast majority of its meeting in open session and members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend. In some cases the meetings are closed to the public as the matter falls under one of the discretionary exceptions in Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001. If you have a complaint about a meeting being closed to the public, you can submit a complaint form to the City Clerk who will then forward it, along with any other required information, to the Closed Meeting Investigator for investigation.

Complaint reports

We're committed to sharing the outcome of investigations into complaints about accountability and transparency matters,

• January 13, 2011 - Closed meeting investigation report 
• September 19, 2014 - Closed meeting investigation report
• May 6, 2021 - Closed meeting investigation report

Conflict of Interest Registry

The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act requires the municipality to maintain a public registry as of March 1, 2019 of all pecuniary interests declared by members of Council and members of the Committee of Adjustment. The registry must include the original written declaration provided by the member and must be available to the public. A chart of the declarations is available online and a full registry, including the written statements, is available in the Clerks Office at City Hall.