July 27, 2026 Delegation to Wilmot Council re:<\/p>\n
By-Law 2026-55 To appoint a Treasurer (Jeff Willmer)<\/p>\n
All the information used in my delegation is sourced from publicly available information, including Ontario government documents, and agendas, minutes and attachments on the Township\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
On the first Tuesday in January the mayor released to at least 2 press reporters the broad-stroke contents of her Strong Mayor powers budget. By Thursday councillors and citizens read that it was coming in local papers. Press reports indicated the mayor\u2019s enthusiastic confidence in the budget and support for the process she used to get to that point.<\/p>\n
Councillors were notified by the mayor, via email I hear, on the Thursday that her proposed 2026 Strong Mayor budget would be publicly released the next day on Friday, January 9, 2026. This was so it could be in compliance with a perceived timeline deadline as interpreted in parts of the Strong Mayor Powers legislation.<\/p>\n
The budget proposed on January 9, 2026, was the result of a process wherein the mayor hired KPMG in 2025 to produce numbers, and, as stated in public session of Council, she delegated responsibility and authority to an Acting Treasurer and the CAO the task of receiving from Wilmot department heads their priorities for capital items, liaising with KPMG, determining priorities, and then compiling and proposing a budget to the mayor. They did so.<\/p>\n
An analysis of the 5 key budget proposing players shows that:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Acting Treasurer, the CAO, and the mayor, each and together as a triumvirate, have zero professional qualifications for performing budget preparation and formal accounting duties \u2013 listed as essential for a Treasurer in the OMA \u2013 in a public corporation.<\/p>\n Surely enough, the proposed budget appeared on the Township\u2019s website, on the 9th<\/sup>, in the form of a 42-page colour document containing charts, tables, graphs and multiple attachments, including Appendix D which was the compilation of 44 capital budget items as apparently prioritized by the Acting Treasurer and CAO.\u00a0 The document was proudly authorized by the signatures of \u201cHer Worship the Mayor\u201d and the CAO.<\/p>\n BUT<\/strong> the proposed budget was a deficit budget<\/strong>. A deficit budget is illegal for municipalities in Ontario. The 42-page document contained a budget \u201csnapshot\u201d summary on page 7. This summary showed:<\/p>\n Wilmot Township has had significant experiences over the years with CAOs and Treasurers. This would be the 4th<\/sup> Treasurer in the past 3 \u00bd years of this Council.<\/p>\n Wilmot citizen tax payers have experienced:<\/strong><\/p>\n —————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n It may be deduced by a fair and reasonable person, based on reviewing agenda item 15.8, that the mayor approves the replacement, again, of the Township\u2019s Treasurer. This Council has promoted a Treasurer to become a CAO, and has \u201creplaced\u201d at least 2 CAOs at great cost to tax payers. One gets their last payment this July. We don\u2019t know the separation costs for any of them including the one replaced in 2025. How much will this treasurer, apparently being replaced tonight, cost us?<\/p>\n The Treasurer who was hired after the budget was \u201capproved\u201d on January 29th<\/sup>, and who is in the process of being replaced here, had superb academic qualifications and had proven experience in organizations with larger budgets that Wilmot\u2019s.<\/p>\n He is the first treasurer in about 3 years to comply with a Council directive to provide Council and the public with quarterly financial update reports.<\/p>\n ————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n The CAO found $1million late last year to carry the Township through 2025 without going to debt. He can find money to fund both KPMG and a Treasurer. Therefore, money is not a real rationale.<\/strong><\/p>\n ————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n Citizens are interested people. Numerous consultants\u2019 reports have confirmed it. When you don\u2019t tell us why you\u2019re planning to replace someone, and it will likely cost us ongoing severance liabilities like for the last 2 or 3 CAOs and Treasurers, then we make reasonable guesses.<\/p>\n A lack of transparent information is divisive and dysfunctional, and by-the-way, contrary to the Township\u2019s espoused values and goals contained in its Strategic Plan and elsewhere. If you don\u2019t walk the talk, then don\u2019t expect trust and cooperation and support \u2013 we\u2019re people.<\/p>\n —————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s agenda tonight, item 15.8, has proposed a By-Law to replace the Township\u2019s Treasurer at a time when these conditions exist<\/span>:<\/p>\n This lack of task completion by KPMG is not the \u201cfault\u201d of the Treasurer who was hired after <\/strong>the mayor\u2019s budget was eventually adopted.<\/p>\n A treasurer is a statutory position. It is a requirement in the Act<\/em>.<\/p>\n Communication and coordination with a contractor, i.e. with KPMG, is the responsibility of the CAO.<\/strong> The CAO and Deputy CAO roles as described in the OMA are OPTIONAL <\/strong>management, administration roles. These are optional, not statutory, compulsory roles.<\/p>\n Administrators do not require qualifications and skills in all the roles that report to them. A CAO does not need to be a qualified, proven competent fire chief to be their administrator. But the fire chief needs to be professionally qualified and competent.<\/p>\n A CAO does not need to be a qualified, proven competent Treasurer, capable of performing all the tasks specified in the OMA, to be their administrator. But the Treasurer needs to be professionally qualified and competent.<\/p>\n Neither the CAO nor Deputy CAO are professionally qualified to competently execute the legislated responsibilities and duties of a Treasurer in a public corporation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n ————————————————————————————————<\/p>\n In Wilmot Township it is an estoppel<\/strong> that Council and the public receive a Staff Report that specifies all aspects of the background history, contextual mitigating factors, choice options of motions dealing with significant issues before Council, and such reports contain one or more recommendations for Council action on key issues.<\/p>\n This By-Law as proposed is in violation of Wilmot established, past practice, estoppel practice. The termination and appointment of a Treasurer is a significantly important action process. A Staff Report by the CAO providing the full context of why he wants to replace the Treasurer with himself is presently absent and needs to be provided to Council and the public.<\/p>\n ————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n The rationale, the legislative validity, for the proposed By-Law 2026-55<\/strong>, as contained in its 2nd<\/sup> paragraph beginning, \u201cWHEREAS\u201d<\/strong> is inaccurate<\/u> and thus the proposed By-Law is without valid foundation<\/strong>. Look at it with me.<\/p>\n \u201c286<\/em><\/strong> (1) A municipality shall appoint a treasurer who is responsible for handling all of the financial affairs of the municipality<\/u> on behalf of and in the manner directed by the council of the municipality, <\/em>including<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em><\/p>\n A Treasurer is not just a technical placeholder authorized to just sign cheques to keep the daily flow moving. A Treasurer is a very big deal!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>By-the-way, Section 418 (1) is titled The OMA, Section 418 (1) states that a treasurer requires the professional competence, the skills required to execute the following tasks:<\/p>\n \u201c418<\/strong> (1) A municipality may invest in prescribed securities, in accordance with the prescribed rules<\/u>, money that it does not require immediately including,<\/em><\/p>\n The word \u201cincluding<\/em>\u201d, above means there may be other investment opportunities other than the few listed.<\/p>\n —————————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n Wilmot\u2019s corporate organizational structure has line staff reporting to, and accountable for their performance, to a department head. Department heads report and are accountable to the CAO. The CAO is authorized to reorganize, hire within Council approved budget, and terminate department heads. A CAO has been authorized to terminate a Treasurer for example.<\/p>\n The CAO reports to and is accountable to Council through the mayor. Under Strong Mayor powers, if a mayor chooses to use them, a mayor can fire a CAO at will. The mayor can not terminate a Treasurer under their sole, unilateral authority, as it is a statutory position \u2013 even if choosing to use Strong Mayor authorities.<\/p>\n Therefore, the previous Treasurer could not be terminated by the mayor. Only the CAO is authorized to terminate the treasurer. What we have before us is a proposed By-Law that would legitimize a process wherein a CAO appears to have terminated a Treasurer only to then insert himself into that same role.<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a clear example of a conflict of interest.<\/strong> The Treasurer would be taking direction from and implementing actions given to himself, by himself.<\/span> <\/strong>Consider a hypothetical situation where a CAO, who is professional unqualified for accounting tasks listed in the OMA, directs the Treasurer to do something which the Treasurer then indicates to the CAO is not fiscally sound for future predictability and stability, or is not in compliance with accepted accounting procedures or practices, or may result in an auditor\u2019s rejection of the accounting records, the Ministry of Municipalities may impose financial consequences on the municipality. If the Treasurer is themselves the unqualified CAO, then no concerns are recognized and thus not addressed.<\/p>\n ————————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n Council and citizens frequently hear vociferous concerns about a lack of enough employees prevents them from completing their required tasks and being unable to provide reports, in a timely manner, that Council asks of them. Even after the 2026 budget was set, senior staff came back asking for 2 more positions.<\/p>\n The CAO apparently had decided that his tasks were more than what one person could perform, and therefore he needed a Deputy CAO to help him do his job.<\/p>\n How is it that the CAO needed assistance to complete only the CAO tasks, but now is agreeing that it is he who alone can now perform all tboth jobs, with additional duties and tasks of a Treasurer.<\/p>\n To put forward a motion that ceffectively ombines two roles into one person\u2019s work time is disingenuous, and would be laughable if it was not so dysfunctional.<\/p>\n But, on the other hand\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n if the CAO actually, really is presenting himself as able to perform both his CAO duties as well as a Treasurer\u2019s statutory duties, then it seems logical that Council should eliminate the superfluous Deputy CAO position, let the CAO pull the one CAO weight, and hire a C.P.A. as Treasurer. The Deputy CAO could go back as a planner in the Development Services department, or be offered a retirement package. The current or incoming Council could do a candidates\u2019 search and, effective February 7, 2027, hire a new CAO. The publicly available facts confirm that everyone would be where they are qualified to be<\/strong>.<\/p>\n ————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n This By-Law, proposing to place a professionally unqualified person to perform the legislated tasks of a Treasurer, and to thereby be directing and reporting to himself is not just a conflict of interests, a real organizational dysfunction, it also in in contravention of the requirements for Council in the OMA:<\/p>\n (d.1) \u201cto ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality;<\/em>\u201d and<\/p>\n (e) \u201cto maintain the financial integrity of the municipality<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Therefore:<\/p>\n I suggest that this be a recorded vote<\/u> so that voters will know each councillor\u2019s position on this issue of whether our tax money should be managed by a person qualified and competent in accounting (C.P.A.), or by a place-holder, when they vote in October.<\/p>\n The election is in October 26th<\/sup>. I\u2019m optimistic that informed voters may choose leadership that will actually lead<\/strong> this Township in a fiscally responsible manner including public consultation, and not delegate<\/strong> responsibility and authority for leadership decisions to management staff!\u201d<\/p>\n Thank you, Council, for your 7-minutes.<\/p>\n Barry Wolfe, Baden<\/p>\n\n
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Professional Qualifications<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Not the money<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What\u2019s going on that we don’t know about?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Fiscal insecurity (chaos)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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No Staff Report<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Without legislative foundation and validity<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\u00a0<\/em>Conflict of Interest<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>Two jobs not too much for one person?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Council\u2019s legislated duties to perform<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Recommendations<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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