Councillor raises concern about investigation costs

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

A Tillsonburg councillor raised concerns about the cost of integrity commissioner investigations.

Coun. Chris Rosehart asked for the total expenses for the integrity commissioner investigation and whether these were expected to increase in the second quarter during discussions on the first-quarter finances. She was told there were eight code of conduct investigations totaling $74,227 and three conflict of interest investigations totaling $35,500. The amounts were all paid to Aird Berlis, the town’s integrity commissioner.

“Where did that money come from? In all the years I’ve sat here, never have I seen a report like this,” Rosehart stated.

She was told by Trish McKibbin, Clerk/Manager of Legislative Affairs, that there have been no complaints to date in 2026, as all of these were filed in 2025. However, some work is continuing this year and will still have associated expenses.

Reno Pullia, Treasurer and Director of Finance, explained that that this will create a budget deficit, which will be offset by a surplus in another area.

Although it wasn’t discussed in the meeting on May 11, details of the investigations were reported in previous editions of the Post. The initial complaint, against Mayor Deb Gilvesy and Coun. Chris Parker, was in relation to a debate in closed session, and was filed by three fellow councillors. When surveyed by the Post, Rosehart said she did not file the complaint, while Couns. Kelly Spencer, Bob Parsons, Pete Luciani, and Deputy Mayor Dave Beres did not respond. Complaints were also filed against Parsons and Beres, and Marcel Rosehart filed conflict-of-interest complaints against the BIA. The investigator found no wrongdoing in any of the investigations.

Although the names of complainants can’t be released for code of conduct investigations, the names were released for the conflict of interest investigations against the BIA.

When asked why the complainant's identity was not released in the code of conduct investigations, and it was in the conflict of interest complaint, Karen Oliveira of Aird Berlis, answered, “The respondent is entitled to know who the applicant is in order to possibly be able to challenge their standing. Accordingly, the identity of an applicant is not necessarily confidential, and the integrity commissioner has discretion as to what they include in their reports. Moreover, in this particular instance, it appeared obvious that the applicant was the person who had requested the sponsorship from the BIA.”

In other matters related to the financial update, Pullia said the updates are done in a new format that should identify any emerging trends earlier. As of the end of the first quarter, total expenditures were an average 19 per cent of the annual budget.