The 2024 Integrity Commissioner Annual Report will be presented to Chatham-Kent Council at its next meeting Monday night.
Integrity Commissioner Suzanne Craig wrote in her report that a total of four Code of Conduct complaints were brought forward last year -- two formal and two informal -- but all were dismissed.
Craig said she declined to investigate the first formal complaint because it was filed too late, there were insufficient grounds to investigate, and it was outside of her jurisdiction.
The complaint alleged that a councillor had received campaign donations in return for favourable voting on matters before Council.
Craig said she did not have sufficient grounds to go forward with the complaint and it was outside of her jurisdiction because, if true, it would constitute a clear and improper use of influence and evidence of corruption.
The second formal complaint was also dismissed because Craig didn't find any wrongdoing regarding an agreement with a third party company.
Two informal Code of Conduct complaints were also filed. One of them questioned the rules of the Procedural Bylaw, but Craig said it was outside of her authority to investigate.
Another informal complaint was of a personal nature and Craig noted it didn't pertain to the member's official role as a councillor.
Craig said her office also received a total of 20 questions related to the Code of Conduct, 12 from councillors seeking advice, five from the public seeking clarification on process and councillor obligations, and three from staff about councillors.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent paid $39,699 for Craig's services in 2024 as the Integrity Commissioner and Closed Meeting Investigator, which was overbudget by $9,699.