Policy Requirements under the Municipal Act, 2001

Considerations When Drafting Policies Required by the Municipal Act

Prepared by Southern Ontario Library Service June 2004

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This document is general in nature and should not be relied on as a substitute for legal advice. SOLS is not liable for any damages that may follow as a result of a local board relying on the information presented in the document. A library board solicitor should be consulted before passing a procurement resolution or approving hiring policies.

Introduction

The information presented in this document and in Appendices "A" and "B" should be viewed as "workbook" components to help your library decide on appropriate policies that will fulfill the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001. This document addresses some issues that SOLS has considered as important but in no way should the document be viewed as exhaustive. You should consult the applicable legislation mentioned in the document, as well as A Guide to Developing Procurement Bylaws prepared by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and other websites and resources mentioned here or in A Guide to Developing Procurement Bylaws. Finally, your initial steps should include reviewing your own current procurement or purchasing policies and those of your municipality. Local boards might also consider contacting the Municipal Service Officer for your area through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Summary of the Guide to Developing Procurement Bylaws

This document, created by OLS­North, endeavours to summarize and make more accessible for public libraries the complete Guide to Developing  Procurement Bylaws: meeting the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001.

New Municipal Act, 2001 Requirements Regarding Policies

Municipal Act, 2001, section 270, public library boards must adopt policies with respect to the hiring of employees, including policies with respect to the hiring of relatives of a member of the library board, and the hiring of relatives of existing employees of the library board, and under section 271, policies with respect to the procurement of goods and services, before January 1, 2005.

Library boards should be aware that there are some important implications inherent in the requirements of these policies. Firstly, as a local board, you must approve the policies to put them into effect. This is usually done by passing a resolution at a duly constituted board meeting. Your policies must deal with the minimum list of subjects outlined in the legislation. This may mean that some current procedures may need to form part of the policies.