Citizens Need Better Accountability and Transparency at City Hall

560
Frank Pullia is the new Chair of Administration and Finance on Thunder Bay City Council
Frank Pullia

Frank Pullia - Councillor at Large Candidate
Frank Pullia – Councillor at Large Candidate
THUNDER BAY – CIVIC – There has been a lot of discussion about accountability and transparency in municipal government during this election campaign and in particular during the Mayor’s debate last week. The implied assumption is that many key decisions are being made behind closed doors and in secret. Such statements usually go unchallenged and therefore a perception is created that tends to validate such assumptions. When the City Clerk’s office provides the specific rules in the Municipal Act under which Council has the responsibility to deal with matters in-Camera (i.e. when individuals, contractual agreements, or legal matters are being discussed), Council is only providing the bare minimum of what I consider to be a proper answer to a legitimate concern.

In light of the Ontario Legislature’s proposed Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014, Thunder Bay’s new Council should adopt procedures (as soon as possible) that will show that it is ahead of the curve and not behind it when dealing with the “public’s right to know”. For example, when moving back into open Council from a closed session, the Chair of the committee of Council should be able to explain the context of the matter before Council and without divulging any confidential information, discuss any content that is relevant to the matter so that the public is able to fully understand how Council ended up reaching their decision.

I believe that the time has come for a more open process that will clearly tell our community that their elected officials are prepared to be leaders when dealing with communication and transparency and the “public’s right to know”.

Frank Pullia
Candidate – Councillor at Large

Previous articleBladerunner Oscar Pistorius Sentenced to Five years in Prison
Next articleThunder Bay Transit Lift+ Strike Averted
Frank Pullia has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Lakehead University, is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a Consulting CMA with over 26 years experience in business, marketing, management, labour, and politics. He has held positions of increasing responsibility in the public (Ontario Hydro), private sector international company (Kimberly Clark), Canada-USA organizations (Northwest-Midwest Alliance) and has been the Principal of Pullia Accounting & Consulting since 1995. He is an experienced and innovative business professional helping companies, municipalities, Aboriginal communities and not-for-profit organizations in Northwestern Ontario, Canada and internationally meet their strategic, financial, management and economic development objectives by providing leading-age business consulting services. Frank has an excellent background in public/private sector partnerships and forging alliances with various levels of government, having been a Councilor for the City of Thunder Bay for seven years. This experience and the many leadership roles taken through his involvement in numerous volunteer Boards and organizations, also allow him to provide a high-level of expertise on governance and management. Throughout his career he has focused on effective risk and change management and ensuring that organizations were and continue to be well positioned to deal with both internal and external challenges. Frank writes extensively covering trends and issues of social, economic, financial and political nature with a global perspective but of particular interest for the city and region. He is currently writing a book on the traditional Japanese martial arts and modern management techniques. He holds a 1st degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and has used the holistic approach of body-mind-spirit as a way of life to accomplish outstanding results in his personal and professional career.