1. advisory committee PROCEDURE BY-LAW, Appointment
Policy and participation expense policY MID-Term review
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COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS AS AMENDED
That Council:
1. Repeal By-law 2003-600,
being the City of Ottawa’s existing Procedure By-law, governing the proceedings
of its Advisory Committees and enact the revised Advisory Committees’ Procedure
By-law attached at Document 1, as amended by the following:
That Section 4 of Appendix
A be amended so that a member of an Advisory Committee shall disclose to the
City Clerk or persons designated, a conflict of interest as prohibited by the
Code;
2. Approve the E-Meetings
Policy attached at Document 2;
3. Approve the revised
Appointment Policy for Advisory Committees, Boards, Task Forces and External
Boards, Commissions and Authorities attached at Document 3; and
4.
Approve
the revised Participation Expense Policy for Advisory Committee Members at
attached Document 4.
RECOMMENDATIONS
MODIFIÉES DU COMITÉ
Que le Conseil :
1.
abroge le règlement
600-2003, qui régit les délibérations des comités consultatifs de la Ville
d’Ottawa, et d’adopter le règlement de procédure révisé pour les comités
consultatifs qui est joint au document 1, modifié par ce qui suit :
que la Section 4 de l’annexe
A soit modifiée de manière à ce qu’un membre d’un Comité consultatif communique
au greffier de la Ville ou aux personnes désignées à cette fin un conflit
d’intérêts interdit par le Code;
2. approuve
la politique sur les réunions virtuelles jointe au document 2;
3. approuve
la politique révisée de nomination de citoyens membres de comités consultatifs,
de conseils, de groupes de travail, de commissions et d’administrations jointe
au document 3;
4. approuve
la politique révisée sur les dépenses de participation des membres des comités
consultatifs jointe au document 4.
Documentation
1. Chief Corporate Services Officer’s report dated 09 January 2006
(ACS2006-CRS-CCB-0005).
2.
Extract of Draft Minute, 17 January 2006.
Report to/Rapport au :
Corporate Services & Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du
développement économique
Submitted by / Soumis par: Greg Geddes, Chief
Corporate Services Officer/
Contact / Personne-ressource: P.G. Pagé, City Clerk/
Greffier/
City Wide |
|
Ref
N°: ACS2006-CRS-CCB-0005 |
SUBJECT: |
advisory committee PROCEDURE BY-LAW, Appointment
Policy and participation expense policY MID-Term review |
OBJET
: |
RÈGLEMENT DE PROCÉDURE POUR LES COMITÉS
CONSULTATIFS, EXAMEN DE MI-MANDAT DE
LA POLITIQUE DE NOMINATION ET DE LA POLITIQUE SUR LES DÉPENSES DE
PARTICIPATION |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Corporate Services
and Economic Development Committee recommend that Council:
1. Repeal By-law 2003-600, being the City of Ottawa’s existing Procedure By-law, governing the proceedings of its Advisory Committees and enact the revised Advisory Committees’ Procedure By-law attached at Document 1;
2. Approve the E-Meetings Policy
attached at Document 2;
3. Approve
the revised Appointment Policy for Advisory Committees, Boards, Task Forces and
External Boards, Commissions and Authorities attached at Document 3; and
4. Approve the revised Participation Expense Policy for Advisory Committee Members at attached Document 4.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des services organisationnels et
du développement économique recommande au Conseil :
1. d’abroger le règlement 600-2003, qui régit les
délibérations des comités consultatifs de la Ville d’Ottawa, et d’adopter le
règlement de procédure révisé pour les comités consultatifs qui est joint au
document 1;
2. d’approuver la politique sur les réunions virtuelles jointe au
document 2;
3. d’approuver
la politique révisée de nomination de citoyens membres de comités consultatifs,
de conseils, de groupes de travail, de commissions et d’administrations jointe
au document 3;
4. d’approuver
la politique révisée sur les dépenses de participation des membres des comités
consultatifs jointe au document 4.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Assumptions and Analysis:
In a fashion similar to the Procedure
By-law that governs Council and its Standing Committees, the Procedure
By-law for Advisory Committees (the “Advisory Committees’ Procedure
By-law”), and related operating policies are reviewed and updated at the
end of every three-year term of Council.
In addition, a mid-term review is generally conducted to address any
procedural issues or concerns that require attention prior to the end of the
Council term.
Since enacting the Advisory
Committees’ Procedure By-law and related policies in December 2003, there
have been minor changes to both the City’s administrative and governance
structures, which impact these documents.
In addition, a number of other issues have arisen, including the
following:
1. Members’ Duties
(requirement to sign a revised Code of Conduct).
2. Duties of the Chair
(ability to designate a spokesperson who is not the Chair);
3. Quorum
(procedures when not present);
4. Meeting
Procedures (special meetings, end-time);
5. Appointment Policy (term
of appointment, eligibility criteria);
6. Attendance
(clarification of absences);
7. Participation Expense
Policy (eligible expenses, reimbursement process); and
8. E-Meetings Policy.
CONSULTATION
In 2005, the current Advisory
Committees’ Procedure By-law, Appointment Policy and Participation Expense
Policy were circulated to all Advisory Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs for
review. Following receipt of comments,
concerns or issues for consideration, a second consultation meeting in June had
to be cancelled and was subsequently re-scheduled for the fall. The City Clerk’s Office met with various
Advisory Committee and Board members on September
29, 2005, after which the proposed amendments were circulated to the Legal, IT
and Financial Services Branches.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications with
respect to this report.
RESUMÉ
HYPOTHÈSES ET ANALYSE
Tout comme le Règlement de
procédure, qui régit le Conseil municipal et ses comités permanents, le Règlement
de procédure pour les comités consultatifs (le « Règlement de procédure pour les comités consultatifs »)
et les politiques connexes font l’objet d’une révision et d’une mise à jour à
la fin de chaque mandat de trois ans du Conseil. En outre, on procède
habituellement à un examen de mi-mandat afin de résoudre les questions ou
préoccupations qui nécessitent une intervention avant la fin du mandat du
Conseil.
Depuis l’adoption du Règlement de procédure pour les comités
consultatifs et des
politiques connexes, en décembre 2003, les structures administrative et de
gouvernance de la Ville ont subi de légères modifications qui ont une incidence
sur ces documents. Un certain nombre
d’autres questions ont également été soulevées, notamment les suivantes :
1. devoirs et fonctions des membres (obligation de signer un code de
conduite révisé).
2. devoirs et fonctions du président (capacité de désigner un
porte-parole autre que le président);
3. quorum
(marche à suivre lorsqu’il n’y a pas quorum);
4. procédures régissant les réunions (réunions extraordinaires, heure
de clôture);
5. politique de nomination
(durée, critères d’admissibilité);
6. assiduité
(clarification des absences);
7. politique sur les dépenses de participation (dépenses admissibles,
modalités de remboursement);
8. politique sur les
réunions virtuelles.
CONSULTATION
Le Règlement de procédure pour les comités
consultatifs, la Politique de nomination et la Politique sur les dépenses
de participation ont été soumis à l’examen des présidents et vice-présidents
des comités consultatifs au cours de 2005. Après avoir pris connaissance de
leurs commentaires, questions et préoccupations, on a organisé une seconde
réunion de consultation, initialement prévue pour le mois de juin, mais qui a
dû être annulée et reportée à l’automne. Le 29 septembre 2005, les
représentants du bureau du greffier ont rencontré divers membres de comités
consultatifs et de conseils, après quoi les modifications proposées ont été
soumises aux Services juridiques, aux Services de technologie de l’information
et aux Services financiers.
RÉPERCUSSIONS
FINANCIÈRES
Le présent
rapport n’a pas de répercussions financières.
As a standard practice, the City
Clerk’s Office, in conjunction with Legal and Financial Services Branches as
well as the Advisory Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs, reviews and updates the
rules to govern the proceedings of its Advisory Committees (the “Advisory
Committees’ Procedure By-law”), as well as related operating policies at
the end of every three-year term of Council.
In addition, staff generally conduct a mid-term review to ascertain if
there are any procedural issues or concerns that need to be addressed prior to
the end of the Council term.
Since enacting the Advisory
Committees’ Procedure By-law and related policies in December 2003, there
have been changes to the City’s administrative and committee structures, which
impact these documents. In addition,
the Advisory Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs have asked that other, more
substantive issues be addressed at this time.
These concerns include: meeting conduct; the role of the chair;
appointing an official spokesperson for media relations; addressing outstanding
expense issues; establishing an E-Meetings policy; and, enforcement of the Code
of Conduct for Advisory Committee Members.
Based on the above, staff have undertaken a review of the following
documents: the Advisory Committees’ Procedure By-law; the Appointment
Policy for Citizen Members of City Advisory Committees, Boards, Task Forces and
External Boards, Commissions and Authorities; and the Advisory Committees
Participation Expense Policy.
DISCUSSION
As
noted above, those matters which are relatively innocuous in nature, such as
changes to senior management positions or standing committee titles, and the
correction of grammatical or formatting errors are not expressly addressed in
this report. However, the more
significant concerns noted herein and their proposed amendments are addressed
individually within the following “Summary of Issues/Proposed Amendments”
section. All changes minor and major
alike, have been highlighted in bold and underlined in the respective Advisory
Committee Procedure By-law, E-Meeting Policy, Appointment Policy and
Participation Expense Policy (referenced accordingly in this report as attached
Documents 1, 2, 3 or 4).
SUMMARY OF ISSUES/PROPOSED
AMENDMENTS
By-Law No. 2003-600 (Attached as
Document 1)
A) Advisory Committee Member – Duties - New Subsection 3(1)(c)
To ensure awareness of and compliance with the City’s Advisory
Committee Members’ Code of Conduct (the “Code”) members are asked to read
the Code (which is found at Appendix “A” of the by-law) and sign a form to that
effect. This document has been revised
to amalgamate the existing Code with the earlier Conflict of Interest
Guidelines for Advisory Committees into one, comprehensive Code. In the past, some members either neglected
or refused to sign the Code for a variety of reasons. However, in an effort to increase accountability and to ensure
that all Advisory Committee Members are aware of the conduct expected of them
as well as the consequences of non-compliance, it is recommended that the
Code’s signing be a pre-condition of membership on an Advisory Committee. A new clause (c) has been added to clarify
this requirement:
“A member of an
Advisory Committee shall have the following duties:
(c) to read and sign the City’s “Advisory Committee Members’ Code of
Conduct” before membership on the Committee can be certified.”
Apparently, the reluctance by some Members to execute the Code in the
past seems to be related to the last words in Subsection 1(i) of the Code. This clause indicated that, while an
Advisory Committee Member is conducting Committee business, he or she: “accepts
and promotes the decisions of the Advisory Committee over their personal
views.” In essence, some Members were concerned that the phrase, “their
personal views” constituted an absolute prohibition against them espousing any
views that were different or in opposition to a recommendation or position
approved by their respective Advisory Committee. A related concern was similarly expressed by some Members who
represent specific organizations on these Advisory Committees. In seeking to clarify this provision and
ensure that membership on one of the City’s Advisory Committees does not unduly
restrict a Member from espousing either his or her personal opinion or that of
a sponsoring organization, staff have recommended that the Code itself be
amended by deleting the last four words in Subsection 1(i) (i.e. over their
personal views). Further, when Members
are questioned by Council, the media, or by a community organization, it is
important for them to clarify that the response provided is on behalf of the
Advisory Committee or those of the individual and/or a sponsoring organization.
Furthermore, after various consultations with the Business Advisory
Committee, a limited number of exemptions to the conflict of interest section
in the Code are being recommended.
Briefly, these provisions constitute an effort to recognize the
“inherent” conflict of interest that exists with such bodies, as the Business
Advisory Committee and the Taxi Advisory Committee, where the membership
includes those parties being regulated.
B) Duties of the Committee Chair - New Subsection 6(6)
Presently the Chair acts as the Advisory Committee’s
spokesperson when called upon by a Standing Committee, the media or a community
organization. At times, this limited approach has occasionally proven to be
problematic as the Chair may not be the most knowledgeable Member on the
particular matter coming from the Advisory Committee. The following clause has been added to
Section 6 to give Advisory Committees the option to designate a Member of the
Committee as their spokesperson:
“Despite
Subsection (5), the Advisory Committee may designate a Committee Member as the
official spokesperson for the Advisory Committee on a
specific issue when called upon by Council, a Standing Committee, a member of
the media or a community organization.”
C) Quorum – New Subsections 8 (4), (5) and (6)
In the absence of quorum, Advisory Committees currently have limited
ability to continue with certain aspects of a meeting without making
decisions. At the request of Members, a
new section has been added which provides additional guidance on how to proceed
in the absence of a quorum. Currently,
the Committee Coordinator does not remain if the quorum requirement is not
attained within 15 minutes. As a result
of the addition of Subsections 8(4), (5) and (6), the Coordinator, will, on a
trial basis until the next full governance review, remain at the meeting to
take ‘information notes’ if the Advisory Committee chooses to proceed with
certain items on its agenda. For
example, if invited guests, or staff are at the meeting for the purposes of a
presentation, the Coordinator will remain to take succinct notes of the
presentation, up to a maximum of one hour from the time a meeting was scheduled
to commence. Should a quorum be
achieved within that first hour, the official Advisory Committee meeting could
be called to “order”.
D) Meetings of Committees - Subsection 9(8)
The majority of Advisory Committee meetings start between 6:00 p.m. and
7:00 p.m. on any given weekday. To make
more effective use of volunteers’ time following a full workday and in order to
ensure that both Members and staff are as safe as possible, it is recommended
that a new section be added to establish 10:30 p.m. as the automatic end-time
for all Advisory Committee meetings. In
addition, it would remain an option for the Members to approve a motion to
extend the meeting time.
E) E-Meetings – Subsection 9(9)
When City Council passed By-law
2003-600 at its December 3rd, 2003 meeting, it included the
conditional approval of a section that could eventually allow Advisory
Committee Members to use electronic technology to attend open meetings
(“e-meetings”). At that time, Council
was clear to direct that the use of e-meetings was not meant to replace
regularly scheduled Advisory Committee meetings. In addition, staff were directed to ensure that the guidelines
should be applicable in those urgent situations to establish quorum.
This mid-term review has
provided staff with an opportunity to present those guidelines, being both Subsection
9(9) of the By-law and the “E-Meetings Policy For Advisory Committee Members.” The E-Meetings Policy (attached as
Document 2) is premised on Council’s direction that electronic participation be
limited to those instances where remote participation is necessary to meet
quorum in order to ensure that a time-sensitive /urgent item (one that requires
an immediate recommendation or action to be forwarded to a Department, Standing
Committee or Council) is not missed.
The Policy also addresses
the related issues of meeting conduct and specifies the form of electronic
participation as telephonic - all of the reasons for which are provided in the
backgrounder attached to the proposed Policy.
Staff is also recommending that the E-Meetings Policy form part of the
next full Governance Review at which time it will be reviewed with regard to
its overall effectiveness.
Therefore, the wording of
Subsection 9 (9) has accordingly been revised as follows:
“(9) Pursuant to the E-meetings Policy a maximum of two Members of
Advisory Committees may participate in a meeting via telephonic equipment
in those instances where quorum is a necessity to address an urgent item
requiring immediate action. The
off-site Member(s) shall be deemed to be present at the meeting for the
purposes of establishing quorum.
F) Special
Meetings – Section 10
During the course of the 2005 and
2006 Budget deliberations, many Advisory Committees sought to call a “special”
meeting in order to provide Council with their comments on the City’s Budget. However, the express ability to call such a
meeting had been omitted from the Advisory Committee Procedure By-law
due to operational and financial constraints.
However, Section 10 has been added to standardize the approach Advisory
Committees must follow in order to hold a
“special” meeting. Due to
ongoing operational and financial constraints, each Advisory Committee would be
limited to calling only one special meeting in a calendar year. Any exceptions to this approach would
require written consent from the City Clerk.
G) General Provisions
For Committees – Subsections 14(7) and (8)
Members who are often absent from
meetings was one of the major concerns expressed by Advisory Committee Members. Such absences not only make work plan goals
very difficult to achieve, but also contribute to meetings being cancelled due
to a lack of quorum. Based on
benchmarking results and comments from Advisory Committee and Board Members,
this section has been amended to provide greater clarity. In effect, the membership
of an absentee Member will be terminated for failing to attend three
consecutive, regularly scheduled Committee meetings. Further, the new wording provides for a more precise notification
process to the affected Member. As the
Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee meets twice a month, a
higher, separate threshold was requested for that Committee:
“Any member of an Advisory Committee, who is absent
from two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of the Committee, or in the case
of the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (“LACAC”), three
consecutive meetings, that member shall be contacted by the Advisory Committee
Coordinator to confirm his/her commitment to the Committee. The member will also be advised that if he
or she misses a third, or in the instance of LACAC Members, fourth consecutive
meeting, her or his membership shall be terminated, unless the Advisory
Committee has certified such absences. The City Clerk’s Office will
advise a member of his or her termination via a registered letter after he or
she has missed three, four for LACAC Members, consecutive meetings.”
In order to provide greater
flexibility to Advisory Committees, a further exemption is being
suggested. In effect, an Advisory
Committee may grant an exemption for a Member to be absent for more than three
(3) meetings where the Member is unable to attend for medical reasons. Where requested by the absent Member,
consideration will be given to allowing that Member to participate in Committee
meetings via teleconference, but is not included in quorum.
Finally, the Advisory Committee
Chairs expressed a concern with some Members missing two consecutive meetings,
returning for the third, and then missing two meetings again, thereby further negatively
affecting the Committees’ work plan goals.
In those unusual instances, it is proposed that a Member who misses 30%
of all the scheduled meetings for a year, be replaced automatically.
Corresponding changes are also
reflected in the Appointments Policy.
Appointment Policy For
Advisory Committees, Boards, Task Forces, External Boards, Commissions and
Authorities (attached as Document 3)
A) Qualification
of Members - Subsection 1.3
Since
early 2001, employees have been ineligible to serve as Members of an Advisory
Committee, Board, Task Force, or External Board, Commission or Authority. However, if an appointed citizen Member
subsequently accepted a full-time, permanent position with the City of Ottawa,
it was unclear as to the effect this had on the Member’s eligibility to remain
on the Advisory Committee. The policy
was also vague with regard to those “indirect pecuniary interests” that they
may have as a result of the interests of a Member’s external employer.
Therefore, staff is recommending the following amendment for clarification:
“Full time permanent employees of the City of
Ottawa are not eligible for positions as citizen members on any City Advisory
Committee, Board or Task Force, or on External Boards, Commissions or
Authorities. Members who
subsequently receive a full time, permanent position with the City of Ottawa
shall immediately resign.
If a member’s company, business or employer is temporarily hired by the
City of Ottawa, the member shall disclose the employment situation immediately
to the City Clerk who shall advise the member if he or she must declare an
indirect pecuniary interest on related items, temporarily remove him or herself
from the Advisory Committee, or if he or she must resign his or her seat on the
Advisory Committee.
B) Term
of Office - Subsection 2.2
Presently,
Members of Advisory Committees and Boards are permitted to serve a maximum of
six years or two terms. At times,
replacement Members have been appointed mid-term in order to fill vacancies
that arise on an intermittent basis.
The Policy states that those replacement Members are to complete the
term of the person they are replacing.
It further provides that partial terms of less than one year are not
counted for the purposes of the two-term maximum of six years. Furthermore, when new Committees are
created, in order to establish the rotational terms of office, some Members’
first terms are one year or less. In
order to be consistent, it is recommended that this initial term of one-year or
less also be excused as it relates to the six-year calculation. Subsection 2.2 has been amended to indicate
this change:
“A
person appointed to fill a partially completed term is appointed to the end of
that term of office. Such member, if
appointed for an interim term not exceeding one year, may be eligible for
reappointment for two three-year terms.
When a new Committee is established, Members given a one-year term
are eligible to serve up to seven years.”
A
request has been made on behalf of the Conservation Authorities that the
six-year restriction not apply to their members. However, as these provincial bodies are not established by
Council but rather by the Conservation Authorities Act, their membership
requirements are not subject to the policies established by the City (see
Section 2.7). It is recommended that
the City’s policy, therefore, not apply to these boards.
C) Recruitment
- Subsection 4.8(b)
To
ensure the Committee selection process remains transparent, Council previously
approved the following clause has been added to the ‘Selection’ section:
“Members
of Council who are Members of the Board or Committee, either in a voting or
liaison capacity, are not eligible to serve on the Selection Panel.”
Advisory Committee
Participation Expense Policy (attached as Document 4)
A) Reimbursement
Policy – Section 1
In the past, differing interpretations of the supporting documents
required for reimbursement purposes have emerged. Following a recent review of the accounting practices for
Advisory Committees, this report is reconfirming the express need for Members
to submit original expense receipts in order to receive reimbursement from the
City. In accordance with the City’s
current Payment Without Reference Policy, this section has been
amended to add the following provision:
“Upon submission of an original receipt, all voting members deemed present in the approved minutes of the meeting are authorized to receive reimbursement. . . ”.
Failure to comply with this reimbursement criterion may result in
the claim being ineligible for reimbursement.
B) Reimbursement Policy – Subsection 1.4
It is being recommended that the past practice of occasionally
reimbursing bus pass holders for using their bus pass to attend a meeting be
terminated. Reimbursements are meant to
refund Advisory Committee Members for “out-of-pocket” expenses. However, a bus pass allows unlimited use of
all transit services – not merely to attend at a particular Advisory Committee
meeting. The amendment to this section
also clarifies that a proof-of-payment transfer will suffice as a receipt and
more clearly identifies transit-ticket reimbursement levels:
“Bus Fare / Para Transpo Fare to and from official
meetings will be eligible. A bus transfer or receipt
must be provided as proof of payment.
Upon receipt of such a proof of payment, the City of
Ottawa shall reimburse the member with the appropriate number of bus tickets
for a return trip by the same mode of transportation.”
C) Definitions – Section 1.4
A new “Disabled Persons” definition has been added to further
clarify the City’s commitment to accommodating Advisory Committee Members and
residents with disabilities:
“Disabled persons’ expense: is defined as an expense which
is incurred in order to provide a service without which the Member cannot
participate in the meeting,(e.g. intervenors, interpreters, real-time
captioning or Braille text) because of the Member's disability.”
This section will also permit invited, subcommittee members, who
are not Advisory Committee Members per se, to be reimbursed for disabled
persons’ expenses.
CONSULTATION
On May 11, 2005, the current Advisory
Committee Procedure By-law, as well as the City’s Expense and Participation
Policies were circulated to all Advisory Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs,
Board Members and other City staff requesting that they review same and provide
any comments, concerns or issues for the mid-term review. Various responses were received and
incorporated as part of this report and a “Summary of Comments” is attached as
Document 5. In addition, the City
Clerk’s Office met with Members of the City’s Advisory Committees and Boards on
September 29, 2005 after which the proposed amendments were circulated to Legal
Services, IT and the Financial Services Branches for comment. With respect to conflict of interest
provisions of industry-related committees, the Deputy City Clerk, in June, July
and September, consulted with the Business Advisory Committee, the results of
which are exemptions to certain provisions of the Code of Conduct for the
Business Advisory Committee and the Taxi Advisory Committee. As well, staff conducted a benchmarking
exercise with other comparator municipalities like Edmonton and Toronto to
provide further insight into such matters.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial
implications with respect to this report.
Document 2 – Electronic
Meeting Policy (and background documents)
Document 3 – Revised
Appointment Policy
Document 5 – Summary of Comments (Staff, Advisory
Committee and Board Members)
Following Council approval, Recommendations 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be
implemented immediately and City Clerk’s staff will undertake to organize
orientation and training sessions with all Advisory Committee and Board Members
to review the new Procedure By-law and related Policies.
DOCUMENT 1
BY-LAW NO. 2006-
A by-law of the City of Ottawa to govern the
proceedings of its Advisory Committees.
WHEREAS the Council for the City of Ottawa has,
from time to time, established Advisory Committees to provide special advice
and expertise to it;
AND WHEREAS these Advisory Committees are
comprised largely of citizens from the City of Ottawa;
AND WHEREAS the unique composition of these
Advisory Committees favours the development and use of more flexible rules of
procedure with respect to their public meetings;
THEREFORE the Council of The City of Ottawa,
pursuant to Section 238 of the Municipal
Act, 2001, as amended, enacts as follows:
1.
RULES OF
PROCEDURE ADOPTED / SUSPENDED
(1)
The proceedings of the
Advisory Committees and the conduct of their members and the calling of
meetings shall be governed by the provisions of the rules and regulations
contained in this By-law, and, except as provided herein, the rules of
parliamentary procedure as contained in the Rules of Procedure for City Council
and its Standing Committees, shall be followed for governing the proceedings of
the Advisory Committees and the conduct of its members;
(2)
Despite Subsection
1(1), the rules and regulations contained in this By-law may be suspended by a
vote of three-quarters of the members present and voting.
2.
DEFINITIONS
In this by-law,
(1)
“Advisory Committee” means a committee created by Council to
provide advice and technical expertise on major public issues and social
trends, act as vehicles for public consultation on issues of municipal interest
and make recommendations to City Council through Standing Committees. The membership is comprised of citizens and
may have a Council Member acting as a non-voting liaison member;
(2)
“Advisory Committee
Coordinator” means the person whose duties include the recording of the
proceedings of Advisory Committee meetings;
(3)
“City” means the
City of Ottawa;
(4)
“Chair” means
the chair of the Advisory Committee;
(5)
“City Manager”
means the chief administrative officer referred to in Section 229 of the Municipal Act, 2001;
(6)
“Clerk” means
the position appointed pursuant to Section 228 of the Municipal Act, 2001;
(7) Corporation” means The Corporation of the City of Ottawa;
(8) (7) Council”
means the Council of the City of Ottawa;
(9) (8) “Council Member” or “Councillor” means a person elected or appointed as a member of
Council but does not include the Mayor;
(10) (9)“Day” does not include Saturday, Sunday or a holiday;
(11) (10)“Deputy
City Manager or Chief Officer General Manager” means the official responsible for a department
within the City Corporation;
(12) (11) “Mayor” means the Mayor as the Head of Council, or in the absence
of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor or, in the absence of both, another member of
Council appointed in accordance with the provisions of a by-law;
(13) (12)“Notice of Motion” means a written notice, including the name of the
mover, advising the Advisory Committee that the motion described therein will
be brought at a subsequent meeting;
(14) (13)“Privilege” means the raising of a question which concerns a member
of an Advisory Committee, or the Advisory Committee collectively, when a member
believes that his or
her their rights, immunities or integrity or the rights,
immunities or integrity of the Advisory Committee as a whole have been
impugned;
(15) (14)“Point of Order” means a statement made by a member of an Advisory
Committee during a meeting thereof drawing to the attention of the Chair a
breach of the Rules of Procedure;
(16) (15)“Presiding
Officer” means an
the Chair at a regular or special meeting of the
Advisory Committee or
the member appointed in accordance with the provisions of the By-law to
preside over a regular or special meeting Vice-Chair of the Advisory
Committee or, in the absence
of either
the Chair and Vice-Chair. another member of the Advisory Committee appointed in
accordance with the provisions of this By-law;
(17) (16)“Procedural Motion” means any motion
concerning the manner or time of consideration of any matter before the
Advisory Committee as opposed to the substance thereof, and includes, without
limitation, the following:
(a)
to extend the time of
the meeting;
(b)
to refer;
(c)
to lay on the table;
(d)
to defer indefinitely
or to a certain day;
(e)
to adjourn; or
(f)
to suspend the Rules of
Procedure;
(18) (17)“Rules of Procedure” means the rules and regulations provided in
this By-law;
(19) (18)“Standing Committee” means a Committee of Council comprised solely of by
members of Council who are appointed by Council;
(20) (19)“Vice-Chair” means the Vice-chair of an Advisory Committee as appointed by the
Advisory Committee;
3.
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE MEMBER - DUTIES
(1)
A member of an Advisory
Committee shall have the following duties:
(a)
to deliberate on the
business submitted to the Advisory Committee;
(b)
to vote when a motion
is put to a vote; and
(c)
to read and sign the City’s “Advisory
Committee Members Code of Conduct” before membership on the Committee can be
certified; and
(c) (d) to respect the Rules of Procedure, including
the Code of Conduct,
and any guidelines for Advisory Committee members.
4.
AGENDA
PREPARATION
(1)
The
Agenda for a meeting of an Advisory Committee shall be prepared under the
direction of the Chair, or in the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair for that Committee.
(2)
Despite subsection (1),
the City Manager, all
Deputy City Managers, Chief Officer General Managers, or
designates and
Members of Council have the right to place items on the Agenda
of any Advisory Committee.
5.
COMMITTEE CHAIR
The
Advisory Committee Coordinator shall preside at the inaugural meeting of any
Advisory Committee to conduct the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the
Committee.
6.
DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR
It shall be the duty of the Committee Chair,
(1)
to open the meeting of
the Advisory Committee by taking the chair and calling the members to order;
(2)
to announce the
business before the Advisory Committee and the order in which it is to be acted
upon;
(3)
to receive and submit,
in the proper manner, all motions presented by the members of the Advisory
Committee;
(4)
to provide information
to members of the Advisory Committee on any matter touching on the business of
the Committee;
(5)
to act as spokesperson on behalf of the Advisory
Committee;
(6)
Despite Subsection (5), the Advisory Committee may designate a Committee
Member as the official spokesperson for the Advisory Committee on a specific issue,
when called upon by Council, a Standing Committee, a member of the media or
community organization;
(5) (7) to authenticate, by signature, all minutes of
the Advisory Committee;
(6) (8) to enforce the Rules of Procedure; and
(7) (9) to adjourn the meeting when the business is
concluded.
7.
PARTICIPATION OF CHAIR IN DEBATE
(1)
The Chair may state
relevant facts and the Chair’s position on any matter before the Advisory
Committee without leaving the chair, but it shall not be permissible for the
Chair to move a motion or debate a question without first leaving the chair.
(2)
If the Chair is
absent, or desires to leave the chair to move a motion or to take part in the
debate pursuant to Subsection (1), or otherwise, the Chair shall call on the
Vice-Chair to preside until the Chair resumes the chair.
8.
QUORUM
(1)
An Advisory Committee
shall not consider any business if a quorum is not present.
(2)
Despite Subsection
8(1), an Advisory Committee may receive and table submissions/information from
the public, if a quorum is not present, and these submissions/information may
be considered at a subsequent Committee meeting.
(3)
A quorum for an
Advisory Committee having an even number of members is one half of all the
members thereof. A quorum for an
Advisory Committee having an uneven number of members is a simple majority of
the number of members thereof.
(4)
In the event quorum is not present 15
minutes after the time appointed for a meeting, the members present may ask the
Committee Coordinator to call the roll and record the names of the members
present and the meeting will then stand adjourned until the next scheduled
meeting, or at the call of the Chair:
(a)
The members who are present may agree
to proceed informally with the agenda and the Committee Coordinator will report
to the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on any proposals made at the
informal gathering.
(b)
Any proposals made at the informal
gathering will be submitted to the advisory committee for consideration at the
next regular meeting.
(c)
If during the informal meeting, quorum
occurs within one hour of the stated start time, the Chair or in his or her
absence the Vice-Chair, or in his or her absence, the presiding officer shall
move a Motion to call the meeting to “order.”
(5)
If quorum is lost during a meeting for
a period of 15 minutes, members present may ask the Committee Coordinator to
record the names of those members present and the meeting will stand adjourned
until the next scheduled meeting, or at the call of the Chair.
(a)
The members present may agree to proceed
informally with the agenda and the Committee Coordinaotr will report to the
next meeting on any proposals made at the informal gathering.
(b)
Any proposals made at the informal
gathering will be submitted for consideration at the next regular meeting.
(6)
If neither the Chair nor the Vice-Chair
has arrived 15 minutes after the time the meeting is to start and, if a quorum
is present, one of the other members of the Advisory Committee may be appointed
Presiding Officer for the duration of the meeting or until the arrival of the
Chair or Vice-Chair.
9.
MEETINGS OF
COMMITTEES
(1) (a) The regular meetings of Advisory Committees shall be on
the day of the month determined by the Clerk, or his designate, subject to
confirmation by the Advisory Committee, with the time and place to be
determined by the Advisory Committee.
(b) Individual regular meetings of a Committee may be varied by the
Chair from the day of the week, time and place, subject to the required notice
provisions.
(c) The
Chair may cancel one or more regular meetings of the Advisory Committee if in
the Chair’s opinion such meetings are not necessary for the proper conduct of
the business of the Committee.
(2)
No Advisory Committee
shall be scheduled
to meet while the Council is in session.
(3)
Members may speak more
than once on the same question.
(4)
Notwithstanding
Subsection (3), no member, without leave of the Committee, shall speak to the
same question, at one time, or in reply, for longer than five minutes.
(5)
A substantive motion
made in Committee must be in writing but need not be seconded.
(6)
Seven calendar days’ notice of a meeting shall be
given to the members of a Committee. and an Agenda shall be provided to the members five
calendar days in advance of the meeting.
(7)
Advisory Committee
members have the right to place items on Committee agendas provided that such
items are received by the Advisory Committee Coordinator nine calendar
days in advance of the Committee meeting.
(8)
No meeting shall proceed beyond 10:30
p.m. without the majority consent of members present.
8) (9) Subject to the
E-meetings Policy specific guidelines approved by City Council regarding
this clause a maximum of two Members of Advisory Committees
may participate in a meeting via telephonic equipment in those instances where quorum is a necessity
to address an urgent item requiring immediate action.through electronic means The
off-site Member(s) shall be deemed to be present at the meeting
for the purposes of establishing quorum.
10.
SPECIAL MEETINGS
(1)
A Special Meeting shall be summoned by
the Committee Coordinator on direction of the Chair, or upon receipt of a
petition of the majority of Members of the Advisory Committee. The notice shall contain the date, time and
purpose for which the meeting is called.
(2)
Notice of all Special Meetings of the
Committee setting forth the matters to be considered at such Special Meeting
shall be given to all members of the Committee either:
(a)
by prepaid, special delivery mail
deposited in a Canada Post Corporation Post Office not less than seventy-two
hours in advance of the time fixed for the meeting;
(b)
by delivery to the residence or place
of business of the member, including by electronic mail, not less than six
hours in advance of the time fixed for the meeting, and the Clerk shall attempt
to give such other notice of the meeting to the member by telephone or as is
otherwise practical within the circumstances; and/or
(c)
by personal service to the members not
less than six hours in advance of the time fixed for the meeting;
(3)
The Committee shall not consider or
decide any matter not set forth in the notice calling the Special Meeting,
without the consent, recorded in the minutes, of all of the members of the
Committee;
(4)
Subject to Section 12 1213, a Special
Meeting of the Committee may be either open or closed as determined by the
Committee;
(5)
Once received by the Coordinator, no
member may add or remove their name from a petition filed under Subsection (1).
10 11. PLACE OF MEETING
All meetings of the Advisory Committee shall be
held at the Ottawa City Hall or at such other place as is specified in the
notice calling the meeting.
11. 12.` MEETINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC
(1)
Subject to Section 13 12, the
meetings of the Advisory Committees shall be open to the public and no person
shall be excluded there from except for improper conduct.
(2)
The Chair may expel or
exclude from any meeting any person who has engaged in improper conduct at the
meeting.
12. 13. CLOSED MEETINGS
(1) An Advisory Committee may, by resolution, close a
meeting or part of a meeting to members of the public if the subject matter to
be considered is,
(a)
the security of the
property of the City;
(b)
personal matters about
an identifiable individual, including staff;
(c)
a proposed or pending
acquisition or disposition of land for the purposes of the City;
(d)
labour relations or
employee negotiations;
(e)
litigation or potential
litigation, affecting the City, including matters before administrative
tribunals;
(f)
the receiving of advice
that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications
necessary for that purpose; or
(g)
a matter in respect of
which the Advisory Committee is authorized by statute to hold a closed meeting.
(2) An Advisory Committee shall, by resolution, close
a meeting or part of a meeting to members of the public where the subject
matter to be considered is a request under the Municipal Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
(3)
A resolution to close a
meeting or part of a meeting to the public shall state,
(a)
the fact of the holding
of the closed meeting;
(b)
the general nature of
the matter to be considered at the closed meeting.
(4)
Where a meeting or part
of a meeting is closed to the public, all persons not specifically invited to
remain by the Advisory Committee shall retire from the meeting room.
(5)
A vote shall not be
taken during a meeting or part of a meeting that is closed to the public where
to do so would be in contravention of any Act.
13. 14. GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR COMMITTEES
(1) The Chair shall preside; in the absence of the
Chair, the Vice-Chair shall
preside or in the absence of the Chair or Vice-Chair, the presiding officer
shall preside.
(2) All members of the Advisory Committee shall may
vote on any question before the Committee, and, in the event of an equality of
votes, the question being voted upon shall be deemed to have been lost.
(3) Advisory Committees shall consider and report on
such matters only as have been referred to them by the Council, their
respective Standing Committee or such matters as come within their continuing
Terms of Reference.
(4) Advisory Committees may receive representations from the public,
however, no person, without leave of the Committee, shall speak for longer than
five minutes.
(5) Subject to its Terms of Reference, each Advisory
Committee shall diligently pursue its duties and shall report, at least once a year annually,
through its annual
report/work plan, to its respective Standing Committee on
matters and questions coming before it within its Terms of Reference.
(6)
Should the Chair of any
Advisory Committee neglect or refuse to call meetings of the Committee at such
times or with such frequency as the proper dispatch of the Committee’s business
requires, or do the business of the Committee without the knowledge or consent
of its members, or contrary to their wishes or actions, the Advisory Committee
may report such neglect, refusal or action to the Standing Committee which may
remove such Chair from office and the Advisory Committee may appoint another
member as Chair.
(7)
Should Aany member of an Advisory Committee,who is absent from two consecutive
regularly scheduled meetings of the Committee, or in the case of the Local
Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (“LACAC”), three consecutive
meetings, that member shall be contacted by the Advisory Committee Coordinator
to confirm his/her commitment to the Committee. The member will also be advised that if he or she misses a third,
or in the instance of LACAC Members, fourth consecutive meeting, or 30% of all
the scheduled meetings for a year, her or his membership is terminated, except
in those instances where the fail to attend three successive meetings thereof, without being
authorized to do so by a resolution of the Committee, the Advisory Committee has may certifyied
such absences. failure
and thereupon the membership of such person on the Committee is
terminated. Reception of a written
notice of regret by the Advisory Committee shall constitute
authorization for the purposes of this subsection. The City Clerk’s Office will advise a member of his or her termination
via a registered letter after he or she has missed three consecutive meetings
or four consecutive meetings for LACAC Members.
14. 15. ADVISORY COMMITTEE COORDINATOR
(1) The Coordinator of any Advisory Committee shall be
designated by and be responsible to the City Clerk.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Coordinator:
(a)
to give notice of each
meeting of the Advisory Committee together with an Agenda of the matters to be
considered;
(b)
to submit the reports
to the Standing Committee and to Council, as the case may be;
(c)
to record motions, resolutions, votes, a concise summary of public
delegations and action to be taken
on items (directions
to staff) through the preparation of meeting minutes in
accordance with the Rules of Procedure;
(d)
to provide procedural advice to the Committee Chair;
(e)
to act as a link between the Committee and City departments; and
(f)
to perform such other
functions as may be required from time to time.
PART
II VOTING
15. 16. SECRET
BALLOT PROHIBITED
No vote shall be taken by ballot or by any
other method of secret voting.
16. 17. RECORDED
VOTE
(1) Any member, before the question is decided,
may require that the vote be recorded.
(2) Subject to Section 13 12, no vote shall be
taken while the members are at an in camera meeting.
(3) When a vote is taken, and no dissent is declared,
such vote shall be deemed to be unanimously in favour of the question approved.
(4) If a vote is to be recorded as herein provided,
the Advisory Committee Coordinator shall call the vote, announce the division,
and shall record them in the minutes.
17. 18. ALL
MEMBERS VOTE
(1) Every member present at a meeting of the Committee
when a question is put shall vote thereon, unless prohibited by statute, in
which case it shall be so recorded.
(2) Any member who refuses to vote shall be
recorded as voting in the negative.
18. 19. DISPUTING VOTE
If a member disagrees with the announcement of
the Chair that a question is carried or lost, the member may, but only
immediately after the declaration by the Chair, object to the Chair’s declaration
and require a recorded vote to be taken.
PART
III ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS - AGENDAS AND MINUTES
19. 20. AGENDA IN COMMITTEE
(1) The Coordinator shall have prepared and printed
for the use of the members at the regular meetings of the Advisory Committee an
Agenda setting forth the business to be considered at such meeting.
(2) The business of the Advisory Committee shall be
considered in the order set forth on the Agenda, provided however, that the
Chair, with the approval of the Committee, may vary the order of business to
better deal with matters before the Committee.
(3) Except as otherwise decided by a two-thirds vote
of the members of Committee present and voting, the Advisory Committee shall
not consider any report, or any
matter, that has not been distributed to the members with the Agenda.
20. 21. DELIVERY OF AGENDA TO MEMBERS
(1) Not less than seven calendar days in advance of
each regular meeting of the Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee
Coordinator shall cause the following to be delivered to each member:
(a) Agenda;
(b) Copy of each item to be considered; and
(c) Copy of each motion to be considered.
(2) Delivery pursuant to Subsection (1) shall be to
the office or the residence of the member, or by electronic mail.
21. 22. MINUTES
(1) Minutes shall record:
(a) the place, date and time of meeting;
(b) the names of the presiding officer or officers and
the record of the attendance of the members;
(c) declarations of interest;
(d) all the motions, resolutions or votes of the meeting
without note or comment; and
(e) concise narrative of public delegations and action
to be taken on
items (directions
to staff).
(2) If the minutes have been delivered to the members,
then the minutes shall not be read, and a resolution that the minutes be
confirmed shall be in order.
(3) After the minutes have been confirmed they shall
be signed by the Chair and by the Advisory Committee Coordinator.
PART
IV RULES OF CONDUCT AND DEBATE
22. 23. ADDRESS THE CHAIR
Any member desiring to speak shall signify
their desire to speak in such a manner as the Chair may direct, and upon being
recognized by the Chair, shall address the Chair.
23. 24. PRIVILEGE
(1) Where a member considers that the member’s rights,
immunities or integrity or the rights, immunities or integrity of the Advisory
Committee as a whole has been impugned, the member may, as a matter of
privilege, rise at any time, with the consent of the Chair, for the purpose of
drawing the attention of the Committee to the matter.
(2) Upon being recognized by the Chair, the member
shall state the question of privilege.
(3) The Chair shall:
(a) determine the question, or
(b) permit a debate and a vote to be held on the
question.
24. 25. POINTS OF ORDER
(1) The
Chair shall preserve order and decide points of order.
(2) (a) When a member desires to address a point of
order, the member shall ask leave of the Chair to raise a point of order and,
after leave is granted, the member shall state the point of order to the Chair
and the point of order shall be forthwith decided by the Chair;
(b) Thereafter, a member shall only address the Chair
for the purpose
of appealing the Chair’s decision to the Advisory
Committee;
(c) If no member appeals, the decision of the Chair
shall be final;
(d) The Advisory Committee, if appealed to,
shall call a vote, without debate on the following question; “Shall the Chair
be sustained?”, and its decision shall be final.
25. 26. UNPROVIDED CASES
(1) In all unprovided cases in the proceedings of the
Advisory Committee, the matter shall be decided by the Chair, subject to an
appeal to the Committee.
PART
V RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
26. 27. MOTIONS
(1) The following matters and motions with respect
thereto may be introduced orally without notice and without leave, except as
otherwise provided by the Rules of Procedure;
(a) a point of order or privilege;
(b) to adjourn.
(c) to
extend the time of the meeting past 10:30 p.m.
(2) The following motions may be introduced without
notice and without leave, except as otherwise provided by the Rules of
Procedure:
(a) to refer;
(b) to postpone or defer to a certain day;
(c) to amend;
(d) to suspend the Rules of Procedure;
(e) any other procedural motion.
(3) Except as provided in Subsection (1), all
motions shall be in writing.
(4) The mover may withdraw a motion or a Notice of
Motion at any time prior to the commencement of debate thereon.
(5) After a motion is read or stated by the Chair, it
shall be deemed to be in possession of the Advisory Committee, and it may only
be withdrawn before decision or amendment with the permission of the Advisory
Committee.
27. 28. MOTIONS RULED OUT OF ORDER
(1) Whenever the Chair is of the opinion that a motion
or resolution is contrary to the Rules of Procedure, the Chair shall rule the
motion or resolution out of order.
(2) A motion or resolution which requires the exercise
of a power or powers by the Advisory Committee which are not within its Terms
of Reference, shall not be in order.
28. 29. NOTICE OF MOTION
(1) Notices of Motion shall be in writing and
include the name of the mover.
(2) Consideration of a motion, of which notice was
given pursuant to this section, shall be in order at the next meeting of the
Advisory Committee.
(3) Prior to the Advisory
Committee’s consideration of a motion of which notice has been given
previously, a revised motion on the same subject, approved by the mover, may be
substituted for the original one contained in the Notice of Motion.
29. 30. NO DEBATE UNTIL READ
No member shall speak to any motion until it is
first read by the Chair, and the mover is entitled to speak first thereon if
the member so elects. If debated, the
question or motion may be read again before being put.
30. 31. ORDER OF CONSIDERATION
(1) When a question is under consideration, no motion
shall be received except a procedural motion or a motion to amend.
(2) Procedural motions shall be considered immediately
upon receipt and shall have precedence and may be subject to debate as follows:
(a) to refer (debatable);
(b) to defer indefinitely or to a certain day
(debatable);
(c) to adjourn (not debatable);
(d) any other procedural motion (debatable).
(e) to
extend the time of the meeting past 10:30 p.m.
31. 32. AMENDMENT
A Motion to Amend:
(1) shall be presented in writing;
(2) only one Motion to Amend an amendment to the
question shall be allowed at one time and any further amendment must be to the
main question;
(3) shall be relevant and not contrary to the
principle of the report, item or motion under consideration;
(4) may propose a separate and distinct disposition of
a question provided that such altered disposition continues to relate to the
same issue which was the subject matter of the question;
(5) shall be put in the reverse order to the
order in which it is moved; and,
(6) despite Subsection (5), any amendment(s) to a
motion may be placed in order to be determined by the Chair as the most
logical, practical and expeditious in all of the circumstances.
PART
VI GENERAL PROVISIONS
32. 33. APPENDIX
Appendix
“A”, being the Advisory Committee Members’ Code of Conduct, forms part of this
by-law.
33. 34. REPEAL
1. By-law No. 2003-600 is hereby
repealed;
2.
This By-law shall not
be amended or repealed except by a majority vote of all members of the whole
Council.
34. 35. EFFECT
This by-law shall be deemed to have come into
force on the day of , 2006. 3rd day of December,
2003.
35. 36. SHORT
TITLE
This By-law may be referred
to as either the “Advisory Committee Procedure By-law” or the “Rules of
Procedure for Advisory Committees”.
ENACTED AND PASSED this day
of , 2006 10th
day of December, 2003.
CITY CLERK MAYOR
The purpose of
an Advisory Committee is to provide informed advice and guidance, as well as to
facilitate public input to City Council on programs and policies. In
recognition of the impartial and objective expert advice that Standing
Committees’ receive from Advisory Committees, as well as the challenges and
inherent restrictions placed upon these same individuals in assessing and
recommending various options in a conscientious and ethical manner, the
following Code of Conduct is provided as a general standard for all Advisory
Committee Members to ensure they are acting in a manner that is appropriate
with regard to his or her Committee.
1. Advisory
Committee Members shall, when conducting Committee business, preparing written
correspondence, interacting with media, Members of Council, staff or members of
the public, act in a manner that accomplishes the following:
(a)
Brings credibility and good will to the City of Ottawa
and his or her respective Advisory Committee;
(b)
Respects due process and the authority of the Chair,
Vice-Chair or Presiding Officer;
(c)
Demonstrates respect for all fellow Committee Members,
Council, staff and the public regardless of cultural, or linguistic diversity
and life circumstances;
(d)
Respects and gives fair consideration to diverse and
opposing viewpoints;
(e)
Demonstrates due diligence in preparing for meetings,
special occasions, or other Committee-related events;
(f)
Demonstrates professionalism, transparency,
accountability and timeliness in completing any tasks or projects undertaken by
the Committee;
(g)
Conforms with all relevant legislation, by-laws,
policies and guidelines;
(h)
Works in conjunction with the community;
(i)
Accepts and promotes the decisions of the Advisory
Committee over
his or her personal views; and
(j)
Contributes in a meaningful manner, offering
constructive comments to Council, Standing Committees, staff and fellow
Committee Members.
2. A
Member of an Advisory Committeeshall not:
(a) Engage
in any business or transaction or have a financial or personal interest that is
incompatible with the discharge of his or her official duties;
(b) Place
them self in a position where s/he is under obligation to any person who might
benefit from special consideration or favour on their part or who might seek in
any way preferential treatment;
(c) Accord,
in the performance of his or her official duties, preferential treatment to
relatives or to organizations in which s/he or his or her relatives have an
interest, financial or otherwise;
(d) Deal
with an application to the City for a grant, award, contract or other benefit
involving his or her spouse, live-in partner, child or parent;
(e) Place
them self in a position where s/he could derive any direct or indirect benefit
or interest from any matter about which they can influence decisions;
(f) Benefit
from the use of information acquired during the course of his or her official
duties which is not generally available to the public; and
(g) Accept
gifts, hospitality, or entertainment that could reasonably be construed as
being given in anticipation or recognition of special consideration by the
Advisor or his or her respective Advisory Committee.
3. (a) Section 2 does not
apply to the interests of a Member by reasons of the Member belonging to a particular body
which Council has expressly
provided a designated seat on an the Advisory Committee.
(b)
In addition
to Clause (a), it is understood that Members of the City’s Business Advisory
Committee and Taxi Advisory Committee are intentionally comprised of citizens
from these same industries. Therefore,
a Member’s interest that arises as a result of this connection does not
constitute a breach of Section 2.
5.4. A Member of an Advisory Committee shall may disclose to the
City Clerk or persons designated, immediately that s/he could be involved in
either a real or perceived conflict of interest as prohibited by the Code; and
shall abide by any decision made by the City Clerk, or the designated person,
with respect to such conflict of interest without recourse.
4.5. Where an Advisory Committee Member believes or has been advised
that s/he has or may have a conflict of interest in a particular matter, s/he
shall:
(a) Prior
to any consideration of the matter, disclose his or her interest and the
general nature thereof;
(b) Leave
the room for the duration of time that the matter is being considered;
(c) Not
take part in the discussion of, or vote on any question or recommendation in
respect of the matter; and
(d) Not
attempt in any way whether before, during or after the meeting to influence the
voting on any such question or recommendation.
Should
a Member of an Advisory Committee breach any of the clauses set out herein, the
Advisory Committee may censure the member or recommend his or her removal to
the Standing Committee.
It is understood that Members of the City’s
Business Advisory Committee and Taxi Advisory Committee are purposely comprised
of citizens from the affected industries and therefore these Members are unable
to separate their business interests from their duties as Committee
Members. As such, those members are
exempted from S. 2 of the Advisory Committee Members’ Code of Conduct.
Signature Date
________________________________________
Member’s Name
(Printed)
DOCUMENT 2
ADVISORY COMMITTEES’ E-MEETINGS
Corporate Policy
Approved By
Council |
Approval Date |
Section Corporate Services |
Effective Date |
Subsection: City Clerk’s Branch |
Revision Date |
Policy Statement The E-Meetings Policy is a City of Ottawa policy regarding participation in an Advisory Committee Meeting via telephonic means. |
|
Purpose The purpose of the E-Meetings Policy is
to clearly outline the conditions under which a voting Advisory Committee
Member can participate in a Committee Meeting via telephonic means. |
|
Application This policy applies to all |
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Policy Requirements
1. A need to ensure full and equal participation by all Members (simultaneous and instantaneous); 2.
A need to protect 3. The need to ensure all speakers are clearly identified for the purposes of minute taking and to ensure quorum is met; and 4.
That the City Clerk,
or his or her designate,
1. Application: The a) Deferring a time-sensitive issue listed on the agenda until the next regularly schedule meeting will mean the Advisory Committee will be too late to offer an opinion, recommendation or request on an issue directly related to its mandate as a Committee; b) An urgent item has come to light that requires the calling
c) This method of contacting remote participants is not meant to
disturb those members who are on: maternity leave, sick leave, compassionate
leave (bereavement leave) or personal leave (vacation, honeymoon, business,
etc.) and is only applicable to voting members.* *In those instances where
an Advisory Committee Member’s absence has been certified by the Advisory
Committee, (i.e. the Committee Member is on bed-rest /unable to travel for
medical reasons, etc.)
and he or she has indicated a desire to continue to participate in Committee
Meetings - consideration may be given to allowing that Member to
participate in Committee Meetings via telephonic means. His or her participation would be limited
to debate and discussion on items and not toward (meeting) quorum. The
excused Member would not be allowed to vote on items. 2. Calling A Special Meeting2.1 A
Special Meeting shall be summoned by the Committee Coordinator on direction
of the Chair, or upon receipt of a petition of the majority of Members of the
Advisory Committee. The notice shall
contain the date, time and purpose for which the meeting is called.
2.2. Notice of all Special Meetings of the Committee
setting forth the matters to be considered at such Special Meeting shall be
given to all members of the Committee either:
(a)
special delivery mail deposited in a Canada Post
Corporation Post Office not less than seventy-two hours in advance of the
time fixed for the meeting; (b)
by delivery to the residence or place of business of
the member, including by electronic mail, not less than six hours in advance
of the time fixed for the meeting, and the Clerk shall attempt to give such
other notice of the meeting to the member by telephone or as is otherwise
practical within the circumstances; and/or (c)
by personal service to the members not less than six
hours in advance of the time fixed for the meeting; 3. Meeting Conduct3.1 The
Committee Coordinator must be in attendance as the representative of the City
Clerk
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Responsibilities Advisory Committee Members must give three (3) days written notice if they are unable to physically attend a meeting they know is to deal with an urgent item. All Committee Coordinators are
responsible for enforcing the policy and for ensuring each Advisory Committee
Member is Committee Coordinators are responsible
for reserving the polycom and for ensuring the designated meeting room’s
block on long-distance calls has been In the event of a dispute, the |
monitoring/Contraventions Requests that do not meet the criteria outlined in this policy may be denied. The City Clerk
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References Advisory Committee Procedure By-law 2005-xxx & Code of Conduct. Advisory Committee Participation Expense Corporate Policy Advisory Committee Appointment Policy Report ACS-2005-CRS-SEC-00xx Council Resolution.... Indicate if this policy document is
related to other existing corporate policies/guidelines/;procedures by
listing their respective title, date and number |
legislative & administrative authorities N/A Indicate any external requirements
such as Federal, Provincial, or Municipal legislation and regulations,
municipal bylaws or Council directives, which impact on this policy. Include
authority, name of the document and date. |
Definitions Electronic meeting: is limited to Telephonic Meetings, or what is commonly referred to as teleconferencing. Teleconference: the system of telephone connections from a remote location to the location of a meeting, which allows two way verbal communications for voting. Urgent Item: means an item that requires an immediate decision, recommendation or action to be forwarded to a Standing Committee, lead department representative or Council. |
Key
Word Search Electronic Meetings Teleconferencing |
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Enquiries Manager, Council and Committee Services City Clerk’s Branch Corporate Services Department City of Ottawa Tel: (613) 580-2424 Ext. 26836 |
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Appendices Advisory Committee Procedure By-law 2005-xxx & Code of Conduct. Advisory Committee Participation Expense Corporate Policy Advisory Committee Appointment Policy Council & Committee Procedure By-law 2005-xxx Report ACS-2005-CRS-SEC-00xx Council Resolution.... |
Include links to supporting documents, templates or forms. These should not be embedded in the policy itself. Appendices are not part of the policy and can be amended without revision to the policy itself.
APPOINTMENT POLICY (CITIZEN MEMBERS OF CITY ADVISORY COMMITTEES, BOARDS, TASK FORCES AND EXTERNAL BOARDS COMMISSIONS AND AUTHORITIES)
Approved By: City Council |
Approval
Date: March 28, 2001 |
Section: Corporate Services Department |
Effective Date March 28, 2001 |
Subsection City Clerk’s |
Revision Dates: August 28, 2002. December 3, 2003 January 2006 |
DOCUMENT 4
ADVISORY COMMITTEES’ PARTICIPATION EXPENSE
COrporate Policy
Approved By City Council |
Approval
Date: March 28, 2001 |
Section Corporate Services |
Effective Date: March 28, 2001 |
Subsection City Clerk’s Branch |
Revision Date: August 28, 2002 January 10, 2006 |
Policy Statement The Participation Expense Policy is
a City of Ottawa policy regarding reimbursement of expenses incurred by
voting |
Purpose The
purpose of the Advisory Committee Participation Expense policy is to clearly
define what expenses shall be reimbursed, under what conditions, to whom, and
what if any minimum or maximum amounts apply to ensure all members clearly
understand what is or is not considered a legitimate expense. |
Application This policy applies to Council appointed Advisory Committee Voting Members. In certain circumstances and outlined within the policy *Reserve Members and **Subcommittee Members are covered. *Reserve Member means a citizen who has been pre-approved but not
appointed as an Advisory Committee Member and is covered only when his or her
attendance at an event, meeting or conference has been specifically requested
by the City Clerk. **Subcommittee Member means a citizen who is not an Advisory Committee Member, but who has been invited by an Advisory Committee to participate on a Sub-Committee, for his or her unique skills and knowledge on a specific subject matter. These Sub-Committee Members may be eligible for “Disabled Person’s Expense” (see Definition Section). |
Policy Requirements 1.
REIMBURSEMENT POLICY Upon
submission of an original receipt, all voting
1.2. Dependant Care expenses incurred to attend official meetings will be eligible on the following basis: up to a maximum of $7.50/hour. The amount payable will be calculated by the official start and end time of the meeting PLUS up to a maximum of one hour for traveling time. Reimbursement for dependant care on a per person basis will not be eligible. 1.3. Specialized Dependant care expenses (for persons with exceptional needs) incurred to attend official meetings will be eligible on the following basis: up to a maximum of $15.00/hour. The amount payable will be calculated by the official start and end time of the meeting PLUS up to a maximum of one hour for traveling time.
1.5. Mileage for members using a personal vehicle to attend official meetings will be eligible at the rate of $0.35/km 1.6. Reimbursement for meals or refreshments or other out of pocket expenses such as taxis will not be eligible. 1.7. Reimbursement for meetings with Community Groups, Members of Council 1.8.
Reimbursement for expenses incurred
to perform the duties of the members will not be eligible, including, but not
limited to, reimbursement for office supplies, technology or telephone
expenses etc (*For Subcommittee meetings a list of attendees
and topics discussed is acceptable) 2. LIMITATIONS OF THE POLICY
2.1. The staff of City Clerk's Branch 2.2. If it can be proven that a member is submitting fraudulent claims
for participation expenses the City of Ottawa City Clerk's Branch 2.2.1. Refuse to reimburse the specific individual; and/or 2.2.2. Refer the incident to Corporate Security or the appropriate authorities. |
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Responsibilities Advisory Committee Members must provide an
original receipt before he/she will be reimbursed. All Committee Coordinators are
responsible for enforcing the policy and for ensuring each Advisory Committee
member including Reserve Members are fully aware of the policy. In
the event of a dispute, the Manager of Council & Committee Services shall
review the request and advise the requesting member of his/her final
decision. |
monitoring/Contraventions All reimbursement claims are submitted on a form which must be
authorized for payment by the Manager, Council & Committee Services The City Clerk’s Office also
reserves the right to monitor and audit claims on an ad-hoc basis to ensure
the policy is being applied consistently and to assist in ensuring
reimbursement requests are not fraudulent in nature. Any suspected fraudulent
claims shall be referred to the City’s
Corporate Security office – and/or other appropriate authority(ies). Failure to comply with this reimbursement criteria (original receipts,
etc.) may deem the claim void |
References Corporate Services & Economic Report
No. ACS2001-CRS-SEC-0016 Corporate Services & Economic Report
No. ACS2002-CRS-SEC-0061 Council & Committee Procedural By-law 2005-431; Advisory Committee Procedural By-Law 2005-xxx & Code of Conduct; Appointment Policy (Citizen Members of City Advisory Committees,
Boards, Task Forces and External Boards and Commissions and Authorities)
Corporate Policy. |
legislative & administrative authorities See Above “Reference” Section. |
Definitions 1.1. Official Meeting: is defined as one of the following: 1.1.1.
the one meeting per month
of the Advisory Committee as established by the Committee, 1.1.2.
any official subcommittee
meeting as approved by the advisory committee, 1.1.3. a meeting of any Advisory Committee to which a member has been appointed as a liaison member 1.1.4.
a Standing
Committee meeting where an official designate of the Advisory Committee makes
presentation to said standing committee; 1.1.5.
where any one member has been
officially appointed by the Committee to represent the views of the Committee
at a conference, speaking engagement, etc 1.2. Attendance: A
Citizen voting member shall be deemed present if the accepted minutes of the
meeting so indicate. Where the
request for reimbursement is for a subcommittee meeting at which there is no
Committee Coordinator present, one voting member of the Committee shall be
deemed responsible to record the time, date, topics discussed
and attendance at the meeting and forward the
information to the Committee Coordinator. 1.3. Dependant care with exceptional needs: A dependant is deemed to
have exceptional needs if the member provides a certificate signed by a
doctor which states that the dependant requires specialized care during the
member’s absence from the home. This
clause allows for the reimbursement of dependant care expenses in excess of
the normally permitted $7.50 per hour maximum. This exception is available for people caring for children or
adults requiring special care, e.g. a partner, parent or adult child. 1.4. Disabled persons’ expense: is defined as an expense which must be
incurred in order to provide a service without which the Member cannot
participate in the meeting, (e.g. intervenors, interpreters, real-time
captioning or Braille text) because of the Member's disability.
1.7. Parking: Any long or short-term placement of a personal vehicle in a monitored or unmonitored area. Because a receipt is necessary for any reimbursement, parking meters are not eligible for reimbursement, nor will parking tickets incurred as a result of meeting attendance be reimbursed. 1.8.
Reserve Member: means a
citizen who has been pre-approved
but not appointed as an Advisory Committee member during the selection
process and placed on a list of reserve members who may be
called upon should there be a mid-term vacancy on the committee for which
they are on the reserve list. Although a Reserve Member may
ask and be granted permission by an Advisory Committee to 1.9. Sub-Committee Member is a citizen who is not an Advisory Committee Member, but who has been invited by the Committee to participate on an Advisory Committee Sub-committee for his or her unique set of skills or expertise, which otherwise do not exist within the current Committee’s complement. These members are eligible for reimbursement of “disabled person’s expense.” |
Key
Word Search Expense Policy
Advisory Committees Reimbursement Policy
Bus Fare Travel Expenses |
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Enquiries Manager, Council & Committee Services City Clerk’s Branch City of Ottawa 110 Laurier Avenue, West Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 1J1 (613) 580- 2424 – Ext. 26836 |
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Appendices Council & Committee Procedure By-law 2005-xxx; Advisory Committee Procedure By-Law 2005-xxx & Code of Conduct; Appointment Policy (Citizen Members of City Advisory Committees, Boards, Task Forces and External Boards and Commissions and Authorities) Corporate Policy. |
DOCUMENT 5
Mid-Year Review
Procedure
By-law, Participation Expense Policy and Appointment Policy
RESPONSE
TO COMMENTS
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE PROCEDURE BY-LAW 2003-600 |
|
Issue |
Staff Recommendations & Responses |
Unprovided Cases: What does this mean
- as in Clause 26? Perhaps this term should be defined |
It means that the specific procedural issue is not
included in the By-law in which case, the Chair rules on the item. |
Reserve Members:
Are Reserve Members eligible to vote at meetings, do they count towards
quorum - this should be specified in the By-law. |
As this issue is one that arises frequently, staff has added the
following definition for reserve members in the Participation Expense and
Appointment policies - to clarify a reserve member’s status: “Reserve Member: means a
citizen who has been pre-approved but not appointed as an Advisory
Committee member during the selection process and placed on a list of
reserve members who may be called upon should there be a mid-term vacancy on
the committee for which they are on the reserve list. Although a Reserve Member may ask
and be granted permission by an Advisory Committee to |
Issue |
Staff Recommendations & Responses |
Funding: Should there be
something around the funding of a member of the public who would need
intervention (i.e. sign language interpretation) to attend an advisory
committee meeting. – and that there is no limit to the amount of this funding,
either for one meeting, or for any number of meetings? It should be clear that this funding does
not come out of the $1500.00 granted
to the advisory committee for its work. |
This is a multi-faceted issue because the
question deals with very different and unique situations (i.e. any member of
the public may attend a specific meeting whether it be Standing or Advisory
Committee) and accommodation will be provided. In the end, all expenses of any voting member of any
committee who requires accommodation are covered. In an attempt to clarify the situation of
Subcommittee Members – staff continues to work toward establishing a better
definition of/criteria for eligibility of subcommittee members by adding in a
section within the Appointment Policy under Section 6.1. Specifically that: “A non- member who is invited by an
Advisory Committee to participate in an Advisory Committee Sub-Committee for
his or her unique set of skills or expertise, which otherwise do not exist
within the current Committee’s complement, is eligible for reimbursement of
accommodation expenses.” This section is one staff would like to
discuss with members at the consultation meeting. |
E-Meetings: I am
worried that there may be some movement afoot to drop [E-Meeting] the rule. |
The issue has not been
dropped, and will be incorporated in the Procedural Review Report. |
Titles: The only other
matter that comes to mind is the definition of "General
Manager". This should be changed
to reflect the new administrative organization. |
Position titles, department, committee
and branch name changes, etc. have been corrected. |
Vice-Chair: Suggest a separate
section on the duties of the Vice Chair of Advisory Committees after duties
of the chair, rather than mentioning them as part of Section 13 |
The Vice-Chairs duties are the same as
those of the Chair in the Chair’s absence (staff sees no need to create a new
section). |
Work-Plans:
Make mention of the fact that committees should have work plans and that
committee members should do more than just attend meetings and vote on
matters (i.e. committee members are expected to really contribute by being
involved in real activities). This
comes under Part 1 Section 3.1 |
The Terms of Reference for Committees covers the
need for a Work Plan. With respect to
the second part of this question; if Committee Members feel a member is not
participating, the Chair, on behalf of the Committee should address the
Committee’s concerns with the member directly. Staff cannot mandate the participation of volunteer citizen
members but can only respond to concerns forwarded by a Committee to them at
the time of a member’s reapplication. |
Issue Cont’d |
Staff Recommendation/Response Cont’d |
Spokesperson: Does the Chair always have to be the
spokesperson for the Committee? |
No – the
Committee can appoint someone else to act as the spokesperson if the Chair is
unavailable, or does not wish/or feel comfortable speaking to the media, a
Standing Committee or Council on an issue.
A new Subsection has been added to Section 6 to confirm that a
Committee does have this option.
Specifically: “Despite Subsection (5), the Advisory Committee may designate a Committee Member as the
official spokesperson for the Advisory Committee on a specific
issue, when called upon by Council, a Standing Committee, a member of the
media or community organization. |
Chairs & Vice-Chairs:
Add a section about Chairs and Vice Chairs communicating with each other and
as a group with the City via twice-yearly meetings. At one time, there were meetings of chairs and vice chairs with
the relevant city staff and we wanted to keep those meetings going but it
hasn't happened as staff seem unwilling to call such meetings. |
A meeting should have been
held in 2005 and hosting a meeting with staff is a priority on the City
Clerk’s Branch project listing for 2006.
Tentatively the goal is to host the next meeting in March or April of
2006 when the focus on budget is over and before staff time is fully focused
on the 2006 Elections. At that time, based on the
responses and concerns forwarded by Committee Members, the appropriate City
staff will be invited to this meeting. |
Conflict of Interest:
The By-law doesn't deal with the presence of a member in the committee room
if that member has declared an interest or conflict of interest. My recommendation is that a member with a
conflict of interest be allowed to stay in the meeting room but may not speak
on the issue |
In accordance with the Advisory Committee Conflict of Interest Guideline,, a member who has declared a conflict of interest must leave the room for the duration of the discussion on the item. |
By-law
Preamble: With regard to the section
that reads: “AND
WHEREAS these
Advisory Committees are comprised largely of
citizens from
the City of Ottawa.” I thought that ALL members of
Advisory
Committees had to be residents of Ottawa?
|
Within this
preamble, the word citizen speaks to the fact that Advisory Committee
membership is made up of volunteer citizens from communities within
the City of Ottawa – to emphasize the difference in composition from Standing
Committees, which are comprised of elected official citizens from the
City of Ottawa. |
Issue Cont’d |
Staff Recommendation/Response Cont’d |
By-law Preamble: With regard to the section
that reads: “AND WHEREAS the unique composition of these Advisory Committees
favours the development and use of more flexible rules of procedure with
respect to their public meetings” I would suggest you delete the word unique
- they are not really unique - lots of cities have them and the word doesn't
add much to the sentence.
|
As with the previous question, the word unique is used to emphasize that Advisory Committees are comprised of volunteers from the community and not elected officials. It is not used to indicate that the City of Ottawa’s having Advisory Committees is a ‘unique idea or practice.’ As such, staff will not be removing this word from the preamble. |
Definitions: With regard to the “Advisory
Committee” definition – specifically the line that reads “The membership
is comprised of citizens and may have a Council Member acting as a liaison
member.” Are there any AC that DO
NOT have a Council member as a liaison?
If there are ACs that are functioning without a Council Liaison
member, I think that should be changed. |
Although the
city does not currently have any Advisory Committees operating without a
Council representative, there is no legislative or prescribed requirement
that all Advisory Committees must have a Council member on its
committee. As such, staff does not
recommend a change to this section. |
Definitions: Suggest a change in the wording to define “Privilege” to
change: “ . . that their rights,
immunities . . . impugned;” To be grammatically correct, "their"
should be changed to his/her because member is singular and there is plural
but I recognize that the trend is to use "their" as singular or
plural. |
Agree, and the change has
now been made. |
Members Duties (Section 3): Section 3(1) (c) “ to
respect the Rules of Procedure, including the Code of Conduct and any
guidelines for Advisory Committee members.”
This isn't so much of a duty in relation to the work of the
committee as a duty and part of the Code of Conduct. It needs to be part of the bylaw, but not
here |
Staff would have to disagree with this statement. The following of the City’s Advisory Committee Code of Conduct is indeed a duty of all Advisory Committee Members and in staff’s opinion is very much intrinsic to how a Committee works and is therefore appropriately placed in this document. |
End Time To a Meeting: Some meetings are ending late at night (11:00 p.m.) can we look at establishing a rule on how late a meeting can run? Instead of an
end-time, can you indicate that no meeting shall go beyond four hours in
duration without the consent of the Committee members. |
A new subsection has been added to Section 9 – which reads: “No meeting shall proceed beyond 10:30 p.m. without the majority consent of members present.” The intent is to ensure staff and Committee members are not leaving City facilities too late at night to walk to their cars or to catch a bus – it is also meant to ensure Agendas are being properly managed. Staff is not
recommending the four (4) hour limit as it would defeat the purpose of trying
to mitigate the late hour at which staff and Committee Members are leaving
City facilities. Specifically,
although a four-hour (4) limit would be favourable for Members in those
instances where a meeting begins at 4:00 p.m., it conversely is not
advantageous to a meeting that begins at 7:00 p.m. or later. Further, each Advisory Committee has the ability to
establish maximum meeting lengths by Committee Motion. |
Code of Conduct: There is concern some Committee Members are opting out of signing the Code of Conduct. Can anything be done about this? |
The signing of the City’s Advisory
Committee Code of Conduct is not an option and this section has now been
amended to clearly indicate that – to wit the following section is now
included: “A member of an Advisory Committee
shall have the following duties: (c) to sign the City’s Advisory
Committee Members Code of Conduct before membership on the committee can be
certified.” It would appear the concern arises from section (i) [formerly j)]in the Code which indicates “ . . . accepts and promotes the decisions of the Advisory Committee over their personal views” This is being read to mean a member does not have the right to have personal opinions. The beginning of this Code indicates that: “Advisory Committee Members shall, when conducting Committee business. . . ” Staff stands behind the fact that this is an appropriate requirement. This clause does not preclude a member from giving his or her personal opinion that differs from the Committee’s– but it does mean the Committee Member must clearly state her or his opinion is a ‘personal’ opinion and not that of the Committee. |
Issue Cont’d |
Staff Recommendation/Response Cont’d |
Absenteeism
Section 14 (7): The last sentence now reads: Reception of a
written notice of regret by the Advisory Committee shall constitute
authorization for the purposes of this subsection”. Add the words
"or electronic - email or voicemail - to the Committee Coordinator. What can we do
about members who repeatedly miss two consecutive meetings but then return
for the third, thereby avoid being removed from the Committee? |
Based on
comments from other members and staff, this section has been fully amended
and no longer includes this sentence.
The new section, which is also copied in the Appointment Policy
now reads: “Any member of an Advisory Committee, who is
absent from two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of the Committee, or
in the case of the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee
(“LACAC”), three consecutive meetings, that member shall be contacted by the
Advisory Committee Coordinator to confirm his/her commitment to the
Committee. The member will also be
advised that if he or she misses a third, or in the instance of LACAC
Members, fourth consecutive meeting, her or his membership is terminated,
except in those instances where Advisory Committee has certified such
absences. The Clerk’s Office will
advise a member of his or her termination via a registered letter after he or
she has missed three, four for LACAC Members, consecutive meetings.” (*The exception to LACAC members is made as
members meet twice per month; the frequency of meeting led to a
recommendation for a higher threshold to avoid inadvertently losing members). Staff could recommend that in addition to limiting the number of meetings one can miss consecutively, there also be a clause that stages a percentage (i.e. a person who misses 30% of the scheduled annual meetings be replaced automatically). |
Recorded Vote
Section 17(1): Reads: “Any member, before the question is decided, may require that the vote be recorded.” Does this mean just
counting Yeas and Nays or does it also mean who voted Yea and Who voted Nay. |
A recorded vote means recording each member’s vote by name in the Minutes. |
Issue Cont’d |
Staff Recommendation/Response Cont’d |
Recorded Vote Section 17 (4): “If a
vote is to be recorded as herein
provided, the Advisory Committee Coordinator shall
call the vote, announce the division, and shall record them in the minutes.” What does "division" mean?
Number of Yeas and Number of Nays?
Could the definition of Division be put in the definitions section? |
Correct it is the division
of the vote of those “for” or “against” a motion. |
Code of Conduct: Item (l) in the Code
of Conduct reads: “Does not benefit from the use of information acquired .
. . .” All of the sentences above
start with a verb – (i.e. brings, respects etc). This last one seems out of place. You could drop the words "Does not" and replace them
with "Gains no" to restore consistency? |
Agree the wording of this item is awkward and has been amended as suggested to start with “Gains no benefit from the use ....” |
Issue Cont’d |
Staff Recommendation/Response Cont’d |
The 30-minute time period for waiting for quorum
is too long for an advisory committee.
Suggest something like 15 minutes was sufficient and that
presentations, which are permitted without quorum could start at that time. After 30 minutes, roll call would be
recorded and the meeting could either adjourn or continue informally without
quorum. (Elaine/ Rosie) |
Based on staff’s
research under Roberts Rules of Order and benchmarking of those
Cities that have a procedure and/or advisory committees and the practice of
former cities; staff has incorporated new sub-sections (4) (5) and (6) within
the S. 8 of the By-law as follows: “4. In the
event quorum is not present 15 minutes after the time appointed for a
meeting, the members present may ask the Committee Assistant to call the roll
and record the names of the members present and the meeting will then stand
adjourned until the next scheduled meeting, or at the call of the Chair: (a) The
members who are present may agree to proceed informally with the agenda and
the Committee Assistant will report to the next meeting of the Advisory
Committee on any proposals made at the informal gathering. (b)Any
proposals made at the informal gathering will be submitted to the advisory
committee for consideration at the next regular meeting. (c) If
during the informal meeting, quorum occurs within one hour of the stated
start time, the Chair or in his or her absence the Vice-Chair, or in his or
her absence, the presiding officer shall move a Motion to call the meeting to
“order.” 5. If quorum
is lost during a meeting for a period of 15 minutes, members present may ask
the Committee Assistant to record the names of those members present and the
meeting will stand adjourned until the next scheduled meeting, or at the call
of the Chair. (a) The
members present may agree to proceed informally with the agenda and the
Committee Assistant will report to the next meeting on any proposals made at
the informal gathering. (b) Any
proposals made at the informal gathering will be submitted for consideration
at the next regular meeting. 6. If
neither the Chair nor the Vice-Chair has arrived 15 minutes after the time
the meeting is to start and, if a quorum is present, one of the other members
of the Advisory Committee may be appointed Presiding Officer for the duration
of the meeting or until the arrival of the Chair or Vice-Chair.” |
ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT POLICY |
|
Issue |
Staff Recommendation |
Recruitment: Correction in
the following paragraph – S 4.4 “Organizations will be requested to
provide resumes or curriculum vitae of at least two nominees, one of whom
versus ‘who” will be appointed by Council.” |
That section has been taken
out of the paragraph and now reads:
|
Recruitment Process: Can a secondary recruitment phase for
Committees that did not fill all their positions or even an ongoing
recruitment process be allowed to fill vacancies as they arise? |
The current recruitment process is quite thorough and uses many venues to attract applications. Running a second advertisement campaign would not likely lead to better results. Further, running a second campaign or initiating an on-going process would far exceed the resources available to the Council & Committees office in costs and only increase the workload pressure on staff, Council Members and Committee Members who serve on Selection Panels. For these reasons, staff is not recommending a change to the practice. |
Term of Office (S. 2): In the case of someone who was initially appointed for a one or
two-year term and then applies for and is re-appointed to a second term -
thus having 4 or 5 years in office. Can
that person be re-appointed for a second 3 year term or is there provision
for appointment for an additional 1 or 2 years so as to make up a full 6
years. 2.2 below doesn't quite answer
my question? |
This section has been
reworded to provide those members whose first term is less than one year,
whether this results from the creation of a new advisory committee or through
the appointment of a reserve member, to be eligible for two full three-year
terms, subject to successful application. |
Term of Office S. 2.2: With respect
to this section, “ A person
appointed to fill a partially completed term . . . may be eligible for
reappointment for two three-year terms”
Do you mean the term of someone what has resigned - i.e. a reserve
member who takes a resigned member's place? |
Yes – a reserve member is
appointed to the voting member position for the completion of the original
member’s term. This maintains the
rotation. If the remaining portion of
the term is less than one year, then the new member is eligible for two
three-year terms on successful application. |
Term of Office S. 2.3 With regard to this
section: “Applicants are required to sit out one year after serving two
consecutive terms before being eligible for reappointment. . . “ What is
the length of these two consecutive terms? |
The general answer is six
years, however, as indicated in the above response; for some members it could
be almost seven or as short as five.
|
Attendance
S.5.2: If a member
misses 3 meetings, attends the 4th and then misses the next 3
meetings - that is not helpful to the committee. Can that be addressed? |
Benchmarking to date has
not shown any precedent for establishing such a rule; this would be an item
we would like to discuss with you at the meeting to see what the general
consensus is. |
Issue Cont’d |
Staff Recommendation/Response Cont’d |
Resignations: Is there not a conflict when a Committee
Members continues on as a member after he or she has accepted a position with
the City of Ottawa? |
Yes – there is a conflict
– and as such this section has been amended to also address conflicts that
may arise from a member’s employer being employued temporarily or otherwise
by the City of Ottawa. It now rreads:
“Full time permanent employees of the City
of Ottawa are not eligible for positions as citizen members on any City
Advisory Committee, Board or Task Force, or on External Boards, Commissions
or Authorities. Members who
subsequently receive a permanent position with the City of Ottawa shall
immediately resign.
If a member’s company, business or place of employment is temporarily
hired by the City of Ottawa, the member shall disclose the employment
situation immediately to the City Clerk who shall advise the member
if he or she must declare a conflict of interest on related items, temporarily remove him or herself from the Advisory Committee, or if he or she must resign his or her seat on the Advisory Committee” |
Attendance
S.5.2: Can you address
the case where a member does not respond to telephone calls or email and/or
does not take part in committee business that is conducted outside of the
meetings. |
The City cannot mandate a volunteer committee member’s personal time. It may be that the Committee has taken on too much – and members are expressing their concern by limiting how much of their personal time they are willing to give up. All Chairs need to ensure that the work goals set out at the beginning of the year respect the very limited amount of time members have to dedicate to committee projects as a means to ensure members are not being bogged down. Participation levels could
be a factor during consideration of a member’s reapplication. |
Issue Cont’d |
Staff Recommendation/Response Cont’d |
Definition’s Section: With regard to
the bullet that reads: “Must be
city-wide,
cross-departmental and address issues of substance” I see
no reason why
an Advisory Committee that is not "cross
departmental"
cannot report to the appropriate Standing Committee (I
suppose that is
why the definition of Standing Committee is in this
document) and Council. |
This requirement was included so as to
differentiate between a Corporate Advisory Committee and a departmental
advisory committee. There are
departmental Advisory Committees, which are established by and provide advice
specifically to a department. |
Definition’s
Section: As this document deals with Advisory Committees is this section of
Standing Committees of Council needed here? |
This section is found
under “Definitions” and as all Advisory Committees must report to a Standing
Committee; staff would not recommend its being removed. |
ADVISORY COMMITTEE PARTICIPATION EXPENSE POLICY |
|
Issue |
Staff Recommendation |
I have a concern that more than one member of an advisory committee
may be required to attend an outside meeting, presentation to a Standing
Committee, etc. and therefore more than one member should be reimbursed for
mileage and parking when it is appropriate. |
The policy applies to any
Committee members who were asked by the Committee to attend. If more than one
voting member is representing the committee, a motion by the committee should
so indicate. However, it should be noted that only one member may
officially represent the Committee at a Standing Committee meeting. (The exception to this is attendance at
conferences, etc. where the guideline specifies that attendance is not
permitted by advisory committee members at all if staff attend). |
As Chair, I am required to attend at least one
outside meeting each week on behalf of my committee and would expect to be
reimbursed for mileage and parking. |
If you were attending a meeting representing your
Committee in your capacity as the Chair of the Committee, your expenses would
be covered. |
It should be specified if the City is not prepared
to pay exceptional expenses for someone who is not a committee member to
attend or sit on a sub-committee (sign language interpretation, interveners,
etc.). It must be clearly stated or
reversed. |
Staff hopes to have an update on this issue at the
meeting. |
It should be more clearly stated that exceptional
means will be provided in order for a member of the public to apply to be on
a committee – (interpreters/intervenors) – This service should be more clear
at the time of the initial advertisement. |
All voting members’ costs
are covered, including interpreters/intervenors. Participation costs for members of the public to attend
specific meetings are also covered.
The issue raised earlier this year involved a non-committee member
serving on a subcommittee and staff has attempted to address this matter. |
If there is a meeting
where the coordinator is not present (such as official Sub-committee
meetings), or if the coordinator leaves a meeting before the individual is
able to get the coordinator the stub for stamping (i.e. at the end of the
meeting), what is the recourse for getting parking reimbursed? In these cases a cash reimbursement would
be the best option. |
A Member should be
presenting their parking stub to the Committee Coordinator upon their arrival
for validation to avoid any out of pocket expense. This process is also the most cost-efficient for the City. Failing that, if the meeting were one that
is not attended by Committee staff, the member would then have to submit
their original receipt as soon thereafter as is possible for reimbursement. |
Expenses should be paid in accordance with the policy when committee
members are required to meet with Councillors who sit with their committee. |
If a Councillor has asked you
to meet with him or her, then that Councillor should be reimbursing you for
any expenses you incurred to attend the meeting – each business area has its
own budget to cover such costs. This
reimbursement is limited to parking. |
Issue Cont’d: |
Staff Recommendation Cont’d: |
The expenses policy should
also apply to members of sub-committees when they attend authorized
sub-committee meetings. I cannot see the logic of excluding these two areas
from the policy |
Staff has incorporated the following change
regarding Sub-Committees (and Reserve Members) including a more formal
definition of both. Subcommittee Members:
means a citizen who is not an Advisory Committee Member, but because he or
she has been invited by an Advisory Committee to participate on a
Sub-Committee, for his or her unique skills and knowledge on a specific
subject matter. These Sub-Committee
Members may be eligible for “Disabled Person’s Expense” – see Definition
Section Reserve Member: means a citizen
who has been pre-approved but not appointed as an Advisory Committee
member during the selection process and placed on a list of reserve
members who may be called upon should there be a mid-term vacancy on the
committee for which they are on the reserve list. Although a Reserve Member may ask and be granted permission
by an Advisory Committee to |
Our Committee has a number of very active reserve members and I would
like to find a way for them to qualify for the same expense reimbursement as
regular members. Given the value of
the contribution to the City, I think the actual cost of this change would
prove to be minimal. |
Due to financial situations at the City, staff cannot recommend
adding this further cost to its Advisory Committee operating budget. |
Issue Cont’d: |
Staff Recommendation Cont’d: |
The only thought I have is that mileage
rates should be reviewed in view of the increased gas costs. |
The mileage rate is on par with what the City pays
to consultants |
Bicycles are classified as vehicles under the
Ontario Highway Traffic Act. The city could make a bold statement by
compensating, in a nominal manner, all advisory committee members who use
their bicycles to attend meetings. All it takes is a little creativity. |
The Roads and
Cycling Advisory Committee has recently passed a Motion on this issue to
forward to its Standing Committee. If
the Standing Committee or Council should direct the City Clerk’s Branch to
add bicycle mileage to its list of eligible reimbursements, the expense will
be paid at the approved rate and manner. |
Committee members are not always submitting
receipts for their expenses? |
Staff are reminded that the City’s policy on reimbursement is very firm that an original receipt (whenever possible) must be submitted or the request will be denied. This qualified has been added to the Reimbursement Policy – Section 1. As well – when reviewing this section the past practice of reimbursing bus pass holders for using the bus to attend a meeting is deleted. The intent of reimbursements is to ensure voting Committee Members are not out of pocket for attending a meeting. Bus pass users are not out of pocket for using their bus pass – it costs the same whether used once a week or six times a day. |
advisory committee PROCEDURE BY-LAW, Appointment Policy and
participation expense policY MID-Term review
RÈGLEMENT DE PROCÉDURE POUR
LES COMITÉS CONSULTATIFS, EXAMEN DE MI-MANDAT DE LA POLITIQUE DE NOMINATION ET
DE LA POLITIQUE SUR LES DÉPENSES DE PARTICIPATION
ACS2006-CRS-CCB-0005
David
Jeanes, Transport 2000 expressed the following points:
§
Disappointed with the role of Advisory Committees and
the extent to which the City listens to them;
§
He was not surprised that Dr. David Bell resigned in
frustration, as the Chair and member of the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory
Committee (PTAC);
§
Feels staff is micromanaging these committees;
§
Too much of the Advisory Committees’ time is spent on
administrative matters;
§
Advisory Committees should be better utilized for such
things as budget consultations, the rapid transit expansion study, etc.
§
Public consultation is not working in the City of
Ottawa and staff need to be directed to carry out valid public consultation for
every project;
§
The subject report continues the micromanagement of a
process that is not working.
Mayor
Chiarelli questioned the delegation’s intent of his statement that Advisory
Committees were not listened to (i.e. did he mean that Council was not
listening or was not acting on the advice given). In responding, Mr. Jeanes again referred to the example of Dr.
Bell resigning from PTAC out of frustration that his Committee’s input was not
of any interest to the Council. He
pointed out that PTAC only meets 6 times a year and even when they did meet
last year, these were not publicly announced meetings. He stressed that Advisory Committees are
often times the only way the public can provide input, if they are not able to
attend Standing Committee meetings during the day. Mr. Jeanes noted that quite often the public must wait many hours
for an opportunity to speak to a Standing Committee. He went on to say that since the environmental assessments ended,
there have been no public consultation meetings or Standing Committee meetings
dealing with the light rail project.
Mayor
Chiarelli noted the delegation was really addressing two different issues –
public consultation and the working of the Advisory Committees. He asked that Mr. Jeanes first speak to his
concerns with the Advisory Committees.
Mr.
Jeanes stated he often speaks to items at various Advisory Committees and has
found what he and others say, has very little effect and usually does not make
it through to Council. By way of
example, he spoke of a very strong report that came forward from PTAC with
respect to buses that regularly run early and noted there has been no action on
this by Council.
Mayor
Chiarelli reminded Mr. Jeanes of the hierarchy present in all levels of
government and noted that just because someone is a strong advocate of a
specific issue it does not mean they will get their issue approved. He noted members of Council often bring
things to the table that they strongly advocate, and they do not always have
their issue approved.
Speaking
to his concerns with respect to public consultation, Mr. Jeanes stated he has
attended a great number of public meetings since amalgamation and he opined
that public input is not tabulated and if responded to at all, it is by staff
to explain why the public input is not valid.
By way of example, he referred to the Ontario Ministry of the
Environment’s report on Light Rail, which contained a number of concerns
submitted by many authorities. He said
staff had argued against virtually every single concern. Mr. Jeanes also noted that one of the
principal statements in the request for a bump up to the Alta Vista
Environmental Assessment (EA), was that through the entire EA none of the
public input had been incorporated into the design of the project.
At
the Mayor’s request, Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager, Planning and Growth
Management, responded to these concerns regarding public input. He noted that as part of the development
approval process, all input received from the public at the public meetings and
in written submissions, is summarized in the Departmental staff report that
comes forward to Committee and Council.
In terms of the major policy documents (e.g. the Official Plan), there
is very detailed tabulation (i.e. in book form) of all comments made by the
public. Further he pointed out the
environmental assessment process is strictly controlled by the Environmental
Assessment Act and the City’s record in dealing with the EA process has
been virtually flawless. The City of
Ottawa is one of the leaders in the Province in ensuring there is full public
consultation in the EA process.
Mayor
Chiarelli then asked the delegation if he had any specific comments on the
by-law before the Committee for consideration.
Mr. Jeanes expressed his belief that it should be much simpler. He advised that he sits on a City of Toronto
Advisory Committee (i.e. the Advisory Committee for the Regeneration of Toronto
Union Station) and that city has a much simpler approach for their Advisory
Committees. He said they have strong
commitment from the members, never have problems meeting quorum and are able to
meet as required (e.g. if they need to meet twice a month the City of Toronto
will support that). He opined this
procedure by-law was part of the bureaucratic process, which is grinding down
the Advisory Committees and not encouraging them to work to stimulate useful
public input to the City.
Mayor
Chiarelli indicated he agreed with Mr. Jeanes that public consultation is very
important and he stressed it is highly valued by himself and by Council.
In
response to questions from Councillor Cullen, Mr. Jeanes stated it was his
belief that Advisory Committees were spending too much of their time on
bureaucracy (e.g. work plans, terms of reference, etc.) rather than dealing
with the substantive issues.
Councillor
Cullen opined that Advisory Committees are sovereign over what they do. They are given a mandate and they have the
ability to bog down or not. He said
other than Dr. Bell (the former Chair of PTAC), he had not heard concerns from
Advisory Committee Chairs or members.
The Councillor also noted
it was his understanding that staff conduct an annual meeting with the Chairs
and Vice Chairs of Advisory Committees to address any issues they might
have. He asked for staff comment. Mr. Pagé confirmed this and stated to his
recollection, he had not received complaints of the nature Mr. Jeanes had
described. He noted the next Chair and
Vice Chairs meeting is scheduled for April, 2006.
Councillor
McRae noted as a former member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee
(PRAC) and now as a Councillor, she had a unique perspective in this
regard. She recalled that PRAC worked
well together and although there may have been times that PRAC had wished that
Council would have acted on some of the initiatives brought forward, she stressed
there was a huge difference between not being listened to by Council and
Council not acting on everything that is brought forward. The Councillor went on to say she resented
the implication that Advisory Committees in general are feeling they are not listened
to because Council does not act on everything they bring forward.
Responding
to questions from Councillor McRae, Elaine Fleury, Manager, Council and
Committee Services advised that approximately $500,000 annually (including
staff and operating costs) is spent on the sixteen Advisory Committees and
three outside boards. As well,
compensation is provided for members’ expenses (e.g. for parking, mileage, bus
fare, child care, etc. as set out in the Participation Expense By-law also
under consideration as part of this report).
Councillor
McRae then asked the delegation if he had specific areas of the by-law before
the Committee that he wished the Committee to address. Mr. Jeanes referred to the Consultation
section of the staff report (pages 3 (Executive Summary) and 11). He said although the by-law was circulated
to the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Advisory Committees, there was no public
consultation carried out on this by-law.
Councillor McRae pointed out it would be a decision of the individual
Advisory Committees as to whether responsibility for reviewing such a document
would be delegated to the Chair and/or Vice Chair or brought to the Committee
for review. She went on to say that she
had not received any comments negative or otherwise from any member of any
Advisory Committee or Board, on this by-law.
In
response to questions from Councillor Bloess, Mr. Pagé confirmed the Chair of
an Advisory Committee, in conjunction with staff and possibly the Councillor
liaison, would set the agenda for the meetings (i.e. staff do not dictate the
agendas). The Councillor then made
reference to the annual Chairs and Vice Chairs meeting and noted it was his
recollection that much of the feedback received in the past, that was “doable”
had been acted upon. Mr. Pagé confirmed
this to be true as well.
Councillor
Stavinga referenced an e-mail all members of Council had received from Brett
Delmage (dated 17 January 2006 and held on file with the City Clerk) and asked
staff to address the issues raised in this submission. Rick O’Connor, Deputy City Clerk spoke first
to the issue of “Qualification of Members” (Section 1.3). He noted the proposed changes to this
section were as a result of a couple of instances over the last 18 months where
members of an Advisory Committee had gotten jobs with the City and there was a
perceived conflict of interest. He said
he was in agreement with Mr. Delmage that this section should be clarified with
clear guidelines and he noted a follow-up on this would be included in the
governance report to Committee and Council at the end of this term of
Council.
With
respect to Section 5, “Election of Committee Chair and Vice Chair”, Councillor
Stavinga agreed with Mr. Delmage’s observations concerning the difficulty for
members of an Advisory Committee to elect a Chair and Vice Chair at their
inaugural meeting. She asked if an
interim Chair and Vice Chair could be appointed for the first couple of
meetings. Mr. O’Connor pointed out that
as some of the Advisory Committees only meet every other month, it could mean
they would not have a duly elected Chair and Vice Chair for the better part of
a year. He agreed that an interim Chair
could be an option and indicated he would take it as a direction to include
this option in the governance report coming forward at the end of this
year. With respect to Mr. Delmage’s
suggestion that Advisory Committees should be permitted to carry out their
elections by secret ballot, Mr. O’Connor pointed out this would go against the
open and transparent practices Council has adopted and as well, the Municipal Act prohibits secret ballots.
Mr.
O’Connor confirmed that Mr. Delmage’s supposition that staff had simply moved
the requirement of advance agenda delivery to members to Section 21 was correct
but clarified the requirement was seven calendar days and not five as stated by
Mr. Delmage. Finally, regarding Mr.
Delmage’s suggestion (re Section 5 of the Code of Conduct) that members “shall”
as opposed to “may” disclose that he or she may be involved in a real or
perceived conflict of interest, Mr. O’Connor noted Councillor Cullen had
advised of his intent to move a motion in this regard and staff had no problem
with this.
Councillor
Stavinga noted she had not received any objections from members of the various
Advisory Committees with respect to this matter. As well, she felt that Advisory Committee members were aware that
Council appreciated the work they do and were also aware of the number of
factors that Council is balancing. She
asked staff if they had received any concerns from members of Advisory
Committees. Mr. Page indicated he had
not and noted in fact, that many of the proposed changes to the by-law came
from the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Advisory Committees (i.e. through the
consultation process) and not from staff.
Councillor
E. El Chantiry made reference to staff’s earlier response that the cost for
Advisory Committees is $500,000 per year and he pointed out this amount is much
greater when time of staff of various departments that regularly attend these
meetings, is factored in. He noted he
sits as a liaison member of Council on three Advisory Committees and has not
heard from any of the members of these committees the concerns expressed by Mr.
Jeanes.
In
response to questions from the Mayor, Mr. Lathrop estimated that $600,000 to
$700,000 would be spent annually on public consultation for environmental
assessments. Greg Geddes, Chief
Corporate Services Officer estimated that the formal consultation for the
budget process would have cost approximately $200,000 including staff
time. Mayor Chiarelli commented that
the City’s investment in public consultation is quite significant.
Iola
Price, stated that although she was Chair, Ottawa Forests
and Greenspace Advisory Committee, she had not conferred with members of her
Committee (as she had not intended to speak) and was therefore speaking as a
private citizen. Ms. Price stated she
was pleased to hear there would be a meeting of the Chairs and Vice Chairs this
year, as there had not been one for the last two years. She noted that on average, members of her
Committee give 20 hours per month to this City. Calculating this at minimum wage, she estimated they provided
$300,000 of value annually to this City.
She said they were disappointed that Council did not approve the small
amount of money requested for the work of the Committee. Ms. Price went on to say that she too was of
the opinion that Council members do not often take the advice of the Advisory
Committees. She noted she had consulted
with members of her Committee on this by-law during the consultation period and
was pleased to see some of their suggestions included. She said she had no specific comments to
make in this regard.
Mayor
Chiarelli noted Ms. Price had appeared before CSEDC on a number of occasions
and recalled instances where the Committee had acted on her advice (e.g. the
Ethier Avenue greenspace and revenues from land sales going into the reserve
fund for the acquisition of greenspace).
He said this would indicate that the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace
Advisory Committee was quite effective.
She agreed that her Committee had some success but noted they did not
always “win the day”.
Having
heard from all delegations, Councillor Cullen then put forward the following
motion in response to concerns raised in Mr. Delmage’s submission.
Moved
by Councillor A. Cullen
That Section 4 of Appendix A be amended so that a member of an Advisory
Committee shall disclose to the City Clerk or persons designated, a conflict of
interest as prohibited by the Code.
CARRIED
Mr.
O’Connor confirmed, at Councillor Cullen’s request, that staff would canvas the
Advisory Committees with respect to issues they wish to discuss at the April
meeting of the Chairs and Vice Chairs.
The
staff report, as amended was then approved.
That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend
that Council:
1. Repeal
By-law 2003-600, being the City of Ottawa’s existing Procedure By-law,
governing the proceedings of its Advisory Committees and enact the revised
Advisory Committees’ Procedure By-law attached at Document 1, as amended by
the following:
That
Section 4 of Appendix A be amended so that a member of an Advisory Committee
shall disclose to the City Clerk or persons designated, a conflict of interest
as prohibited by the Code;
2. Approve the E-Meetings Policy attached at Document 2;
3. Approve the revised
Appointment Policy for Advisory Committees, Boards, Task Forces and External
Boards, Commissions and Authorities attached at Document 3; and
4. Approve the revised Participation Expense Policy for Advisory Committee Members at attached Document 4.
CARRIED, as
amended