1. 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

 

 

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

 

/

 

09 January 2006/le 09 Janvier 2006

 

Submitted by / Soumis par: Greg Geddes, Chief Corporate Services Officer/

Chef des services généraux

 

Contact / Personne-ressource: P.G. Pagé, City Clerk/ Greffier/

580-2424 x 22408, Pierre.Page@ottawa.ca

 

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.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

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.

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1 – Revised Procedure By-law

Document 2 – Electronic Meeting Policy (and background documents)

Document 3 – Revised Appointment Policy

Document 4 – Revised Participation Expense Policy

Document 5 – Summary of Comments (Staff, Advisory Committee and Board Members)

 

 

DISPOSITION

 

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;

 

 

PART I ADVISORY COMMITTEES

 

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

 

 

APPENDIX “A”

 

Advisory Committee Members’ Code of Conduct

 

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

 

 

DRAFTApproved 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 Council appointed Advisory Committees and their Members.

 

 

Policy Requirements

 

Key Themes To Effective Electronic Meetings:

 

1.        A need to ensure full and equal participation by all Members (simultaneous and instantaneous);

 

2.        A need to protect the right of each Member’s right to vote (transparency in the taking of votes on an issue);

 

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, must be physically present in the meeting room.

 

 

1.  Application:

 

The need requirement to have a committee Member participate in a meeting by means of teleconference is driven prefaced by the urgent need to have quorum met when:

 

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 for a special meeting and the only way to obtain quorum is by allowing one or two members to participate via telephone from a remote locations; and

 

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 Meeting

 

2.1 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 Conduct

 

3.1 The Committee Coordinator must be in attendance as the representative of the City Clerk’s office, in order for an electronic meeting to be recognized valid.

 

3.2 The Committee Coordinator will shall establish quorum at the outset of the meeting by roll call and likewise all votes will be taken recorded by roll call.

 

3.3 The Chair, or in his or her place, the Vice-Chair, must at all times shall be physically present at a in the meeting.

 

3.4 The Member(s) participating in the meeting via telephonic means cannot be the mover of a motion.

 

 

 

 

 

3.5 If a remote Member must leave the ‘phone/room’ at any time during the meeting – he or she must verbalize advise that they are leaving and then verbalize similarly announce when he or she has returned to the room/phone.  If the absence is for 15 minutes or more or;

 

If the member’s participation is continually interrupted by family or work distractions/obligations, the Chair will deem the distractions as a breach in quorum – and the meeting will be considered concluded.

 

3.6 The Member(s) participating in the meeting via telephonicconference means must have in hand a copy of the agenda, minutes and other meeting documents so he or she can be ready to fully participate in the meeting from the remote location.

 

3.7 All provisions and policies that govern the operation of the Advisory Committees and their Members, including the Conflict of Interest Guidelines, will still including the Advisory Committee Members’ Code of Conduct shall continue to apply during electronic meetings.

 

3.8 The City of Ottawa shall be responsible only for the costs related to the transmission of information in advance of and during the meeting.

 

 

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 fully aware of this policy.

 

Committee Coordinators are responsible for reserving the polycom and for ensuring the designated meeting room’s block on long-distance calls has been unblocked released for the duration of the meeting, when appropriate.

 

In the event of a dispute, the Manager of Council & Committee Services City Clerk, or his/her designate, shall review the request and advise the requesting member of his or her final decision.

 

 

 

monitoring/Contraventions

 

Requests that do not meet the criteria outlined in this policy may be denied.

 

The City Clerk’s Office reserves the right has the authority to monitor requests to ensure the policy is being applied consistently.

 

At the end of one year, From time to time, the City Clerk’s Office may review the number of requests to determine the overall effectiveness of this policy and/or to incorporate any amendments due to emerging and better teleconference equipment and/or or equipment needs.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Enquiries

 

Manager, Council and Committee Services

City Clerk’s Branch

Corporate Services Department

City of Ottawa

Tel: (613) 580-2424 Ext. 26836

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

DOCUMENT 3

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 Secretariat Services Branch

 

Revision Dates: August 28, 2002.

                          December 3, 2003

                          January 2006

 

Policy Statement

The Appointment Policy for citizen members of City Advisory Committees, Boards and Task forces, as well as City representation through citizen appointments on external boards, commissions and authorities is a City of Ottawa policy regarding the recruitment and selection process for citizen members of official City of Ottawa advisory committees, boards and task forces, as well as external boards, commissions and authorities.

 

It is the policy of the City of Ottawa to encourage participation of its citizens in creating a better environment in which to live, work and prosper through the creation of citizen advisory committees, boards and task forces which who provide advice to City Council on specifically mandated areas of interest.

 

 

Purpose

The use of advisory committees and similar entities is an effective vehicle for public participation, public consultation, and a source of input to staff and City Council on city policies and programs.  Such bodies play an important part in the Corporate decision-making process by providing a means for staff and elected representatives to receive the views and advice from affected citizens on a variety of matters.  Through advisory committees and similar entities, the citizens of Ottawa are able to have greater input on the issues that affect them. 

 

To encourage participation, the City will adopt the general concepts of equity, accessibility and accommodation, to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunity.  Membership on City advisory committees, boards and task forces will, as much as possible, reflect Ottawa’s diversity and demographics in such areas as gender, official language, geographic representation, race and disability

 

The policy outlines a fair and equitable approach and process for recruiting, selecting and appointing citizen members to City advisory committees, boards and task forces, and external boards, commissions and authorities.

 

Application

The participation expense policy applies only to Council appointed voting members of advisory Committees, boards and task forces, and external boards, commissions and authorities.

 

 

 

 

 

Policy Requirements

 

1.0 QUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS

 

1.1 All members of City advisory committees, boards and task forces, as well as external boards, commissions and authorities must be residents of the City of Ottawa and must maintain this qualification during their term of office.

 

1.2 All members must be at least 18 years of age, with the exception of members of the Ottawa Youth Cabinet, whose members must be between 15-25 years of age.

 

1.3. 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.  Those members who may have already been appointed by Council shall serve out their respective terms of office and be ineligible for re-appointment.

 

If a member’s company, business or employer is 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.

 

 

2. TERM OF OFFICE

 

2.1 The term of office is generally three years and shall be established on a rotational basis.  Members are eligible to serve a maximum of two consecutive terms on the same Committee (a maximum of 6 years) subject to section 2.2. 

 

2.2 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.

 

2.3 Applicants are required to sit out one year after serving two consecutive terms, before being eligible for reappointment on the same Committee, although may apply to serve on another Committee during that time

2.4 Those members who wish to be reappointed to an additional term must reapply and go through the approved selection process.

 

 

 

 

2.5 Citizen members may serve on only one City advisory committee, board, task force, external board, commission or authority at any one time.  A member may, however, be selected to

represent their advisory committee or board on another advisory committee or board as a non-voting liaison.

 

2.6 Members continue to serve on a committee past the expiration of their term until they are replaced.

 

2.7 Term of office and membership on some external boards, commissions and authorities or quasi-judicial committees may differ as specifically outlined under statute or by-law.   

 

3. COMPOSITION

 

3.1 The membership of City advisory committees, boards and task forces, as well as external boards, commissions and authorities shall, as much as possible, achieve a balance between a variety of technical expertise and other representation.

 

3.2 As much as possible, the membership should reflect the diversity and demographics of the City of Ottawa in such areas as: gender, official language, geographical representation, race and disability.

 

4. RECRUITMENT

 

4.1 The annual recruitment for the City’s advisory committees and boards, as well as external boards, commissions and authorities for which members are required, shall be held early each September with Council appointment dates to be targeted for November.

 

4.2 Information sessions are to be held prior to and/or during the recruitment process. These sessions shall provide the public and potential applicants with information regarding the City Council governance structure, the mandate and responsibilities of the City advisory committees, boards and task force, as well as external boards, commissions and authorities, for which members are required, in addition to the members’ role on same.

 

4.3 The principles of equity and accommodation for all candidates shall be adopted and implemented by enforcing application deadlines, selection criteria, and interviewing procedures using the same questions and same evaluation criteria for all candidates.

 

4.4 For Organizations with Dedicated Seats on City Advisory Committees, boards or task forces:

The recruitment of representatives from local organizations will be through letters of request to these organizations and therefore their nominees will not require interviewing, but must comply with the residency requirement.  Organizations will be requested to provide resumes or curriculum vitae of at least two nominees for consideration by the Selection Panel. , one of whom will be appointed by Council.  Nominees of organizations must declare interest in items related to their respective organizations, with the exception of the members of the Taxi Advisory Committee and the Business Advisory Committee whose composition is made up of affected persons.

 

4.5 General Public:

 

The recruitment and selection process for citizen members, other than representatives of organizations, will include advertisements for interested applicants placed by the Corporate Services Department, City Clerk’s Secretariat Services Branch, in the daily and/or weekly community newspapers in accordance with the City’s advertising policy as well as on the City’s website.  Advertisements will also be distributed throughout Client Service Centres, libraries and City facilities.  In addition, for specific committees, an effort will be made to tailor the recruitment process specifically, but not exclusively, to the particular groups that are a potential member. For example: recruitment advertisements ads will be placed in area high schools for the Ottawa Youth Cabinet and through the at the Disabled Persons Resource Center for the Accessibility Advisory Committee.

 

4.6      The advertisements may include the following information:

a.       Function or brief mandate statement of the entities for which recruitment is taking place for;

b.      Frequency and time of meetings and where possible any other expectations for participation of members;

c.       City policies that guide the selection process or the operation of the Committee;

d.      Anticipated time commitment;

e.       Date, time and location of the public information sessions that will be held for interested and prospective applicants to attend;

f.        A request that the applicant provide a letter outlining how their qualifications, specific skills, interests and background are relevant to the committee.  The applicant may also include a statement of work, life and educational experience and/or a resume.

g.       A request for applicants to either select one Committee of interest, or to prioritize the Committees of interest, and if applicable, to state their consent to be considered for any committees they had not applied for specifically; and

h.       Indication that an individual can be appointed to serve on only one advisory committee, board, task force, external board or authority at a time.

 

 

4.7 Applications

 

a.       All applications must outline how the applicant’s qualifications, specific skills, interests and background are relevant to the committee.  They may include a statement of work, life and educational experience and/or a resume.

b.      All applications will be sent to the Corporate Services Department, City Clerk’s Secretariat Services Branch, to be processed.

c.       All applications will be acknowledged by the Corporate Services Department, City Clerk’s Secretariat Services Branch.

d.      An initial screening of applications will be conducted.  Only those meeting the age and residency qualifications will be brought forward to the next stage.

e.      Only those All applications must be received by the published deadline in order to be will be considered.

f.        Applicants shall be encouraged to apply for only the Committees they wish to serve on rather than applying to many or all Committees.

g.       Should an applicant choose to apply to more than one Committee, they will be requested to prioritize their preferences, only applicants who and to state their consent to be considered for any Committees they had not applied for specifically shall be considered for such placement.

 

4.8 Selection

 

a.       At the outset of each new term of Council, City Council, upon recommendation of the Nominating Committee, will appoint a minimum of two members of Council to sit on each Selection Panel to review applications and make recommendations to Council.  If necessary throughout the term of Council, the applicable Standing Committee or the Nominating Committee will recommend Selection Panel members to City Council.

b.      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 for that specific body.

c.       The Selection Panels will also include the Chair and/or Vice-Chair of the City advisory committee, board providing that their respective terms extend past the recruitment process.  If the Chair and/or Vice-Chair is unable to sit as members of the Selection Panel, the advisory committee may chose committee member(s) to sit in their place.

d.      The Committee Coordinator for the Committee will provide advice and assistance to the Selection Panel.

e.      Each Selection Panel shall meet to determine selection criteria based on the specific expertise needed by the advisory committee, board, task force, external board, commission or authority and the need to reflect the community as detailed under the entity’s composition, prepare questions to be asked of each candidate should interviews be conducted, and review applications based on these criteria to determine which applicants will be interviewed. Interviews will be encouraged and shall be conducted at the discretion of the Selection Panel.

f.        The Selection Panel shall recommend appointments as well as provide a printed reserve list of people who will be appointed should a vacancy occur before the end of a term. [a minimum of five reserve members if the entity is composed of more than seven citizen members].  The reserve list shall be maintained until the next advertisement for vacancies, or for one year, whichever is shorter.

g.       The City Clerk’s Secretariat Services Branch shall forward the Selection Panel recommendations through an in camera report to the relevant Standing Committee (or Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee if there is no assigned Standing Committee).

h.       The Standing Committee may review the Selection Panel recommendations at a closed meeting and refer endorsement of appointments to City Council.

i.         The City Clerk’s Secretariat Services Branch shall advise all applicants of the status of their applications.

j.        All newly appointed members of City advisory committees, boards and task forces are invited to an orientation session held by the City Clerk’s Secretariat Services Branch.  Topics will include procedures, corporate policies and the committee structure.  Technical staff related to the committee’s mandate would provide additional information.

k.      The selection process for the Ottawa Youth Cabinet differs from that described above, as the Selection Panel shall consist of the Ward Councillor for the ward in which the vacancy exists, and may include a member of the Ottawa Youth Cabinet.

l.         Should the Selection Panel receive insufficient applications to fill the number of vacancies, the Selection Panel may request the Committee Coordinator to contact applicants expressing interest in other committees to determine if there may be an interest in also being considered for said committee.  The City Clerk’s Branch may also extend the published deadline when insufficient applications are received.

 

 

5. ATTENDANCE

 

5.1  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, or 30% of all the scheduled meetings for a year, her or his membership is terminated, except in those instances where the 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.”

 

5.2 Should the member miss another consecutive meeting, the next qualified reserve member of the committee shall automatically be called up to the committee to fill the vacancy.

 

5.3 If no subsequent reserve members remain to fill the position, then the seat shall remain vacant until the next recruitment process.  Recruitment shall only be undertaken at another time than the annual process if the number of members on the committee falls to one above quorum, or there is a need to fill vacancies on numerous committees in that the associated costs and staff resources are justified.

 

5.4    If the member is a representative of an organization, rather than a citizen member, the organization shall be contacted following the second third absence.  The organization will have the option to confirm its representative or to have its second nominee, or if necessary an alternate, appointed as a replacement.

 

5.5 For record and information purposes, the Committee Coordinator will prepare and distribute either an “Information Previously Distributed” memorandum to the applicable Standing Committee noting the appointment of the reserve member, or a formal report to the applicable Standing Committee when an alternate organizational representative requires appointment to the committee as a full voting member.

 

(*In those instances where the absence has been certified by the Advisory Committee, (i.e. the Committee Member is unable to travel for medical reasons) where requested by the absent member, consideration will be given to allowing that member to participate in Committee Meetings via telephonic means.  The off-site member’s participation would be limited to debate and discussion on items and not voting on items, and his or her ‘presence’ would not count toward (meeting) quorum.)

 

 

6. SUBCOMMITTEES

 

6.1 City advisory committees, boards and task forces may create subcommittees to work on specific areas of their mandate.  These subcommittees may be comprised of non-members of the committees and do not require Council approval of the appointment.  However, the subcommittee must have a minimum of one-third of the members as voting committee members of the main committee, board or task force, be guided by the City’s Procedural By-law for Committees and Code of Conduct.  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.  (These members are eligible for reimbursement of disabled persons expenses).

 

6.2 Minimal administrative support will be provided to subcommittees and is limited to booking rooms and the provision of material if necessary, and the Participation Expense Policy applies only to Council appointed voting members of Advisory Committees, with the exception of disabled person’s expenses.

 

 

Responsibilities

N/A

monitoring/Contraventions

Failure to comply with this policy may result in inconsistent response, coordination and appointment of citizen members on City of Ottawa advisory committees, boards and task forces, and external boards, commissions and authorities.  Inconsistent application may hinder the objectives of open, accessible and impartial practice with respect to citizen appointments.

 

References

Code of Conduct for Advisory Committee Members

Participation Expense Policy

Advisory Committee Procedural By-Law 2005-xxx

 

legislative & administrative authorities

o             “Proposed Advisory and Quasi-Judicial Committee and Task Force Structure” (ACS2001-CRS-SEC-0016) City Council 28 March 2001

o             “Status of External Boards, Commissions and Authorities”  (ACS2001-CRS-SEC-0015) City Council 28 March 2001

o             “Status of External Boards, Commissions and Authorities – Update”  (ACS2002-CRS-SEC-0015) City Council 10 April 2002

o             “Annual Review of Advisory Committees – Structure, Policies and Process”  (ACS2002-CRS-SEC-0061) City Council 28 August 2002

o             “Council Governance Review – 2003-2006 Council” (ACS2003-CRS-SEC-0059) City Council 3 December 2003 and 10 December 2003.

 

Definitions:

AD HOC COMMITTEES OR TASK FORCES

o       Created by City Council

o       Mandate, membership and responsibilities set out through committee Terms of Reference approved by City Council

o       Have a set mandate and set time limit

o       Conduct research, report on findings, and make recommendations but do not have final decision-making power

o       City Council has sole authority to accept, reject or amend the advice or recommendations

o       May or may not have Council member(s)

o       May create subcommittees as required

o       Meeting proceedings of Ad Hoc Committees or Task Forces governed by By-Law No. 2005-xxx(600) and any associated amending by-laws thereafter

 

ADVISORY COMMITTEES / BOARDS TO COUNCIL

o       Mandate, membership and responsibilities set out through committee Terms of Reference approved by City Council

o       Composed of citizens, and may have representatives of specific organizations, all requiring Council approval

o       Provide advice and technical expertise to City Council, through relevant standing committees, on major public issues and social trends

o       Must be a clear and current reason for the Committee

o       Must be city-wide, cross-departmental and address issues of substance

o       Act as vehicles for public consultation on issues of municipal interest

o       Facilitate or conduct research, report on findings, and make recommendations

o       City Council has sole authority to accept, reject or amend the advice or recommendations

o       Council member(s) act as liaison member(s) (non-voting)

o       May create subcommittees as required

o       Meeting proceedings of Advisory Committees governed by By-Law No. 2005-xxx 2003-600 and any associated amending by-laws thereafter

 

 

DEPARTMENTAL CONSULTATIVE GROUPS

o             Created by a City department to solicit specific input and feedback on Departmental programs, policies and/or projects

o             Have both a long-term and short-term status, depending on the mandate of the committee

o             Composed of citizens and/or representatives of specific organizations from whom input is sought

o             Report directly to the Department

o             Membership, methods of operation, staff support and continued existence are the responsibility of the Department

o             Do not have Council members (with few exceptions, e.g. the Health Dangers of the Urban Use of Pesticides Working Group provides advice to the Public Health and Long Term Care Branch of People Services, and has a Council representative)

 

 

EXTERNAL LOCAL BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND AUTHORITIES

Elected representatives who that serve on the various external boards, commissions and authorities, or serve as non-voting liaison members on the City’s advisory committees and boards, are appointed at the outset of, and serve for, the three-year term of Council. 

 

 

When a Councillor resigns from office or steps down from an appointment to an external board, commission or authority, a new appointment is made by Council.  The newly appointed Councillor will serve to the end of the current three-year term of Council.

o             Created by and operated under provincial legislation, legal agreement or by-law

o             Decision-making power

o             May have Council member(s) or citizen appointments approved by Council serving as the City representation

o             May or may not report to City Council for certain matters (i.e. budget)

o             Examples include the Ottawa Police Services Board, Ottawa Municipal Campsite Authority, Pineview Municipal Golf Course Board of Management, conservation authorities, various economic, research, health, social and cultural agencies

 

 

QUASI-JUDICIAL BOARDS OR COMMITTEES

o       Mandate, membership and responsibilities set out through committee Terms of Reference approved by City Council, or applicable legislation

o       Hear and decide appeals as an impartial tribunal under legislation

o       Decisions or processes may be appealed to a higher jurisdiction

o       Council members may or may not be members

o       Meeting proceedings governed by applicable legislation or procedural rules approved by the quasi-judicial board/committee, or in the absence of such, by By-Law No. 2005-431 and any associated amending by-laws thereafter

 

 

RESERVE MEMBERS

·        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 A Reserve Member can participate in a meeting, that reserve member but does not have the authority nor powers of a sitting citizen member in that he or she cannot vote at meetings, is not an official representative of a committee and is not eligible for coverage under the City's Expense Policy (Participation in Advisory Committee meetings is purely voluntary and one’s choice to not attend meetings does not disqualify him or her from being called upon to replace a vacancy nor does it adversely affect one’s application to become a sitting citizen member at a later date.)

 

 

STANDING COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL

o       Mandate, membership and responsibilities set out through committee Terms of Reference approved by City Council

o       Made up solely of Council members

o       Make recommendations to City Council

o       May have decision-making power delegated by City Council

o       May create subcommittees as required

o       Meeting proceedings of Standing Committees and City Council governed by By-Law No. 2005-431 and any associated amending by-laws thereafter

 

 

 

Key Word Search

Procedural By-Law                                                                       Code of Conduct

Advisory Committees                                                                   Rules of Procedure

External Boards                                                                            Appointments

 

Enquiries

Manager, Council and Committee Services

City Clerk’s Secretariat Services Branch

Corporate Services Department

City of Ottawa

Tel: (613) 580-2424 Ext. 26836

 

 

Appendices

N/A

 

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 citizen members or official representatives of Advisory Committees

 

 

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 Citizen members deemed present in the approved *minutes of the meeting. are authorized to receive any of the following reimbursements providing they are deemed “present” in the accepted minutes of the meeting. R reimbursement is based on the following:

 

1.1.   Parking expenses incurred to attend official meetings are eligible.  The preferred method of payment for parking expenses at City facilities will be reimbursed is via parking tickets or a parking stamp, not in cash.

 

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.

 

1.4.   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, transfer, 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 (2 tickets per trip – 4 tickets for a return trip), or where a bus pass or ParaTranspo was used, reimbursement should be either 4 bus tickets or the cash equivalent thereof.

 

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 Councillors, staff, citizens or otherwise are not eligible for reimbursement under this policy.  Some form of reimbursement may be available from the meeting’s host.  Some exceptions will be made for the Chairs.

 

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, as any of these services that may be required are available

 

(*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 Secretariat Services reserve the right to review and/or refuse any expenses submitted by a voting citizen member for reimbursement, with reasonable cause and justification.

 

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 Secretariat Services reserves the right to either:

 

2.2.1.      Refuse to reimburse the specific individual; and/or

 

2.2.2.      Refer the incident to Corporate Security or the appropriate authorities.

 

 

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 to;

1.1.4.                              a Standing Committee meeting where an official designate of the Advisory Committee makes presentation to said standing committee; any presentation to Standing Committee by any one official delegate as approved by the committee; or

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.

 

1.5.   Bus Fare / Para Transpo Fare: Reimbursement shall be provided for any extra bus fare incurred by a member to attend the meeting. Bus transfer or receipt is deemed as acceptable proof of payment.

 

1.6.     Mileage: Mileage shall be calculated by the member on the basis of the SHORTEST distance to and from the meeting from either work, home, or the next closest destination of the member.  No member shall claim mileage for the longest distance traveled.

 

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 A Reserve Member can participate in a meeting, that reserve member but does not have the authority or powers of a sitting citizen member in that he or she cannot vote at meetings, is not an official representative of a committee and is not eligible for coverage under the City's Expense Policy (Participation in Advisory Committee meetings is purely voluntary and one’s choice to not attend meetings does not disqualify him or her from being called upon to replace a vacancy nor does it adversely affect one’s application to become a sitting citizen member at a later date.)

 

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

 

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

 

 

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 A Reserve Member can participate in a meeting, that reserve member but does not have the authority nor powers of a sitting citizen member in that he or she cannot vote at meetings, is not an official representative of a committee and is not eligible for coverage under the City's Expense Policy (Participation in Advisory Committee meetings is purely voluntary and one’s choice to not attend meetings does not disqualify him or her from being called upon to replace a vacancy nor does it adversely affect one’s application to become a sitting citizen member at a later date.)

 

 

 

 

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:

Organizations will be requested to provide resumes or curriculum vitae of at least two nominees for consideration by the Selection Panel. , one of whom will be appointed by Council.”

 

 

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 A Reserve Member can participate in a meeting, that reserve member but does not have the authority nor powers of a sitting citizen member in that he or she cannot vote at meetings, is not an official representative of a committee and is not eligible for coverage under the City's Expense Policy (Participation in Advisory Committee meetings is purely voluntary and one’s choice to not attend meetings does not disqualify him or her from being called upon to replace a vacancy nor does it adversely affect one’s application to become a sitting citizen member at a later date.)”

 

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