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Composition:

The Procedure By-law Review Sub-committees will be comprised of no more than five (5) Members of Council, appointed by Council. Appointed members include Councillors Santos, Vicente, Bowman, Palleschi and Whillans.

The Sub-committee Chair wi​ll be appointed from amongst the Sub-committee Members.

Term of Office:

Appointments to the Sub-committee will be concurrent with the term of Council, ending November 14, 2022, or until successors are appointed, or the mandate of the Sub-committee is finished.

Established by:

Council Resolution, adopted April 7, 2021

Meetings:

Meetings will be held at the call of the Chair or majority of the Sub-committee, with the frequency dependant on the phase of the work plan. A potential schedule of meetings includes:

  • April 2021 (2 meetings – review existing by-law and confirm review issues and opportunities)
  • May 2021 (1 meeting – engagement and benchmarking status work)
  • June 2021 (2 meetings – Member, staff and public engagement)
  • July 2021 (1 meeting – draft meeting procedures review and assessment)
  • August 2021 (1 meeting – draft meeting procedures review and assessment)
  • September (1 meeting – draft meeting procedures finalization)
  • October 2021 (2 meetings – draft meeting procedures consultation)
  • November 2021 (1 meeting – finalize meeting procedures and other related recommendations)

Sub-committee status and recommendation reports will presented to the Governance and Council Operations Committee as follows:

  • May 17 (Phase 1 and 2 work progress)
  • September 20 (Phase 3 work progress)
  • November 22 (Sub-committee recommendations on new Procedure By-law)

Reports to:

Governance and Council Operations Committee

Supported by:

Meeting management support will be provided by the City Clerk’s Office, in accordance with Council’s Procedure Bylaw.

Subject matter expertise for the Sub-committee and review work will be provided by staff resources, including but not limited to the City Clerk’s Office, CAO’s Office, Strategic Communications and Legal Services.

Committee Structure/Responsibilities:

Mandate

The Sub-committee will serve as the steering committee for the Procedure By-law Review.

The Procedure By-law Review will include the following objectives, subject to confirmation by the Sub-committee:

  • To develop a well-constructed and clearly understood Procedure By-Law to facilitate the business of City Council
  • To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of City Council and Committee meetings
  • To ensure the decision-making process is accountable, transparent and accessible to and understood by the public and stakeholders, and provides opportunities for participation and input
  • To exercise and respect inpidual and collective roles and responsibilities during meetings
  • To reflect legislative requirements
  • To build upon municipal best practices that fit within the City’s governance structure

The review process will include the following review phases and timelines:

Phase 1 – understanding existing meeting rules and identification of issues and opportunities (April 2021)

  1. Learning and scoping sessions with the Sub-committee to determine the priorities, issues and opportunities to be explored in the Procedure by-law review.

Phase 2 – Engagement and Benchmarking (May-June 2021)

  1. Member of Council engagement
    • clarification of existing By-law definitions/procedures (see preliminary issues/opportunities slide from March 1 Governance and Council Operations Committee meeting)
    • what works/what does not work with meeting rules and practices
  2. Public engagement:
    • Open forum / Town Hall meeting(s)
    • Survey of previous meeting delegates and participants
    • Public commenting period for proposed meeting procedures during Local Government Week – 3rd week in October
  3. Municipal benchmarking
    • Create a searchable library and assess comparator Ontario municipal procedure by-laws to inform the review

Phase 3 – draft by-law rules and assessment (July-August 2021)

  1. Identify housekeeping/administrative amendments to By-law
  2. Identify substantive amendments to By-law
  3. Identify proposed changes now (this term) versus for consideration next term/further review

Phase 4 – Recommended Procedure By-law and associated recommendations and actions (September – October 2021)

  1. Prepare recommendation report and new draft Procedure By-law
  2. Issue public notice / public meeting
  3. City Council decision – repeal and replace
  4. Implementation
    • Training for Members/staff
    • Public Town Hall(s) and/or other formats to explain new rules
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During the course of the review, there will be periodic updates provided to Council through the Governance and Council Operations Committee meetings in May, September and November 2021.

A recommended new Procedure By-law is expected to be presented to Council by the end of 2021.