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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-14-055 - Nominating Committee - Terms of ReferenceStaff Report rTC.�r R finance and Corporate Services Department www.kitchener.ca REPORT TO: Committee of the Whole DATE OF MEETING: May 5, 2014 SUBMITTED BY: C. Tarling, Director of Legislated Services & City Clerk, 519 -741- 2200 x 7809 PREPARED BY: C. Tarling, Director of Legislated Services & City Clerk, 519 -741- 2200 x 7809 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: April 10, 2014 REPORT NO.: FCS -14 -055 SUBJECT: Nominating Committee — Terms of Reference RECOMMENDATION: That for the 2014 appointment cycle, Clause 2 (c) [inability to serve on Advisory Committees while on the Nominating Committee] of the Terms of Reference for the Nominating Committee be temporarily suspended; and, That Clause 2 [eligibility requirement to either reside, work or own property in the City of Kitchener] of Policy 1 -63 (Appointment to Boards and Committees) be suspended only for appointment to the Nominating Committee; and further, That representatives from the K -W Community Foundation (Director of Philanthropic Services), K -W Multicultural Centre (Executive Director), and K -W United Way (Chief Executive Officer), Capacity Waterloo Region (Executive Director), and Greater K -W Chamber of Commerce (President /Chief Executive Officer) or designates, be appointed to the Nominating Committee for a two -year term. BACKGROUND: Council appoints a Nominating Committee (the Committee) to assess citizen applications for appointment to our Advisory Committees. The Committee has an approved Terms of Reference (attached) calling for 5 community members who are appointed for a two -year term. In the past, citizens have been invited to apply for appointment to the Committee and are supported by City staff in reviewing Advisory Committee applications. Due to the difficulty in securing members, the Committee has functioned with only 3 members in the past. In 2012, Council passed a resolution directing staff to approach various community groups /agencies to ascertain their interest in having a representative sit permanently on the Committee. In the resolution, 3 organizations were specifically identified: K -W Community Foundation (KWCF), K -W Multicultural Centre (KWMC), and K -W United Way (KWUW). It was, however, Council's intention to have several executive directors from various community -based 2. -1 groups sit on the Committee. The rationale for this was that such positions would have experience with governance and recruiting, and would have a broad community perspective which would aid in selecting members for the Advisory Committees. The purpose of this report is to update Council on the efforts undertaken and seek direction on the final composition of the Nominating Committee in 2014. REPORT: In addition to the three organizations above, staff sought input from Councillors with respect to potential organizations from which to draw prospective candidates for the Committee. In addition to those named in the resolution, Capacity Waterloo Region (CWR) and Greater K -W Chamber of Commerce (GKWCC) were contacted with the aim of securing their commitment to have someone from their organization serve on the Committee. Staff also contacted one other individual whose name was put forward to ascertain the community organization to which he belonged. He identified himself as a current sitting member of one of the City's Advisory Committees but does not belong to a community -based organization as contemplated by Council in their resolution, so no further action was taken with respect to this suggestion. All the organizations contacted indicated they were very enthusiastic about serving and have the resources within their administrative organizations for someone to sit as a permanent member of the Committee. The current Executive Director of KWMC has previously sat on the Committee and will designate an alternative if, in the future, she is unable to sit on the Committee. KWCF believes the position of Director of Philanthropic Services is best positioned to serve on the Committee. The Chief Executive Officer of KWUW has agreed to serve as have the Executive Director of CWR and the President/CEO of GKWCC. It should be noted that some concern was expressed by those contacted with having community groups /organizations make up the Committee instead of community members. It is felt there could be a potential for limited viewpoints around the table and reduced opportunities for citizens to volunteer and participate in this capacity. According to the current Terms of Reference for the Committee, Clause 2 (c) states: "citizen members of the Nominating Committee will not currently sit on any of the City's Advisory Committees and will not have sat for at least one year ". The rationale for this is to ensure the neutrality of the Committee's members when appointing members to the Advisory Committees and to ensure there is no conflict of interest. The individual put forward by KWCF currently sits on an Advisory Committee and they do not have anyone else whom they feel is suited for the Committee at this time. The individual has indicated that if required to choose whether to remain on an Advisory Committee or be selected for the Committee, his preference would be to serve on the latter; but it would require an amendment or suspension to Clause 2 (c) in order to permit him to do so. It is expected that this individual will be precluded from standing for nomination to Advisory Committees should he serve on the Nominating Committee. As well, Policy 1 -63 (Appointment to Boards and Committees) requires members of a board or committee, including the Nominating Committee, to either reside, work or own property in the City of Kitchener in order to be eligible for appointment. The offices of KWUW and CWR are not located in Kitchener so unless the candidates from these organizations either reside or own property in Kitchener, they would be precluded from membership to the Committee under the existing policy. Rather than change the policy, which would affect all Advisory Committees as 2.-2 well, it proposed to suspend the eligibility requirement only for the Nominating Committee in order to allow members of these two community -based organizations. At this time, staff recommends taking no action to amend the Committee's current Terms of Reference or Policy 1 -63 (Appointment to Boards and Committees). Instead, staff would move forward for the 2014 appointment cycle with suspension of the relevant clauses as recommended above. Depending on the success of this approach, staff would, in consultation with Council, approach these and other similar community -based groups for future appointment cycles with a view to including their members on the Committee if available. This would afford Council the most flexibility for securing members of the Committee. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Inviting members of the community to participate on the Nominating Committee fulfills the City's objective to engage citizens for more informed decision - making and increased democracy. Having the Nominating Committee select members for Advisory Committees helps to achieve greater diversity, and promotes efficient and effective government by having citizens perform the administrative functions of selecting Advisory Committee members for Council's consideration. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no financial implications because there will not be the cost of advertising for citizen members as in the past and appointment to the Nominating Committee is a volunteer position with no remuneration. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Outreach to community -based organizations has already taken place. Advertising for vacancies for Advisory Committees takes place via community newspapers, social media and the City's website. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: D. Chapman, Deputy CAO — Finance and Corporate Services 2. -3 COUNCIL POLICY RESOLUTION POLICY NUMBER: 1 -10 DATE: JUNE 25, 2012 POLICY TYPE: BOARD and COMMITTEE SUBJECT: NOMINATING COMMITTEE — TERMS OF REFERENCE POLICY CONTENT: 1 i• Purpose and Scope The Nominating Committee will assess applicants to Advisory Committees of Council on the basis of diverse representation of the community, expertise /interest in an issue or topic area, and in regard to each advisory committee's Terms of Reference and present Council with a list of qualified candidates for each committee. Committee Composition and Reporting (a) The Nominating Committee will be appointed by Council comprised of five community members and at least 2 City Staff. The committee will be chaired by one of the citizen appointees. Staff does not have voting privileges but are there in a facilitative and resource role. Staff will include: (i) Director, Legislated Services, or designate (ii) Executive Assistant / Committee Administrator, Corporate Services And may or may not include (iii) Director, Strategic Planning and Innovation or designate (b) Normally appointments will be made to the Nominating Committee six months to one year prior to Council's usual November appointments meeting. (c) Citizen members of the Nominating Committee will not currently sit on any or the City's Advisory Committees and will not have sat for at least one year. (d) All members will serve for a period of 2 years. KITCHENER Page 1 of 2 JUNE 2012 2. -4 POLICY NUMBER: 1 -10 POLICY TYPE: BOARD and COMMITTEE SUBJECT: NOMINATING COMMITTEE — TERMS OF REFERENCE (e) The Committee shall annually choose a Chair. (f) Normally, meetings will be held at the call of the Chair. Frequency will depend on the appointment cycle and meetings will occur as required to meet the obligations of Council's schedule. It is expected that bi- weekly meetings will be required during the active recruitment and appointment phase, but may slow to quarterly or at the Chair's call for the remainder of the year. (g) The Committee shall report directly to Council. 3. Quorum Quorum for this Committee is 3 members. 4. Responsibilities The Nominating Committee will be responsible for: (a) Reviewing citizen applications for Advisory Committees and proposing a suggested list of candidates to Council for consideration, ensuring the diversity lens has been applied and the matter of succession planning has been considered. (b) Designing and implementing an accessible and inclusive advisory committee recruitment and application process. (c) Convene, as required, to fill Advisory Committee vacancies. This may be at the call of the Chair or from a specific request from an Advisory Committee with a vacancy. KITCHENER Page 2 of 2 JUNE 2012 2. -5