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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOR-20-016 - Nominating Committee - Citizen Appointments to Advisory/Quasi-judicial Committees and boards (2020-2022)REPORT TO:Committee of the Whole DATE OF MEETING:November23, 2020 SUBMITTED BY:Christine Tarling, Director of Legislated Services/City Clerk, 519-741- 2200, ext. 7809 PREPARED BY:Christine Tarling, Director of Legislated Services/City Clerk, 519-741- 2200, ext. 7809 WARD (S) INVOLVED:All DATE OF REPORT:November 19, 2020 REPORT NO.:COR-20-016 SUBJECT:Nominating Committee Citizen Appointments to Advisory/Quasi- judicial Committeesand Boards(2020-2022) _________________________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: That the list of recommended citizen candidates for 2020-2022Advisory and Quasi-judicial Committeevacanciesbe approved, as attached to staff report COR-20-016; and, That the list of recommended citizen candidates for the Boards of Centre in the Square, Kitchener Public Library, Kitchener Power Corporation, and Kitchener Housing Inc. be approvedfor the terms indicated, as attached to staff report COR-20-016 respectively; and further, That Clause 4.1 (b) of City of Kitchener Policy ADM-AUT-249 be amended to havethe term of Board members forKitchener Housing Inc. align with the term of council in accordance with Section 6 (1) of the Ontario Municipal Elections Act, 1996. BACKGROUND: With a few exceptions, citizen appointments to advisory and quasi-judicial committees takes place every two (2) yearsbased on the recommendations of the Nominating Committee (the Committee)comprised of the following five (5) members, or theirdesignates: Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation (KWCF) President/Chief Executive Officer; Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre (KWMC) Chief Executive Officer; United Way Waterloo Region Communities (UWWRC) Chief Executive Officer; Capacity Canada (CC) Chief Executive Officer; and, Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce (GKWCC) President/Chief Executive Officer. -judicial committees of Council and to present Council with a list of recommendedcandidates for each committee. Late applicants were considered for appointment if there were vacancies remaining on committees once all applicants who submitted by the deadline were considered. ***This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance. 1 - 1 In recent years, an effort has been made to broaden recruitment for various advisory committees, including reaching out to community organizations and professional associations. The City has collaborated with local boards to create a separate application formto garner more information from applicants to support therecruitment process. The Boards of Centre in the Square (CITS), Kitchener Public Library (KPL), Kitchener Housing Inc. (KHI), and Kitchener Power Corporation (KPC) are responsible for selecting their own recommendation. REPORT: Recruitment for the 2020-2022 term took place over a 3-week span from September 3to 27 using various channels includingsocialmedia;website and subscriber notifications; the Kitchener Citizen;Ethnic Media;outreach to community partners (e.g., the Multi-Cultural Centre, ACB Network);a poster/flyercampaignat City Hall, community centres (where possible) and library branches;Engage Kitchener;the Affordable Housing Task Force;members of Council and their networks/contacts;staff and their networks/contacts;media releases;various e-newsletters; the Neighbourhood Associations; MACKS; KYACK; various sport and other community groups; Volunteer Action; anda news post. Current members of the advisory committees were also encouraged to re-applyas well as those who were unassigned from previous recruitment efforts. Recommendations for Advisory/Quasi-Judicial Committees The Committee met on October 21to review applications received for the following City advisory committees: Arts and Culture Advisory Committee(ACAC); Compass Kitchener(CK); Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee(CTAC); Downtown Action and Advisory Committee(DAAC); Economic Development Advisory Committee(EDAC); Environmental Committee(EC); Heritage Kitchener(HK); Property Standards(PS); and, Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee(SHCAC). Supported by Christine Tarling, Director of Legislated Services/City Clerk, and Sarah Coutu, Legislated Services Administrative Assistant, the Committee considered131applications taking into account a number of factors as follows: 1)Terms of Reference of committees where available; st 2)choice of committee, wherever possible; 3) 4)A mix of returning members and new members to support succession planning and continuity within the committees; and, 5)Consideration of applicants that reflect the diversity of the community as a whole as self- identified by the applicants. 1 - 2 To help place applicants, the application requested that applicants only select second and third choices ifthey intended to serve on those committees should they be selected for one of those. Where only one choice was indicated and where possible, the Committee placedapplicants with that choice.As a result, 106of 131 applicants were placed with their first choice.The Committee placedsome applicants withtheir second or third choice when the Committee felt the applicant would best serve on that committeeand/or if their first choice was not available to them. In order to further enhancediversity on committees, staffProject Manager onEquity, Diversity and Inclusion (PMforEDI) to add demographic questions to the application. These questions were not mandatory but 99%of applicants chose to answer at least one of the questions(only 1 applicant did not answer any of the demographic questions).Since applicants had theoption to answer none, someor all of the questions,itis important to note thepercentages reported could be lower than they actually are andlower in comparison s. In addition, the PMforEDI provided the Committee with some guidance as to how to apply the demographic information provided by applicants to help inform the selection processas follows: Where possible, try to match the statistical representation for Kitchener, keeping in mind theCity is not looking to reach quotas; Do not recommend someone simply because they meet the statistical percentage but do give preference to applicants that would be a valuable contributor to acommittee andwho represent a particular demographic; Do not overlook any applicant for whom there seems to be a language barrier butflag these applicants for follow-up; Focus less on previous experience and more on related experiences,why an applicant wishes to serveandwhat they can contributeto the committee;and, Make sure there is sufficient information in the application in order to base a decision applications still need to reflecteffort. The table below showsthe breakdown by demographic for advisory/quasi-judicialcommittees. Advisory/Quasi-Judicial Committees Percentage Kitchener Population as of Mid-Number of Number Percentage Kitchener of year 2020 = 262,000Applicants NominatedNominatedPopulation Applicants 182454%54%8% 25-343426%2825%16% 35-442821%2320%14% Age 45-542318%2118%14% 55-641612%1513%12% 65 or over118%109%14% Woman6147%5246%51% Gender Identity Man7053%6254%49% Groups Disability54%44%20% Identify Visible Minority2116%2018%22% as Immigrant or refugee1310%1311%26% member of LGBTQ2S+75%76%5-10% Total 131114 1 - 3 It should be noted the Committee has, in a number of cases, recommendedover-appointments of applicants who seem to be a good fit for committees for several reasons: 1.A few advisory committees traditionally see some attrition during the term so over- appointing might assist with continuity during the term without the need to domid-term recruitments. 2.In a time of COVID and electronic meetings, the Committee thought thatmoreattrition than usual might occur. 3.Some advisory committees such as ACAC, DAAC, EDAC and HKhave traditionally been challenged with filling some sector-specific positions so, where possible,the Committee is recommending applicants who seem to be a good fit for thosecommitteeseven though they donot necessarily fill a particular sector. In the case of EDAC, there were no applicants for the sector-specific vacancies of Downtown Officer Owner, and Labour Councilbut there weretwo applicants for each of thesectors of High Tech, Manufacturing,and Housing Developmentcurrent members who were appointed in 2018 and who expressed a desire to return as well asnewapplicants who also wish to serve. In those cases, the Committee is recommending the appointment of both. In this way, current members would serve their 4-year term until 2022 while the new members would serve until 2024. The Committee thought thiswould assist with continuity on EDACover the next 4 years and provide buffer in the meantime should attrition occur during the term. The Committee alsosuggested that Council request staff to reconsider the Terms of Reference for EDAC since that committee has consistently been met with challenges for filling thesector- specific vacancies. The Committee suggested more flexibility with the Terms of Reference to leave room for more communitymembers-at-large whenever there are not enoughapplicants to fill specific sectorsbut where there are well-qualified applicants who wish to serve. As well, the Committee feels the 4-year term is too long and may act as a deterrent to people who might otherwise be interested in serving. Recommendations from Boards As per the attached letters from the Boards of Centre in the Square, Kitchener Public Library, Kitchener Power Corporation, and Kitchener Housing Inc.( respectively), a slate of candidates for each of these Boards is being presented consideration. The board appointment terms are as follows: CITS3 yearsfrom January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023; KPLremainder of thecurrent4-year term from December 1, 2020 to November 14, 2022; KPC1 year from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022; KHI 2years from December 1, 2020 to November 14, 2022(transitional). It should be noted that KPL would not normally be recruiting at this point since the board member term is 4 years (concurrent with the term of the appointing council); however,theKPL Board has experienced attrition including the resignation of both alternates and so is looking to fill the current vacancy for the remainder of the term in addition to appointing 2 alternates. With respect toKHI, the Boardhas revised its By-lawand proposed achange in the length of the term for all Boardmembers (both Council and citizen) from 3 years to 4 yearsto run concurrently with thecouncil termas set out in Section 6 (1) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. 1 - 4 -law necessitates a change in City of Kitchener Policy ADM-AUT-249 (Policy); thus, KHI is requesting that CouncilamendsClause 4.1 (b) of that Policy to align with -law.As a transition to the new By-law,Council is being requested to appoint board members for the remainder of the 2018-2022 council term. The 4-year term will take effect on November 15,2022 for the 2022-2026 term of council. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The recommendation of this the delivery of core service. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None at this time. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM advance of the council / committee meeting. PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER: ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Victoria Raab, General Manager, Corporate Services Department ATTACHMENTS: List of Selected Applicantsfor Advisory Committees List of Non-SelectedApplicants Letter from Centre in the Square for Citizen Board Nominations Letter from Kitchener Public Library for Citizen Board Nominations Letter from Kitchener Power Corporation for Citizen Board Nominations Letter from Kitchener Housing Inc. for Citizen Board Nominations 1 - 5 1 - 6 1 - 7 1 - 8 1 - 9 Appendix C - Centre in the Square Nominations October 27, 2020 City of Kitchener Council Dear Council Members, The Centre In The Square (CITS) Board passed a motion to recommend to the City of Kitchener Council to appoint David Cameron and Becka Borody for their first terms on the CITS Board of Directors starting January 1, 2021. These two nominees will replace Paul Salvini who is finishing his second term on the board and Dawne Taylor-Gilders who has withdrawn from her first term on the board. If you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Best regards, Paul Salvini Chair of the Board 101 Queen Street North, Kitchener, Ontario N2H 6P7 T 519 578 5660 F 519 578 8910 centreinthesquare.com 1 - 10 Appendix D - Kitchener Public Library Board Nominations Kitchener City Council c/o Office of the City Clerk 200 King Street West, Kitchener ON, N2G 4G7 October 22, 2020 Dear Kitchener City Council, For your consideration, please find the recommended slate of Kitchener Public Library Board Trustee and alternates for the remainder of the 2019-202 term, as per the Kitchener Public Library Board Nominating Committee: Board Application First Name Last Name Application Board Choice #1 Position ID Submission Trustee 138 Colleen James 9/22/2020 Kitchener Public Library Alternate 82 Mifrah Abid 9/15/2020 Kitchener Public Library Alternate 129 Anjali Misra 9/27/2020 Kitchener Public Library Respectfully submitted, Mary Chevreau, Chief Executive Officer Kitchener Public Library TEL 519.743.0271 FAX 519.743.1261 TTY 1.877.614.4832 kpl.org 85 Queen St. North, Kitchener, Ontario N2H 2H1 1 - 11 Appendix E - Kitchener Power Corp. Nominations 1 - 12 1 - 13