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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance & Admin - 2001-08-14 SFINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2001CITY OF KITCHENER The Finance and Administration Committee met this date in special session, commencing at 7:10 p.m., Chaired by Councillor J. Ziegler with the following members present: Mayor C. Zehr and Councillors M. Galloway, G. Lorentz, J. Smola, B. Vrbanovic and C. Weylie. Others Present:Ms. R. Pitfield, Ms. S. Adams, Ms. P. Houston, Ms. L. Zitzelberger, Ms. J. Dean, Ms. M. Sanderson, Ms. M. Morrison, Ms. D. Gilchrist, and Messrs. R. Pritchard, L. Neil, D. Corks and J. Shivas. 1. STANDING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEW The Committee was in receipt of the report of the Council/Staff Working Group, dated August 14, 2001 recommending revisions to the Advisory and Standing Committee structures for the City of Kitchener. Mayor C. Zehr introduced the report explaining that there has not been a review of the City’s committee structure in many years and over that period of time many advisory committees have been developed. He noted that the catalyst for the current review is the downsized Council and the duplication of issues and presentations at committee meetings. The issue of duplication has been verified through a review of all committee agendas and minutes over a one-year period. He then advised that public input into the review process was obtained through discussion with all advisory committees. Mayor Zehr stated that the recommendations contained in the report are not as narrow as initially proposed, as a result of input received from the advisory committee members. Advisory committee members indicated that each committee’s membership should include 1-2 members of Council, and that a co-chair system be adopted for each committee, whereby one Councillor and one lay member will co-chair each advisory committee, with the Councillor being the liaison with City Hall. It was also suggested the term for sub-committees be revised from the recommendation in the report, to require that they be reviewed on an annual basis to determine if there is a need for the sub-committee to continue. Mayor Zehr then referred to Schedule A in the report, “Proposed Advisory Committee Structure”, noting the appointment of one member of an advisory committee to another committee, where it has been determined to be beneficial. Councillor Weylie questioned the time meetings will be held, suggesting that each committee decide the best time to hold their meetings. Councillor Ziegler suggested that when people apply for appointment on committees, they indicate their preferred time on their application form. Councillor Weylie then questioned whether a limit would be placed on the number of committees any one person may be appointed to. Councillor Ziegler suggested that may be determined by the number of applications received. Councillor Vrbanovic referred to the “Next Steps” portion of the report, specifically with respect to recruitment, noting that not all changes in this process will be made for 2002, due to the lack of time; however, a more in-depth recruiting process will be in place for 2003. He also advised that the City Clerk will propose draft standardized terms of reference for each advisory committee, for discussion at their first meeting, with comments from each of these committees being presented to Council. Mr. Mike Sully, Chair of Compass Kitchener, was in attendance to comment on the Working Group Report, with copies of his comments being distributed to members of the Committee this date. He provided background to the mandate of Compass Kitchener and questioned Compass Kitchener’s position in the revised advisory committee structure. Mr. Sully then stated that the process undertaken to arrive at the recommendations in the report does not meet the visionary requirements of Compass Kitchener. He stated that the process followed in this instance was a top-down process; whereas, the Compass Kitchener is a very bottom-up decision making process. Mr. Sully identified the problems that the Working Group report is intended to address and suggested the report does not adequately address all the problems. He agreed that consistent administrative processes within committees is important. Mr. Sully did not disagree with the merger of committees; however, he expressed the need for a transition plan to execute the recommended changes. Mr. Sully then stated that he supports the statement under “Next Steps” in the report, to create a mechanism to address issues of common interest across committees. In this regard, he FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2001- 92-CITY OF KITCHENER 1. STANDING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEW (CONT’D) recommended that a priority list of problems be developed, circulated to each advisory committee; with a problem-solving team, consisting of members from each advisory committee being formed to address these problems. Each team member could then provide progress reports to their respective advisory committee. Mr. Bob Burns, a member of the Safe City Committee, addressed the Committee advising he is in support of the Working Group report on committee restructuring, and had some suggestions to make with respect to operating procedures, once the recommendations are implemented. Mr. Burns suggested that as a member from the Downtown Advisory Committee is to sit on the Safe and Healthy Community Committee, there should be a reciprocal appointment. He advised that his main emphasis is to continually improve linkages between the advisory committees and their respective standing committees. Mr. Burns then put forward his recommendations: · reporting the regular business of the advisory committees to their respective standing committees through the provision of their agendas and minutes; including the forwarding of sub-committee minutes via the advisory committee to their respective standing committee; · scope of comments or advice from advisory committees should be limited to their terms of reference with provision for advice to be provided even if not requested; advice may be provided to both standing committees and Council; advice may be requested by standing committees and staff; · a heading be included in the standard report format to standing committees and Council for advisory committee comments or advice; and a report from the City Clerk to the advisory committees on Council’s decision with respect to the advice or comments provided by them. Mr. Burns’ final recommendation is to establish a reading room in City Hall, to be accessible to the public, where access is provided to all Committee and Council agendas, minutes and reports. He suggested that it be located within the City Clerk’s office. Mr. Tim Dickson, a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Youth and the Safe City Committee, appeared to request some clarification, which was provided by Mayor Zehr. He then offered the suggestion that the City’s advertisement to recruit lay members for advisory committees should include the times each committee meets. He did not agree that there should be a limit to the number of committees to which one individual may be appointed. Mr. Dickson agreed that sub-committees should be reviewed annually and not terminated after one year, as recommended in the Working Group report. He then requested that a “youth” representative be appointed to the Safe and Healthy Community Committee. Councillor B. Vrbanovic responded to Mr. Dickson’s suggestion concerning a “youth” member of the Safe and Healthy Community Committee, and agreed that one of the community-at- large members be a “youth”. In response to his comments concerning the number of committees a person may be appointed to, Councillor Vrbanovic stated that where there is an interest and qualifications, there should be opportunities for as many people as possible. Councillor Vrbanovic advised of correspondence received from Ms. Trudy Beaulne and Ms. Karen Taylor-Harrison in response to the Working Group report. In Ms. Beaulne’s letter she indicates a need for further community in-put and a concern about the definition of Downtown neighbourhoods. With respect to the Downtown Advisory Committee, Ms. Beaulne expressed concern over reduced participation by neighbourhood associations, and requested that the Mount Hope-Breithaupt neighbourhood be added to the membership list of Ward 1 neighbourhoods. In her letter Ms. Beaulne also commented on the volume of work required by the Safe and Healthy Community Committee and concluded by stating that the Social Planning Council welcomes a greater role in all advisory committees. Councillor Vrbanovic then read the correspondence received from Ms. Karen Taylor-Harrison, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2001- 93-CITY OF KITCHENER 1. STANDING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEW (CONT’D) in which she questions the reduced involvement of neighbourhood associations in the advisory committees, specifically requesting that the existing neighbourhood association involvement in the Downtown Advisory Committee continue. Ms. Taylor-Harrison stated that she thought the task of reviewing all the committee mandates was too great a task for the City Clerk to do alone without additional input. She was in favour of the reciprocal arrangement of having members of one advisory committee appointed to liaise with other committees. Councillor Galloway thanked the members of the Council/Staff Working Group for a very comprehensive report. He noted that the Working Group’s presentations to the advisory committees were well received, and the advisory committee members that he has spoken with regard these recommendations as a positive change. He stated that he is in support of the report, and requested some minor changes to the Heritage Kitchener membership. Councillor Vrbanovic thanked the delegations for participating in this evening’s meeting. He stated that change is difficult, and the Working Group has tried to put forward recommendations which are inclusive. He also stated that the recommendations of the Working Group are not perfect, and will need changing in the future, and that the health and life of any organization requires change. Councillor Vrbanovic then moved the recommendations contained in the Working Group report with the following revisions: · the membership of the Safe and Healthy Community Committee be amended to provide that one of the community-at-large members be a “youth”; and, · that as part of the “Next Steps” staff be directed to investigate the establishment of a public reading room at City Hall, and other opportunities for the public to access all Committee and Council agendas, minutes and reports and provide a report to City Council Commenting on the report, Councillor Vrbanovic advised that a change in focus is being recommended for the Downtown Advisory Committee to a more economic focus, in recognition of the fact that many of the social issues considered by that committee are city-wide issues. He stated that the proposed restructuring will no doubt make a change in the time commitment for Council and staff, but will also improve on the involvement of Council, staff and citizens. With respect to the co-chair system, this system provides for a member of Council to be the point of contact for the Committee as well as allowing citizen involvement at this level. Councillor Galloway then requested an amendment to the composition of Heritage Kitchener to reduce the number of community-at-large members to 2-3 and to add one member representing the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District and one member representing the Victoria Park Area Heritage Conservation District. It was noted that as additional heritage conservation districts are designated, there will probably be a need to add members so that each new district may have representation on this committee. Councillor Vrbanovic accepted this friendly amendment to his motion. Councillor Smola requested that the recommendations for standing committees be voted on separately from those for advisory committees. He then requested that the Mount Hope- Breithaupt neighbourhood be added to the list of neighbourhoods in “Inner City Residents of Ward 1…” under the Downtown Advisory Committee membership, identified in Schedule C “Committee Composition”. Both of these requests were accepted by Councillor Vrbanovic as friendly amendments. Councillor Smola then put forward an amendment that all advisory committee meetings commence at 4:00 p.m. and that the Clerk so indicate when advertising for advisory committee members. Several members supported this request, some indicating that there should be flexibility to allow the individual committees, once established, to change their meeting times. Councillor Vrbanovic accepted the 4:00 p.m. commencement for advisory committees as a friendly amendment. Councillor C. Weylie requested an amendment to the recommendation regarding sub- 1. STANDING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEW (CONT’D) FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2001- 94-CITY OF KITCHENER committees to provide that their membership include people outside the advisory committee, should their expertise be required. Mayor Zehr requested an amendment to the same recommendation to provide for a review of sub-committees after one year to determine their need to continue, rather than terminating them after one year. Councillor Vrbanovic accepted both these requests as friendly amendments. Following a brief discussion it was agreed that all advisory committee members will be provided with the annual schedule of meetings for Council and Standing Committees. Mayor C. Zehr commented that the process undertaken to arrive at this report was intended to be consultative and that Council had weighed all comments in order to provide for a balanced consensus. On motion by Councillor B. Vrbavovic – it was resolved: “That the revised advisory committee structure and related recommendations as outlined in the report of the Council/Staff working group dated August 14, 2001 be approved, save and except for the following revisions: a) the membership of the Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee be amended to specify that one of the Community-at-large members be a ‘youth’; b) the membership on Heritage Kitchener be amended to reduce the Community- at-large members to 2-3, and to add the following: i) representative of the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District (1) ii) representative of the Victoria Park Area Heritage Conservation District (1); and, c) the membership of the Downtown Advisory Committee be amended to add the Mount Hope – Breithaupt Neighbourhood as one of the listed neighbourhoods under ”Inner City Resident of Ward 1…” d) the recommendation with respect to sub-committees of advisory committees be amended to provide that these ad-hoc committees should ‘be reviewed annually to determine whether they need to continue’ and reference to ‘exist for no longer than 1 year’ be deleted; and, the recommendation also be amended to add that membership on sub- committees may be expanded, if required, to include people who are not advisory committee members, to take advantage of individual expertise; e) when the Clerk advertises for lay members of advisory committees, the notice state that all advisory committee meetings shall commence at 4 p.m.; and further, f) under the section titled ‘Next Steps’, the following initiative be added: i)Staff investigate and report to Council on the possibility of establishing a ‘public reading room’ at City Hall, and other opportunities for the public to access all committee and Council agendas, minutes and reports; and further, That the current advisory committee and board appointments which expire on November 30, 2001 be extended to December 31, 2001 to provide additional time for volunteer recruitment.” 1. STANDING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEW (CONT’D) FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2001- 95-CITY OF KITCHENER The Committee then discussed Councillor Vrbanovic’s motion to adopt the Working Group recommendations respecting Standing Committees. Councillor Smola put forward an amendment to alter the meeting times for Special Council and Standing Committees to the following: 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.Special Council / In-camera meeting 2 p.m.– 4 p.m.Finance and Corporate Services Committee 4 p.m.– 6 p.m.Community Services Committee 6 p.m.– 7 p.m..Dinner 7 p.m.Development and Technical Services Committee He stated that moving these meetings into the latter part of the day will make it easier for the public to attend. Councillors Galloway and Lorentz agreed with Councillor Smola’s amendment noting that it is compatible with the City’s “Service First” philosophy. Mayor C. Zehr spoke against the amendment noting that in instances where a major issue needs to be addressed, special evening meetings are held to allow greater public access. He commented on the recent lengthy in-camera meetings, noting that a 7:00 p.m. commencement for Development and Technical Services Committee eliminates the possibility of continuing the in-camera meetings later in the day. He stated that in-camera meetings will likely take longer than two hours, requiring these meetings to start earlier than 12 noon, which defeats the purpose of a later start time on Committee day. Several committee members spoke in opposition to Mayor Zehr’s comments and in favour of the amendment. Councillor Vrbanovic accepted Councillor Smola’s amendment as a friendly amendment. He then put forward an amendment to his motion that the revised committee structure for standing committees and the revised meeting times commence on October 1, 2001, and the revised meeting times to be reviewed in June 2002. He stated that he had no definite preference for either meeting schedule; however, he did express concern that the late start to consider planning matters may be a problem when there was a major item or a lengthy agenda to be dealt with. On motion by Councillor B. Vrbanovic – it was resolved: “That the number of standing committees of Council be reduced from 4 to 3 with all members of Council to sit on each of the following Committees: · Finance and Corporate Services Committee · Community Services Committee · Development and Technical Services Committee; and, That with the exception of issues which are of an overriding financial, administrative or strategic nature, the individual City departments report to the standing committee corresponding to their department name, and that the Strategic Services Department report through the Finance and Corporate Services Committee; and, That the meeting times for Special Council and Standing Committees be as follows: · 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.Special Council / In-camera meeting · 2 p.m.– 4 p.m.Finance and Corporate Services Committee · 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.Community Services Committee · 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.Dinner · 7 p.m.Development and Technical Services Committee; and further, 1. STANDING AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEW (CONT’D) FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2001- 96-CITY OF KITCHENER That the revised standing committee structure and meeting times be effective October 1, 2001; with a review of the meeting times to be undertaken in June 2002.” 2. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Dianne H. Gilchrist Committee Administrator