HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - 2010-02-22-SSPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES
FEBRUARY 22, 2010 CITY OF KITCHENER
A special meeting of City Council was held at 4:05 p. m. this date, chaired by Mayor C. Zehr with all
members present. Councillors J. Gazzola and G. Lorentz were in attendance for part of the meeting.
Notice of this meeting had been previously given to all members of Council by the City Clerk pursuant
to Chapter 25 (Council Procedure) of the Municipal Code.
Moved by Councillor C. Weylie
Seconded by Councillor K. Galloway
"That an in-camera meeting of City Council be held immediately following this special meeting to
consider a labour relations matter and two matters subject to solicitor-client privilege."
Carried.
Councillor J. Gazzola entered the meeting
It was noted that this special meeting was a strategic planning session which was being held to allow
discussion on various strategic initiatives and directions being taken by the City.
Council considered Corporate Services Department report CRPS-10-021 dated February 15, 2010,
regarding a review of Chapter 25 (Council Procedure) of the Municipal Code.
Mr. R. Gosse, Director of Legislated Services & City Clerk, advised that a review of the Procedural By-
law is being undertaken at this time as a larger council will be elected this year and a number of its
members will be new to local government processes. The intent of this review is to recommend any
necessary housekeeping and wordsmith changes, incorporate best practices from other municipalities,
and bring forward any major issues for Council's direction, as required. Anew by-law or amendments to
the current by-law will be presented to Council for consideration in August 2010.
Mr. Gosse advised the Procedural By-law review was done in context with information obtained from the
Procedural By-laws of 6 municipalities similar to Kitchener. He noted most by-laws were similar in
format, content and structure but some differences were identified in the structure of standing
committees. Many municipalities operate with atwo-committee structure using a General Committee to
deal with various staff reports and a Planning Committee to hear planning reports and conduct public
meetings required under the Planning Act. In light of these findings, Council's feedback and direction is
requested with respect to the current structure of its standing committees and if there is merit in
restructuring.
Council was asked for input concerning whether or not all members of the larger council should sit on all
standing committees. An alternative would have 4-5 Councillors and the Mayor sit on each committee.
Councillor B. Vrbanovic suggested that the new council decide how many members are appointed to
each committee and Mr. R. Gosse advised that staff had considered this option but felt this should not
be addressed by the new Council until its members had served a portion of their term, allowing an
opportunity to familiarize themselves with the committee and structure. If Council does not wish to make
a change at this time, it is recommended that the question of possible changes to the current structure
be put before the new Council at some point during their four-year term.
Councillor K. Galloway commented that, in her experience, it was a good idea to sit on all Standing
Committees as it provided valuable experience and information and aided her in differentiating the
scopes of various departments.
It was the consensus of Council that all members sit on all Standing Committees.
Council was asked for input concerning whether or not to retain the current three Standing Committees
or move toward a General Committee and aPlanning /Development Committee structure. The General
Committee would combine the current Finance and Corporate Services Committee, the Community
Services Committee and non-planning /development items from the Development & Technical Services
Committee. The Planning /Development Committee would continue to hear planning applications and
matters requiring public input with meetings held in the evening.
Councillor G. Lorentz entered the meeting
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All members agreed that the current structure of three Standing Committees remain, noting benefits
such as easier identification of matters being discussed, time between meetings and more opportunities
for leadership roles.
Council was asked for input concerning development of a rotating schedule of councillors as Chairs and
Vice-Chairs of Standing Committees, thereby providing experience and opportunity for each councillor.
Mr. R. Gosse noted that a schedule would be developed based on the approved schedule of meetings
and providing for rotation approximately every six months. He commented that, at present, the
appointment of Chair and Vice-Chair is undertaken during the annual appointment process.
Councillor J. Gazzola advised that he would like to see a change in how Chairs and Vice-Chairs are
appointed as it would provide an opportunity for new ideas and new leadership but felt that this should
be an issue for the new Council to decide. Councillor K. Galloway expressed her support for the
rotational schedule as it would provide valuable leadership experience.
Staff was directed to leave the current system of annual appointments of Chairs and Vice-Chairs in
place but put the question of developing a rotational schedule to the new Council during the appointment
process in 2011.
Council was asked for input concerning the establishment of a new system whereby all staff reports are
listed on Standing Committee agendas. At the beginning of the meeting, Committee members would
identify which items require discussion and which do not, allowing non-discussion items to be adopted in
a single motion similar to how consent items are currently dealt with.
Mr. Gosse noted that currently each Standing Committee agenda has a consent section where reports
deemed by staff as not requiring discussion are listed. This process allows for efficient disposition of
routine items, however, consent items are often discussed by Committee and staff, not anticipating
discussion, is not present. Additionally, items listed for discussion are sometimes adopted without
debate and staff have attended the meeting unnecessarily. The suggested new system would allow for
a decision at the beginning of each meeting as to items requiring discussion, permitting staff not required
for discussion to leave the meeting.
Councillor B. Vrbanovic clarified that while staff currently develop the consent and discussion agenda, a
member of Council has the option of having any matter discussed. He expressed a concern with
transparency issues if matters are passed without adequate discussion by Council.
Mr. Gosse noted an alternative approach whereby matters identified for presentation by staff could be
listed on the agenda under a new'presentations' heading, clearing alerting Council that the report is for
discussion purposes. He added staff reports would need to be well written and provide sufficient
information in order for Council to decide if further discussion is required.
Councillor Vrbanovic suggested that members of Council advise the Clerk if they wish a consent item
moved to the discussion portion of the agenda. In addition, it was suggested that a consent item could
also be moved if a delegation appeared.
Councillors G. Lorentz and J. Gazzola voiced their support for retention of the current system of consent
and discussion items.
Staff was directed to make no changes to the current system of consent and discussion agenda items.
Council considered Corporate Services Department report CRPS-10-020 dated February 16, 2010,
regarding a review of Council policies.
Mr. R. Gosse advised that in the latter half of 2009, staff commenced a review of Council policies to
determine their status. He also noted that Human Resources is currently reviewing all HR policies and
will present their findings separately.
The review conducted by all affected departments /divisions identified 258 Council policies as follows:
• 107 are still considered valid;
• 56 should be repealed for various reasons;
• 52 require updating and / or re-wording;
• 16 could be repealed and consolidated into existing by-laws within the Municipal Code; and,
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FEBRUARY 22, 2010 - 45- CITY OF KITCHENER
• 11 are still under review.
Mr. Gosse advised that staff is proposing to conduct a comprehensive review over the next 12 months,
develop a standard format for all policies and report back to Council, as needed, concerning any
recommended actions.
In response to a question from Mayor C. Zehr, Mr. Gosse clarified that the process would take 12
months and not be completed by the end of the current Council term. Mayor Zehr asked if all policies
identified as being redundant could be dealt with in the near future, leaving staff additional time to review
remaining policies. Mr. Gosse agreed that this could be done.
Councillor J. Gazzola asked if all current Council policies are available for viewing and he was advised
they are listed on the Intranet, grouped by category and individually numbered.
Mr. Gosse advised that senior staff have had informal discussions on the merits of establishing an
Administrative Policy Manual that would work in tandem with Council policies and clearly set the
administrative processes and guidelines to implement Council decisions. The recent policy review
identified some policies that were more administrative or procedural in nature and the idea was tabled to
separate administrative policies from Council policies. In order to formulate a position on the subject of
establishing an Administrative Policy Manual, staff undertook research in the area of policy, particularly
the definition of policy and looked at ways to differentiate between Council and administrative polices.
As the line between these two areas is blurred and overlap does occur, criteria needs to be developed
and a framework put in place that will assist Council and staff in determining policy type. Staff is now
seeking direction to move forward to develop such a framework.
Council asked if our current policies provide sufficient empowerment for staff compared to those of other
municipalities. Mr. Gosse advised if Council gives direction for staff to move forward with this process,
then other municipalities and institutions (i.e. universities) will be contacted for comparator information.
Mayor C. Zehr asked if Council has the option to delegate additional authority to staff, thereby negating
the need for some Council policies. Mr. Gosse responded that the process cannot be compared to the
delegating authority that Council gives some staff for certain matters. The proposed process is to clearly
identify administrative guidelines and processes which staff require in doing their work. Council policies
provide the overarching direction for staff whereas administrative policies lay out the details of how to
accomplish Council's direction. He added that not all administrative policies will have the sole purpose
of implementing Council policy. There will be administrative policies required to provide direction and
guidance to staff.
In response to a question concerning timing and staff workload, Mr. Gosse advised that this will be a
major undertaking for staff but if direction to proceed is provided today, staff will report back to Council in
September 2010 with a framework and guidelines explaining how the administrative policies will be
developed and communicated to Council.
Ms. C. Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), pointed out that the ongoing Organizational Design
Review has identified a need for more focus and structure around organizational governance. Currently
the City has by-laws in place for the CAO's role as well as those of the Corporate Management Team
and the Senior Leadership Team. She noted that part of a stronger governmental framework is more
clarity around decision making processes. Clear administrative policies can provide a large part of the
clarity needed. In the long term, staff's ability to respond to situations would improve and gaps could be
identified and dealt with more quickly leaving Council to act strategically and provide community
leadership.
Council agreed to support, in principle, the initiative of establishing administrative policies.
On motion the meeting adjourned at 5:06 p. m.
MAYOR CLERK