Which should come first, a council delegation or staff report?
One councillor asked whether this made even more work for staff … by preparing reports … even before presenters came to Centre Wellington council.
On May 24, Centre Wellington councillor Mary Lloyd asked about township’s procedural bylaw in relation to the acceptance of delegations.
She understood the procedural bylaw allowed members of the community to come and present to council items of concern or items they wanted council to look at.
Lloyd used the example of a local fair trade group.
Lloyd said she had heard there must be a staff report before coming to council.
“I don’t think a full staff report is required for all things coming to council,” she said.
“There may be presentations for council to think about and make a later decision. At that time council might ask for a staff report for further consideration.”
Clerk Kerri O’Kane agreed the fair trade group had asked to see council, but clarified “it is not a full staff report we are looking for … but a staff report so that when the group comes forward, staff have done a bit of investigation, and asked some questions.”
O’Kane said staff might not know fully what is being requested, but staff would be ready to answer questions council may have in regard to the expectations, what the group is asking of council, potential financial or other impacts.
O’Kane added this way either she or staff can encourage potential presenters to do some of the homework.
In the case of the fair trade group, presenters had not yet contacted the local BIAs.
“We would never deny anyone the opportunity, but in this case some of the implications – financial or otherwise – it would be nice to know beforehand,” said O’Kane.
Councillor Kirk McElwain had similar questions of a group that had wanted to approach council and it too was recommended that it go through a staff report. However, it has been a few months now, and there is still nothing. The group is waiting for staff to get back to them, McElwain said.
“It seems to be a new process this year,” he added.
O’Kane said it is not necessarily a new process, “it’s something we’ve done in the past.”
As the township works on its procedural bylaw, she said what is planned is a clarification so that where one has exhausted avenues such as working with staff to get mitigating devices on a road or cannot move forward on an issue – “then they come to us and we put them on the agenda – and council decides whether staff resources are expended further.
“I think council needs to appreciate some of these things are over and above what our current work plan is. We have to fit them in and work with the community to bring them to council.” She explained “it’s a discussion that has to happen with staff to determine if it warrants coming to council.”
O’Kane said “we’re trying to coordinate it so that it is a collective effort.”
Mayor Kelly Linton said “this a conversation I’ve had with several councillors now. We want to balance off the needs and ensure council has all the information it needs from staff.”
He said in the past, council has required staff reports of some length, before someone comes to council – “so we have both sides of the story and that council is well informed.”
At the same time, he agreed on the need for an open door policy.
Linton said sometimes it seems there are things that go on in the community that do not reach the agenda. “If we go through this process and it still seems like an issue is not being resolved, then there needs to be the opportunity for individuals or groups to come and talk to council.
“We don’t want to just throw the doors open – and not be able to get through the business of government. But we still need to keep the door open enough to deal with things that are important to the community.”
Linton said he wants to make sure the process leaves the door open, but allows governance to be in an orderly fashion. He understood that more information on the process will be coming back for council to either give “the thumbs up” or “thumbs down.”
Councillor Don Fisher said he’s always found it is not really clear how the process works when someone wanted to approach council. He said he hoped he heard correctly that work is being done on the township’s procedural bylaw in this area.
O’Kane said staff is attempting to have a draft bylaw for council to review in June. She added as part of that, there may be an incorporation of the code of conduct council is looking for.
O’Kane hoped what is presented to council will be seen as providing a balance.
Councillor Stephen Kitras took issue with the procedural aspect of citizens being vetted in order to make a presentation.
“Really … what we are about is people having access to the (council) chamber,” he said. At the same time, Kitras agreed on the need for efficiency … “but democracy is not efficient … it’s about being accessible.”
Kitras said that even if it takes an extra presentation, “it is better to hear the pulse of the community.” He advocated openness over having delegations vetted.
“We have a responsibility to be open and to listen,” he said.
McElwain agreed with Kitras. He said there appears to be a delay in getting delegations in front of council because staff are too busy. He said additional staff reports are just adding to staff workloads.
“In many cases, a 10-minute presentation to council could deal with it. The 10-minute time limit seemed to control the process and give citizens the opportunity to present their ideas or opinions.”
Lloyd contended though the policy has not changed, “there is a sense by a presenter, that something has changed because they do not feel they are being allowed access to the chamber to make a presentation.”
Linton said “we all realize we must have something in place to give people access to council.”
Councillor Steven VanLeeuwen agreed there needs to be an ease of access to council. At the same time, he agreed there may be a need for additional information councillors may need to weigh in making decisions.
While he looked forward to clarity on the matter, he was against “putting council on the spot – making decisions which may or not be correct.”
Councillor Fred Morris said council needs to be careful with its delegation process.
While most have the community good at heart, “you could find yourselves on a slippery slope being exposed to champions of a particular cause.” He added, “I am not certain all causes are necessary or even for the community good.
“I think there needs to be a process to qualify what comes to council.”
Kitras contended it is up to council to make the decisions.
“We’re not here to rubber stamp whatever is presented and we’re not here to rubberstamp everything staff says,” Kitras said.
Morris commented “if we are spending this long talking about delegations … what are we going to do when we start talking about an issue?”
