THUNDER BAY — The city is looking at making significant changes to the way council deliberates – and they're looking for public input.
Administration is proposing to do away with the city's committee of the whole, where all 13 members of council can discuss issues and question city staff ahead of council meetings, where council makes its decisions.
Instead, a number of standing committees would be created with fewer council members sitting on each committee, specializing in particular areas of city business.
The proposal is independent of the council composition review process, which has recommended major changes to the city’s electoral system, including a reduction by two in the number of councillors, a complete redrawing of ward boundaries, a shift in the balance between ward and at-large councillors and bringing in a system of two councillors for each ward.
Regardless of whether those changes are accepted by council, the changes to the council committee structure could be adopted and implemented.
The city clerk's office is touting the standing committee model as a new, more efficient way for council business to be accessible to the public while also lightening the councillor's workload.
The city launched a public survey on its Get Involved page. The survey looks to engage the public on the proposed changes to its governance structure.
“The survey, right now, we're looking for how people engage with city council. Are there barriers to engaging in city council?” Krista Power, director of legislative services and city clerk, told Newswatch.
“I'm really proud of the fact that we have our council meetings on three different video streams whether you watch it online, whether you watch it on Roger's cable, or whether you watch it on Tbaytel. Or you can always come and visit us at City Hall. We make that really accessible.
"So, we want to know: do people take advantage of that? Are they utilizing that?
"Are they interested in making a deputation or is the idea of coming to city council and is there being 13 members a barrier? And potentially a standing committee may be something more palatable and easier for people to access and get involved with.”
Power said that a standing committee might decrease barriers for both council members and members of the public.
Right now, a committee of the whole has all 13 councillors evaluating city business and making decisions on several items in one evening. Depending on the agenda item, city council can run for a lengthy amount of time.
Council members are expected to have read every report given to them and members of the public will need to digest everything said between council and city staff.
A standing committee isn’t all that different from a committee of the whole, explained Power, except a standing committee divides the work into three separate committee groups.
The three standing committees would be: quality of life, finance and administration, and planning and growth.
A fourth committee will be designated for closed session confidential matters under the municipal act.
A standing committee would have a smaller number of councillors, potentially five, said Power. The standing committees would then make recommendations and a final city council meeting would confirm any decisions.
Power said all council members would still receive all the information to help make their decision at the regular city council meeting.
The councillors on each standing committee would "gain more subject matter expertise, and then be able to make that recommendation to city council for approval. City council will always hold the final approval,” said Power
According to Power, a standing committee creates a more efficient council by saving some time by allowing them to dig a little bit deeper into the topics.
However, it may also make it easier for the public to engage with the topic in which they are invested.
“Right now, when you turn on the city council meetings, the public may wonder if they are meeting as a committee of the whole or are they meeting as city council? You may not know right when they are considering a matter or when they are deciding,” said Power.
“So, from that perspective, I would say it's important to me as the clerk that the community understands when their local municipal officials are making decisions. So, we're hoping for some increased transparency in that way to help the public better understand when they're making decisions."
If council passes the governance review policy in June, the standing committees and regular city council meetings would be divided into a six-week rotation. The three standing committees would meet be on weeks one, three, and five respectively and with regular city council meetings on weeks two, four, and six.
In addition to looking at potentially replacing committee of the whole with a standing committee structure, the survey will also gauge public interest in the city's advisory committees.
City council currently has over 15 council advisory committees; there are a small number of committees required by specific legislation.
“All of the committee members have received the survey. We've encouraged them to participate. Their feedback is really important. Council has also received a separate survey for their feedback,” said Power
“We'll also be consulting internally with our administrative folks because there would be process changes needed. We're looking to collect data internally and externally. We've already done an environmental scan of other municipalities and the processes they use to see what we like and what we think would work best for the citizens of Thunder Bay.
City staff will bring a first report back to council in June before a final decision is made. If passed, Power said the new governance structure will launch in September.
