Composition:

The Procedure By-law Review Sub-committees will be comprised of no more than five (5) Members of Council, appointed by Council. Appointed members include Councillors Santos, Vicente, Bowman, Palleschi and Whillans.

The Sub-committee Chair wi​ll be appointed from amongst the Sub-committee Members.

Term of Office:

Appointments to the Sub-committee will be concurrent with the term of Council, ending November 14, 2022, or until successors are appointed, or the mandate of the Sub-committee is finished.

Established by:

Council Resolution, adopted April 7, 2021

Meetings:

Meetings will be held at the call of the Chair or majority of the Sub-committee, with the frequency dependant on the phase of the work plan. A potential schedule of meetings includes:

• April 2021 (2 meetings – review existing by-law and confirm review issues and opportunities)
• May 2021 (1 meeting – engagement and benchmarking status work)
• June 2021 (2 meetings – Member, staff and public engagement)
• July 2021 (1 meeting – draft meeting procedures review and assessment)
• August 2021 (1 meeting – draft meeting procedures review and assessment)
• September (1 meeting – draft meeting procedures finalization)
• October 2021 (2 meetings – draft meeting procedures consultation)
• November 2021 (1 meeting – finalize meeting procedures and other related recommendations)

Sub-committee status and recommendation reports will presented to the Governance and Council Operations Committee as follows:

• May 17 (Phase 1 and 2 work progress)
• September 20 (Phase 3 work progress)
• November 22 (Sub-committee recommendations on new Procedure By-law)

Reports to:

Governance and Council Operations Committee

Supported by:

Meeting management support will be provided by the City Clerk’s Office, in accordance with Council’s Procedure Bylaw.

Subject matter expertise for the Sub-committee and review work will be provided by staff resources, including but not limited to the City Clerk’s Office, CAO’s Office, Strategic Communications and Legal Services.

Committee Structure/Responsibilities:

Mandate

The Sub-committee will serve as the steering committee for the Procedure By-law Review.

The Procedure By-law Review will include the following objectives, subject to confirmation by the Sub-committee:

• To develop a well-constructed and clearly understood Procedure By-Law to facilitate the business of City Council
• To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of City Council and Committee meetings
• To ensure the decision-making process is accountable, transparent and accessible to and understood by the public and stakeholders, and provides opportunities for participation and input
• To exercise and respect inpidual and collective roles and responsibilities during meetings
• To reflect legislative requirements
• To build upon municipal best practices that fit within the City’s governance structure

The review process will include the following review phases and timelines:

Phase 1 – understanding existing meeting rules and identification of issues and opportunities (April 2021)

1. Learning and scoping sessions with the Sub-committee to determine the priorities, issues and opportunities to be explored in the Procedure by-law review.

Phase 2 – Engagement and Benchmarking (May-June 2021)

1. Member of Council engagement
   • clarification of existing By-law definitions/procedures (see preliminary issues/opportunities slide from March 1 Governance and Council Operations Committee meeting)
   • what works/what does not work with meeting rules and practices
2. Public engagement:
   • Open forum / Town Hall meeting(s)
   • Survey of previous meeting delegates and participants
   • Public commenting period for proposed meeting procedures during Local Government Week – 3rd week in October
3. Municipal benchmarking
   • Create a searchable library and assess comparator Ontario municipal procedure by-laws to inform the review
     

Phase 3 – draft by-law rules and assessment (July-August 2021)

1. Identify housekeeping/administrative amendments to By-law
2. Identify substantive amendments to By-law
3. Identify proposed changes now (this term) versus for consideration next term/further review

Phase 4 – Recommended Procedure By-law and associated recommendations and actions (September – October 2021)

1. Prepare recommendation report and new draft Procedure By-law
Issue public notice / public meeting
3. City Council decision – repeal and replace
4. Implementation
   • Training for Members/staff
   • Public Town Hall(s) and/or other formats to explain new rules

During the course of the review, there will be periodic updates provided to Council through the Governance and Council Operations Committee meetings in May, September and November 2021.

A recommended new Procedure By-law is expected to be presented to Council by the end of 2021.