Yorkton Council has approved first reading of amendments to its Procedures Bylaw.
鈥淚t is prudent that as time passes and processes change that our governance documents are regularly reviewed, and managed to meet the standards and practices of the day. One important goal of the City鈥檚 Strategic Plan 2020 states that the governance model is accountable, transparent, engages residents鈥� participation and involvement in policy development and goal setting, and therefore, public notice is part of passing this bylaw and any amendments thereto,鈥� explained Jessica Matsalla Director of Legislation and Procedures (City Clerk) at the regular meeting of Council Monday.
The City of Yorkton is mandated by the Cities Act to enact a Procedures Bylaw.
The City鈥檚 current Procedures Bylaw was approved in early 2016, and amended in 2017 to restructure the Order of Business, eliminating the embedment of Committee of the Whole meetings within the Regular Council Meeting, explained Matsalla.
鈥淭he Committee of the Whole is a committee comprised of all members of City Council, and facilitates a platform for items to be discussed by Council, less formally that in a Regular Council meeting. Committee of the Whole allows the entire Council to work towards a common understanding of an issue by listening and reviewing reports together in the same room at the same time. The Committee of the Whole, like any other committee then may make recommendations to Council from those discussions,鈥� she said.
For example language was added to allow for a Regular Meeting to be conducted with quorum constituting to consist of Council members all engaged electronically or a combination of electronically and physically present, in an emergency situation without suspension of rules. This is added in response to the measures that were brought to light due to the recent and ongoing Pandemic COVID-19. Per the Act, the City Clerk is the only one who must be physically present in the place the meeting is being 鈥渃onducted from.鈥�
Also among changes was adjustments to the Committee of the Whole Meetings were made, to allow Committee of the Whole Meeting to occur at the call of the Mayor.
Clarifications were made regarding the resolutions/recommendations made within the Committee of the Whole Meetings, meaning that the Committee of the Whole makes recommendations to Council. Council then considers these recommendations formally at Regular Council meetings.
Recommendations from the Committee of the Whole would be addressed under the appropriate heading in Order of Business ... (i.e. it could be direction for Administration to bring a report to Council for consideration and approval at the next Council Meeting.)
Council passed first reading and authorized Administration to proceed to the Public Notice Process.
