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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 9, 2007 (Strategy Session) Council Strategy Session Meeting Minutes Friday, February 9, 2007 9: 15 AM PRESENT: Mayor David Ryan COUNCILLORS: D. Dickerson R. Johnson B. Littley B. McLean J. O'Connell D. Pickles ALSO PRESENT: T. J. Quinn E. Buntsma N. Carroll G. Paterson A. Allison D. Bentley T. Melymuk J. Hodgson L. Roberts - Chief Administrative Officer - Director, Operations & Emergency Services - Director, Planning & Development - Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer - City Solicitor - City CIBrk - Division Head, Corporate Projects & Policy - Manager, Customer & Administrative Services - Committee Coordinator Mayor Ryan welcomed everyone back. The Chief Administrative Officer stated he was pleased with yesterday, and a number of matters discussed, noting that the agenda formats, etc. as developed by the City Clerk and senior staff worked well. Governance Structure: The City Clerk led Council through the Governance Structure discussion paper. Further details on the changes to the Municipal Act will be provided in the future to members of Council, however noting that the City was well underway for compliance, especially in relation to Council Secretariat processes. The City Clerk provided an overview on governance; . Increase public involvement . Existing format for reports working well . Easy access to agendas, minutes through laserfiche . Constant reviews through meetings · Formal correspondence structure - we have specific direction · New Municipal Act - key aspect is giving public notice of all public meetings - we must comply with this now · Must give appropriate notice of all meetings · Minutes to be recorded including in camera minutes . Open government is stressed Public participation: . Must be encouraged . Orientation went very well · Agendas for advisory committees to be available on line making it more. accessible to the public Detailed discussion ensued and it was noted that the City did have an exceptional system, and there was still a few areas that we could improve upon. It was noted that the changes over the past year had further enhanced the system and the process of communication. Further discussion ensued on items going to Statutory meetings and the procedures involved with public meetings. It was agreed that the City was well ahead and on the right track. The City Solicitor provided clarification on the purpose of the meetings in relation to the Planning Act. He further outlined the distance requirements in relation to notification under the Planning Act. Discussion ensued on having summer meetings. The Chief Administrative Officer stated he was concerned with having no meetings during the summer and was looking for direction on this. It was confirmed that the last week in July would work the best, and the City Clerk should encompass a meeting within the schedule. Based on the discussion, it was the consensus of Council that the Statutory Information meetings would be held as part of the new Planning & Development Committee, noting that the agendas would clearly reflect that it was a Planning Information meeting, so that members of the public understood the lack of Council involvement in the debate at this stage of the planning review. Break at 10:30 am Reconvened at 10:52 am Mayor Ryan suggested we not meet for budget during March Break and cancel the Executive meeting. This was confirmed and the City Clerk will action accordingly. It was further confirmed that the Budget committee meeting would meet on Friday, March 23rd at 9:00 am and Monday, March 26, 1 :00 pm (if deemed necessary). All members were in agreement with this schedule. Procedural By-law Discussion Paper: The City Clerk provided an overview of the proposed new Procedural By-law, noting that recommended changes were highlighted. She noted the changes that reflect the public notification process along with In camera sessions and what needs to be changed as a result of the new Municipal Act. There were general housekeeping changes to reflect what is happening now, but no major changes in this regard. Discussion ensued on minor housekeeping issues and clarification on certain items in the procedural by-law. The City Clerk provided clarification where necessary. Discussion on delegations ensued. Councillor McLean asked about Item 33 b), referring to the discussion of items not on the agenda. This will be deleted, the public can speak on any item, but they must still notify the Clerk in writing. It was noted that the Chair always has the option of speaking order. The main goal is to ensure everyone has an opportunity to speak. It was the consensus of Council that the draft procedural by-law was excellent, noting the change to delegations and that the City Clerk should proceed to implement the new by-law as soon as possible. Appointments to Advisorv Committeess At the February 5, 2007 meeting of Council, appointments to the CAVE Advisory Committee and the Seaton Net Benefits Committee was referred to the Council Strategy session for discussion purposes. Discussion ensued on th,e number of Councillors for various committees, along with the status of the formalization of CAVE. Sustainable Pickerinq: 3 Councilllors Councillor O'Connell Councillor Dickerson Councillor Pickles Seaton: Councillor Littley with O'Connell as alternate Councillor Dickerson with McLean as alternate Councillor Johnson with Pickles as alternate Communities Aqainst Violence Everywhere (CAVE) The City Clerk noted that notices had gone out to the paper, and we have already received some applications with respect to the citizen appointments. It was the consensus that this Committee continue as a staff managed advisory committee letting the appointed staff person bring to Council what is needed. It was remarked on the good job being done by Shawna Mutton in this regard.. The connection with recreation and culture is working really well and everyone was in agreement with this. Mayor Ryan talked about Communities in Bloom. The City Clerk brought the power point presentation back up with respect to the Committee structure. It was decided Mayor Ryan and Councillor McLean would sit on this committee. Adjourned for lunch at 11 :52 am Session reconvened at 1 :09 pm Council Compensation and Communication Policy Detailed review of the policy commenced, going through each section in order to receive comments in this regard. Based on the discussion, the Chief Administrative Officer was requested to review Council salaries within GT A municipalities and provide this information to Council. It was noted that the local councillor salary range should be approximately $45,000 due to the work involvement. The following discussion ensued: · Elimination of the tax free allowance, noting the difference to be made up within an RRSP · Review of what the tax free allowance consists of now . Now is the time for the salary review . Review of cost of living should be completed in conjunction with the salary review . Entire compensation package should be reviewed in order to provide for decreases in areas not utilized in order to increase in areas, such as salary, where an increase is warranted . What are other municipalities doing with respect to salary and benefit compensation and this should be looked at in relation to population . Councillors are no longer considered part time and this should be reviewed in relation to OMERS . Salary census for Pickering should be reviewed. The Chief Administrative Officer noted that he is doing this as per Compensation Review as per Council with approval by Senior Management. This will fit well to do both areas at the same time as we have tied these areas together before. Allowances: Discussion ensued on this matter and the Chief Administrative Officer was advised to review and do a comparison with the Region. The Chief Administrative Officer pointed out that everything we do is subject to audit and the first thing looked at is unsupported expenses. Stressed caution in this area. Further discussion ensued related to in house services provided with respect to administration, printing costs and the communication budget in general. It was generally felt that secretarial services was different than communication and these two items should be kept as separate budget line items. The Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer clarified that Section 18a) and b) refers to websites. He went on to explain further the communications section, and the fact that you could take outside agency items from two different areas of the budget, being Item 1 B b) and 7 b). Discussion continued related to where the website budget should be allocated, postage costs being encompassed by the City and the awareness that audits are taken of all financial business related to the City. The Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer, explained the sections and what they deal with and why this would not be feasible. It was proposed that Item 7 a) be changed to $8,500 for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years and $7,000 for the 4th year. This proposal was accepted by consensus. Short break at 2:35 pm BENEFITS: Discussion ensued on spousal benefits upon death (Sections 8 b) and c)) and the Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer clarified some issues surrounding this matter. To be added: However, for members who have completed 15 years, these benefits should continue to spouse until age 70 upon the death of the Councillor. Insurance Indemnification Item 11: It was decided this should be brought back for clarification review. Item 12 a) It was proposed that for the future this should be raised to 15 in year one then, to 17 in year two and 18 the year after. The Chief Administrative Officer to review the range. Item 13 - Severance This required changing three years to four to reflect the new term of Council. The severance issue was to be left for clarification. Communications: Item 16 a) Computer Hardware/Software Discussion took place, but it was decided not to increase at this time. 3:20 pm Chief Administrative Officer left due to illness Equipment Mayor Ryan turned it over to the Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer for his presentation. The Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer went over his presentation pertaining to the best business practice and the current practice. Discussion ensued on telecommunications equipment and the problems associated with contracts. Discussion ensued with respect to the issue of liability when signing contracts for equipment, ie. cell phones, blackberries, etc. The Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer suggested that the City could take over contracts that had been taken out in individual Councillor names. It was further noted that there needed to be a standard set of operating rules developed for purchases etc. and that all purchases to go through the City's purchase requirements. Further discussion ensued with respect to notice that all Council expenses are public information, the allocation of a credit to Councillors if equipment is turned in. The Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer stated this has never happened, only with computers. Mayor Ryan stated that it is beneficial to have the City look after contracts, as all literature would be on file, which would make tracking easier. Everyone was in agreement to this principle. Policy will be written to this effect. Policy must differentiate between what the Region supplies, and not duplicate this in the City. It was also agreed the clarity to the policy on plans for cell phones etc. needed to be developed. Discussion resumed on equipment issues and the return of this equipment back into the system. The main principle of this system would be for the equipment to be returned back into the organization to be reused. It was suggested that we look into an alternative way to accommodate for equipment coming back. Some discussion took place on the leasing of equipment. The Director of CorporatE~ Services & Treasurer was requested to schedule another % day to complete the strategy session. It was also requested that the wording "neighbourhood letter" be removed from Item 18 e) The Strategy Session adjourned at 4:23 pm