CotW discusses potential amendments to Council Procedure Bylaw

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Bylaw 23-17, being the Council Procedure Bylaw, proposed for the Town of Strathmore, was brought before the Committee of the Whole during the Sept. 11 meeting. 

“That bylaw was established to have the rules and provisions to regulate the conduct of business in council meetings, and Committee of the Whole. On July 17 of this year, there was a request for administration to bring to the September Committee of the Whole meeting, amendments that address having cameras on for virtual attendance and setting parameters for attending meetings virtually, specifically relating to frequency,” said Veronica Anderson, legislative services officer for the Town of Strathmore. “We took a look at procedure bylaws throughout the province. Many of the communities, when it comes to virtual attendance specifically, it really does vary throughout the province.”

She explained some municipalities do not address the topic at all, while others are very specific to only being able to come virtually for a very small amount per year.

Some other bylaws included notes indicating virtual attendance being at the discretion of the city manager, set guidelines constituting a reason for joining remotely and providing that reason, and others which contained a stipulation that the rule must be followed unless approval is given for an accommodation.

Anderson presented before the Committee of the Whole options which were intended to strike a balance between flexibility and procedure, while staying true to the original July 17 request, which would make up a new procedure amending bylaw. 

“It includes a new section, 10.1, that reads ‘members of council must attend at least two of the three regularly scheduled monthly meetings, which would be two regular council meetings and one Committee of the Whole in person unless they receive written approval from the mayor,’” said Anderson. “There is an alternative to that which actually provides additional flexibility in pulling that out over a year instead of over a month and being able to play with it that way.”

Section 2, she added, is revised to say councillors may attend a council meeting by means of electronic communication, with acceptable modes of electronic communication including the use of secure municipal or personal devices to attend via the available virtual platform.

Councillors may attend the meeting via phone at the discretion and approval of the mayor if no other means are available.

When attending a council meeting remotely, the member must be on camera unless the mayor or chair approves the member turning their camera off.

The Committee of the Whole debated the merit in bringing forward an amendment to the procedure bylaw which would contain a contingency for having a councillor removed from chambers, should violations of the procedure bylaw be acted upon, until such time that a councillor under scrutiny had made appropriate amends for their misconduct.

There was no indication as to exactly when the proposed bylaw amendments would return before council or the Committee of the Whole.