Letting your voice be heard

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Town of Strathmore council passed all three readings for Bylaw 25-15, being an amendment to the Council Procedure Bylaw during the special council meeting on April 30.

The Council Procedure Bylaw, 23-17, was drafted to establish rules and provisions to regulate the conduct of business in council and committee meetings.

Council Procedure Bylaw Amending Bylaw 25-15 annotates amendments to the definitions of electronic communications, provides procedural recommendations for the time of public hearings, and the order of business during public hearings.

“This amendment deals with how residents or members of the public may participate in public hearings. This is a new requirement in provincial legislation, one that many municipalities are currently trying to incorporate into their procedure bylaws,” said Johnathan Strathdee, manager of legislative services for the Town of Strathmore. “We do currently advertise how members of the public could participate in public hearings. Members of the public are able to currently join public hearings remotely as of right now and it has been that way for the last couple of years. If they do wish to participate, we just ask that they register with legislative services just so we know who to send the Zoom link to and who we can expect to be joining the meeting.”

The amendment would require members of the public to register with legislative services by or before noon on the day of the public hearing. It also details the contingency of if a member of the public loses connection to the meeting as it progresses.

Members of the public who are disconnected unexpectedly from virtual meeting attendance are already offered opportunities to rejoin the meetings. This amendment writes it into formal practice within the bylaw.

Town administration was advised April 24 by the town’s legal team to include a section in the procedure bylaw regarding public participation.

It was the recommendation of town administration that council vote to pass all three readings of the bylaw during the special council meeting.

Coun. Richard Wegener and Coun. Brent Wiley made each of the respective motions for readings to be passed by council. These in turn were each passed unanimously without further discussion or debate.

Details regarding the amendment to the procedure bylaw are provided through the town’s website. 

Section 199 of the Municipal Government Act requires a municipal council by bylaw provide for public hearings to be conducted by electronic means in order to accommodate for those wishing to participate remotely.