Council had decided to consider switching to a system where the various advisory committees (such as public works and building) would report to council and decisions would be made based on their recommendations.
But, they’ve decided to stay with the system of having standing committees of the whole (such as Corporate Services) made up of all councillors who make recommendations that are then voted upon at regular council meetings.
Mayor Larry Kraemer says only councillors can make official recommendations to council, and the other committees only have advisory roles.
He says staying with the existing system is the best outcome, and allows councillors to make recommendations after examining what the committees advise.
Kraemer says advice from committees is important, but it cannot be taken as a formal recommendation.
He says not all of the necessary information would be available to councillors if decisions were made based on committee advice.
Committees are made up of one or two council representatives and appointed citizens.
Kraemer says caution has to be used between what is simply advice, and an actual formal recommendation.
The mayor was concerned that the changes would have made council less transparent to the public and the media.
Councillor Guy Anderson says having each advisory committee report directly to council would have been very time consuming and would have added to the length of council meetings.
Deputy Mayor Laura Haight believes council should be setting the tone for the advice the various committees give.
Councillor Ron Hewitt prefers to see the format stay the same and councillors instead decide on changes to the meeting format after the next municipal election.
Chief Administrative Officer John de Rosenroll also prefers the current format from a management perspective.
