They’ve decided to do away with the current so-called “hybrid” Committee of the Whole format and look into having municipal committees report directly to regular council with their recommendations.
This means the current standing committees of council will be replaced with a single regular council meeting.
Councillors rejected the idea of going to a single Commitee of the Whole format that would run with regular council meetings.
Deputy Mayor Laura Haight is concerned the new format will create “silos” where everyone isn’t fully aware of decisions being made on the various committees.
She says a Commitee of the Whole format would have led to more transparency and awareness when decisions are being made.
Haight questions how councillors can make decisions when they aren’t fully aware of what is happening on committees they aren’t members of.
The debate between Haight and Councillor Gordon Campbell became intense.
Campbell accused the Public Works Committee of operating like a clique.
Haight, who chairs Public Works criticized Campbell’s decisions as Chair of the Building and Planning Committee and said his voting patterns don’t often reflect the recommendations the committee makes.
Mayor Larry Kraemer ordered the discussion to cease before it got too personal.
Haight refused to comment on the exchange after the meeting.
Kraemer says he would have preferred to adopt the single Commitee of the Whole format, saying it’s best for a municipality the size of Kincardine.
He says a decision had to be made and he believes the approach of having committees report directly to regular council are a step forward.
Kraemer says the approach council wants was his second choice but it will still make the operations of council and the municipality more efficient.
