A review of the viability of all municipal boards, committees and commissions shouldn’t diminish city hall’s future communications with residents, but will likely enhance it instead, says a city councillor.
“I sit on several committees and … know that we sometimes struggle to get quorum, which makes you wonder if citizens are really engaged and are really interested in the topics that are on the certain committees,” said Coun. Crystal Froese. “But also there is an overlapping purpose with some of these committees as well, so merging a couple of them (would) strengthen their purpose.”
During its June 24 executive committee meeting, council voted 6-1 to have city administration review every municipal board, committee and commission structure and appointment with the goal of “rationalization.”
This means possibly eliminating duplication with other community groups doing similar work; eliminating any municipal bodies that may have lost a clear need; or combining committees so they function in a way that best uses resources and members’ time.
Furthermore, the review would look at which committees need to retain elected member representation, as well as whether additional reporting mechanisms could strengthen the monitoring of third-party boards receiving municipal funding. The review would include addressing different means of engaging the public and seeking feedback on topics and/or the creation of single-purpose ad hoc committees with a limited mandate.
City administration is expected to provide a report of its finding to executive committee by the end of this October. Before that, municipal officials will approach all members on boards, committees or commissions whose terms expire this August and ask if they would serve until Dec. 31.
Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed to the recommendation. It must be approved during the July 8 regular meeting to become official.
Background
The City of Moose Jaw has used committees, commissions and boards to acquire public input and advice, explained city clerk Myron Gulka-Tiechko. A review of these structures will determine if these bodies continue to meet the municipality’s needs.
Having this structure is administratively burdensome and requires a full-time secretarial position to manage the committees’ agendas, minutes and work, he continued. Other staff — including department directors — are also required to attend the meetings, taking away from their core duties.
Using these committees may not be the best method to acquire feedback, however, Gulka-Tiechko said. A recent survey from city hall revealed 85 per cent of respondents preferred answering online surveys to provide feedback. Twenty-six per cent of those respondents were in the 55 to 64 age bracket, while 19 per cent were older than age 65.
“Those statistics should quell any concerns that an older demographic would not be ‘heard’ through an online engagement practice,” he remarked, adding new technologies make public consultations — which used to be solely addressed through advisory committees — more effective and include the entire population.
Council discussion
Coun. Chris Warren sits on several boards and noted that some of them provide good feedback and recommendations to council, while there is minimum participation from other committees and difficulty achieving quorum. He thought it was important to acquire input from serving members since they have an interest in how the municipality functions.
“We know social media platforms have been popular for a very long time,” he added. “It’s good that we are looking to enhance that.”
The uniformity of reporting requirements from third-party groups that receive municipal funding intrigued Froese, especially since some of those groups hold assets in trust for residents. This includes buildings that groups lease for $1 a year. While some groups have that reporting, others will have to implement it, which should strengthen their relationship with the municipality.
The next executive committee meeting is July 8.
