The Procedure Bylaw, Bylaw No. 9004 requires that the annual meeting schedule for Council and committee meetings be approved by City Council by the last Council meeting in December. The required public notice has been provided.
The recommended calendar, outlined in Appendix A, has been prepared pending City Council’s approval of the proposed restructuring of the Council committees as discussed in item EX20-30.
Strategic Impacts
The recommended 2021 meeting calendar provides the required, predictable meeting schedule for 2021.
Contingent on Council’s approval of the revised committee structure, the calendar will reflect the streamlined and realigned committees. In turn, this will reduce the meeting commitments of Council members, thereby increasing time to dedicate to other Council-related responsibilities and/or other commitments.
There are no financial, environmental, accessibility or risk/legal impacts.
Option #1 – Recommended (Appendix A)
The proposed 2020 meeting calendar centers the majority of meetings on Wednesdays. It incorporates the concurrent recommendations respecting the committee structure and reflects following:
· City Council to meet every second Wednesday, except during July and August, with meetings to commence at 1:00 p.m.
· Executive Committee to meet every second week, on Wednesdays and on alternating weeks, except during July and August, with meetings to commence at 9:00 a.m.
· Regina Planning Commission to meet once per month on Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m.
· Community Services & Operations Committee to meet once per month on Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m., except during July and August
· Recesses and adjournment for Council and committee meetings be adjusted to reflect the new starting times
· Public release of meeting materials will remain on the Friday afternoon immediately preceding the committee or Council meeting, with this deadline moved to the preceding Thursday in situations where a statutory holiday falls on a Friday
· Written submissions from delegations wishing to address City Council must be submitted by noon on the Monday immediately preceding the City Council meeting, with this deadline moved to the following Tuesday in situations where a statutory holiday falls on a Monday
· The Mayor’s Housing Commission will tentatively be scheduled bi-monthly on Thursday afternoons, subject to Council’s determination respecting its continuation and/or changing its mandate and terms of reference
Implications:
· The calendar will reflect the streamlined committee structure being concurrently recommended, facilitating the recommendation to move to bi-weekly meetings of both City Council and Executive Committee
· City Council meetings will remain on Wednesday afternoons and will meet every second week with the exception of July and August
· It will reduce the meeting commitments of Council members, thereby increasing time to dedicate to other Council-related responsibilities and/or other commitments
· Council, Administration and the public will be provided with a known meeting schedule for 2021
· Public release of material meetings for either Council or committee meetings will continue to be on the Friday afternoon immediately preceding the respective meeting except as noted; this will provide City Council and the public with meeting materials five days prior to a Council meeting
· The deadline for written submissions from delegations wishing to address Council will now be at noon on the Monday prior to the Council meeting, except as noted; the meeting agenda will be updated on Monday afternoons to revise the agenda to incorporate any delegations; this will provide City Council, Administration and the public with delegation submissions two days prior to a Council meeting
· Scheduling of the Mayor’s Housing Commission remains tentative at this time, pending a review of its mandate and terms of reference
Option # 2 – Status Quo (Appendix B)
In the event that concurrent recommendations respecting the committee are not adopted, the 2021 calendar will remain unchanged and will reflect the following:
· The main committees of City Council would remain as follows:
o Community & Protective Services
o Finance & Administration
o Mayor’s Housing Commission
o Regina Planning Commission
o Priorities & Planning Committee
o Public Works & Infrastructure
· Council will meet once per month on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m.
· Committees will meet once per month on Wednesdays, at either 9:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m., with the exception of the Regina Planning Commission and the Mayor’s Housing Commission
· Recess, adjournment, delegation submission deadlines and distribution of meeting materials will remain unchanged
Implications:
· Provides year-over-year continuity with both existing Council and committee meetings
· Foregoes the opportunity to streamline the committee structure and the associated meeting schedule and to lessen the time and meeting requirements of Council members
· Does not reflect interest in having more regular, but shorter, meetings of both Council and its committees
The report will be considered at the November 25, 2020 meeting of Executive Committee and subsequently at the December 2, 2020 meeting of City Council.
Related bylaw amendments will be considered at the December 16, 2020 meeting of City Council.
The required public notice has been provided.
For the past few years prior to 2020, Council meetings were held once per month on Monday evenings at 5:30 p.m. Committee meetings were held once per month on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
In December 2020, Council approved a meeting schedule that:
· Moved City Council meetings to once per month on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m.
· Moved all committee meetings, with the exception of the Mayor’s Housing Commission, to once per month on various Wednesdays preceding the monthly Council meeting at either 9:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m.
During the course of 2020, Council members expressed some concern over the length of meetings, particularly those of Executive Committee and City Council. The City Clerk agreed to provide an option during preparation of the 2021 meeting calendar that increased the frequency of Executive Committee and Council meetings.
The concurrent report considered respecting the Council committee structure recommended changes to the existing committee structure to facilitate the above-noted undertaking. The recommended 2021 meeting calendar, outlined as Appendix A, incorporates those previously recommended changes.
Pursuant to section 5(4) of The Procedure Bylaw, Bylaw No. 9004, the City Clerk shall prepare a report setting out the approved Council and Committee meetings for the next year and proposed meeting dates and times for the committees.
Respectfully Submitted, Respectfully Submitted,
{Signature}
Prepared by: {ResUserUser1:First Last, Title}