Thunder Bay is looking for more feedback on city council’s meeting structure and committees.
Currently, council uses the Committee of the Whole system to receive reports, debate topics, and make preliminary decisions for the city.
Those decisions are then confirmed by city council.
Administration is looking at changing the model, by replacing Committee of the Whole with Standing Committees.
The proposed system would see a smaller group of councillors sit on specific committees, focusing their attention on specific operations or departments.
Standing Committees would receive reports, as Committee of the Whole does.
They would also debate and vote on matters, and make recommendations.
Council will continue to have the final say on all decisions.
Council advisory committees are also going under the microscope to see if any changes are required, to the number or structure of those committees.
There are currently more than 15 advisory committees some of which are required by law.
“We want to hear what the public has to say before we make any recommendations to Council on how its meeting, and governance structure is changed along with the public view on the benefits of council advisory committees,” said City Clerk and Director of Legislative Services, Krista Power.
Council will receive a report on suggested changes to its governance structure by the end of June.
Any changes to the governance, meeting structure, and advisory committees would have to be approved by city council.
Municipalities across Ontario use both a Standing Committee and Committee of the Whole system and many have advisory committees that support the work of their city councils.
The city has launched a survey to get feedback from residents on potential changes.
It can be found here and will remain open until March 31.
