One way to make that shift is by changing the way councillors communicate with the public.
“Council wants people to have the opportunity to come and to speak, but they want to do it in a way that’s consistent with good business,” said Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer for the municipality. “What will change will be that public discussion period.”
If a member of the public wants to address a topic that’s not on the agenda, they will require approval from two-thirds of council. And if they want something on the agenda, they will have to inform the municipality in writing or by email 13 days before the meeting.
“It’s not fair to council if somebody comes and speaks about something that’s not on the agenda, because they’re not prepared for it. It’s not fair for council and it’s not fair for staff. So one thing is to focus on the agenda.”
Another change will be that community members who do make it on the agenda for a presentation will only have three minutes to present.
“Council’s experience was they have heard plenty of good presentations in that sort of time,” said Waterworth, noting that the idea is to be more efficient.
The bylaw was passed with Couns. Gilbert Wall, Brian Skehill, Dwain Wacko, Mike Day and Mayor Richard Ireland in favour, and Coun. Rico Damota opposed. Coun. Brenda Zinck was absent from the table at the time of the vote.
Damota said, although he supports council’s decision, he believes the new approach is too strict for Jasper.
“I like the ability for people to approach council or the mayor and the ease of it,” he said following the vote. “Most community members aren’t really well versed in rules of order and those types of things, so I think this is a bit strict for our community.
“I’m just a regular Joe representing other regular Joes and that’s what we’re all about here. I don’t think things need to be extremely formal in the setting we’re in.”
Damota said he does recognize what the municipality is trying to achieve with the bylaw, though.
“A couple of our council meetings have been hijacked in the past, with people representing different groups, and sometimes they can be quite heated and passionate, and divisive. So this is designed to keep our council meetings a little more efficient.”
As well as the changes to the way the public can address council, the procedure bylaw has formalized the way meetings are undertaken.
Motions will now be read first, then they will be discussed—with each councillor only having one opportunity to speak to the motion—and then they will be voted on.
“That’s pretty standard practise really,” said Waterworth, who wrote the bylaw after researching how other municipalities conduct their meetings. “You get to go once, say your piece and then you vote.
“That will make it more formal and it will make it more focused on the decisions that council has to make.”
Other changes are that new councillors will be required to sign a code of conduct when they are elected and committees will allow members as young as 16—the lowest age was formerly 18.
“The idea behind the lower age was very straightforward,” said Waterworth. “Youth input is hugely valued in a way that it wasn’t before. I think it recognizes the role of, for example the Sustainability Club, who’s shown that they can bring mature input to policy making.
“So this is the municipality responding to changes in the community and recognizing them positively.”
Although procedure bylaws are standard in most municipalities, the Municipality of Jasper has never had one. The bylaw is meant to ensure council business is conducted in an accountable, transparent and predictable way.
“It sounds complicated,” said Waterworth, “but the procedure bylaw is the roadmap for council, committees, staff and the public. The idea is to capture in one place the essentials of running council and its committees.”
That roadmap will ensure the next council—which will be elected in October—follows the same guidelines and rules as this one, and that those guidelines and rules continue on consistently in the future.
