TAMRMS#: B06
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2018 Budget Process
Presented by: Chris Belke, Chief Legislative Officer
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
recommendation
1. That Section 11.5 of Procedure Bylaw 22/2016 be suspended for the 2018 Budget Process to allow the reordering of agenda items and the addition of information as required without formally amending the agenda.
(requires unanimous consent of all members present - Procedure Bylaw s.3.6)
2. That Section 12.8 of Procedure Bylaw 22/2016 be suspended for the 2018 Budget Process to allow the Mayor to make motions without relinquishing the chair.
(requires unanimous consent of all members present - Procedure Bylaw s.3.6)
3. That Section 17.1 of Procedure Bylaw 22/2016 be suspended for the 2018 Budget Process to allow the mover of a motion to move an amendment to the same motion.
(requires unanimous consent of all members present - Procedure Bylaw s.3.6)
4. That consideration of proposed amendments to the Draft 2018 Municipal and Utility Capital Budgets and the 2018 Municipal Operating Budget made during presentations be automatically postponed until all presentations have been completed.
5. That Committee of the Whole be authorized to direct Administration, by resolution, to make changes to the Draft 2018 Municipal and Utility Capital Budgets and the Draft 2018 Utility and Municipal Operating Budget.
6. That Council move into Committee of the Whole.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
This report provides a proposed direction for Council to deal with the 2018-2020 Budget process. This direction is consistent with the approval for the Budget processes used in the past. An abridged version, which incorporates the existing procedural rules and the effects of adopting Recommendations 1 through 5, is provided as an attachment to this report. Approval of the recommendations will allow Council a greater degree of flexibility in dealing with the 2018-2020 Budget.
COUNCIL DIRECTION
Procedure Bylaw 22/2016 establishes a committee of the whole which:
26.4 …“may consider any matter that Council may consider, including but not limited to detailed consideration of the following matters:
a. the budget;”
The Procedure Bylaw also recognizes that, from time to time, relaxation of its provisions may be required. Section 3.6 of Procedure Bylaw 22/2016 states:
3.6 Council may waive all or part of the provisions of this bylaw for a meeting, if the councillors present vote unanimously to do so.
On March 6, 2017 Council reviewed and approved the Budget Schedule (AR-17-056) which is attached to this agenda report.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
For the last several years, Council has exercised the option to move into Committee of the Whole when dealing with the complex and lengthy budget process. Section 25 of the Procedure Bylaw provides a greater degree of flexibility than is allowed in Regular Council meetings, as follows:
Section 26.11 states:
26.11 In the Committee of the Whole, the procedures of council shall be relaxed as follows:
a. a Councillor may speak even though there is no motion on the floor, but if there is a motion on the floor a Councillor shall only address that motion;
b. a Councillor may speak more than once, provided that each Councillor who wishes to speak to the matter has already been permitted to do so;
c. with the permission of the Mayor, persons other than Councillors may be seated at the Council table and on the Council floor; and
d. no notice need be given of any motion to be made.
From time to time, especially during the budget process, further relaxation of these provisions may be necessary. Section 3.6 of Bylaw 22/2016 allows Council - provided that each Councillor present votes in favour - to waive ‘all
or part of the provisions of this bylaw for a meeting’.
Three incidences when greater flexibility is required are:
1. Section 11.4 of the Procedure Bylaw states that:
“The order of business at a Council meeting shall be the order of the items on the adopted agenda”.
The 2018-2020 Budget will be considered in a series of sessions commencing with the Departmental presentations on November 9, 2017. At the end of each day’s proceedings, the motion should be “that the meeting be recessed until (the next scheduled date)”.
However, during the budget process, to ensure the smooth flow of business, there is frequently the need to reorder agenda items and add information items. By suspending Section 11.4 this can be done without the necessity for Council repeatedly to amend the agenda by resolution. (Recommendation #1)
2. Section 12.8 of the Procedure Bylaw indicates that the Mayor may make a motion on any matter on the agenda, but before doing so the Mayor must relinquish the chair to the Deputy Mayor until the vote on the motion has been taken.
Section 2.f. of the Procedure Bylaw indicates that “committee of the whole” means a committee comprised of all Councillors which conducts itself as a committee of Council. In the case of committee business, Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised recognizes that informalities and modifications of the regular rules of parliamentary procedure normally prevail, and gives the Chair the right to make and debate motions. (Recommendation #2)
3. Section 17.1 of the Procedure Bylaw states that:
“a Councillor who moved a motion may not move an amendment to it.”
As the budget process unfolds and more information becomes available, a member of Council may wish to amend his or her previous motion. This flexibility can be achieved by suspending Section 17.1.
(Recommendation #3)
Recommendations #4 and #5
The agenda as presented calls for divisional (and select departmental) presentations over a series of sessions before Council moves into the approval phase.
Throughout the process, members of Council are encouraged to ask questions and may wish to receive additional information on specific issues. Also, from time to time, members may propose motions that, if adopted, would have an impact on the ‘bottom line’.
Requests for information, where the response can be provided immediately, will not appear in the minutes of the session. When additional research is required, the request will be recorded in the minutes. Administration will provide the response to Council at the earliest possible opportunity.
Should a Councillor wish to discuss a matter further and/or in greater detail to help the Councillor decide whether or not to propose an amendment to the draft budget, the Councillor should request that the matter be ‘flagged’ for further discussion. Administration will track the flagged items and ensure they are brought back at the appropriate time. No vote is required.
Recommendation #4 clarifies that the vote on all motions which seek to amend the 2018 Budget and which are made during the divisional presentations will be postponed until all the presentations have been heard.
Recommendation #5
While Section 26 of the Procedure Bylaw establishes Committee of the Whole and its role, it does not specifically empower Committee of the Whole to direct Administration. In the context of budget deliberations, allowing Committee of the Whole to direct Administration, by resolution, to make changes to the Draft 2018 Budget would streamline the process considerably.
Administration has prepared a ‘quick reference’ as attached to assist Council in determining which action would be appropriate at any particular time.
Recommendation #6
Following adoption of the procedural motions as outlined in Recommendations #1 through #5, a motion to move into Committee of the Whole would be appropriate.
Report Date: November 9, 2017
Author(s): Chris Belke
Committee/Department: Legislative Services
City Manager: Kevin Scoble