Danielle shared information about the role of an advisory committee to council. One of the main mandates is to provide advice to council, which can be guided by the SDC’s planning protocol, commenting on planning reports and delegating to council. Staff liaisons will provide information to the committee through the chairs. The Council rep is not expected to attend every meeting.
Since it is an election year, the committee should work closely with the staff liaisons about their work and double check city rules. The SDC is a council appointed city committee, therefore, members need to follow city policies with respect to elections, similar to staff.
Action: Lynn to provide a copy of the election rules to committee members when they are available.
Committee chairs should be mindful of the allotted time to ensure effective meetings and end them on time. The committee should pass a motion to go beyond 9:00 if necessary. Review agendas to ensure that there are a manageable number of items.
New members were reminded to sign certain items in their package as required, such as the accessibility info and code of conduct.
Every citizen committee has a budget; the one for the SDC is managed through Lynn. Expenses must be approved in advance at COW.
The Clerk’s department can assist if the committee wishes to delegate to council, such as to present the annual report. They can also delegate if they have commented on a report.
The SDC COW should approve committee delegations to committees of council. Committee members should also be mindful of when they are representing the SDC in public. They need to be clear whether they are representing the committee or acting as an individual citizen.
Danielle encouraged them to be creative when planning community engagement events and to reach out to other advisory committees. Consider partnering with another committee, such as cycling and heritage.
The committee’s Terms of Reference is posted on line. The Terms of Reference will be reviewed at the beginning of the next council.