Report to: General Committee                                               Report Date: November 19, 2007

SUBJECT:                          Bill 130 - Revisions to Procedural By-law 2001-1

PREPARED BY:               Kimberley Kitteringham, Deputy Town Clerk

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled “Bill 130 –Revisions to Procedural By-law 2001-1” be received for information purposes; and

That Reasonable Notice By-law 2002-275 be repealed and the requirements contained in this By-law be incorporated into Procedural By-law 2001-1 as a Schedule; and

That Procedural By-law 2001-1 be further amended to:

1)      update the definition of “Committee” and “Meeting” as prescribed by the Municipal Act;

2)      reflect the ability for Council to now close a meeting to the public for the purposes of educating or training, provided that the business or decision making of Council is not materially advanced during such meetings; and

3)      make two minor housekeeping amendments related to the ability to hold Council meetings in an adjacent municipality and to the inclusion of transportation items under the list of subject matters to be considered by the Development Services Committee; and

That notwithstanding the definition of Committee provided for in Procedural By-law 2001-1, all Town Committees be required to comply with the requirements of Procedural By-law 2001-1 in order to ensure consistency in meeting administration; and further,

That a copy of the report entitled “Bill 130 –Revisions to Procedural By-law 2001-1” be provided to Markham’s Local Boards and Committees for information/action.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

With the exception of a few sections, the amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001 (the “Act”) contained in Bill 130 came into force and effect on January 1st, 2007. The Act requires that meeting notice requirements now be contained within municipal procedural by-laws.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

1. Purpose                     2. Background                      3. Discussion                        4. Financial

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units)             6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to make the necessary amendments to the Town’s Procedural By-law 2001-1 as prescribed by the Act and relative to notice provisions, definitions and closed meeting requirements; and, to make minor housekeeping amendments, and to rescind the current Reasonable Notice By-law 2002-275.

BACKGROUND:

Significant amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001 (the “Act”) as a result of the passage of Bill 130 came into effect on January 1, 2007. As a result of these amendments, changes are required to the Town’s Procedural By-law 2001-1 with respect to definitions, closed meeting regulations and notice requirements.  Additional minor housekeeping amendments are also being proposed as part of this report.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

The proposed amendments to Procedural By-law 2001-1 fall into the following categories:

1)            Definitions

The definitions currently contained within By-law 2001-1 for “Committee” and “Meeting” are being replaced with the following definitions prescribed by the Act:

·              Committee - “any advisory or other committee, subcommittee or similar entity of which at least 50% of the members are also members of one or more councils or local boards.”

·              Meeting - “any regular, special or other meeting of a council, of a local board or of a committee of either of them.”

It should be noted that regardless of the definition of Committee provided in the Act, staff are recommending that all Town Committees be required to follow the same procedural rules to ensure consistency in meeting administration.  This is consistent with the approach being taken in most Ontario municipalities, including the Town of Caledon, Town of Oakville, City of Oshawa, City of Ottawa, City of Thunder Bay and Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.

2)            Closed Meeting Regulations

Section 5 of By-law 2001-1 is being amended to reflect the ability for Council to now close a meeting to the public for the purposes of educating or training, provided that the business or decision making of a Council is not materially advanced during these meetings.  Such closed education and training meetings must be advertised and a record of meeting must be recorded by the Clerk.

3)      Notice

In the past, many municipalities, including the Town of Markham, passed notice by-laws which established all forms, manners and times for notices required under various pieces of legislation.  As a result of Bill 130, any provisions for public notice relating to Council or Committee meetings are to be set out in the Procedural By-law, regardless of whether or not they also appear in a general notice by-law.

4)      Housekeeping

a)            Section 3.4 of By-law 2001-1 (Location of Meetings) is being amended to permit, as prescribed by the Act, the holding of Council meetings in an adjacent municipality as authorized by the Mayor.

b)            Section 4.2 of By-law 2001-1 (Appointment of Standing Committee Chairs) is being amended to remove the word “Transportation” from the matters to be considered by the General Committee and to include transportation matters under the purview of the Developments Services Committee to reflect the current Standing Committee reporting relationship.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE:

Not applicable

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Not applicable

RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________                                          _____________________________

Sheila Birrell                                                                       Andy Taylor

Town Clerk                                                                        Commissioner of Corporate Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment 1 – Current Reasonable Notice By-law 2002-275

Q:\Clerks\Administration\Kimberley\Municipal Act\Procedural By-law Changes