Report to: General Committee Report Date: 2007-11-10
SUBJECT: Licensing Hearing Committee
PREPARED BY: Sheila Birrell, Town Clerk, Extension 4729
RECOMMENDATION:
That By-Law No. 203-1999, “Licensing Committee By-Law” be amended to:
- Delete reference to the Members of Council on a rotating basis being the membership;
- Provide for a composition of five members of the public, commencing April 1st, 2008;
- And that advertising for the five positions be undertaken immediately;
And that a Selection Committee, composed of three Members of Council, be established to interview the recruits for the five positions;
And that the recruits selected be provided with the Terms of Reference, attached hereto as Schedule “A” and with appropriate training to be undertaken by the Legal Department;
And further that
By-Law No. 2002-276, “A By-Law to Provide Fees or Charges on Services Provided
by the Town of
And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
PURPOSE:
To facilitate an amendment to the current composition of the Licensing Hearing Committee.
BACKGROUND:
In September 2003, following difficulties encountered in scheduling Licensing Hearings and in achieving a quorum for the hearings, Council approved the following:
“That the Licensing Committee be established as a Standing Committee
of Council, and the composition be comprised of all Members of Council, with a
quorum of three;
And that participation by the Members of Council be on a rotating
basis alphabetically, with a Chair of the Committee being appointed for
administrative purposes and a Chair being appointed for each hearing;
And that regular one-day meetings be scheduled every month and
cancelled in the event they are not required;
BACKGROUND: (cont’d.)
And that Councillors make their own arrangements for alternates if
they are unable to attend a specific hearing date as indicated on the approved
schedule of attendance;
And that prior to the 2004 appointments, all current Members of
Council be appointed as members of the Licensing Committee and that three
constitute a quorum.”
Since the adoption of that process, the monthly hearings have been scheduled annually and each Member of Council is given approximately two hearing dates and one alternate date. If a Member of Council is scheduled to participate in a hearing and is unable to do so, it is that Councillor’s responsibility to secure a replacement.
The hearings vary from 30 minutes to two days in duration and when the schedule is struck, there is no way to determine in advance the length of any given hearing.
There were several hearings the first two years after the inception of the Committee as the Town worked through the revised Body-Rub Parlour By-Law. Staff are currently in the process of a review of the taxi/limousine industry and anticipate more hearings over the next two years than occurred over the past two years. The following statistics reflect the number of hearings held over the past four years.
Licensing
Hearing Information
2004 2005 2006 2007
Total Hours of 25
28.5 13 19
meeting time
Total Days 10
10 10 10
scheduled
Total Days 8 9 4 5
for hearings
The rotating process has worked to some degree but there are certain Members of Council who carry a heavier load than other Members. There is also the problem for Members of Council having to book off three entire days each year—whether the hearings go forward or not.
Rather than the appointment of lay members, Council may opt to continue with the rotation system for scheduling quorum on the Licensing Hearing Committees. Previously, the Municipal Act, 2001, provided for delegation of such hearings to a “committee of Council”; meaning a committee comprised of Members of Council and not lay persons.
However, Bill 130
now provides Council with the option to delegate responsibility to a citizen
committee for the hearings.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
(cont’d.)
Staff are recommending the second option and further recommend that a Selection Committee be established, composed of three Members of Council. It is worth noting
that the recommendations of the Committee are presented to Council for final approval, consequently it could be perceived as a biased process. The amending by-law has been drafted to take effect April 1st, 2008. This will allow sufficient time to recruit candidates and for the interview process to take place, as well as the training of the new members.
Licensing hearings are undertaken pursuant to the Statutory Powers Procedures Act and are quasi-judicial in nature. Hearings can extend beyond one or two days and certain expertise is necessary. Staff are recommending that a training session for members be undertaken by the Legal Department. To augment that, the Clerk’s staff will work with staff from the Legal Department to prepare a Licensing Tribunal Rules and Procedures Document. The document would be presented to new Committee members to provide information as to what it means to sit as a tribunal under the Statutory Powers Procedure Act.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
Staff estimate approximately twenty licensing hearings in 2008 for anticipated income of $2,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
Legal Department
RECOMMENDED BY:
_________________________ _______________________
Sheila Birrell Andy Taylor
Town Clerk Commissioner of Corporate
Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Schedule “A” – Terms of Reference for Licensing Hearing Committee
Schedule “A”
LICENSING HEARING COMMITTEE
Composition
The Committee shall be composed of
five members of the public, and that three (3) constitute a quorum.
Duties and Functions (As per By-law
203-1999, as amended)
1. The Committee will meet to hear any licenses , pursuant to the Statutory Powers and Procedures Act, that the Town is declining or revoking and shall be empowered to take all measures as are necessary and proper, within the provisions The Municipal Act 2001, para. 23.5(3)(2) and other applicable law, to provide a hearing for persons who may wish to obtain a licence, who may wish to renew an existing license or who may be the subject of a hearing to revoke a licence in circumstances where there has been no delegation of Council’s licensing authority to a Licensing Officer or in circumstances where the delegation of Council’s licensing authority to a Licensing Officer does not permit such person to make a decision to issue, renew or revoke a licence.
2. The Committee shall select a Chair from among its members at each hearing.
3. A quorum shall be not less than three members of the Committee.
4. In circumstances not addressed by these procedures, Roberts Rules of Order shall be utilized.
5. The members present at the commencement of any hearing shall be seized with the matter and only those members may sit as Committee members at subsequent Committee meetings called for the purpose of completing that hearing.
6. The Committee members, in making their decision, shall have regard to the representations of the licence applicant and the representations of other interested parties, which representations shall be fully disclosed to the licence applicant.
7. The Committee shall render its Report of the hearing to Council in a fair and impartial manner, based upon the record presented to the Committee as part of the hearing.
Remuneration
$1,000 per annum, payable in December,
based on 10 meetings and contingent upon attendance.
Frequency of Meetings
Meetings shall be held regularly and
scheduled on the annual calendar.