City of Powell River councillors are coming to terms with organizational structure for their four-year mandate.
At a recent committee of the whole meeting councillors had an extensive discussion regarding their responsibilities and committee assignments. A letter from resident George Orchiston, regarding city governance and portfolios, was introduced. It had been written in November, two days after the civic election, requesting that the new city council eliminate the current portfolio model as part of city governance and replace it with an enhanced committee structure. Orchiston said this idea is not new and in 2012, the Helios Group, hired by the city to perform a service review, made this very recommendation in the report that was tabled.
Mayor Dave Formosa said he had already made suggestions about individual appointments. Council members voted on them at the inaugural council meeting on December 2, and the vote passed. “We have portfolios that folks seem to be happy with,” Formosa said.
He said portfolio holders serve as liaisons with the public. “We use our portfolios to be an interaction between our public and our staff,” Formosa said. “It has worked well. Stewart Alsgard was the implementer of portfolios. I believe he tried to create some order in council. He looked at the government model and put that model in place.”
Formosa said he has recommendations for the city’s committee structure. He said he is trying to share council’s workload and pique councillors’ interests.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway said council has a good mix in the mayor’s appointments.
“You’ve given me social action, or whatever it’s going to look like, and emergency services,” she said. “With emergency services, I see it as a portfolio. I don’t see a huge need for public involvement, except we have our emergency management committee. With social planning, on the other hand, I see a huge need for public input and having a committee of people with expertise in that area. So I see that as a committee rather than a portfolio.”
Councillor Rob Southcott said he had given thought to the matter. He said in a previous experience in a government structure, over a period of time, the group went from trusting individual people with specific areas of responsibility to handling everything by committee. After a year or so of doing that there was the realization that so much time was being spent in meetings, time was not being dedicated in a distributive kind of way.
He said for many councillors, engagement was a significant component of their electoral platforms. He said there is an increasing interest in that modus, including transparency, engagement and involvement of the community in governance.
“I have a real reservation when it comes to what isn’t even defined in the Helios report in what enhanced committee structure would be,” Southcott said. “I think we are evolving and changing. I’m not sure we really need to make that much of a change. Regardless of what we call it, whether it’s portfolios or what, it is dwindling down to semantics.”
He said he appreciates council’s direction and it comes down to personal commitment to making portfolios, if they want to call them that, work in a transparent and engaged way.
Mac Fraser, chief administrative officer, said the portfolio holder is the lead spokesperson on behalf of council in a specific subject area and it is coupled with community liaison. He said the mayor’s resolution at the inaugural meeting differentiated between portfolio and community liaison.
“I suggest that you’ve already resolved the portfolios and the spirit of ramping up the new council,” Fraser said. “There’s not a need to suddenly change your portfolio decisions that you made at your inaugural meeting. I suggest you try it on for a month or two.”
Committees, on the other hand, are absolutely essential for the conduct of business of the council, he said. “Unilaterally, you have no authority at all. Collectively, you have a great deal of authority and responsibility. Committees are the way to do it.”
Fraser said finance and the committee of the whole are standing committees and the structure is already in place. What follows is a discussion about how council would like to organize committees in a way that recommendations are timely and flow to council as the decision maker.
“I’ve been in discussion with the mayor and some ideas that you’ve individually spoken about with him,” Fraser said. “Rather than do it ad hoc here, I suggest that staff report back on January 15 with a proposed committee structure.”
Formosa said this council has a four-year mandate and needs to be built, but there is time in the short term to get it properly structured.
Formosa and Fraser will work to prepare a report for the proposed committees to bring back to the committee of the whole.
Council then agreed to note and file Orchiston’s correspondence.
