Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal is recommending that city councillors no longer sit on most citizen advisory committees or local boards, so they can “focus on their core mandate as elected officials.”
The report from Mayor Leal, which will be presented to city councillors meeting as general committee on Monday (October 28), also recommends changes to the portfolio chairs for each of the city’s five departments, with a new and separate portfolio for homelessness being added to community services.
The mayor’s report comes five months after a city council meeting where councillors approved a staff report that recommended, among other things, that the mayor consult with councillors about their roles on advisory committees and on local boards, municipal corporations and third party organizations and corporations, and that he report back to council with his recommendations.
“Following council’s approval and directions, the mayor consulted with each member of council,” the mayor’s report reads. “The recommendations in this report are informed by that consultation and are intended to bring greater clarity to council’s roles and responsibilities, to recognize the challenging schedule of meetings members may experience and to improve governance to foster an environment where members can focus on key initiatives involving council’s strategic plan.”
The report recommends that council rescind the appointments of councillors to the following nine advisory committees:
- Arenas, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee
- Arts and Culture Advisory Committee
- Citizen’s War Memorial Advisory Committee
- Community Investment Grants Advisory Committee
- Museum and Archives Advisory Committee
- Peterborough Architectural Advisory Committee
- Peterborough Environmental Advisory Committee
- Planning Advisory Committee
- Transit Liaison Committee
In addition, the Citizen Appointment Selection Committee — which includes five councillors — would be dissolved and replaced by a working group comprising the mayor, deputy mayors, and city staff.
Council representation would remain in place for those advisory committees whose membership includes representation from Peterborough County council, such as the Age-Friendly Peterborough Advisory Committee.
Other committees that would retain council representation are the Airport Strategic Initiatives Committee, the Greater Peterborough Joint Services Committee, the Operations and Development Advisory Committee (a staff committee), the Waste Management Committee, and the Youth Commission.
As well as asserting that removing councillors from advisory committees would decrease their workload, the mayor’s report questions whether having councillors sit on advisory committees has any governance value.
“Advisory committees have been created by council to provide advice on particular issues or subjects to all of council,” the report states. “When a member of council is appointed to an advisory committee, they are asked to simultaneously fulfill two incompatible roles — they are both part of the body who advises council and a member of the council which is being advised.”
The mayor’s report also recommends that councillors no longer sit on the boards of the following organizations (actual names noted in parentheses):
- Art Gallery of Peterborough
- The Canadian Canoe Museum
- East City Ashburnham Village Business Improvement Area
- Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce (Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce)
- Market Hall Performance Centre (Market Hall Performing Arts Centre)
- Multicultural Canada Day Committee
- Peterborough Downtown Improvement Area (Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area)
- Peterborough Green-Up Association (Peterborough GreenUP)
- Peterborough Public Library Board
- Showplace Peterborough Performance Centre (Showplace Performance Centre)
There would be no changes to councillor appointments to the Downtown Action Committee, Fairhaven Board of Management, Liaison Committee with Fleming College, Liaison Committee with Trent University, Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, Peterborough County-City Health Unit Board (Peterborough Public Health), Peterborough Housing Municipal Services Corporation, Peterborough Police Service Board.
For the board of Peterborough Housing Corporation, councillor Lesley Parnell would be appointed to replace Mayor Leal. Decisions about the inclusion of councillors on the boards of City of Peterborough Holdings Inc. and the Peterborough Utilities Commission (PUC) would be considered in 2025 in relation to the pending transfer of water utility operations.
According to the mayor’s report, councillors would be free to sit on the boards or organizations in a personal capacity, but not as a city councillor or otherwise representing the city.
The mayor’s report also recommends the following amendments to portfolio chairs, including the creation of a new portfolio for homelessness:
- Community Services (except Homelessness): Councillors Alex Bierk and Lesley Parnell
- Community Services (Homelessness): Councillors Alex Bierk and Keith Riel
- Finance and Corporate Support Services: Councillors Andrew Beamer and Dave Haacke
- Infrastructure, Planning and Growth Management: Councillors Kevin Duguay and Joy Lachica
- Legislative Services: Councillors Gary Baldwin and Matt Crowley
- Municipal Operations: Councillors Keith Riel and Don Vassiliadis
“The approval of the recommendations in this report will improve governance by permitting members of council to, collectively, focus on their core mandate as elected officials,” the report states.
Councillors will discuss the mayor’s report and its recommendations at the general committee meeting on October 28 and vote on whether or not to endorse it. Items endorsed on October 28 will be considered by council for final approval at its regular meeting the following Monday (November 4).
This story has been updated to correct an error in the name of a councillor.
