Examining CBRM council efficiency
Urbaniak tasked with advising CBRM council on how to structure, conduct efficient meetings
SYDNEY — Cape Breton Regional Municipality council should hold shorter meetings on a more frequent basis, suggests a Cape Breton University political scientist tasked with helping elected representatives be more efficient in their work.
At the request of Mayor Amanda McDougall, CBU professor Tom Urbaniak recently held a workshop on committee structure and meeting practices. Following the interactive workshop with CBRM councillors, Urbaniak, who undertook the work pro bono, drafted a preliminary list of recommendations.
When it comes to holding shorter council meetings on a more frequent basis, he suggested that the now-monthly regional council meeting be held twice a month (first and third Tuesdays), general committee should meet on the second Tuesday and that his proposed community development committee meet the fourth Tuesday of each month.
The recommendations also include the establishment of a consent agenda tool which would allow council to set aside issues that are unlikely to be complicated or controversial so they can be approved with a single, timesaving motion.
Another recommendation calls for rotating the chair for general committee meeting (comprised of all 12 councillors and mayor, this universal committee would replace numerous smaller committees) so that the mayor can actively participate and make motions.
Urbaniak has dispatched the 12-recommendation list to mayor and council with the expectation that council will revisit the topic at a later date.
For her part, McDougall, who ran for mayor on a platform of transparency, accountability and community consultation, said she believes any measures that make council more efficient will prove beneficial to the CBRM as a whole.
“I am simply glad council is taking these opportunities to really examine how we make better decisions and do things better,” she said.
“What we do in here does have a direct impact so I am eager to see how this rolls out in four years. At the end of the day, the more educated and united our council is then the stronger our communities will be.”
Urbaniak concurs with McDougall, adding that the general committee meetings, during which most issues first arise, are a vital step in municipal governance.
“Committees help you govern the municipality,” he said. “They help set the strategic directions of the municipality, to set the budget of the municipality, to approve the policies of the municipality and to be able to give voice to the concerns, grievances and aspirations of the residents of the municipality.”
Deputy Mayor Earlene McMullin said she is cognizant of not being as effective during the latter parts of lengthy meetings.
“When I sit in that seat at 6 p.m. I am excited. I have one mindset and that's the agenda,” she said.
“But when it comes to the last item or second-last item and it's 11 o'clock at night and I haven't had a break or I am rushing to the washroom or I am just tired or hungry, then I am not making the same decision, that is I am not putting enough effort into it whether I am for it or against it, and that's not good for council or the CBRM.”
MacMullin also noted that meetings would be both more efficient and shorter if councillors didn't use their allotted debate time just to reiterate the words of others or to grandstand in an effort to show constituents they are on the job.