Cambridge changes bylaw so mayor can sit on task force

CAMBRIDGE — Mayor Doug Craig can sit on the multiplex task force if he chooses after Cambridge council approved changes to its procedural bylaw on Tuesday. But he won’t. “I have no intention whatsoever … of attending any of the multiplex meetings because it becomes a sideshow, and we don’t need that,” he said at council Tuesday.

Craig voluntarily stepped down from the task force in August after members of the public questioned his presence at meetings even though he wasn’t appointed to the group.

The city’s procedural bylaw dictates rules for meetings of council and it was unclear about whether the mayor could be part of the task force or not.

According to past practice, as mayor, Craig can sit on all committees as an ex-officio member even if he wasn’t named to them.

“We had a bylaw that in my opinion wasn’t worded quite properly ... and we were trying to correct that,” city manager Gary Dyke explained.

And on Tuesday, it got heated as council debated changing the wording of the procedural bylaw to allow the mayor to sit on all committees as an ex-officio member.

The entire multiplex issue has been mired in controversy all year.

Council created the task force earlier this year to address the issue of where to put the city’s proposed multimillion-dollar sports facility.

It has been a touchy subject for residents after protests and outrage over the past year about council’s proposal to put the facility on leased land from Conestoga College.

Last month Coun. Jan Liggett asked to defer the bylaw because the city’s new integrity commissioner is investigating a citizen complaint about Craig’s role on the task force.

“I asked for a deferral for this motion just now until the investigation is over,” Liggett said again on Tuesday. Her motion failed.

Coun. Frank Monteiro asked to push the date so the bylaw goes into effect on Jan. 1.

“To be upfront so everybody knows, the task force will be over with and done by November hopefully.” That motion also failed. “It needs to be today, we need to pass this now, we need to solidify the leadership of our head of council,” Coun. Donna Reid said, stating she “strongly opposed” any other move.

According to the city’s procedural bylaw before it was changed Tuesday, half of a committee or similar entity should be city councillors, and this task force is not.

There are two councillors, residents and city staff.

Dyke has previously said the mayor didn’t break any rules. On Tuesday he explained the municipal act gives cities the right to strike a committee with any composition, but it does not define what a committee is.

It’s common practice across cities in the province for the mayor to sit on any committee, he added.

Neighbouring cities have similar rules. In Waterloo’s committee policies, the mayor can sit on “all City of Waterloo committees and may vote and participate without restriction.”

This includes ad hoc committees, task forces and standing committees.

Kitchener’s municipal code states: “The mayor is an ex- officio member of every committee.” He or she does not need to be named to sit on any committee.

The task force will present a recommendation to council in late November or early December. Council is expected to make a decision on a location early next year.