New committee chairs on deck for midterm shuffle
A rookie councillor would head up council’s transportation committee under changes proposed for a midterm shuffle.
Knoxdale-Merivale Councillor Keith Egli is recommended to replace Kanata North Councillor Marianne Wilkinson as the chair of the committee, which oversees issues related to transportation planning and infrastructure.
Wilkinson “has agreed to consider” a move to chair the board of Ottawa Community Housing, replacing Gloucester-South Nepean Councillor Steve Desroches, who is ramping up work as a deputy mayor, Mayor Jim Watson wrote in a memo Tuesday evening.
“It is important in my view that Council strive to strike a balance between leadership roles being assumed by long-serving and more recently elected Councillors,” Watson wrote.
“I feel that these proposed changes strike an appropriate balance,” while reflecting input received by the city clerk’s office, the memo states.
The changes are proposed as part of a governance review following the first two years of council’s term.
Among policy changes, staff recommend details about events that the mayor or mayor’s designate plays host to on behalf of the city be proactively disclosed on an annual basis. Those events are managed by the city’s protocol office, which would report the budget for each event and sponsorships received for it.
The protocol office also keeps an inventory of gifts that the mayor and city officials can give on behalf of the city to visitors or fundraisers held by non-profit community groups. The type of gift provided, along with the reason for it, the recipient and the gift’s value would be disclosed under a proposal.
Another recommendation would have staff come up with a “routine and proactive disclosure policy” so that people wouldn’t have to file formal access-to-information requests for basic information.
The proposals are to be discussed next Tuesday by council’s finance and economic development committee. There are other recommended changes to committee memberships — a new member here, someone leaving there. Among them:
Orléans Councillor Bob Monette would be appointed to the finance committee, replacing Wilkinson.
Stittsville Councillor Shad Qadri would replace Egli as vice-chair of the city’s transit commission.
Kanata South Councillor Allan Hubley would replace Monette as vice-chair of the transportation committee.
Rideau- Goulbourn Councillor Scott Moffatt would become vicechair of the IT subcommittee, replacing Cumberland Councillor Stephen Blais, who is recovering from a heart attack. (Blais would remain as vice-chair of the agriculture and rural affairs committee.)
Barrhaven Councillor Jan Harder would be confirmed as chair of the built heritage subcommittee.
Cyrus Reporter, one of four citizen members of the city’s transit commission, plans to vacate his post, and a search for a replacement would begin as soon as possible. Other citizen members would have their appointments extended to the end of this council term.