Members of The Blue Mountains council will continue to have the opportunity to participate in council and committee of the whole meetings virtually.
At its meeting on Dec. 12, council voted in favour of extending the current rules for virtual meeting participation for six months in order to allow members of council the ability to attend meetings remotely.
The current rules, which allow virtual participation, were scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Coun. Paula Hope had brought forward a notice of motion regarding virtual participation that asked for a staff report on updating the procedural bylaw to eliminate barriers to remote participation.
Hope’s proposed resolution generated some controversy as the former mayor, Alar Soever, and a former councillor, Bill Abbotts, expressed opposition, during public comment period, to the possibility of allowing unlimited virtual participation. In addition, former councillor Rob Sampson wrote a letter to council opposing the resolution.
The full text of Hope’s proposed resolution can be found on the meeting agenda here.
Hope’s resolution was to be considered by council at the Dec. 12 meeting, however, before it could be moved and seconded, Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon suggested the current rules governing virtual participation be extended into 2023 to allow clerk Corrina Giles to bring forward a comprehensive overall report about recommended changes and updates to the procedural bylaw.
Giles said she would be bringing a report about the procedural bylaw and possible changes and improvements in the first quarter of 2023. Changes to the procedural bylaw require a public meeting.
Bordignon suggested it would be better for council to consider procedural bylaw changes in totality rather than on an individual basis.
“I don’t like doing things piecemeal,” he said.
The current virtual participation rules allow a maximum of three councillors to attend meetings virtually. Four councillors are required to be in the council chambers for meetings. Those planning to attend virtually must register with the clerk’s office.
Council was supportive of the deputy mayor’s suggestion. With council voting to extend the virtual participation rules currently in place, Hope decided to withdraw her motion from consideration.
