Late Agenda Items for
Committee and Council Meetings
The Corporate Services Committee recommends:
(1)the adoption of the report (May 6, 1999) from the City Clerk subject to:
(i)amending Recommendation No. (2) (a) and (2) (b) to read as follows:
"(2) (a)the item involves a last-minute emergency public health or safety matter that
must be addressed within the current Committee-Council meeting cycle; or
the item involves an urgent public policy issue that in the opinion of the Committee must
be addressed within the current Committee-Council meeting cycle;";
(2) (b)the item involves a contractual, judicial, administrative tribunal or statutory
deadline that must be achieved within the current Committee-Council meeting cycle or
places the Corporation at financial or legal risk;";
(ii)amending Recommendation No. (4) by adding after the words "Committee Chair"
the words "or Members of the Committee"; and deleting the words "subject to a
majority vote of the committee to consider such matter" after the words "onto the
meeting agenda", so that Recommendation No. (4) shall now read as follows:
"(4)any supplementary communications or staff reports, or new business staff reports
meeting the criteria set out in Recommendation No. (2) above, submitted to the City
Clerk within two (2) business days before the meeting, will be held by the City Clerk
and, subject to consultation with the Committee Chair or Members of the Committee
brought to the meeting by the Clerk for introduction onto the meeting agenda;";
(iii)amening Recommendation No. (8) (a) and (8) (b) to read as follows
"(8) (a)the Notice of Motion involves a last minute emergency public health or safety
matter that must be addressed within the current Council meeting cycle; or
The Notice of Motion involves an urgent public policy issue that in the opinion of
Council must be addressed within the current Council meeting cycle;
(8)(b)the Notice of Motion involves a contractual, judicial, administrative tribunal or
statutory deadline that must be achieved within the current Committee-Council meeting
cycle or places the Corporation at financial or legal risk;";
(iv)striking out Recommendation No. (12);
(2)that all staff reports be required to clearly identify any financial implications
including:
(i)the source of funding;
(ii)the amount of expenditures and revenues; and
(iii)any in-year financial implications beyond the approved budget or future year
financial impacts;
and that financial/budgetary reports clearly identify any policy implications and the
relevant committee approval received or required for the policy change; and that these
requirements be incorporated into the new staff report guidelines currently in
preparation by the City Clerk and the Chief Administrative Officer;
(3)that the City Clerk, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer,
City Solicitor and the Chief Administrative Officer, be requested to develop a protocol,
and report to the next meeting of the Policy and Finance Committee, for dealing with
staff reports, Standing Committee and Community Council recommendations to City
Council, and Notices of Motions introduced at City Council, which have financial
implications, beyond the approved annual budget or legal implications, such that staff
can identify any financial or legal implications and bring such information to the
attention of Committee or Council for its consideration;
(4)that any communication from a Member of Council to a Committee or Community
Council, for a staff report be placed on the agenda and by vote, be referred to staff for a
report to be presented to the next meeting;
(5)that no items be placed on the agenda for a Committee or Community Council
meeting without an accompanying staff report;
(6)that Members of Council be requested to consult with the City Clerk in the
preparation of their Notices of Motions prior to their submission to Council; and
(7)the implementation of this revised policy take effect in September, 1999, for a six
month trial period.
The Corporate Services Committee submits the following report (May6, 1999) from the
City Clerk:
Purpose:
This report addresses the causes and implications of late agenda items being introduced into
the Council legislative process. Recommendations, including guidelines for trial
implementation over a six month period, are made for dealing with late agenda items for
Standing Committees, Community Councils, other committees reporting directly to City
Council, and City Council.
Financial Implications:
There are no direct funding implications from the report recommendations.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
Committee and Community Council Agenda:
(1)the closing deadline for regular meeting agendas for Standing Committees and other
committees, be changed from 12:00 noon, 10 business days prior to the meeting, to 12:00
noon, nine (9) business days prior to the meeting, and the closing deadline for Community
Council meeting agendas remain at 12:00 noon, 10 business days prior to the meeting due to
the large volume of planning business requiring advance notice;
(2)the City Clerk be authorized not to accept any staff reports or communications, pertaining
to new business, for a Standing Committee, any other committee or Community Council
meeting, after the regular agenda closing deadline, unless one of the following conditions is
met:
(a)the item involves a last-minute emergency public health or safety matter that must be
resolved within the current committee-council meeting cycle;
(b)the item involves a contractual, judicial or statutory deadline that must be achieved
within the current committee-council meeting cycle or places the Corporation at financial or
legal risk; or
(c)the item has been referred by City Council, a Standing Committee, other committee or a
Community Council after the agenda closing and the referral relates to one of the criteria listed
above;
(3)the City Clerk continue to accept staff reports and communications, for inclusion on the
meeting agenda, that are supplementary to an item already properly on the regular meeting
agenda and received by the Clerk up to three (3) business days before the meeting, and that the
supplementary agenda be distributed to Members and affected senior officials two (2) business
days prior to the meeting;
(4)any supplementary communications or staff reports, or new business staff reports meeting
the criteria set out in Recommendation No. (2) above, submitted to the City Clerk within two
(2) business days before the meeting, will be held by the City Clerk and, subject to
consultation with the Committee Chair, brought to the meeting by the Clerk for introduction
onto the meeting agenda, subject to a majority vote of the committee to consider such matter;
(5)when a motion is introduced at a meeting of a Standing Committee, any other committee,
Community Council or City Council for a further staff report on an item under consideration,
the meeting Chair be permitted to request the Chief Administrative Officer or responsible
Commissioner (or appropriate staff) to speak to the motion as to whether a formal staff report
or informal response (e.g., verbal report, presentation) is appropriate given the nature of the
request and the time frame contemplated by the motion, before the motion is voted upon;
(6)the committee and Community Council meeting agenda management guidelines, attached
to this report as Appendix "A", to give effect to Recommendations Nos. (1) through (4) above,
be adopted;
City Council Agenda:
(7)the closing deadline for the Council meeting agenda be confirmed at 12:00 noon, five (5)
business days prior to the Council meeting;
(8)the City Clerk be authorized not to accept any late Notices of Motions from Members of
Council, after the Council meeting agenda has closed, unless one of the following conditions
is met, and unless the Notice of Motion is received before 12:00 noon the business day before
the meeting:
(a)the Notice of Motion involves a last-minute emergency public health or safety matter that
must be addressed within the current Council meeting cycle;
(b)the Notice of Motion involves a contractual, judicial or statutory deadline that must be
achieved within the current Council meeting cycle or places the Corporation at financial or
legal risk; or
(c)the Notice of Motion relates to the passage or extension of an interim-control by-law;
(9)any late communications and staff reports, pertaining to items already on the Council
agenda, and received up to 12:00 noon on the business day before Council will be placed on
the Council supplementary agenda and distributed at the beginning of the meeting of Council,
and any further communications and staff reports received after the deadline will be filed by
the City Clerk and a listing of all late communications and staff reports received after the
deadline be distributed to Members, for their information during the Council meeting, with the
update of the Council ReferenceTable;
(10)the City Clerk be authorized not to accept any late Bills after the meeting agenda has
closed, unless one of the following conditions is met, and unless the Bill is received before
12:00noon the business day before the meeting:
(a)the Bill involves a last-minute emergency public health or safety matter that cannot wait
until the next Council meeting;
(b)the Bill involves a contractual, judicial or statutory deadline that must be achieved by the
current Council meeting or places the Corporation at financial or legal risk; and/or
(c)the Bill relates to the passage or extension of an interim-control by-law;
(11)a supplementary Council agenda, including all late Notices of Motions, communications
and staff reports meeting the criteria, be prepared and distributed to Members at the start of
the Council meeting, together with a final Bills List;
(12)after the City Council meeting has started, no new additional information be distributed
to Members during the meeting, unless authorized by the City Clerk, in consultation with the
Mayor, in extraordinary circumstances;
(13)the City Council meeting agenda management guidelines for late items, attached to this
report as Appendix "B", to give effect to Recommendations Nos. (7) through (12) be adopted;
Implementation:
(14)the staff recommendations and guidelines set out in this report be implemented on a trial
basis for a six month period, and the City Clerk be requested to report back to the
Administration Committee on the status and results of managing late agenda items for
Committee and Council meetings, and any further recommendations deemed necessary; and
(15)the City Clerk prepare and distribute to City staff and interested persons an information
package containing the guidelines outlined in this report and a schedule showing the
respective agenda deadlines recommended in this report.
Background:
Late agenda items for Committee and Council meetings have been identified by a number of
Members of Council, staff and the public as a specific area of concern. Late items include staff
reports and communications (from the public, Members and other committees) which do not
form part of and are not distributed with the regular meeting agenda, and typically result from:
(i)missing deadlines for new business (e.g., Member Notices of Motions, reports by staff
and communications from Members and the public);
(ii)accommodating supplementary business for items already properly placed on the regular
agenda;
(iii)responding to Council/Committee requests for additional information; and
(iv)accommodating the existing committee-council procedural system and meeting
schedule.
Generally speaking, the concern with late agenda items is more acute for new business staff
reports at Standing Committee and Community Council meetings as compared to City
Council meetings.
This report examines the current agenda management process at the Committee and Council
meetings and makes recommendations for better implementing firmer agenda deadlines to
reduce the prevalence of late items. It is the first in a series of reports to be presented to
Committee addressing issues identified during the legislative process review underway
through the City Clerk's Office.
Discussion:
The City Clerk is responsible for supporting the Council legislative process and, in so doing,
must maintain its integrity and ensure due public process is followed in accordance with
governing legislation. This means balancing the interests of Members of Council, City staff
and the public so that the municipal process is open and accountable. Late agenda items
disrupt the legislative process as Members are not afforded sufficient time to review meeting
materials, and staff and the public do not have the information for review prior to the meeting.
There are, however, circumstances when late agenda items are necessary and unavoidable,
including emergency health and safety matters and contractual, judicial and statutory
deadlines.
New Committee or Council Requests for Information from Staff:
Committee and Council requests to staff for reports within very limited time lines do result in
late staff reports, since these requests sometimes involve significant work and resource
commitment. A response in the form of a formal staff report may not always be necessary,
where a verbal report from the affected Department may be more appropriate. However, in
circumstances where further recommendations for action are contemplated, a written staff
report is necessary. It is recommended that when a motion is introduced at a Committee or
Council meeting for a further staff report on an item under consideration, an allowance be
made for the meeting Chairperson to consult with the Chief Administrative Officer or
responsible Commissioner or appropriate staff as to whether a formal staff report or informal
response (e.g., verbal report, presentation) is appropriate within the time frame contemplated
by the request.
Late Agenda Items for Meetings of Community Councils and Committees Reporting Directly
to City Council:
Current Situation:
Currently, the Committee meeting agenda closing deadline is 10 business days prior to the
meeting date, when a staff report (signed original and electronic copy in the corporate format)
is submitted to the Committee Administrator for inclusion on the meeting agenda. A
supplementary agenda is prepared, if necessary. This two-week time line is very compressed,
given the work required to prepare for the meeting.
The prevalence of late agenda items at the Committee level really depends on the Committee
or Community Council in question and the agenda management style of the Chair. Some
Committee Chairs prohibit late items outright, while others tend to be very accommodating in
accepting late agenda items. A consistent approach is required. Based on the first two
committee cycles of this year (January and February meetings), 15 to 20 percent of the items
considered by most Standing Committees and Community Councils (except for the Budget
Committee and Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee) were late agenda items.
Late Communications and Staff Reports:
The Council Procedural By-law does provide some direction for dealing with late agenda
items submitted for Standing Committee and Community Council meetings. Generally, any
matter for which notice is not given shall not be considered at a meeting unless a majority of
Members vote to consider it. For the purpose of agenda management at the Committee level,
communications in the Procedural By-law are interpreted to include staff reports and Member
and public communications. For late communications, those received by the City Clerk prior
to a meeting, but not in time for inclusion on the regular agenda, are reviewed by the Chair
and/or Committee Administrator and:
(i)if it pertains to a matter on the regular agenda, it is submitted to the meeting as part of a
supplementary agenda item;
(ii)if it does not pertain to a matter listed on the regular agenda, it is included on the agenda
for the next meeting (unless the Chair directs that it be placed on the supplementary agenda
and the Committee shall determine if it is to be considered at the current or next meeting);
(iii)if the communication requires further review and report, it shall be placed on the next
meeting agenda, unless the Chair is of the opinion that urgency requires that it be placed
before the Committee as part of the supplementary agenda.
While an outright prohibition of late staff reports and communications regarding new business
is an option, it is impractical given the need to accommodate unforseen circumstances. Also,
with the monthly meeting cycle adopted by Council, the time line between meetings requires
some flexibility for dealing with late items, since the next Committee meeting is another four
weeks away.
Criteria are needed to manage late agenda items consistently. The criteria should be
time-driven rather than being used to accommodate policy or financial matters which are not
subject to last-minute deadlines. Following a criteria-based approach, it is recommended that,
after the closing of the regular meeting agenda, the City Clerk not accept late staff reports or
communications pertaining to new business for a Standing Committee or Community Council
meeting, unless one of the following conditions are met:
(i)the item involves a last-minute emergency public health or safety matter that must be
resolved within the current Committee-Council meeting cycle;
(ii)the item involves a contractual, judicial or statutory deadline that must be achieved
within the current Committee-Council meeting cycle or places the Corporation at financial or
legal risk; or
(iii)the item has been referred by City Council, a Standing Committee or a Community
Council after the agenda closing and the referral relates to one of the criteria listed above.
This approach places responsibility for gate-keeping the meeting agenda with the Committee
Administrator. They will use the criteria to determine if a new staff report or communication
is to be placed on the supplementary meeting agenda. Any late staff reports or
communications pertaining to new business which do not satisfy these criteria would be
placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting.
To assist staff and Members to meet this firm deadline, it is recommended that the closing
deadline for the regular meeting agenda for Standing Committees and other committees
reporting directly to City Council be shortened from 10 business days to nine (9) business
days to allow more time for preparing and finalizing reports in time for the regular agenda
closing. It is not recommended that the agenda closing deadline be changed from 10 business
days for Community Council meetings, at this time, owing to the large volume of planning
and development business received by Secretariat staff and the amount of additional work
required to produce the agenda and notify interested persons about the meeting agenda.
Supplementary Meeting Agenda:
Allowances do need to be made for late staff reports and communications supplementing an
agenda item that is properly part of the regular meeting agenda. It is recommended that the
Secretariat staff continue to accept staff reports and communications (from the public and
staff), for inclusion on the regular meeting agenda, that are supplementary to an item already
on the agenda. However, Secretariat staff will no longer reserve "place-holders" on the
meeting agenda for items that are promised after the regular agenda closing date for inclusion
on the supplementary agenda. The practice of releasing additional agendas (e.g., supplemental,
"added-starters", etc.) prior to the meeting has tended only to encourage late agenda items
covering new business since it is acknowledged that there exists "another deadline".
Only one further meeting agenda, if necessary, should be prepared prior to the meeting after
the regular agenda has been distributed. A supplementary agenda, containing:
(i)supplementary staff reports and communications relating to an item already on the regular
meeting agenda; and
(ii)new business staff reports and communications which meet the criteria;
would be prepared for distribution to Members and affected senior staff two business days
prior to the meeting. The supplementary agenda would need to be closed the third business
day prior to the meeting to allow for compilation and printing for distribution the next
business day. It is recommended that any supplementary communications or staff reports, or
new business staff reports meeting the criteria set out above, received by the Clerk up to three
business days before the meeting, be distributed to Members and affected senior officials as a
supplementary agenda two business days prior to the meeting. It should be noted that a
drawback to this approach, and a current problem, is that the supplementary agenda materials
will not be widely distributed to staff and the public prior to the meeting. The Secretariat will
attempt to make supplementary agenda information available to staff and the public (hard
copy and via the Internet) prior to the meeting.
Late agenda items received too close to the meeting date do not allow enough time for the
Secretariat to properly research and distribute copies to Members (hard copy or e-mail).
Therefore, it is recommended that any staff reports or communications supplemental to items
properly on the regular agenda, and any staff reports pertaining to new business that satisfy the
criteria noted above, and received within two business days of the meeting, should be held by
the Committee Administrator, in consultation with the Committee Chair, for introduction to
the meeting on the affirmative vote of the majority of Members of the Committee or
Community Council prior to it being placed on the meeting agenda. If the Committee or
Community Council does not accept the late item, it is placed on the agenda for the next
regular meeting (except for supplementary communications which would be automatically
placed in the communications package for the Council meeting if the subject matter referred to
a Committee Clause is before Council). The Committee Administrator will bring copies of the
subject late item to the meeting for distribution, in the event the Committee or Community
Council chooses to consider the item.
Figure No. 1 summarizes the agenda process for managing late items discussed above. The
same approach for handling late agenda items would also apply to confidential staff reports.
Implementation:
Implementing a means to deal with late agenda items can be achieved in a number of ways,
including legislating rules and a formal process through the Council Procedural by-law,
issuing a protocol/guidelines for what and how late agenda items are be addressed, and
through education of Members of Council, staff and the public as to the legislative process.
Given the need to establish ground rules for the benefit of all parties involved and the need to
allow some flexibility in the process, it is recommended that the approach for managing late
agenda items outlined in this report be implemented through guidelines and on a trial basis
over a six month period. This will allow some flexibility in dealing with late agenda items and
give the recommendations time to be tested before any commitment is made to further
entrench agenda management rules in the Procedural By-law.
It is recommended that the staff recommendations set out in this report be implemented on a
trial basis for a six-month period, and that the City Clerk report back to the Administration
Committee on the results of this trial.
The recommended interim guidelines for managing late agenda items for meetings of
Community Councils and committees reporting directly to City Council is attached to this
report as Appendix"A".
Late Agenda Items for City Council Meetings:
Current Situation:
Currently, the Council meeting regular agenda closing deadline is 12:00 noon, five business
days before the meeting (except for Notices of Motion). The regular agenda is then finalized
by the City Clerk, sent to the printer and distributed to Members on the third business day
before the Council meeting. Any additional material received by the City Clerk after the
closing of the regular agenda is compiled into a supplementary communications agenda
package that is distributed to Members at the start of the meeting. The time line available to
prepare, coordinate and distribute the Council meeting agenda is very tight.
Late agenda items for the Council meeting typically include:
(i)Committee and Community Council Reports;
(ii)Notices of Motion;
(iii)communications;
(iv)new staff reports directly to Council which have been requested by a Committee,
Community Council or Council; and
(v)Bills.
Late items distributed during the Council meeting disrupt the flow of the meeting and cannot
be effectively considered by Members. Where possible, the distribution of new information
during the meeting should be avoided. A final deadline for the receipt and distribution of new
information before the meeting needs to be established to ensure that once the meeting begins,
Members understand no new information will be distributed to them.
Late Committee Reports:
Late Committee and Community Council Reports typically result from the current procedural
system where the turnaround time to prepare and print a Report in time for the Council agenda
deadline is very compressed. The new schedule adopted by City Council for June 1999 to
November 2000 provides a week between the last standing committee meeting and the
Council meeting to allow for Committee Reports to be prepared in time for inclusion with the
regular Council agenda. City Clerk's staff are also continuing to improve the Council
legislative process and its supporting documents, and current investigations into the form and
content of the Committee Report may also reduce the amount of time required to prepare the
Committee Report.
In addition, emergency or special committee meetings outside the regular meeting schedule
may result in a late Committee Report not being distributed with the regular agenda. This is
acknowledged to be an exception and should be accommodated by Council when it occurs.
Late Notices of Motions:
Late Notices of Motions submitted by Members are also an issue as they prevent appropriate
research by the City Clerk and review by staff and the public. The Procedural By-law provides
that Notices of Motions for inclusion on the regular agenda must be submitted to the Clerk
before 4:30p.m. five business days prior to the meeting. This deadline should be changed to be
consistent with the deadline for other regular agenda material (12:00 noon five business days
before the meeting). The City Clerk reviews all Notices of Motions and does not accept those
not conforming to the rules of Council. New staff reports (not vetted through a Committee)
may be added to the regular agenda if a Notice of Motion to introduce the report is properly on
the regular agenda. Notices of Motion shall not be considered by Council unless notice was
given at the last Council meeting or if a majority of Members consider the matter to deal with:
(i)matters of emergency health or safety or legal deadline;
(ii)matters requested by Council previously to be reported directly to a specific meeting of
Council; or
(iii)passage or extension of an interim-control by-law.
The Procedural By-law also provides that a Notice of Motion for a subject not on the Council
agenda can be submitted by a Member to the City Clerk up until 2:00 p.m. on the first day of
the Council meeting. Also, any Notice of Motion, the subject of which is within the mandate
of a Committee, agency, board or commission shall be referred directly to it by the City Clerk,
unless for reasons of emergency health and safety, or legal deadline (as set out above), the
Notice of Motion cannot be first considered by the committee, agency, board or commission.
It is then placed on the Council agenda.
More rigor is required to manage Member Notices of Motions so non-emergency notices are
submitted early enough for inclusion in the regular agenda. It is recommended that the same
criteria-based approach established for late staff reports and committee agendas be used for
managing late Notices of Motions, such that the City Clerk will not accept for the agenda a
Notice of Motion on new Council business, after the regular agenda closing deadline (12:00
noon five business days prior to the meeting) unless one or more of the following conditions
are met:
(i)the Notice of Motion involves a last-minute emergency public health or safety matter that
must be addressed within the current Committee-Council meeting cycle;
(ii)the Notice of Motion involves a contractual, judicial or statutory deadline that must be
achieved within the current Committee-Council meeting cycle or places the Corporation at
financial or legal risk; or
(iii)the Notice of Motion relates to the passage or extension of an interim-control by-law.
It is recommended that the City Clerk not accept any further Notices of Motions, regardless of
the criteria, after 12:00 noon the business day before the Council meeting. It is acknowledged
that Condolence Motions should not be subject to the approach outlined in this report.
Late Communications from the Public and Members:
Late communications for the Council agenda result from the fact that many people do not
realize that a particular issue is on the meeting agenda until after its distribution and posting
on the City's web site. Only communications relating to a matter properly on the Council
agenda are considered for inclusion on the agenda. As with other agenda materials, a final
deadline for receiving new information for the agenda must be established before the meeting
starts. It is recommended that any communications received after the regular agenda closing
pertaining to items already on the Council agenda, and received up to 12:00 noon the business
day before the meeting, will be placed on the supplementary agenda and distributed at the
meeting of Council. Any communications received by the City Clerk after this deadline be
filed by the City Clerk, and a listing of all late communications received after the deadline be
distributed to Members, for their information, with the update of the Council ReferenceTable.
Late Staff Reports:
Late new staff reports appear on the Council agenda as a result of requests from a Committee
or Community Council for a report directly to Council to be considered with an item already
properly on the agenda. This issue is addressed earlier in this report under the heading "New
Committee or Council Requests for Information from Staff". However, to ensure Members of
Council receive all information prior to the meeting, it is recommended that any requested
staff report which is to be presented directly to Council must be received by the City Clerk by
12:00 noon the business day before the meeting for inclusion on the supplementary agenda to
be distributed at the Council meeting. Any late staff reports received after the deadline will be
filed by the City Clerk, and a listing of all late staff reports, received after the supplementary
agenda deadline, be distributed to Members with the update of the Council Reference Table.
Late Bills:
Bills, for adoption by Council at its meeting as by-laws, are often late for a variety of reasons,
including the time and research required to prepare a Bill, the tight turnaround time between
Committee and Community Council meetings (where Bill authorities originate), and the fact
that a Council authority is sometimes only granted (or amended) at the same meeting (e.g.,
interim control by-law). Bills are no longer distributed by hard copy directly to all Members in
the agenda package. Instead, a Bills List, identifying the Bill number, title and authority,
appears on the regular and supplementary agendas, and a final Bills Listing is distributed to
Members during the Council meeting so that they are aware of what actions they are taking at
the meeting. Sometimes, however, the Bills List cannot be finalized until late in the Council
meeting (often the third day) as Bills are still being submitted to the City Clerk throughout the
meeting. Greater control and management of the Bills process is needed to ensure the Bills
List can be finalized earlier in the meeting so that Members, staff and the public can review
the final Bills List. Members need the time to review the Bills before them in case they need
to declare a conflict of interest.
It is recommended that the deadline for inclusion on the Council agenda be set at 5 business
days before the meeting (regular agenda closing). Any Bills received after this deadline and up
to 12:00noon the business day before the meeting, must meet the following criteria for
inclusion on the Council supplementary agenda:
(i)the Bill involves a last-minute emergency public health or safety matter that cannot wait
until the next Council meeting;
(ii)the Bill involves a contractual, judicial or statutory deadline that must be achieved by the
current Council meeting or places the Corporation at financial or legal risk; and/or
(iii)the Bill relates to the passage or extension of an interim-control by-law.
Supplementary Meeting Agendas:
Only one supplementary agenda for the Council meeting should be prepared and distributed
after the regular meeting agenda is released. The supplementary agenda would include:
(i)late Committee and Community Council Reports;
(ii)the following information received up to the 12:00 noon deadline the business day before
the meeting:
-late Notices of Motions satisfying the specified criteria;
-late staff reports and communications pertaining to items already on the Council agenda;
and
(iii)the final Bills List, showing all Bills received up to the 12:00 noon deadline the business
day before the meeting.
No additional information should be distributed to Members during the Council meeting
unless authorized by the City Clerk, in consultation with the Mayor, in extraordinary
circumstances.
Figure No. 2 summarizes the agenda process for managing late items for the Council meeting.
Implementation:
As discussed in the previous section dealing with late items for Committee meetings,
implementation of this approach should be on a trial basis first, through guidelines, to allow
flexibility to accommodate unforseen circumstances and to allow for an evaluation of this
agenda management approach.
Appendix "B" sets out the recommended interim guidelines for dealing with late agenda items
for the City Council meeting agenda.
Conclusions:
The issue of late agenda items for Committee and Council meetings needs to be better
managed for the benefit of Members of Council, staff and the public. A trial approach and
guidelines are recommended in this report to begin addressing late agenda items on a
consistent and uniform basis.
Contact Name:
Peter Fay, Senior Policy and Planning Analyst, City Clerk's Division, Telephone: (416)
392-8668 E-mail: pfay@toronto.ca
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Attachments:
Appendix "A" - Recommended Interim Guidelines for Managing Late Agenda Items for
Meetings of Community Councils, Standing Committees and Other Committees Reporting
Directly to City Council
Appendix "B"- Recommended Interim Guidelines for Managing Late Agenda Items for City
Council Meetings
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Appendix "A"
Recommended Interim Guidelines for Managing Late Agenda Items for Meetings of
Community Councils, Standing Committees and Other Committees Reporting Directly to City
Council
The Corporate Services Committee reports, for the information of Council, having also had
before it a communication (May17, 1999) from Ms. Anne Dubas, President, Canadian Union
of Public Employees, Local 79, registering concern respecting the proposal for dealing with
late agenda items introduced at Committee and Council meetings; advising that the
recommendation that letters and petitions not received one business day before Council and
Committee meetings not be distributed to Councillors is a very disturbing concept; that the
essence of municipal government is the accessibility and accountability of elected politicians
to the taxpayers; that not every communication is pleasant and trouble free, but councillors
have a responsibility and an obligation to consider the views of all interested parties as part of
their deliberations; that the need for an accessible Council is greater than ever in this new huge
City and in the interest of open and democratic system, there should be no deadline and no
restrictions on the distribution of the public's letters to Committees or Council.
The following persons appeared before the Corporate Services Committee in connection with
the foregoing matter:
-Mr. Denis Casey, 1st Vice-President, CUPE Local 79; and
-Mr. Vance Latchford, Senior Partner, Latchford Associates.