TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: October 6, 2025 Report No. ADM-25-044
TO: Council
FROM: Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services
SUBJECT: Amendments to Council Procedure Bylaw
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council give first, second, and third readings to Council Procedure Bylaw,
2022, No. 3081, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3170.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Council Procedure Bylaw governs the conduct of Council meetings and sets the rules for handling municipal business at meetings. Amendments are occasionally required to revise the structure or improve the clarity of Council meetings to promote efficient elected official decision-making, accountability, and transparency of governance decisions. Prior to adoption of a Council Procedure Bylaw, or any amendments thereto, public notice is required to be given in accordance with the Community Charter.
BACKGROUND:
Municipal Councils are required by the Community Charter to establish procedures for the conduct of their meetings and general conduct of their business through a procedure bylaw. This bylaw sets shared expectations for process, procedure, and conduct at Council meetings.
Procedure Bylaws include rules for conducting meetings, making and recording decisions, participating in meetings for members and the public, how other meeting matters such as meeting schedules and notice requirements are handled, and other legislated matters. Clear procedure bylaws support the governance process and facilitate a collaborative approach that encourages respectful conduct and open debate at meetings. The Township’s Council Procedure Bylaw can be regarded as a living document that requires amendments from time to time.
Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081 was adopted in August 2022 and has not been significantly amended since. Previous amendments were clerical, non-substantive amendments, or minor procedural changes with no change to intent or application. Using feedback observed during meetings, recent changes to the Local Government Act, and input from members of Council and municipal staff, several amendments are proposed for Council’s review and consideration.
Chronology:
• Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081 adopted August 15, 2022
• Bylaw No. 3081 amended May 27, 2024
• Bylaw No. 3081 further amended September 23, 2024
ANALYSIS:
Some of the revisions proposed in Amendment Bylaw No. 3170 include minor administrative updates to the bylaw. However, some of the more significant changes are highlighted below to provide further clarity or rationale for the amendments as proposed.
The amendment proposed to section 8.4(5) is based on staff feedback received after the conduct of the by-election in April 2025. Staff identified significant challenges with supporting Council meetings at the same time as staffing advanced voting and general voting days with the exceptional staff overtime (15+ hour days on all voting days) necessary to conduct all three required voting opportunities. Given that elections require an all hands on deck approach, there was no practical way to schedule coverage for both responsibilities in a way that also supported staff well-being and resulted in exceptional overtime and significant challenges in balancing responsibilities for meeting administration and the conduct of the election.
The current Council Procedure Bylaw as written does not include a provision to cancel a Council or Committee of the Whole meeting for any extenuating circumstances, lack of business items, local emergency, or other unforeseen situation without a resolution from Council which is not always feasible prior to the scheduled meeting. Amendments to subsection 11.2 would allow for meetings to be cancelled at the discretion of the CAO in consultation with the Mayor for such circumstances.
Corporate Services received a request from both staff and members of Council to explore amendments to section 13 to relax the provisions for electronic meeting attendance. The feedback indicated that the provisions for the electronic meetings are too restrictive and have caused challenges achieving quorum for meetings for both Council and Committees of Council. In some cases, the provisions as written have resulted in the cancellation of meetings and corresponding delays to processing the scheduled municipal business. In response, the proposed amendments aim to alleviate these quorum challenges to allow members participating electronically to count towards quorum instead of requiring that quorum be present in the meeting room. Originally this was drafted such that if the technology failed, and those participating in the meeting electronically could no longer be heard, or seen and heard, by all participants as legislatively required, the meeting could still proceed as quorum would be maintained. While making this change does pose a risk that quorum could be lost during a meeting due to technical failure or phone or internet outages, the likelihood of such an event is extremely low.
With the recent legislative changes introduced regarding housing, municipalities have been grappling with how to prevent the perception of Public Hearings occurring where they are expressly not to be held or is prohibited within their Procedure Bylaws during Public Input Periods. This has been a complex challenge to address while balancing procedural fairness and legislation with public participation. Ultimately there is organizational risk if it is perceived that a Public Hearing was held in deference to the provisions of section 464 of the Local Government Act. To eliminate this risk, draft amendments are proposed to revise subsections 19.2 and 22.1 to clarify when public input can be received on certain land use applications in compliance with the applicable legislation and when it is restricted. These amendments will ensure that the Township’s procedures comply with the revised provisions of the Local Government Act.
Bylaw amendment numbers 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 all pertain to Advisory Committee and Commission meetings. Amendment 16 is administrative and updates subsection 43.2 to align with the revised recruitment timelines and change to term appointments ending at the end of the calendar year included in Council Policy ADMIN-40 Appointment Process - Advisory Committees, Commission, and Board of Variance.
While it is anticipated that introducing additional flexibility to attend meetings electronically will assist advisory bodies with meeting quorum, staff want to ensure that members of all advisory bodies are provided with the annual schedule at their first meeting to hold meeting dates in their individual calendars for the coming year to allow the applicable business to take place efficiently and effectively. Amendment 17 revises the provision in subsection 46.1 to formalize this updated administrative process.
Amendment 18 proposes to revise subsection 46.3 to mirror the provisions that Council members have when it comes to extending meeting times if agenda items are not completed by the established adjournment time (three hours duration). This is to respect the time of the volunteer members of the advisory bodies and to provide current and potential appointees with some clarity around the time commitments required to serve on a Council Committee or Commission.
Amendment 19 is intended to address the feedback provided by Committee and Commission Chairs provided at the annual update this past June to ensure that Council decisions on matters that the Committee or Commission made a recommendation to Council on are reported back to the body that made the recommendation. This amendment revises the order of business on Committee and Commission meeting agendas to make Staff Liaison Updates a regular business item under subsection 47.3.
Amendment 20 is administrative and parallels the same proposed amendment to losing quorum during a Committee or Commission meeting (subsection 48.2) as is proposed for Council and Committee of the Whole meetings (subsection 25.1) in Amendment 15 of proposed Bylaw No. 3170.
The final amendment is proposed because the included provisions in Part 12 comprising the entirety of section 52 were intended to provide guidance on how an individual could appeal for reconsideration of an officer or employee’s decision where Council delegated authority to make such decisions. The included provisions did not achieve that intent. Further, provisions to appeal such decisions are outlined in applicable statutes or bylaws where a right of reconsideration is provided for so the entire section is redundant and should be removed from Bylaw No. 3081.
OPTIONS:
1. That Council give three readings to Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3170.
2. That Council revise Amendment Bylaw No. 3170 and give three readings to Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3170 as amended.
3. That Council give first and second reading of Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3170 and request additional amendments or information from staff prior to considering third reading.
4. That Council receive Staff Report ADM-25-044 from the Director of Corporate Services for information.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
Good Governance and Organizational Excellence
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There are no financial impacts associated with providing the requested readings of this bylaw.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
Required public notice was given on September 25 and October 2, 2025, in accordance with the Township’s Public Notice Bylaw, 2024, No. 3136 to provide members of the public with information about the proposed amendments and to advise how they may provide input to Council on the proposed amendment bylaw.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
If Amendment Bylaw No. 3170 receives three readings, it will be scheduled to an upcoming Council meeting for consideration of adoption. If adopted, the updated bylaw will be published to the Township’s website and distributed to staff.
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Kristi Bilodeau, Acting Director of Financial Services and I.T., Reviewed
2. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
1. Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081, Amendment Bylaw, 2025, No. 3170
2. Consolidated Council Procedure Bylaw, 2022, No. 3081 with Track Changes
3. Public Notice - Intent to Amend Council Procedure Bylaw