TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT MEMORANDUM
MEETING DATE: September 9, 2024 Report No. ADM-24-057
TO: Council
FROM: Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services
SUBJECT: Proposed Amendments to Council Policy ADMIN-40, Appointment Process - Advisory Committees, Commissions, and Board of Variance
INFORMATION:
The Township runs an annual recruitment process for volunteer positions to serve as members of Council's Committees, Commissions, and Board of Variance. The annual process is guided by Council Policy No. ADMIN-40 (Attachment 1). In preparation for this year's recruitment process, staff reviewed this policy and have proposed amendments to align with feedback received from Council during previous recruitment processes and some housekeeping matters. These changes are illustrated in Attachment 2.
The most significant change that staff are proposing is to remove the interim step of considering re-appointments before advertising for new interested applicants. This would allow Council to consider all expressions of interest received from both incumbents and new applicants at the same time. Appointments would be made with all the relevant information necessary to make informed decisions on membership including residency and diversity of the membership, instead of piece-meal without knowing who else may be interested in serving the community. The current process prevents advertising for membership on any advisory body with a full membership complement as a result of re-appointments. This does not allow for Council to compare the skills and experiences of all interested individuals, instead favouring incumbents and potentially inhibiting new members with differing abilities and perspectives from providing their input into Council's governance decisions.
Should Council wish to approve these changes, it would also streamline the appointment process for Council by reducing the number of meetings required to finalize the annual volunteer appointments. To approve the propose...
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