5 December 2006
10:00
a.m.
MINUTES 1
The Council of the City of Ottawa met at Andrew S. Haydon Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, on 5 December 2006 at 10:00 a.m.
The Mayor, Larry
O’Brien, presided.
The City Clerk led
Council in prayer.
Roll Call
ALL MEMBERS WERE
PRESENT EXCEPT COUNCILLOR R. BLOESS.
Declarations
of Pecuniary Interest Including those Originally Arising from Prior Meetings
No Declarations were filed.
Communications
No Communications were filed.
Regrets
The following member
of Council advised that he would be absent from the Council meeting on the date
indicated:
Councillor R. Bloess 5 December 2006
City
Manager
1. LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT PROJECT - VERBAL UPDATE |
The City Manager; the Deputy City Manager, Planning, Transit and the Environment; the City Solicitor; and, the Director of Economic Development and Strategic Projects, provided a verbal update on the Light Rail Transit Project.
Moved by Councillor R. Chiarelli
Seconded by Councillor B. Monette
That City Council resolve In Camera pursuant to Procedure
By-law 2005-431, Subsections 13. (1):
(e) litigation or potential litigation,
affecting the City, including matters before administrative tribunals; and,
(f) the receiving of advice that is subject
to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that
purpose;
with
respect to the Light Rail Transit Project.
CARRIED
IN CAMERA SESSION
IN COUNCIL
Notices of Motion (For
Consideration at Subsequent Meeting)
Moved by Councillor G. Hunter
Seconded by Councillor S. Qadri
WHEREAS Mayor
O’Brien has received a significant mandate to achieve a 0% tax increase for the
2007 Budget;
AND WHEREAS
every month City Council delays the adoption of the 2007 Budget will have a
negative financial impact due to the lag time between the adoption of the
Budget and the implementation of savings or revenue increases;
AND WHEREAS
City Councillors and the Mayor have just completed thorough consultations with
the public on community priorities throughout the election period;
AND WHEREAS
Mayor O’Brien has worked with City staff to develop a new 2007 Budget timetable
that shaves a full month off the original schedule -- meaning potentially more
savings -- while ensuring adequate public consultation;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that City Council adopt the following timetable
for the 2007 Budget:
q
December
14, 2006 --Tabling the 2007 Budget Directions report
q
January
10, 2007 - Committee of the Whole public delegations on 20007 Budget Directions
q
January
11, 2007 - City Council deliberation and approval of 2007 Budget Directions
q
February
8, 2007 - Tabling of the 2007 Draft Budget
q
February
12-16, 2007 - Public consultations:
q
February
19-23, 2007 - Committee of the Whole to receive public delegations
q
February
26-28, 2007 - City Council consideration and approval of the 2007 Budget
AND BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED that staff be directed to develop 5 consultation sessions (one
each in the east, west, central, south, and rural areas) for the week of
February 12-16, 2007, along with consultation mechanisms through ottawa.ca,
phone, fax and written correspondence.
Seconded by Councillor M. McRae
WHEREAS in 2004
Ottawa City Council received the report from the Citizens Task Force on Council
Remuneration, which recommended a revision of City Council salaries, using a
formula based on salaries paid to certain Mayors, Regional Chairs, senior City
employees, the Chair of the NCC, federal and provincial cabinet ministers;
AND WHEREAS for
purposes of illustration, the annual salary for the Mayor of Ottawa, based on
the 2004 data used in this formula, came to $159,500, and for City Councillors
to $87,500;
AND WHEREAS these figures
were subsequently used in the public discussion and Council debate leading up
to Council’s adoption of the recommendations of the Citizens Task Force on
Council Remuneration;
AND WHEREAS the
Council remuneration formula as adopted by City Council in 2004 provides for
significantly higher salaries for the incoming Council, effective January 1,
2007;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that:
1. City Council adopted the 2004 salary
calculation for Mayor and members of Ottawa City Council (i.e. $159,500 annual
salary for the Mayor; $87,500 for the City Councillors), effective January 1,
2007;
2. That future salary increments for
members of Ottawa City Council be based on the lower of the average annual
Consumer Price Index for the City of Ottawa, or the average of the annual
salary increases for City of Ottawa employees;
3. That there be no opting-out provisions
regarding salary arrangements for members of Council;
4. And that each subsequent City Council
confirm these salary arrangements at the first business meeting of its term of
office.
Moved by Councillor P. Feltmate
Seconded by Councillor M. Wilkinson
WHEREAS the reason for setting
up the Citizen Task Force on Council Remuneration was that it is recognized
that as much as possible councillors should not be directly involved in setting
their own salaries;
AND WHEREAS including the
Ottawa City Manager and Deputy City Managers, whose salaries are set by
council, in the Salary Benchmark Calculation violates that principle;
AND WHEREAS the similarity of
the responsibilities of the Mayor of Ottawa with the responsibilities of Mayors
of other major cities means that the salaries of Mayors from other major cities
provide an adequate benchmark for salary calculations;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Elements 2 (Ottawa City
Manager and Deputy City Managers) and 3 (Chair of the NCC, Federal Cabinet
Minister, Provincial Cabinet Minister) be
removed from the Salary Benchmark Calculation.
Confirmation By-law
Moved by Councillor R. Chiarelli
Seconded by Councillor B. Monette
That By-law 2006
- 456 to confirm the proceedings of Council be enacted and passed.
CARRIED
Inquiries
The following inquiries were received:
From Councillor C. Doucet to the Deputy City Manager, Planning, Transit
and Environment seeking information on the City of Ottawa’s options regarding
Pembroke-based SRB Technologies’ proposal to discharge radioactive titrium
waste into the Ottawa River.
From Councillor C. Doucet to the City Clerk requesting a report for
Council on the success of the Toronto's procedural review.
From Councillor M. McRae requesting information on the status of the fundraising for the 150 Elgin Street Concert Hall.
Adjournment
Council adjourned the meeting at 4:17 p.m.
with the following Members present:
Councillors
E. El-Chantiry, G. Brooks, A. Cullen, R. Jellett, M. Bellemare, G. Hunter,
D. Thompson, M. McRae, G. Bédard, D. Deans, R. Chiarelli, D. Holmes, M.
Wilkinson, P. Hume, C. Doucet, J. Legendre, S. Qadri, J. Harder, P.
Feltmate, C. Leadman, S. Desroches, B. Monette, R. Bloess and Mayor
O’Brien.
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CITY CLERK |
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MAYOR |