|
1.0 QUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS
1.1 All
members of City advisory committees, boards and task forces, as well as
external agencies, boards,
and commissions and
authorities must be residents of the City of Ottawa,
with the exception of the Business Advisory Committee, in which case members
may be residents of the City
of Ottawa or must own a property or business within
the City of Ottawa. As
applicable, committee members
and must maintain one
of these this qualifications
during their term of office.
1.2 All members must be at least 18 years of age.
1.3. Full time permanent employees of the City of Ottawa are not
eligible for positions as citizen members on any City Advisory Committee,
Board or Task Force, or on External Agencies,
Boards or ,
Commissions
or Authorities. Members who subsequently receive a full-time,
permanent position with the City of Ottawa shall immediately resign.
If a member’s
company, business or employer is hired by the City of Ottawa, the member
shall disclose the employment situation immediately to the City Clerk who
shall advise the member if he or she must declare an indirect pecuniary
interest on related items, temporarily remove him or herself from the
Advisory Committee, or if he or she must resign his or her seat on the
Advisory Committee.
2. TERM
OF OFFICE
2.1 The term of office is
generally three years and shall be established on a rotational basis. Members are eligible to serve a maximum of
two consecutive terms on the same Committee (a maximum of 6 years) subject to
section 2.2.
2.2 A person appointed to
fill a partially completed term is appointed to the end of that term of
office. Such member, if appointed for
an interim term not exceeding one year, may be eligible for reappointment for
two three-year terms. When a new
Committee is established, Members given a one-year term are eligible to serve
up to seven years.
2.3 Applicants are required
to sit out one year after serving two consecutive terms, before being
eligible for reappointment on the same Committee, although may apply to serve
on another Committee during that time
2.4 Those members who wish
to be reappointed to an additional term must reapply and go through the
approved selection process.
2.5 Citizen members may
serve on only one City advisory committee, board, task force, external board,
commission or authority at any one time.
A member may, however, be selected to represent their advisory
committee or board on another advisory committee or board as a non-voting
liaison.
2.6 Members continue to
serve on a committee past the expiration of their term until they are
replaced.
2.7 Term of office and
membership on some external boards, commissions and authorities or
quasi-judicial committees may differ as specifically outlined under statute
or by-law.
3. COMPOSITION
3.1 The membership of City advisory
committees, boards and task forces, as well as external boards, commissions
and authorities shall, as much as possible, achieve a balance between a
variety of technical expertise and other representation.
3.2 As much as possible,
the membership should reflect the diversity and demographics of the City of
Ottawa in such areas as: gender, official language, geographical
representation, race and disability.
4. RECRUITMENT
4.1 The annual recruitment for the City’s
advisory committees and boards, as well as external boards, commissions and
authorities for which members are required, shall be held early
each winter
September with Council appointment dates to be targeted for NovemberMay.
4.2 Information
sessions are to be held prior to and/or during the recruitment process. These
sessions shall provide the public and potential applicants with information
regarding the City Council governance structure, the mandate and
responsibilities of the City advisory committees, boards and task force, as
well as external boards, commissions and authorities, for which members are
required, in addition to the members’ role on same.
4.3 The principles of equity and
accommodation for all candidates shall be adopted and implemented by
enforcing application deadlines, selection criteria, and interviewing
procedures using the same questions and same evaluation criteria for all
candidates.
4.4 For
Organizations with Dedicated Seats on City Advisory Committees, boards or
task forces:
The
recruitment of representatives from local organizations will be through
letters of request to these organizations and therefore their nominees will not require interviewing, but must
comply with the residency requirement.
Organizations will be requested to provide resumes or curriculum vitae
of at least two nominees for consideration by the Selection
Panel. Nominees of organizations must
declare interest in items related to their respective organizations, with the
exception of the members of the Taxi Advisory Committee and the Business
Advisory Committee whose composition is made up of affected persons.
4.5 General Public:
The
recruitment and selection process for citizen members, other than
representatives of organizations, will include advertisements for interested
applicants placed by the Corporate Services Department, City Clerk’s Branch,
in the daily and/or weekly community newspapers in accordance with the City’s
advertising policy as well as on the City’s website. Advertisements will also be distributed
throughout Client Service Centres, libraries and City facilities. In addition, for specific committees, an
effort will be made to tailor the recruitment process specifically, but not
exclusively, to the particular groups that are a potential member. For
example: recruitment advertisements will be placed at the Disabled
Persons Resource Center for the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
4.6 The advertisements
may include the following information:
a.
Function or brief mandate statement
of the entities for which recruitment is taking place for;
b. Frequency and time of meetings and where possible any
other expectations for participation of members;
c. City policies that guide the selection process or the
operation of the Committee;
d. Anticipated time commitment;
e. Date, time and location of the public information
sessions that will be held for interested and prospective applicants to
attend;
f.
A request that the applicant provide a letter
outlining how their qualifications, specific skills, interests and background
are relevant to the committee. The
applicant may also include a statement of work, life and educational
experience and/or a resume;
g. A request for applicants to either select one Committee
of interest, or to prioritize the Committees of interest, and if applicable,
to state their consent to be considered for any committees they had not
applied for specifically; and
h. Indication that an individual can be appointed to serve
on only one advisory committee, board, task force, external board or
authority at a time.
4.7 Applications
a.
All applications must outline how the applicant’s
qualifications, specific skills, interests and background are relevant to the
committee. They may include a
statement of work, life and educational experience and/or a resume.
b.
All applications will be
sent to the Corporate Services Department, City Clerk’s Branch,
to be processed.
c.
All applications will be
acknowledged by the Corporate Services Department, City Clerk’s Branch.
d.
An initial screening of applications
will be conducted. Only those meeting
the age and residency qualifications will be brought forward to the next
stage.
e.
Only those applications
received by the published deadline will be considered.
f.
Applicants shall be
encouraged to apply for only the Committees they wish to serve on rather than
applying to many or all Committees.
g.
Should an applicant choose
to apply to more than one Committee, they will be requested to prioritize
their preferences, only applicants who state their consent to be considered
for any Committees they had not applied for specifically shall be considered
for such placement.
4.8 Selection
a.
At the outset of each new
term of Council, City Council, upon recommendation of the Nominating
Committee, will appoint a minimum of two members of Council to sit on each
Selection Panel to review applications and make recommendations to Council. If necessary throughout the term of
Council, the applicable Standing Committee or the Nominating Committee will
recommend Selection Panel members to City Council.
b.
Members of Council who are
Members of the Board or Committee, either in a voting or liaison capacity,
are not eligible to serve on the Selection Panel for that specific body.
c.
City
of Ottawa staff, including departmental liaisons are not eligible to serve on
the Selection Panel.
d.
The Selection Panel will
also include the Chair and/or Vice-Chair of the City advisory committee,
board providing that their respective terms extend past the recruitment
process. If the Chair and/or
Vice-Chair is unable to sit as members of the Selection Panel, the advisory
committee may chose committee member(s) to sit in their place.
e.
The Committee Coordinator
for the Committee will provide advice and assistance to the Selection Panel.
f.
Each Selection Panel shall meet to
determine selection criteria based on the specific expertise needed by the
advisory committee, board, task force, external board, commission or
authority and the need to reflect the community as detailed under the
entity’s composition, prepare questions to be asked of each candidate should
interviews be conducted, and review applications based on these criteria to
determine which applicants will be interviewed. Interviews will be encouraged
and shall be conducted at the discretion of the Selection Panel.
g. The Selection Panel shall recommend appointments as well
as provide a printed reserve list of people who will be appointed should a
vacancy occur before the end of a term.
The reserve list shall be maintained until the next advertisement for
vacancies, or for one year, whichever is shorter.
h. The City Clerk’s Branch shall forward the Selection Panel
recommendations through an ‘in camera’ report to the relevant Standing
Committee (or Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee if there
is no assigned Standing Committee).
i.
The Standing Committee may
review the Selection Panel recommendations at a closed meeting and refer
endorsement of appointments to City Council.
j.
The City Clerk’s Branch
shall advise all applicants of the status of their applications.
k.
All newly appointed members
of City advisory committees, boards and task forces are invited to an
orientation session held by the City Clerk’s Branch. Topics will include procedures, corporate
policies and the committee structure.
Technical staff related to the committee’s mandate would provide
additional information.
l.
Should the Selection Panel
receive insufficient applications to fill the number of vacancies, the
Selection Panel may request the Committee Coordinator to contact applicants
expressing interest in other committees to determine if there may be an
interest in also being considered for said committee. The City Clerk’s Branch may also extend
the published deadline when insufficient applications are received.
5. ATTENDANCE
5.1
Any
member of an Advisory Committee, who
is absent from two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of the Committee,
or in the case of the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee
(“LACAC”), three consecutive meetings, shall be contacted by the Advisory
Committee Coordinator to confirm his/her commitment to the Committee. The member will also be advised that if he
or she misses a third, or in the instance of LACAC Members, fourth
consecutive meeting, or 30% of all the scheduled meetings for a year, her or
his membership is terminated, except in those instances where the Advisory
Committee has *certified such absences. The Clerk’s Office will advise
a member of his or her termination via a registered letter after he or she
has missed three, four for LACAC Members, consecutive meetings.
5.2
A
registered letter will be sent by the City Clerk’s office, during the third
quarter of the year, to any member of an
Advisory Committee, excluding LACAC members, who is absent from 30% of all
the scheduled meetings for a year to advise her or his membership will be
terminated, except in those instances where the Advisory Committee
has*certified such absences.
5.23 Should the member miss another
consecutive meeting, the next qualified reserve member of the committee shall
automatically be called up to the committee to fill the vacancy.
5.34 If no subsequent reserve members remain
to fill the position, then the seat shall remain vacant until the next
recruitment process. Recruitment
shall only be undertaken at another time than the annual process if the
number of members on the committee falls to one above quorum, or there is a
need to fill vacancies on numerous committees in that the associated costs
and staff resources are justified.
5.4 5 If the member is a representative
of an organization, rather than a citizen member, the organization shall be
contacted following the third absence. The organization will have the option to
confirm its representative or to have its second nominee, or if necessary an
alternate, appointed as a replacement.
5.56 For record and information purposes,
the Committee Coordinator will prepare and distribute either an “Information
Previously Distributed” memorandum to the applicable Standing Committee
noting the appointment of the reserve member, or a formal report to the
applicable Standing Committee when an alternate organizational representative
requires appointment to the committee as a full voting member.
(*In those instances where the
absence has been certified by the Advisory Committee, (i.e. the Committee
Member is unable to travel for medical reasons) where requested by the absent
member, consideration will be given to allowing that member to participate in
Committee Meetings via telephonic means.)
6. SUBCOMMITTEES
6.1
City advisory committees, boards
and task forces may create subcommittees to work on specific areas of their
mandate. These
Ssubcommittees membership
can include may
be comprised of ‘non-members’,
meaning members of the public who are not
currently serving on an Advisory committee, task force or board of
the committees
and do not require Council approval of the appointment. Hhowever:
(a) ,
the subcommittee must have a minimum of one-third of the members as voting
committee members of the main committee, board or task force, ;
(b) the
subcommittee shall be guided by
the City’s Procedural By-law for
Committees and Code of Conduct
for Advisory Committees.;
(c)
A non-members
must be
who is invited by the
an Advisory Committee to participate
in an Advisory Committee Sub-Committee for his or her unique set of skills or
expertise, which otherwise do not exist within the current Committee’s
complement. (These members are
eligible for reimbursement of disabled persons expenses).;
(d)
sub-committee
membership must be approved/confirmed by the Advisory Committee at a regular
meeting;
(e)
since
sub-committee memberships are often confirmed only at the time the
sub-committee is formed, it is suggested that the Advisory Committee
periodically review its sub-committees and membership
lists so as to maintain current
membership lists. Where sub-committee attrition no longer maintains the one-third
rule, that sub-committee
must be reviewed, and
(f)
a
member of the
Advisory Committee
should be noted as the ‘lead’
to act as central contact since staff support is limited for subcommittees
(see Section 6.2).
(a)
6.2 Administrative
support to subcommittees is limited to booking rooms and providing
material as necessary. The
Participation Expense Policy applies only to Council appointed voting members
of Advisory Committees with the exception of disabled person’s expenses”
6.2 Minimal administrative support will be
provided to subcommittees and is limited to booking rooms and
the provision of material if necessary, and the Participation Expense Policy
applies only to Council appointed voting members of Advisory Committees, with the exception of disabled person’s expenses.
|
APPOINTMENT
POLICY (