Council passes mass approval motion in lieu of consent agenda after procedural issue

closed session

by Tristan Turner

Council approved many motions at once in a large “motion approving recommendations for a set number of items”, as Mayor Barry Turner called it. The motion effectively worked as a ‘consent agenda’, where council may approve the recommended option from administration on a collection of administration items without discussing them individually, though the council had already approved the agenda that evening when they attempted to pass a consent agenda, something that it not procedurally allowed.

Following Deputy Mayor Dafoe noting the procedural problem, Andrew Isbister, Morinville’s Chief Administrative Officer, recommended that council proceed with a motion.

“I believe that a motion could be made, even if it is not called a consent agenda, to… accept the CAO’s Report 7.0, Council on Captial Region Board 8.2.1 [and so on]… I believe it would be appropriate to approve all of those items at one time because they are all on the agenda,” Isbister said.

Mayor Turner noted “We have discussed moving forward with consent agendas, however, we have not yet built out the procedure here in advance of this meeting. So that is something that we will discuss moving forward, a procedure on consent agendas, down the line.”

This en masse approval legislation was moved by Councillor Nicole Boutestein and included the following agenda items and recommendations:

– Water Rates Bylaw 16/2017, Second and Third Reading (proposes a small increase in water rates)

– Sewer Rates Bylaw 17/2017, Second and Third Reading (proposes a small increase in sewer rates)

– Waste Management Bylaw 18/2017, Second and Third Reading (proposes an approximate $14 a year increase to waste management rates)

– Members at large Appointments to Subdivision and Development and Appeals Board, (appointing Ms. Charmaine Enns for a second term, Mr. Robert Ladouceur to his first)

– Bylaw and Policy Review Committee Terms of reference, (creates terms of reference required for the committee of council to operate)

– Budget Schedule for 2018, (report for information on the 2018 Council budget schedule)
– Examination of Improvements at Candidate Intersections to Improve Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, (report for information)

– Impact on Morinville with respect to Legislation to Legalize, Control and Regulate Cannabis, (report for information)

– Report on Vaping, (report for information)

This motion passed 5-2 with Deputy Mayor Dafoe and Councillor Scott Richardson opposing without comment.

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