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Clearview councillor pushes for change in how council makes decisions

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In Clearview
Feb 20th, 2015
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By Ian Adams Wasaga Sun

CLEARVIEW Twp. – A councillor who is pushing for a change in the township’s governance structure says it should be better for both municipal politicians and the public.

Ward 5 Coun. Thom Paterson is asking council to consider a new format for how council conducts its business, such as implementing a committee of the whole, or a standing committee system.

He also wants to see changes to procedural matters relating to the agenda and public participation.

Paterson’s motions directing staff to prepare a report on alternate governance formats will be considered at council’s first meeting in April. The councillor hopes a new format can be agreed upon before the summer.

“I’ve found that Monday nights [during council meetings] is not the place we should be doing work, but to finish our work,” said the councillor, who was elected to his third term in October’s municipal election.

He cited the process that went into forging a deal with Wasaga Beach on a deal for wastewater treatment.

“The best work was done in the workshops; we had a decision to make, and it was how to get our heads together [on the issue],” he said.

Paterson is also looking at “meaningful ways for the public to have input,” noting the current process usually doesn’t give residents enough time to voice an opinion on a matter before council.

That’s why he’s considering a committee of the whole process that would give councillors “a little more time for introspection, that they not feel under pressure to make a final decision.”

That way, when a recommendation comes to council from the committee of the whole, councillors would have had the opportunity for sober second thought, as well as the input of their constituents, he said.

It would also give the community a head’s up on what’s in front of council.

“Often times I get the reaction of, ‘why didn’t we know about that,’” he said. “It hits the press from a council meeting, and a report on a decision that’s already been made.

Whatever changes that result from staff’s investigations, said Paterson, he hopes allow for two things: that the public gets more engaged in the decision-making process, and that councillors improve how they communicate with residents.

“I think it will give the public another opportunity to be engaged or be informed,” he said.

Paterson is also pushing to better define the role of a councillor.

“I’ve been through this for eight years, and I’m of the opinion it’s hard to do the work on a Monday night [at council] if more work is required in terms of coming up with a good decision,” he said.

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