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Video cast county meetings, make all votes recorded, set up lobbyist registry

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In About Us
Nov 5th, 2015
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Simcoe County Council

Simcoe County Council

AWARE Simcoe recommendations to promote transparency and public participation

Text of submission to Simcoe County Governance Committee November 5, 2015 Meeting.

AWARE Simcoe respectfully submits the following recommendations to the Simcoe County Governance Committee with the intention and hope of further increasing the level of openness, transparency and spirit of public participation in the democratic process of governing Simcoe County .

1. Video record and broadcast County open meetings. All County municipalities where Rogers Cable is available have their municipal council meetings broadcast live on cable and repeated several times during the following week. The Township of Springwater recently began broadcasting their council meetings on the internet. We understand the cost was relatively minor at around $2,000. Broadcasting council meetings makes it easy for the public to see how the business of County Council is run from the convenience of their own homes and makes County Council appear to be a more open and transparent government by allowing the public to review discussion and proceedings. Simcoe County has a very advanced and capable Information Technology Department which we are quite sure could easily handle the installation of equipment, videoing and broadcasting County Council and Committee meetings with a relatively minor financial investment. These videos could then be available for the public to watch on line and/or be available for purchase.

2. Allow recorded votes in Committee of Whole meetings and Hearings. The change to the Committee of the Whole governance model seems to be working well. However the fact that recorded votes are not allowed in CoW makes the process of creating a record of how County Councillors voted on issues much more difficult. Councillors who want to request a recorded vote are forced to wait for the next County Council meeting and then to pull the item from the minutes to record the vote.

3. Install electronic voting in council chambers. The installation of an electronic voting system in the council chambers would provide an instantaneous record of all votes as well as relieving the clerk of the responsibility of physically counting “hands in the air.” There could be no dispute over the result of the vote. Electronic voting would address the issue of recorded votes in Committee of the Whole noted above.

4. Email County Council and committee meeting agendas to interested parties who sign on to a list as a way to make the County governance process more resident friendly. The waste management department currently sends out email notices to any resident who requests a reminder about pick up days and special pick up schedules. This is a very helpful reminder for busy people. Other contact lists are routinely prepared to inform interested parties about public meetings and reports being released, e.g. The current Organics Processing Facility and Materials Management Siting process.

5. Establish a Lobby Registry for Simcoe County A lobbyist registrar and registry for Simcoe County would add a level of transparency to how the County conducts business and allow the public to be aware of all the parties involved in any issue or proposal. Without such transparency, there is a danger that special interests might exert undue influence, especially on land use decisions, when the primary consideration when evaluating any proposed development should be whether it constitutes a net benefit to the community.

Our AWARE Simcoe brochure is attached below for your information.

Sandy Agnew,
Vice Chair,
AWARE Simcoe
October 27, 2015

AWARE 2015 Brochure 1.8

2 Responses to “Video cast county meetings, make all votes recorded, set up lobbyist registry”

  1. Kate Harries - Elmvale says:

    Here’s my beef – that during their meetings, councillors have their backs to the public. This layout says so much about the institution.
    It’s impossible, unless you’re a regular (most people attend for a specific issue), to figure out who is talking. Their name plates are on their desks, facing the warden and other people on the platform at the back of the room, who presumably already know who all these people are, so that’s pretty useless. The county refurbished the council chambers a couple of years ago but the fundamental problem has not been addressed. An easy fix would be for them to have their NAMES and MUNICIPALITIES in LARGE letters on their backs, like hockey players.
    Another thing: as the public gallery is on a different level from the council chamber, it’s impossible to have a chat with a councillor unless you have the gall to crash the closed door at ground level, or are willing to wait until he or she comes out. Totally different to any other council whose meetings I have attended.

  2. Elaine Stephenson says:

    Although we do not regularly attend County Council meetings, I totally agree with you, Kate.
    It’s almost like having to ambush a councillor if you want to speak with him/her. I believe the entire set-up is for exactly that: to avoid public contact which boils down to non-transparency & secrecy.
    Your hockey shirt idea will just be guffawed at, so let them spend some money correcting this situation…either turn ’em all around or move the galleryl.. whatever works.

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