Committees vs Portfolios

Traditionally in local government, Mayors assign specific roles to Councillors, outside of the Council and Committee of the Whole structures. These roles provide a Councillor(s) with responsibility for a particular function or group of functions within the municipality with the purpose of providing governance oversight.

I recently completed a research paper for a Local Government Administration course at Capilano University which examined the use of Portfolios vs Committees in BC municipalities. The most common form of Councillor assignment is through a Standing Committee. Under Section 141 of the Community Charter, the Mayor has the ability to establish Standing Committees "for matters the mayor considers would be better dealt with by committee and must appoint persons to those committees." A municipality commonly has 3 to 4 committees with 3 to 4 Councillors assigned to each committee. Committees are intended to examine or consider matters pertaining to their areas of responsibility and to make recommendations to either Committee of the Whole or Council. Committee meetings are scheduled, structured with agendas and minutes and open to the public.

In comparison, far fewer Mayors elect to use use the Portfolio system whereby individual Councillors are assigned to oversee specific departments or functions. Portfolios are similar to Committees by providing recommendations to Committee of the Whole or Council but are less structured and not generally open to the public.

Upon assessing the benefits and challenges associated with each structure, it was concluded that the Committee structure is more balanced with the involvement of three or four Councillors as opposed to a single Councillor and is more transparent with scheduled, open meetings.

The Mayor is currently contemplating a change from the current Portfolio system to a Committee structure in 2011. From an administrative perspective, Committees provide far more structure and reduce staff attendance at meetings from seven (Portfolios) to three (Committees). With a committee of three Councillors considering matters, recommendations can often go directly to Council rather than have to go to Committee of the Whole, reducing the time required for Council to make some decisions.

Prosperity Decision

I was certainly caught off guard today, as were many, when the Federal Environment Minister announced in the House of Commons that Prosperity Mine would not proceed, at least not as it has been proposed. It is disappointing for many in our community who were looking forward to the opportunities associated with the mine. As frustrating as the decision is to the project's supporters, we must keep in mind that life will go on and that we shouldn't let this decision rule our future. At the same time I received the e-mail announcing the Federal Cabinet's decision, I received a media release from Tolko announcing two recently signed agreements with China National Building Materials, the country’s number one lumber distributor, to supply more than 364 million board feet of lumber for China's growing construction needs. The province also announced last month that the Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Committee would receive $1 million per year for three years to support economic transition and development in the region. These are good stories that adds a degree of certainty for our local forest industry.

As a resident stated in a letter to the editor today, the City needs to establish a more focused strategy for economic development. I am pleased to say that we have been moving in this direction over the past few months. At the request of Council, our Economic Development Manager is increasing focus on specific business development initiatives such a potential District Heating project in the downtown core, a Community Forest application, assisting with the development of properties adjacent to Wal Mart and creating a development strategy for lands at the Airport. All of which will create new jobs, increase our tax base and expand opportunities for our existing businesses and industry.

Today, the Mayor confirmed the City's support for Taseko Mines as they consider the future of the Prosperity project and there is optimism that acceptable solutions can be found to allow the mine to proceed. In the meantime, the City will agressively pursue and support new economic opportunities to help ensure a strong stable future for our community.