Many readers of these posts are aware of the transition we are going through with our Boards and Committees.  But as not everyone is up to date I would like to review the transition and where we are at.

Our committees and boards can be divided broadly into two groups:  the ones operating per statutory requirements and the ones which operate wholly at the discretion of the Council. (To clarify by way of example:  a municipality can choose or not choose to have a KEAC; but, if the municipality has a library they must have a Library Board.)  All the committees and boards have terms of reference; the Township provides administrative support.

The statutory ones include Accessibility Advisory Committee, Library Board, Committee of Adjustment & Property Standards, Holland Marsh Drainage System Joint Municipal Board and Joint Compliance Audit Board.

The non statutory ones include KEAC (King Township Environmental Advisory Committee), EDAC (Economic Development   Committee), Museum Board, Heritage Committee.  In addition there are the boards for managing the halls throughout the Township.  For membership on the committees/boards the tradition has been that after an election the Township advertises for volunteers; members are selected with appointment confirmed in a bylaw.

Following the October 2010 election the Council approved a Staff recommendation to execute a thorough comprehensive renewal of the total process from selection process to terms of reference.  Reasons for renewal are numerous but they can be summed up simply:  the current process is very broken.   Here are some examples of the broken process with relevance to any one Committee varying: terms of Reference are outdated; appointed volunteers do not attend regularly; meetings are held without a quorum; Council Members do not attend regularly.  Amongst the Hall Boards application of various policies is not consistent.

From talking to some volunteers I know that the broken process causes frustration for them as they see their time and energy being wasted.  And for tax payers we should be frustrated as Township resources (Staff time) are being spent without the results appropriate to the investment.  I have learned that other municipalities are going through similar exercises.  I guess this is not surprising as processes need to be renewed regularly to ensure that they are relevant and smart.

In addition to embarking on the renewal process, Council agreed that the very concept of each committee/board should be re-assessed in the context of the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) which we are embarking on.  As we are committed to acting on the ICSP quickly we decided to not initiate the processes usually triggered by election of new Council (e.g. advertising for members, new bylaw appointing members etc. )  In place we decided that the Committees should continue to operate as they had been in 2010 and then we will transition directly to the new framework.

Over the last month it has become very evident that the communication on the latter decision has been very poor and expectations have been misunderstood by many on the committees.   With hopes of clearing up the confusion our Acting Clerk has contacted committee members reviewing expectations.  The key point is that  all 2006/2010 Committees/Boards are to continue as they were. The bylaws which established the make-up of the committees/boards allow for  continuing beyond the term stated due to the inclusion of the following text – “…or upon the appointment of their successors.”  You can read here the full letter sent to the Committees and Boards on April 22 on this matter.

Several comments were posted at www.debbieschaefer.ca by readers on this issue, specifically regarding the Museum Board.  Personally I appreciate the comments made as it prompted me to ask more questions and to learn more.  For several years I was very active in a citizens group (Concerned Citizens of King Township) but did not have direct experience on one of the commissioned Township Committees or Boards.  Hence, I have probably not been as sensitive to the implications (perceived and real) of the transition we, the new Council, have embarked on.

In the April 22^nd letter referenced above there is mention of the new process for selecting volunteers to participate on the committees.  You can read it here. This process was used for selecting our 4 Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) Ambassadors.  The process includes a Selection Panel which includes Councillor Grandilli and me.

Volunteers and the committees/boards which they work on are so very important to the character of King Township.  It is truly unfortunate that an effort to renew them has created confusion.