Amendments made to M.D. Procedural Bylaw

By Cole Parkinson
Vauxhall Advance
cparkinson@tabertimes.com

Changes are being made to the Municipal District of Taber’s Procedural Bylaw in order to to remove inconsistencies between it and the Committee of the Whole Bylaw.
As it currently stood, questions were raised about the difference between Committee of the Whole and the Committee of the Whole Bylaw, and administration hoped to clarify the role of the Committee of the Whole as it includes the ability to “recommend amendments to draft policies, bylaws or other governing documents” and to “give direction to the Chief Administrative Officer.” Discussion around these changes happened during council’s regular meeting on Feb. 22.
“This is in hopes with the intent of trying to resolve that inconsistency between the two. Ultimately, it is removing committee of the whole reference from the Procedural Bylaw,” explained CAO Arlos Crofts.
“Procedural Bylaw 1918 was drafted and passed a couple of years before the Committee of the Whole Bylaw that was established. Administration is unaware of what context the previous council considered the Committee of the Whole as referenced in Procedural Bylaw 1918. Section 26 of the Procedural bylaw (and throughout the procedural bylaw) makes reference to a Committee of the Whole in the context of some variation of closed session; thus, wording of section 26 is being proposed in an effort to align it with the Municipal Government Act (MGA),” reads administration’s report.
Within the Procedural Bylaw, it states “the Committee had no power to pass resolutions or bylaws, other than to come out of closed session, while the Committee of the Whole Bylaw contradicts this statement”, but the Committee of the Whole Bylaw gives council the authority to “recommend amendments to draft policies, bylaws or other governing documents; and give direction to the CAO.”
“There was one other change that we were proposing that’s kind of referencing the title of chief administrative officer. It was previously referenced as municipal administrator and there was another reference as municipal manager. I was just trying to make that consistent,” added Crofts.
First and second readings of the bylaw were carried unanimously.

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