Council committee to discuss Ward System Motion

By Richard Coffin

A request for a report on a ward system of elections for North Bay is up for discussion at Tuesday night’s committee meeting of council.   

There’s no draft recommendation.   

Under the ward system, voters elect one or more councillors to represent their specific ward.   

Currently, councillors are elected at-large.   

The discussion comes over two years after the motion was put to committee.   

Outstanding motions, meantime, are the focus of a motion coming up in Tuesday night’s regular council meeting.   

It calls for a list of all motions moved to committee and for staff to provide a proposed schedule for consideration to be brought to council within 60 days for review and prioritization. 

Another motion calls for budget meetings to be held in the council chambers instead of the mayor’s fifth floor boardroom.  

“Council Chambers is equipped with the necessary infrastructure to facilitate public attendance, livestreaming, recording, and archiving of meetings for the benefit of residents,” states the motion. “And Whereas holding budget committee meetings in Council Chambers promotes openness and reinforces public trust in the budget deliberation process.” 

Tuesday’s meetings begin at 6:30 pm.