Council to address an administrative submission on the disbanding of three committees
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on February 22, 2025.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Lethbridge city council on Tuesday will address an administrative submission from Deputy City Clerk David Sarsfield on the disbanding of three committees.
Those include the Historic Places Advisory Committee, Reconciliation Lethbridge Advisory Committee and the Heart of our City Committee.
The report notes that on Jan. 21, council gave direction that these three no longer be council committees and require disbandment.
Direction has already been given to transfer the budget of the Reconciliation Lethbridge committee to the Indigenous Relations office.
Sarsfield’s report notes that the office of the City Clerk is in the process of drafting an administrative policy for the formation of administrative committees.
In July of 2023, council addressed a resolution from its Governance Standing Policy Committee that a review by the City Clerk’s office on the continued relevance of boards, commissions and committees be done regularly “to ensure their mandates still meet the changing needs of the community.”
Among the recommendations of Governance SPC was that a review be done on mandates to determine if any are complete or outdated. The review was also to consider recommendations on merging BCCs with similar mandates to encourage efficiency.
A report to Governance SPC was made last summer by Sarsfield and City Clerk Bonnie Hilford which outlined 17 recommendations.
On Jan. 21, council in its consent agenda adopted several recommendations including that its BCCs which are required by legislation continue to function and that Heart of our City, Historic Places and Reconciliation Lethbridge advisory committees transition to administrative committees.
Council also recommended that the City explore options to establish a governance model for the Galt Museum and Archives board of directors with a report to come back to council by June.
And council recommended that a new quasi-judicial tribunal – the Community Requirements Appeal Board – be created. Governance SPC heard last July that this board would hear appeals on City decisions regarding weeds, unsightly properties, and orders to remedy contraventions.
It also recommended that appointments of BCCs from nominations of organizations be dropped and that “the recruitment skill matrixes for each BCC be amended to reflect the desired
composition, and public members at large be appointed. “
Another recommendation called for the size of BCCs be reduced where warranted.
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The heart of the city did nothing to reduce issues on our streets downtown, so it should be disbanded.
The new version of the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force that is supposed to have been brought forward, bigger and better? Where is it? Why is there not this committee where the public brings concerns forward to? Do we have to bring them to the Police Commission now?
Some committees were just a waste of time and tax dollars, and often the Chair would not listen to imput by those who sat on it, unless it lined up with their “mission”.
The DLR Task Force was seeing some results, but unfortunately it has been dissolved! The new committee, whatever the name will be, is delinquent.
The citizens have a right to bring forth their concerns so they are heard, but there must be actions to prove those concerns are heard.
I have little faith in committees anymore and believe many are their to act as a facade that something is being done to silence concerned citizens!