Overly prohibitive rules and confusing policy language is contributing to a sense of 'irritation' with how the city and administration govern themselves and will be reviewed over the next year.
Council voted unanimously Monday to appoint a committee to review the city's governance model. The recommendation comes after a consultant for the city found that the city's model, while working, hadn't been updated in 10 years and could use some tweaking.
"In 2011 … council had some frustration with the wording of existing council and city manager policy, and perhaps with the application of that policy by the city manager on a day-to-day basis," said Travis Peter, corporate business manager.
The city has incorporated the Carver model to govern the activities of staff and council. In the model, which was originally developed for the private sector, council focuses on policy, and administration is responsible for operations. Interactions between the two are theoretically limited to council and the city manager.
An agenda report Monday said the current state of city governance does not connect well to actual practice and "has indeed become a source of irritation and concern for council and the city's administrative senior leadership team."
Instances of onerous restrictions include council not being able to offer praise for individual staff, but having to ask the city manager to relay their comments to the staff member, councillors unable to consult with directors without the city manager being present, or the mayor being prohibited from meeting individually with the city manager.
"In theory that's not allowed because I'm giving him direction on certain things that council hasn't supported," Mayor Nolan Crouse said.
There are restrictions placed on the mayor as well since he is, as defined under the Municipal Government Act, just another member of council with no special power.
"We have committees we all sit on, so what happens is there's this level of frustration or irritation where you don't know if you're really representing council or not," Crouse said.
The wording in bylaws governing the conduct of the city manager, as a result of his role in the model, is focused on limiting the power of the office, which can lead to negative or confusing language. One passage in the city manager's policy states, "the CAO shall not fail to provide advice, which is not beneficial to the community and the corporation."
Peter said the review is intended to soften the very hard line that separates council from staff.
"My opinion is that this relationship must be a close and collaborative one, built on mutual respect and commitment to shared success."
Administration had presented council with five possible options it suggested to address governance and council recommended finding a middle ground — maintaining a strong focus on policy governance but with a "softer" relationship between council and administration.
Review committee
The review group, as approved, will consist of the mayor, two members of council, the city manager and any members of the senior leadership team who are required. Numerous other city departments will also take part.
The goal is to make any necessary changes to the model before the next municipal election in 2013.
Peter said the goal is simply to improve performance.
"While municipal governance relationships may never be perfect due to the nature of the business, an effective governance model and process can absolutely maximize the potential for success."
