Town Council Updates Code of Conduct & Procedural Bylaws
Posted March 30, 2021
Following a review by Town Council, both the Code of Conduct and Procedural Bylaw have been updated. The new Bylaws are effective immediately.
The Procedural Bylaw is reviewed regularly as legislation and the needs of Council change. The Code of Conduct is a newer Bylaw, required by changes to the Municipal Government Act. This review let Council discuss how well the Bylaw was meeting their needs and if any changes should be considered.
Code of Conduct Bylaw
The Code of Conduct Bylaw covers conduct by members of Council and outlines processes to redress violations of the Bylaw. Eight other municipal Code of Conduct Bylaws from communities throughout Alberta were consulted to ensure that updates to this Bylaw were consistent with what other municipalities are doing.
Key updates to the Bylaw include:
- Revised hearing procedures to ensure both the complainant and affected member can present oral arguments to Council. As well, Council now has the option to choose to hear from both or neither but cannot hear from only one of the parties in a complaint.
- Modified the hearing procedure to reduce the possibility of bias by removing the complainant from deliberating or voting on the validity of the complaint.
- Clarified the process for public complainants.
- Consolidated some sections where information was duplicated.
- Ensured process and language is consistent throughout.
- Updated the section governing behaviour of Council members on social media.
A copy of the Code of Conduct Bylaw may be viewed here.
Procedural Bylaw
The Procedural Bylaw handles how Council processes occur, including meetings. This review and updates centered around the process for developing the agenda for Council Meetings as well as several legislative updates. Modifications to this Bylaw followed a review of 15 other communities.
A copy of the Procedural Bylaw may be viewed here.