Mayor pushing for
more voting power
Finds it frustrating to sit on sidelines, council also mulls longer terms
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, January 20, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Mayor Mark Heyck wants to see longer council term lengths and the expansion of the mayoral role to include the power to vote.
Mayor Mark Heyck, left, with Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Caroline Cochrane and Northwest Territories Housing Corporation president Tom Williams sit at a legislative assembly committee meeting in December. Heyck is in favour of a four-year council term and expanding mayoral power to regularly vote at council meetings. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
The proposed changes are included in a consultant report on governance seen by municipal services committee on Monday. As it currently stands, council terms run three years and the mayor's largely procedural role means he can't offer views or vote on issues except in certain circumstances. The report suggests extending terms by one year and giving the mayor more power.
"Having had the experience as both a city councillor and the mayor, one of the frustrations that I feel sometimes is the inability to weigh in with an opinion on the discussion that's taking place on any particular issue," Heyck said.
No decisions have been made on the recommendations as of yet.
Councillors are elected to three-year terms. If councillors opt to change term length, it would not extend their own terms but take effect following the next election, which is set for 2018. The mayor can only currently vote to break a tie, or by temporarily transferring chairmanship to the deputy mayor, which Heyck does infrequently.
The mayor said he's observed shortcomings with three-year terms during the five terms he's spent on council. He said an extra year would allow councillors to better understand their jobs and exercise their political abilities. Newly elected councillors can be subjected to a rush of information in the first year as they learn the ropes, he said. The second year is usually spent working on issues and then the third year builds to the election, he said.
"It goes very quickly. I think the level of service we provide to the community could be improved if we move to a four-year term," he said.
The report, by consultant David Kravitz, is based on a review of existing legislation, city bylaws and policies; interviews with councillors, the mayor and city staff; and a look at other jurisdictions.
Kravitz found small cities in Western Canada tend to have three-year terms, while those with a population above 50,000 tend to increase to four years in office. Eastern Canada tends to have four-year terms, even for smaller communities.
The Cities, Towns and Villages Act is the territorial law setting out municipal powers. It allows council to reduce its term to two years or increase it to four years, if approved by voters.
The law also allows for a voting mayor but leaves it to council to pass a bylaw addressing the issue.
Yellowknifer asked councillors if they'd support a four-year term and a voting mayor. Only two replied by press time. Coun. Adrian Bell supports a longer term, though it would have to be in place so voters could have their say in the 2018 election. He expressed a similar view as the mayor about how the first year can be spent learning, second taking action and final part of the third making decisions with the election in mind.
"There may be those who feel that four years is too long a time-span for councillors to operate without seeking a mandate from the electorate, but this could be counteracted somewhat by staggering the terms so that we elect four councillors every two years," he stated.
Coun. Steve Payne said he's in support of a four-year term if voters approve of it.
On a voting mayor, Bell is leaning toward supporting it but wants to hear from residents.
The current system means the mayor is largely like the speaker of the legislative assembly - directing the meeting and providing guidance on procedural matters. That may work in cities with full-time councillors who are able to ensure council direction is implemented, Bell stated. But here, where councillors are part-time, they have less daily oversight of city operations.
"As it stands right now in Yellowknife, only the mayor can have this kind of input and impact," he wrote. "We either need full-time councillors (which would be cost prohibitive and silly in a city of 20,000 people) or we need a mayor who has a stake in every single decision of council - a voting mayor."
Payne stated he doesn't object to the mayor being able to vote, noting at several points he's turned over chairmanship to the deputy mayor to cast a vote during his tenure.
"He does have a lot of experience on council and as being our mayor. His insight is very valuable," Payne stated.
Council will consider accepting the Kravitz report as information Monday evening and whether to establish a sub-committee to develop specific recommendations based on the report.
Bell suggested he'd vote against the committee, instead saying it could be discussed through regular meetings.
The mayor laughed when asked if he'd hand off his chairmanship of the meeting to speak and vote on the issue.
"That's a distinct possibility," he said.
