Council has been discussing and debating about changing how Council meetings are to be held. This is not a topic that many people understand. Let’s try and explain it in simple terms.
Under consideration are the current system called the “Coordinator System” and the alternative one known as “Standing Committees”.
Municipal Governance Coordinators: A Councillor is appointed for overseeing and coordinating one or more municipal departments. They provide an update at Council meetings on their respective departments. There is a concern that a Councillor feels obliged to defend their department and not act independently.
Municipal Standing Committees: Two or more Councillors are appointed to a committee who are responsible for focusing on specific policy areas or issues. Each committee specializes in a particular area and makes recommendations or decisions related to that area’s policies and programs. These are then brought to Council for debate and approval.
Any change should be preceeded by an analysis of the problems in the current system to ensure that they are addressed.
There is a lot more and you can read about it here:
Governance Structures:
A Comparative Analysis & Recommendations – Coordinators vs. Committees