GUELPH – Wellington County council could be starting meetings earlier and focusing more on weightier topics if motions introduced at the Sept. 26 session are adopted.
Councillor Diane Ballantyne introduced two notices of motion last week relating to meeting procedure.
One calls for the procedural bylaw to be amended to have county council sessions start at 9am. Currently, the meetings start at 10am.
“We’re all busy people and our committee meetings already start at nine o’clock,” Ballantyne noted.
Another motion would see council adopt the “consent agenda” format for council meetings beginning in January.
A consent agenda groups routine business and reports into one agenda item, which can be approved simultaneously, rather than filing motions on each item separately.
Ballantyne pointed out the consent agenda approach is used by the City of Guelph, Region of Peel and “most importantly in Wellington North.
“It enables us to focus our energies on discussion of motions that are on the floor,” she stated.
Plastic ban
A third notice of motion introduced by Ballantyne calls for a ban on the purchase of single-use plastics for county facilities.
“An estimated eight million tons of plastic is dumped into the world’s oceans every year and more than 100,000 metric tonnes of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year as well,” said Ballantyne.
“We have a role to play as county leaders to show a commitment to reducing our carbon foot print and our plastic use.”
All three motions will be on the agenda for discussion at the Oct. 31 county council meeting.
