Clearview agrees to smaller NVCA board
Clearview councillors are supporting a pilot project that would see the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) reduce its number of board members in 2016.
The change would result in Clearview going from two representatives to one.
Most councillors support the reduction in membership as a cost saving measure but they have concerns about what happens if the member can’t make it to a meeting.
NVCA chair Doug Lougheed and CAO Gayle Wood made a presentation to council on Monday. They said the township can appoint an alternate member but that person would not be able to vote.
“If a councillor can’t make a meeting, that vote is lost,” said Wood.
Councillor Doug Measures said the member at the table should be able to vote on behalf of council.
“The municipality of Clearview is the member and we send a representative,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Barry Burton said it is a concern for him.
“What is decided at the NVCA has a huge implication on our planning department,” he said.
Councillor Shawn Davidson said the governance model makes perfect sense in his opinion and a person who knows nothing about what’s going on shouldn’t be allowed to show up and vote.
He asked if arrangements could be made for a replacement if there was a reason the representative couldn’t attend meetings in the long-term.
Wood said a replacement member could be arranged quickly by council resolution.
During this term of council, Councillor Connie Leishman and Mayor Chris Vanderkruys have been members.
Leishman will continue as the sole member in 2016.
“As far as I know, barring illness or death, which I have no intention of, I will be there,” Leishman assured fellow council members.
At the suggestion of Councillor Deborah Bronée, council has asked that the mayor write a letter to the province expressing their concerns about the non-voting alternate member.
Conservation authorities are governed according to the Conservation Authorities Act.
Each municipality funds the association based on the amount of watershed land in its boundary. Each municipality can have up to seven members. At 27 members, the NVCA is the second largest board. Nine municipalities have two board members. The reduced board would have 18 members.
The reduction would result in a cost saving of $23,750 in per diems, or one per cent of the budget.
The review is part of an overall exercise to reduce costs. A proposed elimination of advisory committees would result in an additional savings of $11,000.
