By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—With Haldimand’s new term of Council officially set to begin on November 15, County staff are busy behind the scenes helping Haldimand’s new mayor and councillors prepare for their public debuts, with their first Council meetings scheduled for the first and second weeks of December.
The Press spoke with Kyra Hayes, Customer Experience and Communications Supervisor for the County, about the process involved in bringing the new Council members up to speed on their roles and the many facets of their new jobs.
“As each new term of Council begins there is a fairly comprehensive orientation process to help the new members of Council have an understanding of roles, organizational structure, major initiatives, and policies and procedures necessary for successful municipal governance,” said Hayes.
The key steps in that orientation process include:
- Meetings between individual members of Council, the mayor, and CAO to get to know one another and to begin to identify priorities and early wins
- Training on the Council Meeting Process – how a meeting runs and associated technology
- Orientation Session 1 – Overview of organizational structure, services provided, key policies (i.e. Code of Conduct), successful staff-Council relations, committee appointment process, and procedures to address constituent concerns
- A tour of our key infrastructure in the County
- Orientation Session 2 – Big Picture Overview of Major Strategic Directions/Issues (i.e. managing growth and services, financial strategy, key administrative challenges)
- Orientation Session 3 – Major Initiatives – status of ongoing matters carrying over and expected key decisions Council will face this term
- Individual meetings with department heads to get an overview of who does what, key initiatives, and specific issues from Council.
Hayes continued, “Immediately following this orientation program, Council will initiate a Council priority-setting session to establish Council’s key goals and objectives for the term. Council will adopt this through a formal report.”
Hayes said that for new Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley, in addition to the orientation process, there will be a “series of briefings and meetings between the mayor and CAO (Craig Manley) to establish rapport and two-way discussion on any matters of concern and to define the working relationship.”
Hayes elaborated further on the critical relationship between mayor and CAO: “The CAO as head of the administration is Council’s sole employee and is responsible to Council as a whole. Given the role of mayor as head of Council, there is usually regular interaction between the CAO and mayor as well as coordination of the Council agenda, implementation of Council priorities and policies, issue resolution, and updating on major matters. The CAO also regularly interacts with individual members of Council.”
Hayes said that in addition to the training provided by the County, members of Council are encouraged to take training specifically targeted for municipal politicians provided by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) that provides “knowledge, skills, and insight into key areas of responsibility, legislative requirements, how to manage public expectations in a variety of areas, and skills you need in managing and navigating difficult relationships. There are specific courses for Head of Council and for Councillors.”
With only four of the six previous ward councillors returning, Hayes said there are a series of restrictions current councillors must observe during the final days of the current term. These restrictions include:
- The appointment or removal from office of any officer of the municipality;
- The hiring or dismissal of any employee of the municipality;
- The disposition of any real or personal property of the municipality which has a value exceeding $50,000 at the time of disposal, and
- Making any expenditure or incurring any other liability which exceeds $50,000.
With just over a month to go until Shelley Ann Bentley and her new team take centre stage, Haldimand’s newest Council will soon begin establishing their goals and priorities for the next four years while figuring out how to best work together to accomplish them. We wish them the best in their efforts.
