Below is a summary of key items discussed at the Municipality of Port Hope Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings held on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. The agendas and staff reports are available on the Agendas and Minutes page of our website. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting was held electronically via video conference.
Council Meeting:
The following are highlights from the Council Meeting.
Renaming of Community Development Department
Council approved the renaming of the ‘Community Development’ department to the “Planning and Development’ department. This reflects a modernized naming convention that aligns with best practice and similar municipal government organizational structures. Periodically, municipal department names are reviewed to ensure they clearly reflect the responsibilities of the portfolio and that they are modern and consistent with other municipalities around the province.
Committee of the Whole:
The following are highlights from the Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Delegation – Design and Environmental Assessment
Laura Donaldson, Vice President, Transportation Structures for McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers, provided a delegation regarding the Preliminary Design Study for Highway 401 through Port Hope. This study also included Choate Road, the Ganaraska River and Cranberry Road Bridges.
PHAI Project relating to Municipal responsibilities
Throughout 2021, a review was conducted related to the municipal participation in the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI) cleanup project. The review identified multiple action items and points for consideration. Staff provided a report outlining the history of the Municipality’s role and important action items moving forward, including:
- Integrating PHAI municipal participation into the regular business operations of the municipality would be more effective.
- The Municipality should focus efforts on facilitation rather than oversight.
- Council’s participation in decision making should be clarified so that a consistent approach is followed.
- Without shifts in approach, the project will continue to be at risk for reasonable and timely conclusion.
Staff recommended the repeal of the existing By-law 08/2016 and the creation of a new By-law as a replacement. This new By-law will align new municipal roles and responsibilities required to effectively facilitate the PHAI Project.
The new By-law will be presented to Council at a later date.
Comprehensive Review for Elected Officials
Committee considered a presentation and report from Marianne Love of ML Consulting outlining the findings of a comprehensive remuneration review. The consultant gathered information from eleven municipal comparators on total compensation matters such as compensation, benefits, per diem rates, and expense reimbursements provided to Elected officials.
After a detailed discussion, this report was referred to staff for further review and will report back to Committee of the Whole at a later date.
Minutes and video recordings
Meeting minutes will be available pending approval at the next Council meeting on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, at which point they will become the official record of the meeting.
Recordings of the January 18, 2022, Council and Committee of the Whole meetings will be available at porthope.ca/council.
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