Lethbridge City Council held its annual Organizational Meeting on October 31, 2023. (Photo: LNN)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge City Council approves 2024 meeting calendar, changes to SPCs

Oct 31, 2023 | 3:17 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge City Council held its annual Organizational Meeting on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. As part of the meeting, council approved changes to the Standing Policy Committees (SPC).

The 2024 council and SPC meeting calendar was also set.

Additionally, council voted to confirm administration appointments to its boards, commissions and committees (BCC), as well as to officially rescind the Ward Boundary Commission Bylaw.

Lethbridge mayor Blaine Hyggen stated that the annual Organization Meeting allows council members to review processes and make any necessary changes to set them up for the following year.

Hyggen noted that this month marks the midway point of the current 2021-2025 city council term.

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He said, “I want to express a deep appreciation and thank you to my fellow members of council as we all know it is not an easy position to hold. I am proud of what this council [has] accomplished thus far and I’m excited for the next two years.”

SPC CHANGES

An SPC is a permanent committee that reports to city council. The current model for Lethbridge allows the local government to look at issues with a focused lens, giving council an increased period to discuss matters and receive feedback from the public.

In addition to SPCs, council relies on the input of different BCCs when making decisions on matters within their mandate. Officials explained that if a BCC is reporting to council, they will report through an SPC dependent upon the matter that they are bringing forward.

Beginning November 1, 2023, the following changes to SPCs will take effect:

• The Civic Works SPC will become the Assets and Infrastructure SPC
• The Cultural and Social SPC will become the Safety and Social SPC
• The Economic SPC will become the Economic and Finance SPC
• The Governance SPC and Audit SPC will remain the same. The Audit SPC will have meetings dropped down to four times a year, with the option of adding more if needed.
• The Advocacy SPC has been transferred into the Governance SPC

City councillor Belinda Crowson stated, “These changes will help streamline our SPC process and will continue to offer various ways for public participation.”

Crowson added that there will be fewer SPCs, but the changes will allow for a more defined focus and schedule. Officials said the Committee Reporting Structure will be updated and any matters currently ongoing will be assigned to the most relevant new committee.

The changes have also resulted in revisions to remaining dates on the 2023 council and SPC calendar:

• November 1, 2023 – the Audit SPC meeting has been deleted
• November 2, 2023 – the Civic Works SPC meeting has been deleted
• November 9, 2023 – the Community Safety SPC meeting has been deleted
• December 14, 2023 – the Community Safety SPC meeting has been deleted, and the Safety and Social SPC meeting has been added

Agendas for SPC meetings will still be available one week in advance at the City of Lethbridge website.

2024 MEETING CALENDAR

The regular council meeting and SPC meeting calendar for 2024 is available to view online. The first city council meeting of 2024 is scheduled for Tuesday, January 23.

BCC APPOINTMENTS

The City of Lethbridge said the following members of Administration have been appointed to the following committees for a one-year term, effective January 1, 2024:

• Travis Grindle, Recreation Services Manager – assigned to Combative Sports Commission
• Darwin Juell, General Manager of Transportation – assigned to the Cor Van Raay LINK Pathway Committee
• Doug Kaupp, General Manager of Water & Wastewater – assigned to the Oldman Watershed Council

Legislative Services Manager Ryan Westerson said, “The appointment of members of Administration to BCCs provides subject matter expertise and promotes collaboration and collective decision-making with council and public members, ensuring that residents, communities and customers of the City are better served.”

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge recruiting for boards, commissions and committees

RESCINDMENT OF WARD BOUNDARY COMMISSION BYLAW

With all three readings as of Tuesday, council has bylaw confirmation for the cancellation of the Ward Commission Bylaw 6374. On December 13, 2022, council voted to rescind a previous decision made on June 7, 2022 to examine the current process used to elect members of council and research alternatives.

During the 2021 Municipal Election, 55.69 per cent of those who cast a ballot chose in favour of the non-binding question, “Do you support using a ward system to elect city councillors (other than the Mayor) starting with the 2025 Municipal Election?”

READ MORE: Lethbridge City Council votes to form commission on possible ward system

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge to explore “precinct” electoral model, not creating ward commission

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