Tie votes could tie-up decision making by city council—unless Stevenson relents

Marathon council meetings could get even longer because a standing committee with an even number of members is raising the risk of deadlocked votes.

On Monday, all four councillors selected to sit on the Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee during the third year of the 2023-2026 council term were in attendance.

In the past, the committee had five members plus the mayor who has the option to join meetings to cast a vote.

With the mayor travelling to Ottawa on city business, the first meeting of the four-member committee was at risk of 2-2 tie votes.

“No recommendation would go to council if it dies on a tie vote,” warned Coun. Hadleigh McAlister during a debate about changes to the Special Events By-law. “We would have to bring it back to the floor.”

Eventually, the committee supported the updated by-law (3-1), but afterwards CAPS Chair David Ferreira expressed concern about his short-handed committee being split over future recommendations to council.

“The problem with that is we will all of a sudden be doing committee work at council. And you'll see these council meetings extend even longer than what they are,” Ferreira warned.

In November, Mayor Josh Morgan used his strong-mayor powers to appoint the chair and vice-chair of all three standing committees.

The remaining seats were chosen by council after members submitted a list of their ranked preferences.

Coun. Susan Sevenson did not receive enough votes to join her first choice (Planning and Environment Committee), and she refused to put her name forward to be the fifth member of the CAPS Committee (her third choice).

At the time, other councillors dug in their heels about sitting on more than one committee if Stevenson wasn’t sitting on any.

Stevenson told CTV News that her decision came down to time management, constituency needs, and a series of Code of Conduct complaints lodged against her.

“I decided that I would rather spend my time looking after the residents of my ward who have been suffering a little bit lately with the inordinate amount of time that I spend dealing with Code of Conduct complaints,” explained Stevenson. “Because that's taking so much time, I was looking to find some efficiencies to make sure that [my constituents] stay top of mind for me.”

The mayor authorized the current CAPS committee to meet with just four members.

Ferreira said, “I do hope that, you know, something comes about [to resolve] the four-member committee. I would like to see a fifth member come on board.”

“I do think it's important, I sat on two [standing committees] my first year,” acknowledged Stevenson as she possibly extends an olive branch. “And if the mayor's solution of a four-member committee isn't working out, then maybe I get to reconsider and join that committee. I'd be happy to help my colleagues out as needed.”

There are 15 members of council and four standing committees:

• Community and Protective Services Committee (4 members)
• Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee (5 members)
• Planning and Environment Committee (5 members)
• Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee (15 members)

Stevenson sits on the city’s audit committee, but it’s not considered to be a ‘standing committee’ according to council policy and meets just four times a year.

The CAPS Committee oversees a wide range of municipal responsibilities including homelessness, parks, emergency services, and waste management.

The four councillors on the committee are David Ferreira, Hadleigh McAlister, Jerry Pribil, and Sam Trosow.

The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 6.