One of the ways a lot of city issues are identified, discussed and policies designed for is through the municipal committee process.
The way those committees are structured is now open for public discussion, as the Prince George local government attempts to make these roundtable groups work as effectively as possible. Anyone with any interest in changing the committee system is asked to give their feedback in the next few weeks.
"In March 2010, council established the Governance Review Select Committee to review all existing committees, commissions and boards," said Mike Davis, manager of communications and citizen engagement. "This review will allow the committee to make recommendations to council regarding the effectiveness and purpose of various committees, identify if there are any overlaps between committees and commissions, and review the membership appointment processes and requirements for city staff support."
In other words, there was a committee set up to examine committees. This committee has the power to recommend sweeping changes, little tweaks, or keeping the status quo. That is up to the findings of their research and the kind of public input they get.
"The myPG process allowed us to reach out and engage so many members of the community for valuable feedback," said Councillor Cameron Stolz, chair of the Governance Review Select Committee. "It has been nearly 16 years since the structure of council committees has been reviewed. We want to ensure these committees are run as effectively as possible, and a key factor in determining that will be through public input."
The public consultation of council committees will run from Oct. 20 to Nov. 17. All submissions will be collected and reviewed by the city's Governance Review Select Committee.
For more information on how you can get involved, visit the city's website at www.city.pg.bc.ca and look under the "Call For Feedback" heading for the link.
