City councillors will be asked Monday to ban signs inside the council chamber.
The proposed prohibition is included in a series of recommended amendments to council's procedure bylaw.
Visitors to council meetings will also be prohibited from obstructing entry points to the council chamber, as well as the accessibility ramp that runs alongside the west side of the room.
The changes are recommended by a procedure bylaw review task force made up of Mayor Matthew Shoemaker, Ward 2 Coun. Luke Dufour, Ward 5 Coun. Matthew Scott, chief administrative officer Tom Vair, city solicitor Karen Fields, city clerk Rachel Tyczinski and deputy city clerk Madison Zuppa.
The procedure bylaw must be reviewed once during the term of each council.
The last review was in 2023.
The city clerk maintains a list of recommended procedural amendments, based on trends in the municipal sector, legislative changes, reports and best practices from the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman.
No reasons were given for this year's proposed changes.
Other alterations to the procedure bylaw to be considered on Monday include:
- changing the description of the agenda review committee to a task force, skirting any requirement for its meetings to be open to the public
- chairs will be required to attend meetings in person, except where there are exclusive electronic meetings
- provision for a 15-minute recess when a meeting broadcast is not functional in order to allow the public to attend in person
- if a member of council declares a conflict of interest on an item that's included in the consent motion, that item will be removed from consent and dealt with separately
- no delegations will be permitted for unfinished business, notices of motion and resolutions placed on an agenda by members of council)
- a delegation must provide new information to council, must not be a repeat of a delegation heard in the previous six months, must not be related to litigation or pending litigation, and must not contain inappropriate or insulting language
Councillors may also consider rules pertaining to the live-streaming and recording of city boards and committees.
Monday's city council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 5 p.m.