Guelph city staff propose limits to public delegations at city hall
Proposal would limit presentation of the same topic to one meeting
A proposal before the city of Guelph's committee of the whole this afternoon could place new restrictions on what opportunities the public has to present before council.
If passed, the new proposal would limit public delegations on any particular issue to either city council or committee of the whole, but not both.
The proposal was turned down the last time it was brought forward in 2016, due to concerns that it would limit the public's say in council decisions.
"In these volatile political times, when it looks like sometimes democracy is taking a back seat, I think that's a very slippery slope and a dangerous place to go to," Ward 2 Counc. James Gordon told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.
City staff brought the proposal forward as a way to make meetings and city procedures run faster and more efficiently, Gordon said, agreeing that some delegations often get repetitive.
"We have a terrible reputation in this city for having meetings that are eight or nine hours long."
He said one alternative solution would be to have city councillors moderate these delegations to avoid repetition, instead of restricting people altogether.
The committee will make a decision on the proposal this afternoon, and that decision will be ratified in council at the end of the month.