Staff to report on composition of adjustment committee
By Bill Rea

Councillor Bill Cober is concerned about what happens when there are tie votes among the members of the Township's Committee of Adjustment, so he's asked municipal staff to look at the possibility of expanding the composition of the body.

Cober had previously put forth a notice of motion, that was debated at the Sept. 10 meeting of council. In it, he pointed out the committee currently has six members (one representing each of the six wards in King), adding there are frequently tied votes. The Municipal Act stipulates a member of a council-appointed committee cannot abstain on a vote, unless there's a pecuniary interest involved, he stated.

Adding another member to the committee, he suggested, would resolve the tied votes issue and avoid having items deferred at committee, thus sparing applicants from inconvenience.

Cober also told his colleagues that anything they could do to improve the process would be in keeping with council's responsibility.

Councillor Jeff Laidlaw was sympathetic to Cober's concerns, but he was worried that King only has six wards. He wondered where the extra member would come from.

Cober said that would require some thought, suggesting council might want to think about appointing a member at large.

Councillor Cleve Mortelliti said an odd number of members on the committee made sense, but he asked for statistics on how frequent tie votes have been over the last four years. As well, he pointed out one absent member would recreate the possibility for ties.

Councillor Jane Underhill read a letter from Committee Chair David Harper in which he stated an extra member would not be needed. He warned it would make the committee too unwieldy, adding tie votes are actually very rare.

Councillor Jack Rupke said he backed Cober's call for a staff report.

Laidlaw suggested that in the event of a tie vote at committee, the issue be referred to council. He pointed out an extra committee member would be an expense in terms of the honorarium.