Cuff Report
#81
Posted 22 October 2008 - 07:25 AM
But it is a shame that it isn't being released before the elections.
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891
#82
Posted 09 January 2009 - 01:11 PM
So we the City manager for two years (albeit recently off) and she is now looking forward to cleaning up the disfunction? Sounds to me like she left to avoid having to deal with the Cuff fallout.
The City Manager's office commissioned the report and I don't think anyone's worried that they will come off in a bad light. I don't think Ballantyne will be surprised or afraid of the findings. Although she won't be here to deal with it anyway.
#83
Posted 13 January 2009 - 06:51 PM
At the JBNA we have found this process to be very useful - we see lots of people who would not otherwise come to our meetings, and we invite them to continue to come. It also puts assoc leaders in the same position as Councillors, as they hear various opinions. At the next JBNA meeting, for example, we have a private rental proposal by Norm Isherwood that I (personally) think has a lot of merit, but we are already hearing from immediate neighbours who are concerned about potential loss of privacy with a 4 storey building next door.....
#84
Posted 06 March 2009 - 07:22 PM
From the sounds of it the entire report won't be made public.
#85
Posted 06 March 2009 - 10:08 PM
The Mayor has invited the Community Association heads to have a discussion over the recommendations in the Cuff Report March 23.
From the sounds of it the entire report won't be made public.
Not certain if the fact all will not be made public is a 'shame', or 'travesty'. There is potentially allot in this report which would shed light on local administration, and as you have posted within this thread, the publish date has been postponed many times.
As for a previous post on media sniffing around - I have yet to see any article, blog or even a 'twit' about the Cuff report. (but media is another issue)
The meetings for Community Association Heads - is that with a qualification for no post meeting publication?
#86
Posted 06 March 2009 - 10:27 PM
The only time we`ve been told to keep a lid on information was with the Belleville Terminal Task Force findings and that was only for a few hours until it was presented to Council.
#87
Posted 11 March 2009 - 09:44 PM
The Times Colonist refers to the report being made public but the City news release only mentions the recommendations from the report being made public.
#88
Posted 11 March 2009 - 09:53 PM
The media briefing is immediately after the Community Association briefing.
The Times Colonist refers to the report being made public but the City news release only mentions the recommendations from the report being made public.
Guess we will see the 'results'
Rob - would you post here your reactions to the meeting, and whatever press release is provided?
#89
Posted 11 March 2009 - 10:09 PM
#90
Posted 12 March 2009 - 07:36 PM
#91
Posted 13 March 2009 - 01:26 PM
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#92
Posted 13 March 2009 - 05:40 PM
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891
#93
Posted 13 March 2009 - 07:17 PM
http://robertrandall...re-orgapalooza/City Hall Re-orgapalooza!
March 13, 2009
A substantial reorganization of City Hall process in response to recommendations found in the Cuff Report has just been made public.
Gone are the traditional entities like Committee of the Whole, Advisory Planning Commission and other committees like Cycling and Environment along with the traditional portfolio assignments.
In their place will be a series of standing committees and advisory committees that will do a lot of the detail work, freeing up Council to work on larger issues.
The goal is a more holistic approach to referring projects to the public or Council, breaking down those silos. For instance, instead of a cycling committee, there will be a Public Advisory Committee that meets monthly and deals with environment and infrastructure issues. The other new committee is Community Development. The Advisory Design Panel and Heritage Advisory Committee are the only two entities to survive the reorganization.
The four public advisory committees connect with four Standing Committees, each comprised of three councillors. The Mayor and other Councillors are invited to attend for informational purposes as desired as non-voting attendees. The work of these groups flows through an Agenda Committee that decides what to send to Council meetings or Governance & Priorities Committee (the new name for Committee of the Whole)
#94
Posted 13 March 2009 - 09:10 PM
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891
#95
Posted 13 March 2009 - 10:15 PM
#96
Posted 13 March 2009 - 11:05 PM
#97
Posted 14 March 2009 - 09:26 AM
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891
#98
Posted 18 March 2009 - 10:27 PM
Victoria News
Published: March 17, 2009 9:00 PM
Updated: March 17, 2009 9:50 PM
Keith Vass
News staff
A shake-up in how decisions are made at city hall is coming, but the city’s community associations won’t know for weeks where they fit in.
The city unveiled plans Friday for a revamped committee structure.
Community association leaders were surprised to learn their place in the public consultation process is to be the subject of a second report, due in April, said Downtown Residents’ Association chair Robert Randall.
Mayor Dean Fortin said the coming changes, which will reduce the number of public advisory committees and eliminate council’s committee-of-the-whole among other things, would broaden consultation to engage people not taking part in the existing model.
Randall agreed community associations shouldn’t be the “be-all and end-all” of consultation, but argued there should be a balanced place to receive their input. The DRA, he said, was founded to counteract the “inordinate influence” on downtown development being wielded by people who lived outside downtown.
In the new model there should still be “a strong place for the voice of downtown residents in what happens downtown,” Randall said.
The new city governance model, set to be in place by June 30, will parcel out much of the work currently being addressed by all eight councillors and the mayor to four policy area committees, made up of three councillors each. They are planning and land use, community development, corporate services and environment and infrastructure.
Fortin touted the changes, made in response to a study done by consultant George Cuff. The mayor said it would lead to faster decisions and less energy spent on one-off zoning matters.
Public advisory committees will be reduced from 11 to five but are being given a broader mandate and a direct reporting relationship to a council committee.
kvass@vicnews.com
#99
Posted 20 March 2009 - 10:26 PM
Victoria News
Published: March 16, 2009 5:00 PM
Updated: March 16, 2009 5:11 PM
The City of Victoria’s revamping of its committee structure as a way of improving efficiency and getting more people involved in the process is admirable.
Unfortunately, the majority of city residents aren’t going to pay attention, regardless if work done by all councillors in past will be divvied up into four committees, or the number of public advisory committees shrinks from 11 to five. Heck, most of the city’s eligible voters don’t even vote. But that doesn’t mean they’re not at all interested in what goes on at the corner of Douglas and Pandora streets.
Downtown Residents Association chair Robert Randall is right when he says associations are not the be-all, end-all in terms of consultation, but their input needs to be balanced with that of the general public on issues relating to their neighbourhood.
Some argue that people active in their local association make up a very small percentage of the residents of that neighbourhood and don’t necessarily represent the opinions or values of the whole. The same notion might apply to the relatively few people appointed (after applying) to sit on the public advisory committees.
There is certain truth to that, except a person paying taxes in a municipality deserves just as much opportunity to speak to an issue affecting them as someone with time to volunteer in their community or city.
Luckily, the ability to stand up for five minutes at city hall to support or reject a particular development or decision will be retained by the public. And a separate report is due in April on the role of community associations under the new regime.
The goal must be that mayor and council keep in mind their first job – to fairly represent and serve all residents of the city when making decisions.
As for engaging the population, let’s hope they enlist neighbourhood associations, seen by some residents as operating within a community vacuum, to help with that job.
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