Questions of who sits at regional committees are being reviewed.
The District of Coldstream has asked the Regional District of North Okanagan to allow any of its council members to sit at the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee and not just the director or alternate director appointed to the main RDNO board.
“We are doing research on best practises on committee composition,” said David Sewell, regional district chief administrative officer.
“We will look at what other jurisdictions do.”
The issue arose when RDNO staff determined that only the director or the alternate director to the main board could also sit on advisory committees.
That resulted in Coldstream removing Coun. Gyula Kiss GVAC because he was neither a director or alternate director at the board table.
Sewell says the matter of composition applies to all advisory committees, and not specifically GVAC.
In a letter to RDNO, Coldstream states that other jurisdictions, due to their size, are able to have full representation at GVAC either by appointed members or alternates.
“Coldstream is unique in that our community is not large enough or small enough in population to have all of their council members able to participate at GVAC,” states the letter.
“Council would like to be able to appoint their own representatives, which may be different than those appointed to the RDNO board, in order to share committee and board duties more equitably and have greater access to information to better represent the community’s interests.”
There is only one elected director each for the two electoral areas and they both have alternates, while Vernon has four seats at the GVAC table and the three remaining members of city council are alternates.
