September 16, 2024, at 1:00 PM

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The meeting is called to order at 1:00 PM; it being noted that Councillors P. Van Meerbergen, S. Trosow, E. Peloza, and S. Hillier were in remote attendance

1.   Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest

That it BE NOTED Councillor H. McAlister discloses a pecuniary interest in item 2.3 having to do with Downtown London Entertainment and Sports Centre Naming Rights by indicating that he is on leave from his employer, Canada Life.

2.   Consent

Moved by P. Cuddy

Seconded by C. Rahman

That, pursuant to section 27.6 of the Council Procedure By-law, a change in order of the Corporate Services Committee Agenda BE APPROVED, to provide for Item 6.1 in Stage 6, Confidential, to be considered after Stage 3, Scheduled Items.

Motion Passed (5 to 0)

Moved by P. Cuddy

Seconded by C. Rahman

That Consent Items 2.1, 2.2, 2.4 and 2.5 BE APPROVED

Motion Passed (5 to 0)

2.1   Housekeeping By-law Amendments Resulting from Strong Mayors Powers

2024-09-16 Staff Report - Housekeeping By-law Amendments-Strong Mayor

Moved by P. Cuddy

Seconded by C. Rahman

That, on the recommendation of the City Clerk, the by-laws as appended to the staff report as Appendix “A” to “I” BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting to be held on September 24, 2024 to reflect the changes resulting from the application of Strong Mayor legislation under the Municipal Act, 2001 to the City of London:

a)    (Appendix A, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. CPOL.-154-406, as amended, being “Appointments Requiring Council Approval and/or Consultation” to amend section 4 to reflect powers under section 284.6 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

b)    (Appendix B, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. A-50 being “A by-law to provide for the Rules of Order and Procedure for the Council of The Corporation of the City of London, and to repeal By-law A-45” to amend relevant sections to reflect powers under section 284.8 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

c)    (Appendix C, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. CPOL.-62-294, as amended, being “Establishment of Task Forces and Working Groups Policy” to amend section 4.2 and 4.3  to reflect powers under section 284.8 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

d)    (Appendix D, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. CPOL.-45-241, as amended, being “Multi-Year Budget Policy”, by deleting and replacing Schedule “A” to reflect powers under section 284.16 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

e)    (Appendix E, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. CPOL.- 71-303, as amended, being “Appointment of Council Members to Standing Committees of Council and Various Civic Boards and Commissions Policy” to amend section 4 to reflect powers under section 284.8 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

f)    (Appendix F, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. CPOL.-368-372, as amended, being “Reserve and Reserve Fund Policy”, by amending section 4.2 and 4.3  to reflect powers under section 284.16 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

g)    (Appendix G, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. A.-6151-17, as amended, being “A by-law to establish policies for the sale and other disposition of land, hiring of employees, procurement of goods and services, public notice, accountability and transparency, and delegation of powers and duties, as required under section 270(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001”, Schedule “B” - “Hiring of Employees Policy” to add a new part 4.5 to reflect the powers under section 284.8 of the Municipal Act, 2001;

h)    (Appendix H, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. CPOL.-227-479 as amended, being “A by-law to revoke and repeal Council policy related to Travel & Business Expenses and replace it with a new Council policy entitled Travel & Business Expenses” to amend section 4.4 to reflect powers under section 284.16 of the Municipal Act, 2001; and 

i)    (Appendix I, as appended to the staff report) A by-law to amend By-law No. A.-6151-17, as amended, being “A by-law to establish policies for the sale and other disposition of land, hiring of employees, procurement of goods and services, public notice, accountability and transparency, and delegation of powers and duties, as required under section 270(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001”, by deleting and replacing Schedule “C” — “Procurement of Goods and Services Policy” to reflect powers under section 284.16 of the Municipal Act, 2001.

Motion Passed

2.2   2023 Annual Reporting of Lease Financing Agreements

2024-09-16 Staff Report - 2023 Annual Reporting of Lease Financing Agreements

Moved by P. Cuddy

Seconded by C. Rahman

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Finance Supports, the 2023 Annual Reporting of Lease Financing Agreements report BE RECEIVED for information.

Motion Passed

2.4   Amendment to Banking Services Agreement

2024-09-16 Staff Report - Amendment to Banking Services Agreement

Moved by P. Cuddy

Seconded by C. Rahman

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Finance Supports, the proposed by-law, as appended to the staff report dated September 16, 2024 as Appendix “A”, BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting to be held on September 24, 2024 to amend By-law A.-8047-15 “A by-law to approve an Amending Agreement between the Bank of Nova Scotia and The Corporation of the City of London” to approve a new Banking Resolution.

Motion Passed

2.5   New Multi-Residential Subclass Reduction

2024-09-16 Staff Report - New Multi-Residential Subclass Reduction

Moved by P. Cuddy

Seconded by C. Rahman

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Finance Supports, the report on the optional new multi-residential subclass as described in Ontario Regulation 140/24 BE RECEIVED for information.

Motion Passed

2.3   Downtown London Entertainment and Sports Centre Naming Rights

2024-09-16 Staff Report - Downtown London Entertainment and Sports Centre Naming Rights

Moved by S. Stevenson

Seconded by C. Rahman

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Finance Supports, the name change for the Downtown London Entertainment and Sports Centre BE APPROVED from Budweiser Gardens to Canada Life Place.

Motion Passed (4 to 0)

2.6   Standing Committees and Forums - Federation of Canadian Municipalities - Councillor S. Trosow

2024-09-16 Submission - FCM-S. Trosow

That the following actions be taken with respect to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Standing Committee(s):

a)  Councillor S. Trosow BE ENDORSED to serve on FCM Standing Committees and Forums for the 2024/2025 term; and

b)  all associated costs to attend the Board of Directors meetings and AGM for the 2024/2025 BE INCURRED as part of the Councillor’s annual expense allocation; it being noted that the meeting dates include:

  • Board of Directors Meeting - September 18-19, 2024 - Virtually

  • Board of Directors Meeting - Week of November 2024 (TBD) - Virtually

  • Advocacy Days - December 2024 (TBD) - Ottawa, ON

  • Annual Conference & AGM - June 2025 - Ottawa, ON.

ADDITIONAL VOTES:

Moved by S. Stevenson

Seconded by P. Cuddy

That the communication from Councillor S. Trosow dated September 4, 2024 in relation to Standing Committees and Forums - Federation of Canadian Municipalities BE RECEIVED and NO FURTHER ACTION BE TAKEN

Motion Failed (0 to 5)

Moved by C. Rahman

Seconded by S. Stevenson

That part b) of the motion BE AMENDED to read as follows:

all associated costs to attend the Board of Directors meetings and AGM for the 2024/2025 BE INCURRED as part of the Councillor’s annual expense allocation; it being noted that the meeting dates include:

Motion Passed (5 to 0)

Moved by C. Rahman

Seconded by S. Stevenson

That the motion, as amended, BE APPROVED

Motion Passed (5 to 0)

3.   Scheduled Items

None.

4.   Items for Direction

4.1   Issuance of Proclamations

2024-09-16 Staff Report - Issuance of Proclamations

Moved by C. Rahman

Seconded by S. Stevenson

That the following actions be taken with respect to the Issuance of Proclamations:

a)    the Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to cease the issuance of proclamations through a resolution and a rescission of the Issuance of Proclamations Policy; and

b)    the report dated September 16, 2024 with respect to this matter, BE RECEIVED.

Motion Passed (5 to 0)

5.   Deferred Matters/Additional Business

None.

6.   Confidential (Enclosed for Members only.)

Moved by P. Cuddy

Seconded by S. Stevenson

That the Corporate Services Committee convenes In Closed session to consider the following:

6.1 Solicitor-Client Privileged Advice 

A matter pertaining to advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose in relation to the Issuance of Proclamations Policy.

Motion Passed (5 to 0)

The Corporate Services Committee convenes In Closed Session from 1:11 PM to 1:13 PM.

7.   Adjournment

Moved by S. Stevenson

Seconded by P. Cuddy

That the meeting BE ADJOURNED.

Motion Passed

The meeting adjourned at 1:40 PM.

Full Transcript

Transcript provided by Lillian Skinner’s London Council Archive. Note: This is an automated speech-to-text transcript and may contain errors. Speaker names are not identified.

View full transcript (50 minutes)

So just to let you know that Sam Trosso has logged in. Thank you, Councillor. Afternoon, everyone. All the 14th meeting of the Corps of Services Committee to order, please check the city website for additional meeting detail information.

Meetings can be viewed by live streaming on YouTube and the city website. The city of London is situated on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeck, the Haudenosaunee, and the London Wampuk, and the Anwanran. We honor and respect the history languages and culture of the diverse indigenous people who call this territory home. The city of London is currently home to many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit today.

As representatives of the people of the city of London, we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and live in this territory. You have all committee members present today, as well as a number of visiting Councillors. The city of London is committed to making every effort to provide alternative formats and communication supports for meetings upon request. To make a request specific to this meeting, please contact CSC@london.ca or 519-661-2489, extension 2425.

Looking for disclosures of pecuniary interest, I will start with myself, and I have a conflict on 2.3, and I have already given notice to the clerks. Looking for any others. Okay, not seeing any. I would like to start our consent agenda by a vote to change order.

This would move our confidential matter to the first item for direction. Looking for a mover and a seconder, Councillor Cuddy. Councillor ramen, thank you. And we’ll open that for a vote.

Ready votes, yes. I am not going to participate in this ‘cause I’m not in a secure place. So I’m going to log off and log back one in a few minutes. Okay, thank you, Councillor Truss.

I have for letting us know. Mine seems to be frozen. I vote yes, Councillor Stevenson. Closing the vote, motion carries, five to zero.

Okay, thank you, everyone. So just so we’re aware, we have changed the order. So confidential will be first item over direction. 2.3 has been pulled due to my conflict.

That’ll be second, and then we also have 2.6, which Councillor Stevenson has requested. So those items will move to items for direction. So we have 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, and 2.5. If we want to do those as a group, I’m looking for a mover and a seconder.

Councillor Cuddy, Councillor ramen, thank you. Okay, so items 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, and 2.5. That has been moved and seconded, looking for questions from committee first. Go ahead, Councillor ramen.

Thank you and through you. And I just wanted to confirm an item 2.1 for the housekeeping bylaw amendments that the staff feel that what was provided is in the order of more of a may or a shall when it’s supposed to be shall and when it’s supposed to be may, it’s may. Does that make sense? Staff like your spot, go ahead.

Oh, clerk, sorry, go ahead. Thank you, through the chair, and that’s correct. It just reflects the changes to the legislation. Okay, follow up, Councillor.

Thank you, yes, I just want to ensure that where we have the opportunity to be permissive, we’re being permissive, but we’re not going above and beyond in any legislative way, where the legislation outlines that it’s a possibility that the powers be used, but it’s not that we must use the powers. Okay, go ahead, clerks. Mr. Chair, that’s correct.

Okay, looking for any other questions from committee. Okay, committee going once, twice, not seeing any. I do have Councillor Purple, next, go ahead. Thank you, Mr.

Chair, to the staff. In regards to point one, have we addressed all of them that we are currently with all of them aligned and harmonized, or are there more coming in the future? So, clerks, go ahead. Thank you, through the chair.

So, all of our existing policies have been reviewed. If there are any new policies coming forward or amendments to our current policies, they will be reviewed in light of the changes to the legislation as well. Okay, follow up, Councillor. Thank you for that answer, next one, 2.4, the banking services agreement.

And when I once read the discussions and consideration, it states to give the acting mayor pursuant to bylaw at number, and then when I go to the schedule one, and I just wanted to verify this, because the deputant mayor is actually listed only in section four, not two, and three, and if there was the purpose of this, and also in section four, it says any two, but it says city treasurer, but it doesn’t say, or city treasurer, and if I just can have a clarification on the schedule one, please. Okay, go ahead, staff. Through the chair to the committee, the bylaw that we’re trying to be consistent with is not presented with this bylaw. That bylaw that we’re trying to ensure consistency was with the borrowing bylaw that was passed back in December of 2023 for 2024.

So this brings our current banking agreement bylaw, current with what council had approved back in December 2023. As outlined in schedule one, we’ve identified that it’s the, we wanted to include the acting mayor as the or, along with the deputy mayor or the deputy city treasurer. So the city treasurer needs to be part of that. That’s why there’s no more with the city treasurer.

Thank you. Follow up, Councillor? Thank you, and that’s what I want to know. So thank you for that.

So actually follow up. So any two, but one of them always has to be the city treasurer, correct? Go ahead, staff. Thank you.

Schedule A, the following page. And we are addressing, and we are stating only two, for example, over $50,000, and then we are signatures of seven A designated people. Is this compared to the previous one? Is this pool enlarged, or is it smaller?

And is our kind of the policies more stricter or more open based on these recommendations? Go ahead, staff. Through the chair to committee, this is consistent with the parole calls that we’ve had in place prior. Why you’re seeing the signatories before you, is that we had a position change, where a colleague of ours got promoted to the director of capital assets and, or corporate assets in finance.

So we had that individual replaced, and we’re just updating the name for the bank, so that they’re aware of who will be signing on behalf of the city. And that would be the manager of development finance, there was a change in that position. Okay, any more questions, Councillor? Okay, thank you for that.

And I have last to 2.5, and the proposal. So the way I understand it is the staff, you are gonna come back to us, and then potential of this proposal from zero to 35%. And thank you for doing that table, what it would mean in the history. But when you come back to us, is it gonna be kind of a proposal with, again, with certain percentages, which how much it influenced the budget?

And that’s part of one question. And the second one, it stated that even if we were to pass it, the existing ones would not be able to apply, would not be able to be part of the potential reduction. And my question is they would not even be able to apply. Is that correct?

Go ahead, staff. Through the chair to committee, for the first question, you are correct. As part of the 2025 Tax Policy Expectation Report, civic administration will bring forward a number of scenarios outlining the different tax policy items that council can decide upon. One of the options would be the inclusion of the new multi-residential subclass, in which case council will be able to see what the implications are to the other property classes that are taxed ‘cause as identified in the report, there will be a potential shift in what that impact would be to all the other property classes be it residential, the existing new multi-residential, the multi-residential plus the commercial and industrial.

So we will be providing options for councils to consideration with one of the options certainly being this new multi-residential subclass with what the various discounts could look like. And we may just provide one or two to see what the appetite is from council. That will provide council the opportune time to advise civic administration how they would like to see the tax policy come forward later in March or April. With regards to your second question, this by-law would not apply to existing development or existing properties.

This new subclass would only pertain to buildings that have yet had a building permit pulled. So we first need to approve the by-law to establish the new multi-residential subclass. And then only after that, once the building permit is pulled, will those properties be afforded that potential discount? Follow-up, Councillor?

Thank you very much. No more questions? Any other questions on those four items? Okay.

Seeing none, we will put, that’s 2.1, 2.2, 2.4 and 2.5. That’ll be open for voting one moment. Closing the vote, motion carries. Five to zero.

Okay, we have no scheduled item. We are on to items for direction. We do have the confidential to do first. So I’m looking for a motion to go in camera.

Okay, Councillor Cudi, Councillor Stevenson. Thank you, we’ll open that for voting. Closing the vote, motion carries. Five to zero.

Okay, just give us a moment to shuffle some folks around. Okay, welcome back everyone. So our first item is 4.1, which is issuance of proclamations. And I believe Councillor Ramen has a motion.

She’d like to put forward. So do you like to move it? And then I’ll look for a seconder? Yes, thank you.

I’ll move the motion that I’ve provided. If you’d like me to read it, let me know. Okay, well, I’ll just look for a seconder. Okay, Councillor Stevenson, okay.

And go ahead, Councillor Ramen. Thank you. The motion reads the civic administration be directed to cease the issuance of proclamations, farewell resolution and rescission of the issuance of proclamations policy and be the report dated September 16, 2024 with respect to this matter be received. Okay, thank you.

Do you want to give some comments to it? Go ahead. Thank you and I want to thank my seconder as well. I just wanted to take a moment to thank staff for the report that’s in front of us and the quick turnaround on this report.

I know that this is something that we’ve been discussing, trying to decide how to move forward with proclamations and I think that what’s in front of us today, the option to cease issuing proclamations, you know, I understand maybe not something that the entirety of the community may want, but I do think that there still remains many opportunities for us as members of council to continue to recognize dates of importance. And so I will look to use those options when needed, but I do think that the issuance of proclamations as we’ve seen through the report, it’s something that some municipalities do and some do not. And I’m pleased to move this motion today to take us into an era where perhaps we’re doing other forms of recognition that seem more appropriate in this day and age. Okay, thank you.

We’re looking for other committee members who’d like to comment. Okay, go ahead, Councilor Van Ribergen. Thank you, Chair. I’m sure most of us remember that it wasn’t that long ago.

We did not issue proclamations in the city of London for almost, I think a little over two decades. And it was a policy that served us well then, and it’s a policy that will serve us well now. So thank you to the Councilor for bringing forward this motion. I certainly endorsed it myself.

I would have brought up this motion or something similar. Myself, if that hadn’t had happened, but it makes perfect sense. And again, I’m wholeheartedly behind it. Thank you.

Okay, thank you, Councilor. Looking for any other comments? Okay, I’m not seeing any. We can go over this for voting.

Closing the vote, motion carries five to zero. Okay, I’m sorry, before we get to 2.3, I do just need to Councilor Cuddy just to report out from a closed session. Okay, I will assume the Chair and recognize Councilor McAllister. No, sorry, we’re just doing reports now.

I’m so sorry, I’m ahead of myself. I was so excited about becoming Chair for a few minutes. I just jumped. So, reporting out Chair, we met in Confidential Session at 114.

We discussed matters of confidential significance, and we made progress on those matters, and we completed at 115, thank you. Okay, thank you, Councilor Cuddy. And now, yes, I will be handing the Chair to you to discuss item 2.3. And just letting you know, we do have members from OEG in the gallery, if you do have any questions, they’re here to speak with us, okay.

The Chair is yours. Thank you, Chair, recognizing you, Councilor McAllister. Declaring my conflict, so I will be abstaining from this vote, but yeah, go ahead on your discussion. Thank you, shall we proceed with any, so do we have any questions on this matter, or should we go for a vote?

Yes, please, Councilor Stevenson. Well, you need to move it on a second. Yeah, I’m willing to move the motion. Thank you, and a seconder, Councilor Rama, thank you, going to questions.

Councilor Rama, thank you. Thank you, I feel like we’re talking right now about the thing that everybody’s been talking about all week. So first, I just wanna say, what an exciting opportunity to get to support this year at committee, no matter what we call this building, and I hope that it’ll catch, to be honest with you, a new name, but no matter what we call it, it holds a special place in so many people’s hearts in this city, and I do think it’s a proud part of our city’s legacy, and very happy to see a new commitment in a new era, starting once this goes through Council. Thanks.

Thank you, Councilor Rama, going to Councilor Pribble. Just to let you know, sorry, Councilor Van Mirbergen did have his hand up. Councilor Pribble yields to Councilor Van Mirbergen. Okay, thank you, Chair.

I can’t believe the amount of time that’s gone by since we changed from the John Lebatt Center to Budweiser Gardens. And now here we are with another one and another change. And from all accounts, it looks like a pretty darn good deal for our community and for London as a whole. So I particularly like to comment on the fact that the average deals that are worked out of this nature for naming rights are less than eight years according to the report.

And we’re getting a 10 year, which is absolutely outstanding. We also are getting a bump up of almost 50% in revenues by separating out the poor, the pouring rights from the naming rights. Again, also excellent. What I would like to see, however, and I’ll ask Ms.

Barbong, if we could get maybe a little bit more detail in terms of dollar figures that we’re looking at for revenues, if perhaps Ms. Barbong could comment on that. Barbong. - Thank you, through the chair.

So just in terms of answering the question, a bit of background on the Budweiser Gardens and soon to be with a new name, that partnership between the three parties is something that the City of London has, through all of the various agreements, contracted with OVG to operate the facility. So as part of operating the facility, there are many contractual third party agreements that they utilize directly and are able to negotiate directly and have terms directly between the third party and OVG. The City of London is not a party to those contracts, and that’s one of the reasons why that specific amount of revenue for the contractual obligations is not disclosed publicly, because that is certainly commercially sensitive information that would be within the sponsors and the OVG contractual agreements. In order to disclose that information, OVG would need to go back to these sponsors and obtain their consent before disclosing that information.

So certainly that’s not something that we’re able to provide you today, but if OVG is able to get that consent, it is certainly something that we could report out in confidential session to counsel when this comes forward next week. Councillor Falwell. Yes, thank you, and thank you, Ms. Barbong.

So just to clarify, we may have some further detail regarding revenues for an in-camera session at the council meeting next week. Through the chair, that’s correct. If OVG is able to get the consent of the sponsors to be able to disclose that confidentially to the council, they could provide that information, and I would be able to report out at the council meeting if that was achieved. So certainly from a financial.

The third party is ultimately OVG is responsible for the operations and the city of London reaps those benefits at the end of the day with the net cash flow. The city is able to receive the 70% of that. So we ultimately get a share of the proceeds in terms of how well they do. So it’s a good news story, and certainly when we reported out this year, we had a very phenomenal year in the last year, and this would, this revenue would form each and every year annually over the next 10 years through the term of the right.

So we will certainly look to see if OVG can get that consent so we could provide that information to council. Okay, that’s our follow up. Yes, thank you chair. That’s excellent, look forward to that.

I did want to make final comment that I think the name is quite classy and fits with London Ontario’s heritage, certainly when it comes to financial institutions including insurance, I think that is just an outstanding name, and we all look forward to the next 10 years. Thank you chair. Thank you, Councillor Van Vereberg, and you have two minutes left, thank you. Councillor Pribble.

Thank you, and just a very brief comment. Thank you, OVG 360, and I think that really is the 49 and a half percent increase. That’s a great opportunity maximization. It is a fantastic facility that has so much for our community and for downtown and for all the businesses.

So thank you for that, and thank you for the maximization opportunity, not just for you, but for our municipality as well. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Pribble. Deputy Mayor Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Presiding Officer, and as a guest of the committee, I’m going to be really brief as well. I agree with everything that’s been said so far. I am really, really pleased that we have found a naming sponsor with such deep roots in the London community.

I think that really is an important part of what we have before us today, because Londoners themselves have such an attachment to this building, you know, so many great memories that so many really hundreds of thousands of people have made over the course of the life of this building already with many more to come. And I know that there will be a great celebration of the unveiling of the new name very shortly at the venue itself, and it goes hand in glove. The timing is perfect with the renovations that we are seeing already. The new score clock is in, the suites have been renovated, the building is looking better than it ever has, and I know that’s just phase one of quite a bit of work that’s still ahead with new concessions coming and back of house improvements that will not only enhance the visitor experience at the building, but also be a return on investment that increases the city’s revenues in the long run, as well as our partners in the build.

I just wanted to take a moment to recognize that this is such a momentous day, that Mr. All has found a day out of his retirement to come back and join us in the gallery alongside Ms. Austin. I know that both of you have been working on this as the roles have transitioned from you, Brian DeKelly, who’s off to a great start, by the way, as our GM and your successor.

So thank you both for all the work that went into this. I know this has been a little bit of a labor of both love but also of tough negotiations to getting us to where we are today. So while I don’t get to vote here, I will absolutely be supporting this at council and look forward to coming down to Canada Life Place to take in a hockey game in the near future. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Lewis.

Any further questions or comments? Well, I will take a moment and I will let, I’d like to thank Mr. All for the years of service and Ms. Kelly for the work you’re doing, and not to repeat what Deputy Mayor Lewis said, but what a jewel we have in our downtown.

I mean, we really do, we have one of the greatest facilities in this country. And I’m so glad we’ve all recognized it and we will continue to recognize it through its new naming. And thank you, staff, for the work you’ve done on this. Chair, I will call a vote.

Thank you. Closing the vote, motion carries. Four to zero with one with use. Thank you, I will now return the chair to Councilor McAllister.

Thank you, good job, Councilor Cuddy. Appreciate it. We’re on to 2.6. This is the standing committees and forums, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and this is Councilor Trossos.

I’m going to look unless Councilor Stevenson, do you want a question first or a comment? It hasn’t been moved, there’s nothing moved yet. Yeah, I was gonna make a motion to receive and take no action. Okay, is there a seconder for that?

Councilor Cuddy, okay, as we moved and seconded, so looking for questions or comments. Go ahead, Councilor Stevenson. Thanks, yes, I just wanted to explain my reason for this. We just recently, less than three months ago, reduced our Councilor expenses by $1,500, and while I didn’t support that, it was the will of Council to reduce our expenses, and that was $1,500 per person, it was 21,000 of which we had not used anyway, so we really didn’t do anything with that motion, except cap what really hadn’t been used in the past previously.

So having done that, and then when I look at this list, while I support my colleague in being on the standing committee, the annual conference fee for FCM is already covered for all Councilors, and the travel expenses we had discussed, a governance working group about covering all of our travel expenses for that conference, which I did support, and that failed. So all of us, technically, would want to be at FCM. I don’t see why we would start making one-off exceptions here when the intent of Council was to reduce the expenses. Two are virtual meetings, one is a day in Ottawa, so that’s the only thing that would be different than the rest of us would be intending to go to, and I think that can be covered within the Council expenses.

All of us have advocacy efforts that we want to do. They may or may not be FCM or AMO, but we all have stuff that we want to do that requires us to attend meetings and conferences, and so I would like to continue on with what I believe was the intention of Council, which was to limit the expenses. Okay, looking for any other committee members to comment first? Yes, if I could say a word.

Just looking for committee members first, Councilor also, and then I’ll get to you, okay, so one moment. Okay, I am not seeing any. Basically, go ahead, Councilor Trozzo. Yeah, it’s certainly not my intention to ask Council for additional money outside of my expenses, and I’m sorry if the motion was not clear.

It would be my intention to underwrite any additional expenses from my own personal account, expense account, which I have plenty of room in, so I just don’t think this is the, I’m not asking the Council for additional money, and if you’d like to clarify the motion to say that, as a practical matter, if you don’t pass this today, it’s gonna be very difficult for me to get this appointment because today was actually the deadline for what people thought was a routine resolution. They know this’ll be a little late ‘cause it’s coming to Council, but I just think this would really undermine my ability to do this extra service, and I do wanna make it really clear that I am not asking for any additional funding. This would come, other than the FCM meeting, which we can all go to, this would come from my personal account. That’s what I wanted to say.

Okay, thank you, Councilor Trozzo, for that clarification. Do you have Councilor Roman next, go ahead. Thank you and through you. So my understanding of the intention here was that Councilor Trozzo was asking us to endorse his serving on the FCM standing committees and forums for the 2024-2025 term, which I wholeheartedly support, and appreciate the Councilor stepping forward to serve on these types of committees.

I think where it gets a little bit challenging is part B. It kind of reads like he’s looking for the opportunity to expense some additional expenditures associated with advocacy day, but what I heard very clearly from the Councilor is his clarification that he’s just looking to use his annual expense account for those expenses. So if that’s the case, can we just work on amending the language, if my colleagues are amenable to that, to reflect that, that he’s just looking for us to endorse his participation in the committees, he will use his expense account to be able to do so. Is that, I just wanna make sure with Councilor Trozzo, that’s clear, and if so, if committee members are amenable to making those changes.

Yes, that’s exactly right. Okay, just one moment, I’m just clarifying with the clerks what we need to do here. So we need to defeat this just in terms of the language, what’s worded, so we’d have to defeat it and then put forward an amended motion. Okay, so we’re going to open the current motion that’s on the floor.

And again, for clarification, you need to defeat it to put an amendment to the original motion. Go ahead, Councilor Rowan. Okay, just for clarification, should we separate A and B? So we still endorse A?

Yeah, the motion was just to receive, so that’s why there’s no A and B part of this one. Okay, gotcha. Councilor Stevenson, go ahead. Thank you, I just wanted to say that B clearly says that it be approved for reimbursement by the Corporation of the City of London outside of his annual expense allocation.

So with the understanding that this is not the intent, then I will vote no on this motion, defeat it, and see what comes forward. Thank you, we’re gonna open that for voting. Closing the vote, motion fails, zero to five. Okay, so now we’re back to not having anything, but from the conversation we’ve had, I would look for someone to put forward motion that explicitly lays out exactly kind of what Councillor and Councillor Ramen explained in terms of this being incurred as part of the Councilor’s existing expense budget.

So go ahead, Councilor Rowan. Thank you, so I think what I’m trying to do is I’m trying to move the original part A and amend the part B to read that it’s funded through his own budget, Council expense. Just give us one moment to get the language. Can I get a seconder?

Actually, I will second it. Clerk’s gonna read out the motion. Through the Chair, the amendment reads that part B of the motion be amended to read as follows. All associated costs to attend the Board of Directors meeting and the AGM for the 2024-2025.

The incurred as part of the Councillor’s annual expense allocation, it being noted that the meeting dates include, et cetera. Okay, so this is an amendment to the original motion, so we’d vote on this and then we’d have to vote on the amended motion. Councillor Stevens, you want to speak with it? Yeah, only to say that I’d like to second that motion just so that it’s clear, that it’s clear, that I’m in support of it.

Okay, I can change that, it’s not a problem. Did anyone also want to speak to this? Okay, not seeing any, so we’ll open the amendment for voting. Closing the vote, motion carries five to zero.

Okay, so now we are on the as amended main motion, looking for a move or a seconder on that, the same. Okay, Councillor Robin, I’ll go with Councillor Stevenson again, so we’ll open that for voting in a moment, one second. Moving the vote, motion passes five to zero. Okay, we have no deferred matters or confidential, so we’re on to adjourn, so looking for a motion to adjourn.

Okay, Councillor Stevenson, Councillor Cudi, all those in favor, hand vote, any opposed? Motion passes. Okay, thanks everyone, have a good day.