This Week at Council: Internet Voting Remains an Option

It was an action-packed week at council, but it was also one of the most contentious weeks seen in the chambers in the last few months. The friction was all about exploring online voting methods for the 2026 municipal election, and whether or not council would proceed with the option reached at Committee of the Whole. Also, there was another question about whether or not too much was collected in development charges. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Internet Voting Remains an Option”

GUELPH POLITICAST #421 – This is Not a Drill Hall!

At next week’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Guelph City Council will look at the fate of the Drill Hall; staff wants to put it up for sale, but there’s at least one group in Guelph that wants to do something with it now. It’s an idea called the Guelph Centre for Visual Art, and it could feature exhibition space, artist studios, educational and meeting space, and so much more. But does city hall share their vision? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #421 – This is Not a Drill Hall!”

RECAP: City Council Meeting for May 28, 2024

It’s going to be a busy night at council! You can click here for the amended agendas from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. Due to the relatively brief agenda, there was no live coverage on Twitter, but you can read the break down of the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for May 28, 2024”

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 4, 2024 Meeting?

June at Committee of the Whole brings a little bit of almost everything. Members of the committee will chew on more changes to single-use plastics policy, an updated look at the City of Guelph’s asset management work, and a report coming from a direction last fall at the budget meeting. If that’s not enough for you, the fate of a certain heritage building downtown is back on the front burner. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 4, 2024 Meeting?”

GUELPH POLITICAST #420 – The Year at Council So Far

Time flies when you’re having fun in the council chambers, which brings us to the first recap podcast of the year. We started off slow with one meeting in January, and then things go really busy in February and March, including one meeting that was really two meetings, but all together they were 12 hours long. Remember what that one was about? Remember what any of them were about? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #420 – The Year at Council So Far”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 28 Meeting?

Once again, we’ve come to the end of the month after a very busy slate of meetings. At this regular meeting, council will be asked to have a last word about internet voting, the 2023 financials, the plan to send the tiny home community concept to Wellington County’s Joint Social Service Committee, and a couple of other administrative items. And, in new business, new board appointments for civilians and councillors! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 28 Meeting?”

This Week at Council: Internet is Made an Option on Voting Again

After a couple of weeks off, city council got back to business with the May edition of Committee of the Whole, and boy was there business! There was one big item on the agenda this week, and it was bound to be controversial, but it was the culmination of about 18 months of work and advocacy at one of Guelph’s local boards. Yes, internet voting is back on the menu, and this is how we got there… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Internet is Made an Option on Voting Again”

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 7, 2024

This month’s committee meeting will look at voting methods. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 7, 2024”

Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 7, 2024 Meeting?

Committee of the Whole this May will have what’s expected to be one of the spiciest debates of the term, and it’s all about how the next city council will be elected. The staff from the clerks’ office will be presenting the options for voting in the 2026 municipal election, and one of them is *not* internet voting, which is where the results of a year-long debate at one of our provincially-mandated advisory groups come in. Let’s get into it…! Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 7, 2024 Meeting?”

This Week at Council: This Hour Has Lobbying, Tourism and Integrity

The last meeting of the month at council was mostly about the recap, but it also had some traps that could have lead to controversy. Yes, there was a report from the integrity commissioner regarding complaints about the mayor’s social media, but there were also some pointed critiques made to the mayor around the lobbyist registry too. In other unfinished business, council had more notes about the Municipal Accommodation Tax. Continue reading “This Week at Council: This Hour Has Lobbying, Tourism and Integrity”