10.3.1 General

 

  1. The governing body and local boards are responsible and democratically accountable for the council’s decision-making [1]. In general, the governing body focuses on region-wide strategic decisions, while the 21 local boards represent their local communities and make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities. For further information see Section 10.3.2: Division of responsibility between the governing body and local boards.

  2. There is a difference between who is ultimately responsible for decision-making about a particular activity and who is tasked with making the decisions on a day-to-day basis. In practice, many of the council’s decisions are made under delegation by committees or staff.

  3. Each decision is made either by:

    • The governing body or a local board by resolution of that body.

    • A committee, person (such as a council staff member) or other entity under delegation from the governing body or a local board. The governing body or local board that made the delegation remains ultimately responsible for the decision.

    • A person exercising statutory powers that he/she has because of his/her role or office (e.g. a warranted enforcement officer has statutory powers to make decisions related to his/her role). In this case, the decision is made by the statutory decision-maker under the authority of the governing body.

 

 

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