Council Bylaw Amendments

The District of Sechelt is considering amending its Council Procedure Bylaw. The proposed amendment was given three readings by Council on April 1, 2026, and will be considered for adoption at the May 6, 2026, Regular Council Meeting.

• Proposed Amendment:  Council Procedure Bylaw Amendment No. 568-05, 2026
  

• Current Bylaw:   Council Procedure Bylaw, 2018 – Consolidated

Have Your Say

Please send comments to our Corporate Officer by April 24, 2026, to have your say!

The Details

The proposed amendments to the Council Procedure Bylaw are based on recommendations from municipal consultant, George Cuff and municipal advisor, Ron Poole. Staff are also recommending several housekeeping and procedural amendments.

Highlights

• Additional definitions provided including for Mayor, Acting Mayor and Deputy Mayor
• Agenda Items listings for Committee of the Whole, Regular Council to Closed and Closed Meetings
• Updated process for release from Closed Meetings to absent members of Council
• Consent Agenda added
• Requirement for Councillor reports to be submitted in writing
• Suspension of Councillor Reports 6 months prior to an election
• Suspension of question and answer period 6 months prior to an election
• Authority for Corporate Officer to make minor text amendments to minutes and bylaws
• Revised sections on meeting protocol (Roberts Rules)
• New process for Notices of Motion
• Updates to provide the same level of responsibility to all members of Council and to facilitate decision-making by Council as a whole.

Background

The current Council Procedure Bylaw was created in 2018 and was amended in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023. Staff reviewed twelve different procedure bylaws from other BC municipalities and developed the proposed changes based on best practice and the Provincial government’s Procedure Bylaw Guide for BC's Local Governments.

Council Procedure Amendment Bylaw No. 568-05 includes many minor changes such as making the capitalizations consistent with the Canadian Style Guide, cleaning up broken sentences, simplifying confusing language and applying consistent numbering to the sections, in addition to the highlights noted above.