Part I: Key Roles in City Council

Key Roles in City Council

• Council: The City Council.
• Chair: The person responsible for presiding over meetings, maintaining order, ensuring the agenda is followed, ruling on points of order, and representing the advisory committee at other meetings and events. The Chair must manage discussions impartially and ensure tasks are distributed equally.
• Clerk: means the City Clerk, or their designate.
• Mayor: The Head of the Council.
• Deputy Mayor: A Council member appointed on a rotation basis to assist and act in place of the Mayor when needed.
• Member of Council: An elected member of the City Council.
• Senior Leadership Team: Comprises the City Manager and General Managers appointed by the Council and anyone designated by the City Manager.
• Committee: means a Standing Committee, Sub-Committee, Selection Committee or an Advisory Committee or Task Force established by Council from time to time.
  • Committee of the Whole means a Committee comprised of all Members of Council that directly reports to Council.
  • Advisory Committee/Task Forces means a group of appointed citizens established by Council for the purpose of providing advice on matters that are related to the specific mandate of the committee
  • Selection Committee means a Committee established by Council, comprised entirely of Members of Council, to interview and report back to Council on the appointment of citizen representatives to agencies, boards and Committees, and reports directly to Council, with the exception of the Hamilton Police Services Board Selection Committee for the recruitment of the one person appointed by resolution of council to the Hamilton Police Services Board which is comprised of six (6) community representatives and six (6) Council representatives with full voting privileges.
  • Standing Committee means a Committee established by Council, comprised entirely of Members of Council, to carry out duties on an ongoing basis, as specified by Council, and that reports directly to Council.
  • Sub-Committee means a Committee established by Council, comprised of some Members of Council and in certain circumstances also citizen members. SubCommittees report up to an assigned Standing Committee with members of SubCommittees being appointed by Council.

Move on to Unit 3: Key Terms Guide (Part II)