Proposed bylaw change could give Yellowknife mayor more voting power

The mayor of Yellowknife may soon be able to vote on motions before council more easily.

It's one of several changes city administration is proposing as part of a new code of ethics bylaw, which could replace the current council's procedures bylaw.

The mayor chairs council meetings, acting as the presiding officer. He can currently vote on motions, but has to pass his role as chair of the meetings to the deputy mayor in order to do so.

In this case, that would be Adrian Bell.

Bell, who is running for mayor alongside fellow councillor Rebecca Alty, talked about what kind of impact this change would have during Monday's municipal services committee meeting.

"Giving the mayor a voice and a vote on every discussion — quite obviously that's a huge change, a complete change from the current status quo," he said.

"Right now, yes, sure, the mayor has that ability. But, in doing so, he takes away the voice and vote of another member of council."

Timing of proposed changes questioned

Coun. Julian Morse had some concerns about the timing of the proposed bylaw change.

"It seems to me that it's not necessarily the best idea to change that rule in the middle of a term or even toward the end of the term," he said.

Other proposed changes in the bylaw include not allowing councillors to abstain from voting.

If passed, this would mean members of council would be obliged to vote on every motion. If they don't, they would automatically be recorded as voting in opposition.

The proposed code of ethics bylaw also suggests hiring an integrity commissioner, who would be in charge of complaints in the future regarding the mayor or council members.

Council is expected to discuss these changes again next month.