City of Gatineau

More power to some municipal officers

Bulletin Staff

The adoption of bylaw 816-2017 this fall, even though important, seems to have been approved rather quietly.

The bylaw concerns the Executive Committee’s delegation of power to certain municipal officers, including the power to authorize expenses and sign contracts in the name of the City of Gatineau.

With this modification, authorization levels will go from $25,000 to $100,000 for the Executive Committee, from $25,000 to $100,000 for the director general and from $20,000 to $50,000 for department directors.

The City specifies that the goal of adopting this new bylaw regarding delegation of authority by the Executive Committee to certain municipal officers is to group the two present authority delegation bylaws into a single bylaw. This is to facilitate its application and upcoming modifications, and to update the maximum delegation amounts.

Gatineau highlights that this measure will enable better efficiency and timely delivery of work. The municipality adds that it will maintain the same process to grant contracts and that accountability is in place.

Furthermore, the municipal administration will have the authority to approve amendments or modifications to contracts granted by the Executive Committee for up to $200,000, rather than the previous $100,000. But the maximum is set at 10% of the contract.

“The accountability remains the same – weekly submission at the Executive Committee meetings of the list of contract payments made by the officers. And, regarding amendments and modifications to contracts, municipal services will submit an annual summary of all modifications to contracts approved by the authorities or by municipal officers,” explains a city spokesperson. 

 

Following these changes, the City believes it will decrease the number of resolutions presented to the Executive Committee by over 150. This would result in a 40-day efficiency gain. (Trans.: CB)

 

Changes to the authorization levels:

Committee/position          Current                      New bylaw 109386
Executive Committee          $25,000 and over       $100,000 and over
Director General                  Less than $25,000      Less than $100,000
Department Directors         Up to $20,000             Up to $50,000