Council Highlights September 29, 2025

• Discussed the recommendations outlined in the Municipal Inspection Report. The full list of recommendations can be found in the agenda package. The following motions occurred. Note these motions reflect City Council’s acceptance of the recommendations and not detailed direction to staff on implementation plans.
  • Approved a motion to accept item G8 (that all members of Medicine Hat City Council respect the sanctity of the council table and respect privileged and confidential information until it is approved for distribution into the public domain, in accordance with section 153(e) of the Municipal Government Act).
  • Defeated a motion directing administration regarding item G9 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations to leave the AO Bylaw as is until further discussed by the future Council.
  • Approved a motion to accept item G9 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (the creation of a City Manager Bylaw and the rescinding of the AO bylaw to bring the CMH up to date).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G10 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the City of Medicine Hat Council refrain from performing administrative duties, in accordance with the provisions in the MGA s. 201(2).)
  • Approved a motion to accept item G11 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the 2025-2029 Medicine Hat City Council make strategic planning for their term a priority, that they hold a planning retreat in the first quarter of 2026, and that they engage an external facilitator. It is further recommended that city council review the strategic plan at least annually.)
  • Approved a motion to accept item G12 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the 2025-2029 Medicine Hat City Council embark on strategic planning with an air of collective goodwill, with the expectation that their new plan will be a collective expression of success that is owned by all members of city council. It is further recommended that the strategic plan be drafted by city administration or an independent contractor and be reflective of the direction provided through input of all members of city council.
  • Approved a motion to accept item G13 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that any new strategic plan created by city council contain a method of identifying whether the plan, or parts of the plan, have been achieved in terms of desired outcomes with an amended timeline of Q1 2026, and that a dashboard of metrics be posted on the City website).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G14 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council consider a resolution to approve the 2024 annual written performance evaluation in compliance with section 205.1 of the MGA).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G15 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the mayor of Medicine Hat City respect the process for evaluations as agreed to by city council and not provide additional documentation after the process has concluded).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G16 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council direct administration to update the CAO's job description to reflect the current reality of the role).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G17 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the Mayor of Medicine Hat be more conscious that others rely on her to visibly be at meetings and events on time, and that she avail herself of training to develop that skill).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G18 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that if an invited elected official cannot attend an event, that another elected official be asked to attend wherever possible).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G19 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that any elected official speaking publicly on behalf of Medicine Hat City Council, and especially the mayor, ensure that their comments accurately reflect the position and will of Council as a whole).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G20 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the Mayor of Medicine Hat engages in regular one-on-one meetings with individual members of city council quarterly, and that these meetings include a standing agenda and a way of tracking progress on members' goals, priorities, challenges, and successes).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G21 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the Medicine Hat City Manager continue with the weekly update to council, under the provision that any dissemination of confidential information {which is clearly marked as confidential} by the recipients constitutes a breach of sections 153(e) and (e.1) of the Municipal Government Act).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G22 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the Mayor of Medicine Hat act within the general duties of councillors (s.153) and general duties of chief elected official (s.154) as outlined in the Municipal Government Act, and that the mayor refrain from taking on duties that belong to the CAO as defined in s.207 of the Municipal Government Act).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G23 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that any elected official speaking publicly on behalf of Medicine Hat City Council, and especially the mayor, ensure that their comments accurately reflect the position and will of Council as a whole).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G24 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the Mayor of Medicine Hat request of other members of council the topics they would like to have discussed between the mayor and CAO, and that the mayor follow up the mayor-CAO meetings with a written or email report to councillors within two business days).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G25 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the Mayor of Medicine Hat refrain from providing lengthy email messages to members of council and the CAO on topics that are more appropriately discussed in either the mayor-CAO meetings or in council or committee meetings).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G26 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the City Manager follow direction provided by City Council through a resolution of the Council, unless that direction would run counter to legislation).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G27 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council members remain aware of their role as community spokespeople and when interacting with outside entities and media; and further, that members of city council avail themselves of professional development opportunities related to council's role in communication and engagement).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G28 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council update section 4.7 of the Procedure Bylaw 4725 to match the changes made in 2023 to section 192(1) of the MGA).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G29 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the mayor of Medicine Hat review the city's rules of meeting procedure and refrain from debate that calls the professionalism of city staff into question).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G30 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council regularly review the contents of its Procedure Bylaw, that everyone participating in meetings follow that procedure during meetings of city council, and that refreshers on meeting procedure be included as part of councillors' recurrent training program).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G31 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Manager create and approve a formal terms of reference for the Administrative Committee, including purpose, membership, roles, and reporting structure).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G32 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the terms of reference for the Administrative Committee comprise members of  administration only, but that guests may be invited from time to time depending on the topics on the agenda).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G33 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council consider creating a council committee* that is responsible for council's agenda setting and legislative calendar).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G34 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council update section 6.8 of the Procedure Bylaw to provide a set minimum time prior to Council and Committee meetings that agenda packages are expected to be available on the city's website for the public to view).
  • Approved a motion related to item G36 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that City Council continues to record all individual members votes).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G38 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council update its Procedure Bylaw 4725 to reflect recent changes to the MGA related to real and perceived pecuniary interest, and conflict of interest).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G40 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the Medicine Hat City Council update Procedure Bylaw 4725 clause 6.13 to add a clause that the meeting minutes must include notice of when council members departed and returned in relation to pecuniary interest or conflict of interest).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G41 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council seek out training on aspects of pecuniary interest and conflict of interest from the updated MGA as they apply to members of city council.
  • Approved a motion to accept item G42 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council consider eliminating the default closed session of Regular council meetings in favour of using closed session as and when required.
  • Approved a motion to accept item G43 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that Medicine Hat City Council comply with the MGA s. 197 when closing any part of a meeting to the public that council members keep matters in confidence as required by the MGA s. 153).
  • Approved a motion to review item G44 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations in Q1 2026 (that the Medicine Hat City Clerk discontinue producing and distributing closed Meeting summaries).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G45 of the Municipal Inspection recommendations (that the City of Medicine Hat update its Procedure Bylaw 4725 to indicate that if the mayor is not the chair for a meeting of the Committee of the Whole, then the deputy mayor fills the chair, and if the deputy mayor cannot fill the role, then the acting mayor fills the chair).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G46 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the council of the City of Medicine Hat direct administration to create a schedule of review and update of bylaws and policies to ensure they are current, relevant, necessary, and as strong as they need to be).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G48 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the Medicine Hat City Clerk revise the naming convention for city bylaws to include the year in which the bylaw was created, and include page numbers on all bylaws).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G49 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the Medicine Hat City Clerk revise the naming and numbering convention for city policies to include the year in which the policy was created).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G50 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat City Council update the Administrative Organization Bylaw to remove the limit on the number of Managing Directors that may be appointed by the city manager).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G51 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat City Council review its designated authorities to streamline processes and align administrative processes with administrative responsibilities as per section 203 of the MGA and sections 21-28 of the Administrative Organization Bylaw).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G52 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat City Council continue with its current review of council committees as proposed by the City Manager on October 7, 2024).
  • Approved a motion to accept item G53 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat City Council approve terms of reference for all council committees, that the structure of the terms of reference for all committees be similar, and that the terms of reference include adoption, amendment, and review by dates as a method of maintaining the committees as current).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A1 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the Medicine Hat City Manager and Director of People Services continue with the implementation of culture change initiatives and programs identified in the '2025 Barrett Values Culture Assessment Results and Recommendations' as a means to improve staff culture; and that outcome measures are created and reported within staff and to council as appropriate).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A2 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat Council repeal the AO Bylaw (4662) and replace it with a more standard CAO Bylaw that focuses entirely on the role of the City Manager).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A3 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat Council repeal the AO Bylaw (4662) and replace it with a more standard CAO Bylaw that focuses entirely on the role of the City Manager).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A4 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that any bylaws adopted by Medicine Hat City Council recognize that organizational structure falls within the authority of the city manager).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A6 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the Medicine Hat City Clerk continue to implement the changes that are identified in the 'City Clerks' Office Actions Items list, and that this list be kept current and reported to city council).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A7 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the Medicine Hat City Manager ensure that the city's business plans document includes a description of how the business plans are intended to cascade from the strategic plan).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A8 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the Administrative Committee's membership be entirely administrative in role and comprise the city manager, managing directors, city solicitor, City Clerk and any other administrative leaders or guests that may be invited for their expertise. Further that the Terms of Reference for the committee includes that this committee meet regularly and any pertinent information garnered from these meetings be provided to council).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A9 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat City Council delegate the authority for final sign-off on contractually or legally required employee severance to the City Manager as authorized under s.203(1) of the MGA).
  • Approve a motion to accept item A10 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that expenditures which receive dollars from the contingency fund is approved as part of the city's overall budget be reported to city council in a timely fashion). 
  • Approved a motion to accept item A12 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that any individual who is asked to authorize an expense under the Personal and Travel Expense Policy (0107) do so in a fashion that does not unreasonably delay the payment of funds owing to the elected official or staff member).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A14 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that Medicine Hat City Council continue to encourage management in their process of developing and deploying service levels, and that city council create a Service Level Policy).
  • Approved a motion to accept item A15 of the Municipal Inspection recommendation (that the Medicine Hat City Manager consider adding more training on the governance role in finance as part of the orientation process for the 2025-2029 city council, and that this training include information on operational and capital budgets, reserves, and contingency funds as well as the annual budget process, including fees and charges, and how the budget helps achieve the priorities identified in the strategic plan).

Mayor Clark provided a notice of motion that Council reimburse her legal fees $59,675.68 pursuant to the Code of Conduct Bylaw as indicated in the advice received from Administration.

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