Region of Waterloo councillor looks to increase transparency by recording all votes

When regional Coun. Kari Williams votes, she knows what she inputs into the system, but she often has no idea how her council colleagues have voted.

The electronic system used by regional council shows her only if the motion has passed or failed. The only way to know how people voted is to request a recorded vote — where councillors are asked one at a time how they would like to vote and they answer verbally — before the vote is taken.

It doesn't sit right with Williams.

"Our system is technically already recording it — we just don't post it anywhere. So I thought, the public has the right to see how we're voting," Williams told CBC News.

She says she has received calls or emails from people asking her how she voted on a particular issue.

"I always just tell them because I've spent a lot of time talking to the public. I've done my due diligence, I've read all the research, I've read the staff papers, and so like, I tried to make a really informed decision," Williams said.

It's why she's brought forward a notice of motion Tuesday morning to council's administration and finance committee meeting to record all of regional council's votes and that the results be in the corresponding minutes.

"I thought that would be a much better way for the public to be able to determine: are my councillors voting in the way that I would like them to as a constituent?" she told CBC News. "I thought that would be a little more transparent and people would appreciate the gesture, I think."

Support from other councillors

Williams's motion passed at committee level.

Coun. Rob Deutschmann said he supported the motion and would like to see the region go further and develop a way for people to be able to search a database to see how councillors voted on certain motions.

North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton joked that "whenever there's a vote, whether it's recorded or not, the public has it on Facebook who voted and how so" but added she agreed with Williams's motion because "this just makes it a little easier for them."

The decision made in committee Tuesday morning will still need to be ratified at the next council meeting, scheduled to take place May 24.

Staff noted because it's a change to the region's procedural bylaw, if it's passed on May 24, then it would take 21 days to take effect, which means it would not be in place until the June 21 council meeting.