ASB STRUCTURE
Prior to 1997, the
ASB Act
specified the makeup of a board based on whether the board
supported a county, municipality or improvement district/special area. The
ASB Act
became more enabling after the review in 1997 and now allows council to determine the
structure of the board and its membership. The council is to determine the chair, the
number of members, the voting status and the term of office of the members of the board.
Board structure varies greatly across the province. The criteria to be appointed as a
member of the ASB can be met by both councilors and members-at-large. Boards may be
made up entirely of Councilors, which are merely an extension of Municipal Council, or they
may be a blended board consisting of a number of councilors and a number of members-at-
large. In 2013, there were 33 boards consisting of all council members, 35 boards
consisting of councilors plus members-at-large and 2 boards of all farmer members.
There are advantages and disadvantages of each type of board structure. A comparison of
the pros and cons of each board structure can be seen in Appendix 2.
ASB MEMBERSHIP
The legislation requires that the membership of a board must include persons who are
familiar with agricultural concerns and issues, and who are qualified to develop policies
consistent with the
ASB Act
.
Board members must also be capable of acting on behalf of the
Council as legislation also indicates that a board has and must, exercise on behalf of a
council all the duties and powers that are conferred on it by the council, under this or any
other enactment, with respect to agricultural matters.
ATTENDING ASB MEETINGS
ASB members are required to attend meetings. The legislation states: “A person who is a
member of a board ceases to be a member of the board, if, without being authorized by a
resolution of the board, the member is absent from 3 consecutive regular meetings of the
board.
A vacancy on the board does not impair the right of the remaining members to act as long
as a majority (quorum) of the members remain.
CODE OF CONDUCT
A code of conduct is a set of rules that outlines the responsibilities of or proper practices
for an individual or organization (Wikipedia).
Each municipality should have a code of conduct that all ASB members follow and are held
accountable to.
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