Changes to Public Art Advisory Committee Terms of Reference - for review
The Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) reports to the Community and Health Services Committee and administers Public Art Policy. This includes the procedure for selecting, acquiring, disposing, placing, maintaining and cataloguing public art using funds available from the Public Art Reserve Fund.
Proposed changes to PAAC’s Terms of Reference
The PAAC’s Terms of Reference (TOR) provide guidelines and clear direction to committee members to help manage expectations and to enable the Committee to hold itself accountable for its activities. The TOR also provides a frame of reference that a Board can use to make informed decisions.
PAAC’s Terms of Reference were last updated in September of 2015.
Cultural Services staff began review of the PAAC’s Terms of Reference (ToR) in late 2022 with the assistance of Transportation staff, who had recently received Council’s approval for the Active Transportation Advisory Committee’s updated Terms of Reference. The amendment process also initiated discussions between Cultural Services, Legislative Services, and the Offices of Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. A collaborative overview of the PAAC’s TOR resulted in the following proposed amendments:
Changes include:
A vision statement that outlines governing principles that PAAC will adhere to when advising staff and the Region’s standing committees. This new item is a result of consultation with the Region’s Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion teams and follows the form of other Advisory Committees’ Terms of Reference.
A change to the number of community members that may serve on PAAC (changed from six to 10 to increase diversity of perspectives).
A new item that reflects a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion when recruiting committee members as per Policy #7-15.
A change to the length of terms to coincide with other Advisory Committees’ terms (changed from 3 years to 4 years with two consecutive terms allowed, instead of three consecutive terms).
An update to item #5 to describe the new process outlined in Policy #7-15 whereby a nominating panel selected by the Regional Chair reviews applications for PAAC community appointments. Before this change in policy, Cultural Services staff recommended appointments to the Community and Health Services Committee and Regional Council.
An update to the Conflict of Interest section in alignment with Policy #7-14.
Please help inform the new Terms of Reference for the Region of Waterloo's The Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) by completing this brief survey.