in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 12 ,2 01 9 | 24 Gary Carr Regional Chair Help keep our community safe this holiday season During the holiday season, residents can help keep our roads and community safe by following these tips: • Use winter tires on your vehicle and store an emergency kit in your car before the arrival of any severe winter weather. • Practise these four food safety tips: clean, cook, separate and chill. • Sign up for our email alerts to stay informed about extreme cold temperatures. • Protect yourself from the flu by getting the flu shot from your family doctor, local pharmacy or walk-in clinic. For more safety tips, visit halton.ca. Meetings at Halton Region, 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville, L6M 3L1 Visit halton.ca for full schedule.for full schedule.f Jan 15 9:30 a.m. Regional Council Oakville ChristmasDay HouseholdWasteCollectionNotice Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Dec 23 24Dec 23 24Dec 23 24 25 26 27 28 Areas C & D Collection moves 12 12 19 Please note collection day changes: HaltonWaste Management Site Please place yourwaste at the curb by 7 a.m. on your scheduled holiday collection day. • Reuse gift wrap, gift bags and ribbon • Wrap presents in newspaper or use cookie tins • Make handmade gifts • Donate household items in good condition Blue Box • Aluminum foil & trays • Boxed beverage containers • Plastic bottles • Plastic plates & cups Green Cart • All food waste • Paper plates & cups • Napkins • Tissue paper (free of tape & glitt Garbage • Plastic & compostable cutlery • Compostable plastic cups • Food wrap • Styrofoam Please contact us, as soon as possible, if you have any accessibility needs at Halton Region events or meetings. RegularOperatingHours Monday to Saturday | 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 5400 Regional Road 25,Milton Closed Wednesday, December 25, 2019Wednesday, December 25, 2019W andWednesday, January 1, 2020 Holiday waste tips Christmas Day Reminder: Your 2020-21 Halton Region Guide and Waste Collection Calendarwill be delivered by mail at the end of January 2020. Visit halton.ca/waste or download the OneHalton app to sign up for weekly reminders, find your collection day and use our PutWaste in its Place sorting tool. Dec 23 Reduce your holiday waste Areas A & B No change issue paper (fr tape & glitter) The Town of Oakville will no longer hold administrative servic- es or community services commit- tee meetings as of Jan. 1, 2020. Council voted during its Mon- day, Nov. 18 meeting to do away with these meetings, arguing doing so will make it easier and more con- venient for the public to participate in local government. "We want it to be easy for mem- bers of the public to come speak to us at council, and for staff to bring forward reports for our discussionforward reports for our discussionf and decision," said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton.Rob Burton.R "This new streamlined struc- ture will make for quicker decision- making and less confusion." The current structure sees most matters initially addressed at ei- ther the administrative services committee or the community ser- vices committee meeting. These committees review spe- cific issues identified in their man- dates and provide recommenda- tions to council for final approval at a separate meeting. In some cases, town staff have to present at both the committee meeting and at the council meeting on the same issue. Members of the public sometimes also have to pre- sent at both forums. During the Nov. 18 meeting council voted to discontinue the committees in favour of having all matters go directly to council. The livable Oakville council sub-committee, which provides in- put and guidance to staff on stud- ies, public consultation, and draft recommendations regarding offi- cial plan review matters, was also discontinued. Town staff said those matters will proceed directly to the planning and development council, which will continue to operate in its current structure, with meet- ings scheduled once a month. Budget committee meetings will continue to be held separately. The town listed the following benefits of the new structure: • Decisions can be made by all of council at one meeting, rather than half of council debating at a com- mittee meeting, and then waiting for the full council to endorse at afor the full council to endorse at af second meeting. • Members of the public would only have to come out to one meet- ing instead of two. • Delegation requests will be taken in advance and at the meet- ing. • Delegations will now be able to hear from staff and make presenta- tions when a matter is dealt with on the agenda, rather than having to speak at the beginning of a council meeting and then wait for the item to be discussed. • Council would still retain the necessary rights of postponing a decision (deferral) or reconsider- ing a previous decision to ensure an avenue for second thought whenavenue for second thought whena necessary. • As is the current practice, addi- tional special council meetings may still be scheduled by mayor and council as required. • Council meetings will be held monthly and start at 6:30 p.m. • The public can continue to watch all council meetings via live stream on the town's YouTube channel. NEWS Administrative services and community services committee meetings will no longer be held by the Town of Oakville starting Jan. 1. Torstar file photo COUNCIL ELIMINATING COMMITTEE MEETINGS