Belleville council refuses to track their votes electronically in 2-6 vote

At the May 26, 2025 Council meeting, Councillor Carr requested a staff report outlining the reasons for the delay in the implementation of electronic voting which was approved as part of the $400,000 Modernization of City Hall Council Chambers project in the 2020 Capital Budget.

That report was presented to Council on August 25, 2025 and found the following:

Meeting software bought in 2019 supports electronic voting

In order to utilize the electronic voting in municipal meeting software iCompass:

• Members must be logged into iCompass and have the Splitscreen/HTML agenda on their device or have the Agenda Notes iPad app open
• A dedicated staff member needs to be actively working in the Minutes and note the Mover and Seconder of each resolution
• After noting the Mover and Seconder the staff member would send the resolution for a vote
• Voting members would receive a Voting Pop-up while they view their agenda
• Each member would select their vote – For, Against or Abstain
• After the voting is complete, a second Pop-up would appear which would display the voting results, with each member’s name under their vote choice
• The process is repeated until all voting is completed for the meeting

Many other municipalities choose to track more or all of their votes and publish them public on a user friendly interface.

Belleville bought 12 iPads for $20,000 in 2020 for Council to vote electronically

The 2020 Capital Budget included $20,000 for a “Council Electronic Voting System” which funded the purchase of 12 iPads provided to Council to access the electronic agendas, and the Agenda Notes feature in iCompass.

Electronic voting would change the existing process

While iCompass is capable of providing electronic voting, it would be a significant change in the way the Council meetings are conducted:

• Only electronic agendas would used
• Members would need to be signed into iCompass during the meeting, and select their vote when they receive a Voting Pop-up
• With the possible amendment or addition of resolutions, members would need to wait until the dedicated staff member has input the information into iCompass before the resolution could be sent for a vote
• Utilizing the electronic voting through iCompass would increase the amount of time that is required for voting on each resolution, as well as the time required for amending or adding resolutions

Staff recommend new $250,000 audio-visual (AV) system instead

During the Council Chambers Modernization Project, the audio-visual (AV) system in the Council Chambers was not updated.

Implementing electronic voting via iCompass is impractical given the current manner in which Council meetings are conducted. Acquiring and implementing a new AV system could facilitate the integration of electronic voting through a new microphone system.

The current AV system is limited in its functionality, requires significant staff interaction and is approaching end-of-life. An updated AV system could offer increased functionality, including:

• an enhanced video stream, with multiple cameras, that could automatically follow the active microphones
• display each individual as their microphone is active
• display names and titles of Members of Council and staff
• electronic voting through the microphone system
• establish a queue to speak to a matter by the member pressing a button on their microphone
• assist the Chair in advancing through the queue of the members that wish to speak
• desktop monitors for Council to view presentations
• ability to remotely turn on/off microphones if someone forgets
• ability for hybrid participation during meetings by Deputations, Members of Council, or staff
• provide overlay slides advising that the Meeting will start shortly, Meeting has adjourned, In Closed Session (In-camera)

To implement the changes required to make electronic voting a viable practical tool for use by Council in the event that is the direction chosen, a 2026 Capital Budget Issue has been prepared with an associated cost of $250,000.

Motion introduction

Back in 2017, there as the move towards electronic voting.

One time I remember sitting here and when you called for a recorded vote, they used to say it was public shaming.

It’s really about accountability at the end of the day. It’s about how did you vote as an individual councillor – or mayor – and to ensure that the residents you represent know exactly where you stand and your yeses are yeses and your nos are nos.

Other levels of government do this all the time and municipalities do this. And so that’s where we were going with this. It started out as just simply electronic voting and then it morphed into the modernization project.

I appreciate the fact that the clerk has outlined what needs to be done and there is an element in here in terms of an alternative method to implement electronic voting. And it comes with a price tag of $250,000.

When I saw that, it was crossing that entire section off as unnecessary. It’s ideal in terms of multiple cameras, better production, but it’s more production and and I certainly don’t want to see dollars go into the production side of council meetings. We’re not here to perform, but we are here to do the City’s work and the residents business and they need to know exactly what’s going on.

Councillor Paul Carr

Positions

I just can’t see supporting this for 250 grand. Tonight we go around and I think in my memory here in the last 2 and 1/2 hours, we’ve had three recorded votes, a fourth coming up. If there’s any questions about how we voted or if they want to get the information that is accessible here at the City. I can see it working in Toronto, Queens Park, Parliament, maybe Ottawa City Council. But we’re a group of nine. We got a great staff here an it seems to be working smoothly. It’d be nice to have all these gadgets, but I can’t support it.

Councillor Sean Kelly

I just want to go back to the report and it says on the report voting violence impractical given the current manner in which council meetings are conducted. I’ve been involved, I think the only one around this table with electronic voting in Parliament and I can tell you there’s a lot of bugs in it and I’m talking a system that the government paid millions of dollars for. No disrespect to anybody around this table when I’m sitting in the chair and I call a motion there’s a lot of times I have to call the hands up.

Can I see everybody being on a computer, battery dying, voting the wrong way, ask to change the Procedure Bylaw? If you want to see how people vote – right here – there’s the cameras on, turn to the meeting and see how I vote on this.

I think we’re just setting ourselves up for failure. We’re going to be an embarrassment with staff because they’re going to get blamed for bringing this aboard and I cannot support it.

Mayor Neil Ellis

 If I can be assured that there’s no expenditure of funds, I’m all for recorded votes. I believe in them.

Call them public shaming. Call them what you want, but it’s accountability. I agree with it. However, I don’t want to see us spending a lot of money implementing it. So, if I can be assured that there is no cost or very, very little cost, I will support that.

Councillor Kelly Henderson

And of course, I’m about as clueless when it comes electronics as any. So where would you vote if you’re doing electronic, on this machine?

Councillor Garnet Thompson

Sensing some confusion around the table, Councillor Kelly Henderson proposed a tabling motion to table the report until further clarification could be provided for the amending motion failed:

REC. NO. 334-2025
Moved by Councillor Kelly Henderson
Seconded by Councillor Lisa Anne Chatten

That the amending motion to the City Clerk’s Report No. CC2025-11 be tabled to enable staff to bring forward further clarification.

Failed