KAMLOOPS — Councillor Denis Walsh mused at yesterday’s Kamloops City council meeting about putting a referendum on the ballot with the Sept. 30 by-election.
He didn’t have any particular ideas about what the public should be asked, but I have one.
How about the size of the council? Maybe I sound like a broken record on the subject but consider this:
The City of Kamloops, with a population of 90,000, pays for a mayor and eight councillors. Vancouver, with 630,00 people, gets along quite nicely with only two more councillors than Kamloops. That’s one councillor for about every 60,000 people or so.
Winnipeg has 15 councillors. Calgary, 14 plus a mayor serving more than a million people. Edmonton, with 10 times the population of Kamloops — a mayor and a dozen councillors.
Toronto, on the other hand, has a huge local government — 44 councillors and a mayor. How’s that working out for them?
There’s no evidence that big councils in any way do a better job than lean ones. In fact, an argument could be made that the opposite is true.
Yet, Councillor Ken Christian — who wants to be mayor — is convinced that Kamloops City council must get up to full strength of eight councillors and a mayor ASAP.
There’s much that needs to be done, he says, and the public is being short-changed in the meantime.
Pray tell, how? Please, could someone name a way in which the current council is failing to do the job because it’s missing two members? Has anyone noticed City Hall going to hell in a hand-basket — any more than usual, that is?
I think not. Now seems like the perfect time to consider removing two chairs from the council table on a permanent basis. And then we can talk about school boards, regional districts, legislatures, Parliament and the Senate.
After all, does anyone seriously think we need more politicians? Now there’s a question worth asking.
