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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Loosening reins on committee meetings a good step for council

Jan 22, 2020 | 5:28 AM

KAMLOOPS — KAMLOOPS CITY COUNCIL took a tentative step toward greater transparency and engagement Tuesday.

At a committee of the whole meeting, council received a report from staff on Mayor Ken Christian’s committee structure adopted a year ago. That unwieldy structure consists of five committees with a whole bunch of engagement and working groups attached to them.

The committees, thus far, have had no provision for public inquiries or public delegations. It’s a deficiency in need of correction. Something of a precedent was set last October when the Kamloops Voters Society and Domtar were allowed to make presentations to the finance committee on industrial taxes.

Inserting regular public inquiries sections into committee meetings — similar to those in regular council meeting agendas — would be a good thing to do. Council couldn’t bring itself to go that far yesterday, but did support formalizing delegations.

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It also did some other tweaking around the edges, including holding committee meetings in council chambers — where it’s easier for the pubic to find them — whenever the committee chair decides.

Baby steps, sure, but there’s more that can be done.

For example, mayor and council could divest themselves of the notion that public inquiries at council meetings must be limited strictly to items on the agenda.

Why is it a bad thing for citizens to feel they can stand up before council at a weekly meeting and talk to councillors on anything they’re concerned about, whether or not it happens to be on the agenda?

In fairness, this council does a pretty good job of public engagement in some ways, gathering input on its website and holding open houses on important issues.

Expanding the opportunity for the public to talk freely and directly with those they represent would be a positive move.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.