Kamloops city council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13 (Image Credit: CFJC Today)
CITY HALL

Kamloops City Council committees established after some councillors initially left out

Dec 14, 2022 | 2:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — After a week filled with controversy surrounding the mayor of Kamloops, City Council is moving ahead with city business.

At Tuesday’s council meeting (Dec. 13), mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson revealed his committee appointments.

Councillor Dale Bass was initially left off those committees — named only as an alternate for two — but Hamer-Jackson says that was a mistake. Bass is now on the Development & Sustainability Committee as well as the Community and Protective Services Committee.

“That was an error on my part. I take that,” said Hamer-Jackson. “Just an error. I just didn’t review the final copy. We talked about it all in a discussion about the committees, so it was just an error on my part.”

Councillor Bill Sarai was chosen to chair two groups – the Community Relations and Reconciliation Committee as well as the Civic Operations Committee, which works towards expanding the city’s infrastructure.

“Our city’s grown so much, but our infrastructure has lagged behind,” Sarai said. “Council after council, and not putting any blame, the last four years we heard we were down two sheets of ice. Now four years later, we’re still down those sheets plus more because our city has grown so fast in the last two years.”

The mayor plans to have Kamloops residents involved in other select committees to provide meaningful feedback to council.

“It’s the citizens that are paying the taxes in this city. They’re paying my wages,” said Hamer-Jackson. “We’ve got to listen to them. If they’ve got concerns and things like that, I think it’s just unbelievably important.”

City council won’t reconvene until the new year. The next meeting is planned for January 17.