File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today)

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: City council’s dysfunction just keeps getting nastier and meaner

May 31, 2023 | 4:47 AM

BY THE TIME Kamloops City council struggled through its latest and longest sad attempt to do the public’s business Tuesday, the world had long since lost interest.

Once again, council proved it’s proficient at three things — over-thinking, over-talking and bickering.

An in-camera meeting, regular meeting and public hearings all got tangled up in each other because they all ran too long. It took 12 painful hours.

These people just can’t stop talking. There literally aren’t enough hours in the day for this bunch to get the job done.

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As Mayor Hamer-Jackson acknowledged, council did a lot more talking during public inquiries yesterday than the public did. One intrepid citizen who stuck it out to the end advised council to stop the “[expletive] show” and take counselling for their shameful conduct.

A one-year bylaw exemption allowing recreational equipment rentals and food services in Riverside Park should have taken five minutes to discuss. It took 45 because Coun. Neustaeter hadn’t bothered to figure out wording for an amendment she wanted to make.

A plan for a sobering centre to replace what’s commonly known as the “drunk tank” in RCMP cells prompted extended and repetitive expressions of frustration over delays instead of simply being supported and approved.

That, however, was nothing compared to a truly bizarre and nasty argument over whether the mayor or deputy mayor should sign documents for the sale of the Duchess property.

And things really got mean when the mayor’s motion to hold a town hall meeting came up late in the day. It went down in flames by an 8-1 vote and it’s no wonder — Council was too busy with its grudge match.

The next councillor who complains that meetings are too long, or wonders why Kamloops City council is so ridiculously dysfunctional, better look in the mirror.

Councils of the past have sometimes lost their way. This one has never come anywhere close to finding it.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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