New rule means Paradise councillors can’t raise items without staff’s consent

By Mark Squibb

A motion to approve a new policy, in which items can only be added to the public meeting agenda if they meet with the approval of staff, was met with much debate in Paradise chambers this month.
“There’s been a fair bit of discussion on this particular by-law,” said councillor Larry Vaters. “There have been some revisions made… in terms of speaking times and how motions are prepared and the order in which motions appear. So, there’s already been lots of discussion and hey, maybe there’ll be some more tonight.”
Vater’s prediction proved correct, given the lengthy debate which followed.
It started with councillor Glen Carew noting that he took exception to the fact the new policy omits the ‘New and Unfinished Business’ portion of the public agenda.
That segment, which has been a standard item on the agendas of all municipalities for decades, allows councillors to bring forward concerns or complaints from residents for discussion by council, or investigation by staff. ‘New and Unfinished Business’ is often also used by councillors to highlight upcoming events or note achievements by local residents.
This past fall, however, Paradise council adopted a new meeting format that omits ‘New and Unfinished Business’ from the public agenda. It was the decision on April 1 to make that change permanent, that upset Carew.
The rationale for the move was that it would supposedly be in line with the Provincial government’s new Towns and Local Service Districts Act, which replaces the former Municipalities Act.
Carew asked whether the new Act specifically bans ‘New and Unfinished Business.’
Vaters said that no, the Act does not preclude that section.
CAO Niblock added that since the decision to omit ‘New and Unfinished Business’ last fall, matters typically raised during ‘New and Unfinished Business’ were being raised during the bi-weekly committee of the whole meetings. Those meetings are public, but not as formal as a regular council meeting in that no motions are voted on or decisions officially approved.
Niblock said councillors can either raise a concern during the committee meetings or email staff to request it be added to the official public meeting.
Also, it was note that in lieu of ‘New and Unfinished Business,’ a section called ‘Community Highlights’ was added to the public meeting agenda.
Carew however, said there is no rationale for removing ‘New and Unfinished Business’ from the public agenda. In regards to adding an item to the public meeting agenda for discussion, staff advised him to email his concerns to the appropriate staff people to see if the item can be added.
Carew said that having to email staff back and forth rather than simply raising the matter at the public meeting, as was past practice, is an unnecessary obstacle.
Carew then moved that council amend the new policy and reinstate ‘New and Unfinished Business’ to the public agenda.
“At no time did you bring this up at our committee of the whole meeting,” said Mayor Dan Bobbett, who added some 20 items have been successfully added to the public meeting agenda under the new format since January.
It turns out, however, that Carew had e-mailed CAO Niblock requesting that his concern be added to the public agenda.
“The email was sent with a request for a heavy topic,” said Niblock. “I responded with a way forward that I thought best for council and said we absolutely could add it to the agenda, but it would be after staff have had time to prepare.”
Niblock said she thought it wise that council and staff be educated on the matter before casting a vote, and that Carew disagreed with her decision.
“I then said, if I’m directed by all of council to proceed as he wishes, I absolutely can,” said Niblock. “I don’t take directions from one councillor. I take direction from the majority of council. So, there was no barrier. There was a recommendation put forward that didn’t agree with what he had anticipated.”
Niblock said since January, some 25 items have been added to the public agenda at the request of councillors and of those, 15 have been resolved.
“So, to say there are barriers, I don’t totally agree with that,” said Niblock. “I don’t think there are barriers to adding things to an agenda.”
Vaters said while he didn’t think it was his place to comment on the back-and-forth between staff and councillors, with regards to adding an item to the agenda, there are a number of ways it can be done, whether in advance by an email request or through a motion as approved by council. Vaters said he respected Carew’s desire to reinstate ‘New and Unfinished Business.’
Mayor Bobbett, however, suggested approving Carew’s amendment without further investigation by staff could have legislative implications.
Deputy Mayor Kimberley Street said she too understood Carew’s frustration in that both the old and new means of bringing concerns forward are “so alike and yet so different.”
Street said she appreciated the discussion as it helped clarify the process for her.
Niblock then added that in all of her years as CAO, there has never been an instance of her not adding a councillor’s item to the agenda. She maintained that when she told Carew his item was very in-depth and had many legislative implications and could not be added to the public agenda for council’s discussion, it was her first time ever doing so.
Niblock also expressed disappointment that Carew raised the matter without first sharing his concerns with fellow councillors and staff ahead of the meeting, which is typically done as a courtesy so that no one is caught off guard.
“There was no information provided to any of our staff that there was going to be an issue with this policy this evening,” said Niblock, who noted the policy had been discussed in two previous committee meetings. “It’s a little disappointing that that didn’t happen for staff tonight.”
Councillor Patrick Martin said things have been running smoothly under the new policy, and while he understood Carew’s frustration, there was no need to amend the policy “at the eleventh hour.”
Carew then formally motioned that the rules of procedure be amended to reinstate ‘New and Unfinished Business’ as a regular recurring item on council’s public agenda.
Put to a vote, Carew, councillor Tommy Maher, and councillor Vaters voted in favour of the amendment. Mayor Bobbett, Street, councillor Deborah Quilty, and councillor Martin voted against it, defeating the motion 4-3.
Council then voted on a motion to make the new policy permanent, which effectively makes a councillor’s request to raise a matter at a public meeting contingent on approval by Niblock beforehand. That motion passed all but unanimously with only Carew voting against it.
As a side note, the new policy also stipulates that cell phones will be allowed in chambers in case of emergency. Council had previously discussed banning cell phone usage in the chambers.