Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Local Government Awareness Week & City of Williams Lake

Earlier this month, both the Province of BC & the City of Williams Lake proclaimed "Local Government Awareness Week" as an opportunity to demonstrate to the public of what local government does for its' local residents' and why residents' should take interest in what their local government does, including both regional districts and municipal governments

The City of Williams Lake held its' Open House yesterday to demonstrate what City Council provides, on behalf of its' residents including providing a bus tour of the City's water system. Mayor Cook along with Councillors' Zacharias, Bourdon and Rathor were in attendance to provide tours at City Hall in addition to answering questions from members' of the public

However, last night, Council did two things which are contrary to the ideals that Council is trying to promote - a local government that serves the public with open and democratic principles:

i) Council held an In-Camera meeting without prior notice to the public.

According to provincial law (Community Charter, Sections 88 -93), all meetings of the local government (regional district & municipal government) and any advisory bodies to them are required to be held in an open meeting, except where they declare where a meeting should be closed to the public, with a motion passed in an open meeting, in accordance with Sections 90(1) and 92 of the Community Charter. Although there is no requirement that In-Camera Meetings' be previously advertised, all other regular or special meetings of Council are posted for the public's information and extension of this rule should apply to the holding of In-Camera Meeting(s). This would be in furtherance of Section 6 of Bylaw #1940 - Council Procedure Bylaw

ii) Committee of the Whole Meeting - May 18th

Council last night met in a "Committee of the Whole" meeting and was properly advertised, in accordance with Section 6 of Council Procedure Bylaw #1940. However, when I arrived at 6:00pm, the door to the Committee Room was closed and as a "unspoken" rule, when the door to the Committee Room is closed, it means that Council is meeting "In-Camera" and the public should not enter the room unless and until the door is opened to the room

At minimum, Council should have a sign posted on the door to the Committee Room which states when it is meeting In-Camera or when the meeting is open to the public

This would demonstrate a commitment to open and democratic values by Williams Lake City Council

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is all you have eh,....you really need a hobby. How dare Council get to work on time and in a manner to which good business is conducted.....but i guess if they were late it would give you something to complain about then.....stick to news and politics and leave the silly rants to coffee houses..

Steve Forseth said...

Thanks - but when the door to the Committee Room is closed, again how does the public know the difference between Council meeting In-Camera or meeting in public but the door is closed to filter out noise? Right now, there is no way to distinguish that (if you've been at City Hall) as there is no sign on the door indicating Council is meeting In-Camera or meeting in public (Council Chambers has this sign)

Steve Forseth said...

And for hobbies and rants - the rants are part of this blog and they'll continue in addition to providing information on local government activities in the Cariboo-Chilcotin. Don't like the rants....then don't read them.

As for my hobbies - my chief and only hobby is politics and the fact that the local government is doing a poor job.

Anonymous said...

guess you better get elected and fix everything eh....