ROTHENBURGER – Cutting size of council would save money, talk

Note: I mentioned in Saturday’s ArmchairMayor column that I had previously raised the idea of reducing the number of Kamloops City councillors from eight to six. Following is the first of a two-part reprise. The column that follows was originally published March 1, 2014. It mentions that both Port Alberni and Lantzville were considering, at the time, reducing their number of councillors from six to four. Port Alberni council defeated a motion 2-5 on March 10, 2014 to hold a referendum in November 2014 on reducing the size of council. A referendum in Lantzville was approved 761 votes to 533 and its council will be reduced from a mayor and six councillors to a mayor and four councillors as of the civic election in 2018.

WHAT IF there were only six Kamloops City councillors instead of eight?

There’s nothing stopping it.

The Community Charter, the legislation governing City councils in B.C., sets the number of councillors at eight for cities with more than 50,000 people. Smaller communities have six or four councillors.

But councils are allowed to have fewer than the mandated number if they want. All they have to do is adopt a resolution saying so at least six months before the next election.

That means council could vote any time within the next two and a half months to reduce the number of councillors that would be elected in November to six for the following term. The Charter is a bit fuzzy on when a referendum is needed but council could always put it to a vote come election time.

There are benefits. Council voted itself a pay raise that takes effect after the next election. Terms in office were increased from three to four years by the provincial government this week — one stated reason was to save money.

Assuming council doesn’t give itself more raises during the next term, their salaries will total a little over $1.1 million.

Reducing the number of councillors to six would save about $193,000.

But, of course, the incumbents would no doubt insist there’s too much work for only six. Yet at least two B.C. councils are looking seriously at cutting themselves down to size.

Alberni City council will consider a motion March 10 to reduce itself from six to four councillors plus mayor after this year’s election, and the District of Lanztville is also looking at slimming down from six councillors to four.

The rationale is that, aside from money, fewer councillors would improve workflow and increase engagement.

“Just because it’s been a mayor and six councillors for all this time doesn’t mean that it has to stay this way,” Alberni councillor Rob Cole was quoted as saying in the Alberni Valley News a couple of days ago.

If you think politicians talk too much, well, fewer councillors should logically equal less total talking.

If you’re now thinking we should consider going even further and cutting the council in half, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Keeping it at six would protect the City’s proportional representation on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

A little streamlining might be just the thing to up the production level at City Hall and save some money too.

mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca