EDITORIAL – Point, counterpoint on the proposal to eliminate public inquiries

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

WHEN A STAFF REPORT on “what to do” about the public inquiries feature of meeting agendas lands on the desks of Kamloops City councillors, it will very likely include some options.

I’ll bet at least one of them will be to somehow improve or enhance City Hall’s system for dealing with emails and phone calls from residents, maybe by adding a regular outline to the agenda of what those emails and calls were about.

Whatever it is, it will be a sad substitute for allowing taxpayers to sit in on City council meetings and ask questions directly to council and staff.

Yesterday (Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024), Coun. Bill Sarai and I were both on CBC’s morning radio show to talk about the issue. In my view, the two interviews confirmed there’s no case for cutting the public off from asking questions at live meetings.

Sarai is the biggest advocate for doing away with public inquiries. As I understand it, his rationale is basically this:

Too many people use public inquiries to “vent and accuse” council.

Public inquiries take up too much time.

A lot of other City councils don’t allow public inquiries during regular meetings.

Public inquiries hinder council’s ability to do its job.

The public can ask its questions via email or over the phone.

The “zoom bomb” porno that flashed up on the screen during the last meeting was the last straw.

It’s the mayor’s fault for not keeping better control of public inquiries.

That’s quite a list. Here’s my response:

Public inquiries during council meetings have worked just fine for two dozen years, until the current council came into office. And, up until relatively recently, they weren’t restricted to items on the agenda.

This council put a five-minute limit on each person’s inquiry, and that’s not unreasonable. It’s the answer to the “too much time” claim. Saying public inquiries take too much of council’s time is like saying, “We don’t have time to listen.”

Sure, a lot of other councils don’t have public inquiries sections on their agendas. What’s that got to do with anything? Council talks of its supposed “bold leadership” but, when it suits its purpose, defers to what everybody else is doing.

Hinder council from doing its job? A big part of council’s job is answering to the public. Public participation should be viewed as a means to help council do its job, not as a threat. Politicians are always more comfortable behind closed doors, but they aren’t supposed to be comfortable.

Many people say their email and phone inquiries aren’t answered promptly. This might be partly due to the confusing system of who is supposed to respond; this came into effect when much of the mayor’s authority to deal with the public was removed. At any rate, emails and phone calls don’t compare to face-to-face discussions.

Fix the IT situation that allowed the porn video to be injected into public inquiries via Zoom. If it can’t be fixed, suspend the Zoom portion of public inquiries, rather than eliminate public inquiries altogether.

The mayor’s fault? Yes, he does tend to err on the side of giving people a full say but that’s not what causes disrespectful comments toward council. Council should lead by example when it comes to decorum, and it does anything but.

City Hall is the people’s place, where residents should be able to freely ask questions and get answers, and do so in conversation with their elected representatives and staff. Councillors should constantly be looking for more ways to engage, not fewer.

Getting rid of public inquiries would be a huge step backward.

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