ROTHENBURGER – A guide to what they’re saying around the horseshoe

NOW THAT we’re getting into the thick of election year, you’re probably glued each week to the live streaming of City council meetings. No? How about the archived video of the meetings that you can watch any time?

The Tuesday afternoon meetings, as well as some of the committee meetings, can be quite informative and even entertaining. But they can be confusing, too. Councillors and staff have their own way of speaking that benefits from interpretation.

So here’s a list of just a few of the words and expressions often used around the horseshoe that you’ll likely hear and maybe wonder about if you tune in.

HORSESHOE: In this case, it’s not a reference to something nailed to the foot of a horse. A couple of councils ago, somebody started calling the desk around which councillors sit “the horseshoe.” I guess it’s supposed to sound more interesting than “the desk.”

SUPPLEMENTARY: After a councillor speaks once to an issue, they’ll often chirp, “Supplementary!” before asking a second question. This, too, is a relatively recent piece of jargon, and totally unnecessary. There’s no provision in Robert’s Rules of Order for it other than to indicate additional policies or procedures. It has nothing to do with asking another question.

PIECE: A councillor will frequently say something like, “We have to consider the environment piece,” or “The cost piece concerns me.” This is a redundant word but it sounds as though something is a part of the whole, which, of course, it always is.

POINT OF ORDER: Okay, this isn’t actually jargon, but Kamloops City councillors use it as if it is. In fact, it’s one of the most used and abused phrases in any meeting the council holds. Under Robert’s Rules, it can be called as a challenge to the mayor that the rules of the assembly are being broken. It’s supposed to force the chair to make a ruling on whatever error is alleged. Instead, it’s most used to interrupt what the mayor is saying when it’s something the councillor disagrees with or just doesn’t want to listen to. If you watch a council meeting sometime, try, just for fun, counting up the number of times a “point of order” is called.

MISSING MIDDLE: Not a donut hole. Rather, a catchy phrase that was invented by an American architect 15 years ago to describe the need for more medium density housing. The term was probably imported to the horseshoe by City planning staff, along with “housing continuum,” and councillors like the sound of it.

MOVING FORWARD: Where else would we move — backward? “Moving forward” or “going forward” is inserted at the start of a sentence to make it sound as though everything is ticketyboo. It’s a distant cousin of “kicking it down the road” and “coming down the pipe.”

So there you have it — a start, at least, on moving forward to an understanding of what City council is talking about.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and former school board chair, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website. This column also appears in the March edition of the Kamloops Chronicle.