EDITORIAL – Here’s a surefire way to shorten council meetings by an hour

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

HERE’S HOW to shorten up Kamloops City council meetings by at least an hour.

Step one is for Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson to manage a proper speakers’ list. A good meeting chair keeps a written list of which councillors wishing to speak. This doesn’t have to be sophisticated — just jot down the initials or first names as they raise their hands at various points during the debate.

Sometimes, council members get excited and anxious and impatient waiting their turn but a proper list keeps them from interjecting themselves into the conversation at the wrong time. This basic practice applies to the mayor as much as it does to the councillors he’s facilitating.

When the mayor hears something said he wants to comment on, or thinks of a point germane to the topic, he isn’t supposed to cut in or put himself at the top of the list. He should add himself to the bottom and wait his turn like everyone else.

Hamer-Jackson hasn’t learned how to do that. He constantly interrupts speakers if something is said he disagrees with or wants to add his two cents on. At the least, he moves himself into the slot that should be reserved for the next speaker.

This creates a rotation that involves a councillor speaking, then the mayor speaking, then another councillor speaking, then the mayor speaking, and so on.

And, of course, Hamer-Jackson makes the problem worse by heatedly objecting to anyone who has an opinion different than his own.

For their part, councillors don’t behave much better. They unfailingly take the bait that the mayor tosses out. He hooks them like fish on the end of a fly line and reels them in, though that makes it sound much less chaotic than it is. “Shit show” is a better description.

Councillors can’t stop themselves from loudly and often churlishly leaping in, often several of them at a time, attempting inappropriate and often illegal ways to shut the mayor up. Being unfamiliar with basic rules of order for meetings, they frequently appeal to corporate officer Maria Mazzotta to back them up.

An example of that at this week’s meeting was when at attempt was made to remove Hamer-Jackson from the chair for one particular item. Mazzotta basically told them there were no grounds for it, but on other occasions she lets such transgressions pass.

Advocating for the simple remedies outlined above is, of course, whistling in the wind, for nothing will ever change with this bunch. They’ll continue to be their own cause of ridiculously long meetings, and continue to complain about ridiculously long meetings.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, writes for the Kamloops Chronicle 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.