A group of four Thompson councillors has resorted to unusual means in an effort to get city department heads back to the table and resume committee meetings.
The councillors – Jeff Fountain, Earl Colbourne, Duncan Wong and Les Ellsworth – issued a press release Jan. 15 urging members of administration to resume meeting with council. They also tried, in vain, to rescind a resolution approving provisional estimates at the Jan. 17 council meeting as a way of limiting administration’s spending ability in an effort to coerce them back to committee meetings, which have not been held since late October, prior to the annual organizational meeting of council, when committee chairs are appointed and co-chairs elected by the members of council.
Council has reportedly decided to change from having multiple standing committees to using a committee of the whole approach, according to a statement from the city and statements by councillors, a decision apparently arrived at after the organizational meeting at the beginning of November, when chairs and co-chairs of the existing standing committees were selected. However, no committee meetings have been held since then, though councillors at the Jan. 17 meeting did reference an in camera council meeting scheduled for Jan. 20 which they hoped would move forward the process of renewed co-operation between members of the administration staff and council.
The Jan. 15 press release from the four councillors characterized the situation as “a complete breakdown in communications and co-operation between factions within the administration and city council,” effectively shutting down the work that had gone on in committees. The release also says that accusations of harassment and disrespectful conduct have been levied against councillors, particularly those who “dare question or challenge the status quo.”
The city confirmed in a statement to CHTM radio last week that there are a number of active workplace misconduct investigations, which it won’t comment on because human resources matters are confidential.
The four councillors also alleged that council had reached out to city administration to ask them to join councillors in renewing their commitments to the city but that the “gesture was refused.”
The release also said that the four councillors’ sense of pride in being drivers of change had been replaced by a feeling that they were mere rubber stamps “expected to blindly accept the whims of administration and a few influential council members.”
Wong stated openly during the debate on his motion to rescind the provisional estimates, which allow the city to spend money in the first five months of the year before the budget is developed, approved and submitted to the province, that it was an attempt to lure administration staff back to regular committee meetings.
“My motive is very simple,” he said, “To bring the administration back to the table to discuss with elected officials. In my opinion, right now the city is in limbo. We never had a meeting, I believe, since the end of October with administration. This is the only way that we have leverage to get them back to the table to discuss.”
Councillors who supported reversing the provisional estimate resolution said they didn’t want to suspend all spending between now and when the budget is approved but merely to approve it on a month-by month basis, rather than all at once, but city manager Anthony McInnis said the motion to rescind, which was defeated in a 5-4 vote, would have led to city operations grinding to a halt because current spending needs have not been individually approved by council
“City Hall would have to close tomorrow,” he said.
Colbourne said councillors who asked questions of administration at their biweekly meetings have repeatedly been told in the past that if they want answers to be ready for them, they should come to committee meetings to ask them first.
“Now we can’t do it,” he said. “We’re trying to find some way to get back to work.”
Ellsworth said not holding committee meetings was preventing him and his council colleagues from doing what they were elected to.
“Certainly the administration runs the city but they don’t run the mayor and council,” he said. “Is the administration planning on meeting with this mayor and council in the next 10 months that we’ve got left or do we need to do something different?”
Fountain said that the fact that five-month provisional estimates had been passed as routine housekeeping items that allowed the city to continue functioning in the past was a moot point in light of the current dysfunction.
“What’s not normal is we’re not meeting and when we’re not meeting, we’re not able to meet that fiduciary duty,” he said.
The councillors trying to reverse the provisional estimates heard sympathetic comments from a couple of councillors who ultimately did not support the motion to rescind.
“I agree it has been frustrating not having the committee meetings,” said Coun. Andre Proulx. “I do look forward to our new structure that we’ve been working on. I would hope that it moves a bit quicker than it has been. I do think we do need to sit down with the administration and discuss what needs to be discussed and move forward in a positive manner.”
Blame for the impasse does not rest with administration staff alone, said Coun. Braden McMurdo
“The discord at present can be attributed to behaviour from definitely both sides,” he said. “We played a role in this as well, at least in my opinion. My fellow councillors are right that these meetings need to resume as quickly as possibly.”
“We’re all to blame, not only us, administration too,” said Colbourne.
Wong pointed out that council has only four months to come up with and pass a budget before it has to be submitted to the province by mid-May and suggested that the fact that time has been wasted would be used to pressure councillors to go with the flow and approve the budget that is developed without changes because of time constraints.
In its statement to CHTM, the city said council is regularly briefed by and connected to administration staff by the city manager, council’s only direct employee. It also said that council would provide direction to administration to resume committee meetings but none are scheduled yet, according to the minutes and agendas section of the city’s website.
