Council postpones vote to disband SPCs
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on December 11, 2024.
Herald photo by Al Beeber
Councillor Jenn Schmidt-Rempel and Acting Mayor Jeff Carlson discuss a motion he presented Tuesday to disband standing policy committees.LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
On a day they were to discuss a possible tax increase to cover the operating budget of the Lethbridge and District Exhibition, city council on Tuesday had to deal with an unexpected motion from Jeff Carlson to eliminate standing policy committees.
As Tuesday’s session opened with discussions on the council agenda, Carlson abruptly stated he wanted each of the items addressed separately.
Then following a long recess, council addressed a motion by Carlson to disband the SPCs with all their work to come directly to council. The motion called on City administration prepare the necessary bylaw amendments to be addressed at the Jan. 21 meeting of council. An amendment proposed by mayor Blaine Hyggen called for members of the public to be able to speak at council meetings.
But councillor Ryan Parker put forward a motion to have the matter addressed at that Jan. 21 meeting with members of the public being allowed to address council on the matter. That motion passed 6-2 with Carlson and fellow councillor Rajko Dodic voting against the postponement. Parker asked Carlson if council would be doing something in haste by approving his motion on Tuesday, saying he preferred that the matter be brought back in January with both the positives and negatives of such actions to be addressed then.
SPCs consist of four members of council who vote on matters which are then brought forward to council in the consent agenda. Often, such matters are pulled so council as a whole can address them.
Carlson said while he enjoys “the deep dive” of committee work, he said the committees are a waste of time and feels the hours addressing matters at them should be done at the council level. He said he doesn’t want to waste people’s time in committee then deal with matters again at council.
Dodic told his colleagues that the function of SPCs could best be served by council, that their is a duplication of effort. He also pointed out that the consent agenda items can add hundreds of pages to council agenda.
Councillor Mark Campbell, however, said he likes SPCs and feels they do serve a purpose. And he said in his experience, the SPC method works. And if items are controversial, they can be brought forward to council for a further discussion.
10-9
There are not enough Council meetings to hear all the concerns dealt with by the SPC’s. Committee procedure is what needs to be amended. Some committees have been used to push the agenda of the chair, ignoring committee members and public. The most successful committee has been the DLR Task Force, but the structure is been changed and time will tell if those changes will allow it to continue in its effectiveness, or become just another committee! I am watching these Councilors closely and next election their actions will very much be why I will vote the way I do!