What’s going on at city hall?
It appears that some people must be awfully paranoid with new cameras and security systems all over the place. Is the watchful eye there to make sure no one threatens anyone? Really? How much did that cost the taxpayer one has to wonder?
RCMP investigations, huge lawyer’s fees, accusations of misconduct, grievances and secret in-camera meetings all point to a council out of control and out of touch.
The district has not in it’s short history ever spent the kind of money on lawyers that it is now allocating. Is there the threat of law suits coming our way? You can’t tell us that it is because administration has to consult a lawyer every time a question is broached in chambers. The CAO should, at the very least, have a rudimentary understanding of legalities and should be well versed enough to answer simple questions without running to a lawyer. It’s administration that is costing us in lawyer’s fees not any single individual. The public has the right and the responsibility to ask questions on how our tax dollars are being spent and it is the responsibility of staff to answer truthfully. It’s about democracy not some sort of mini-dictatorship. When the seminars at UBCM are about openness and transparency in local government, then our councillors and mayor should be paying heed, because there can be rebounding effects even if someone is out of office. The latest situation in regard to leaked information from in-camera meetings is a symptom of the dysfunction. The business of our local government should not be secret unless there is something to hide.