Open discussion about releasing info from closed door meetings
Prince George, B.C.- Council for the City of Prince George has been wanting to seek ways to increase openness and transparency, and releasing information from closed meetings was one of the things that was up for discussion.
There was a motion before Council that would have changed the way information from closed meetings is made public, but the change could be expensive and work intensive.
While the Community Charter is specific about the kind of items that can be discussed behind closed doors, (basically labour, land or law) there is no process outlined for bringing those matters to the public in a routine manner.
The current practice has Council making decisions to authorize release of specific matters and how that information is released. That’s the way Councillor Albert Koehler would like it to stay, saying basically, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Councillor Terri McConnachie says before she became a Councillor she was always “suspect” of the openness and transparency, but her view is different now that she is a Councillor “I am part of an open and transparent Government”. She says there are some issues which need to be discussed in a closed meeting.
Councillor Frank Everitt supported leaving things as they are, saying there are things that need to be discussed in closed session because of legal issues and favours approving for public release when it is appropriate to do so.
Mayor Lyn Hall says he is comfortable with leaving things the way they are.
Councillor Garth Frizzell says while things are o.k. the way they are, “We can always improve” and was the lone dissenter on the vote to leave things the way they are.
Comments
video to you how tough can that be?
Sorry should have read, video to youtube
You are voted in by us by what you say during the election process, you are paid by us to do the job you said you would do, you work for us, why don’t you know what happens in some meetings, what is there to hide ?
Why don’t you want us to know what happens. We really need a edit option :)
We all have a private side of life, whether it be parents talking to each other discussing budgets or the discipline issues of their kids, or that best friend we have as a confidante.
We need to discuss some things privately. I believe city council is no different.
Some things just don’t need to have an audience.
There shouldn’t be any closed meetings, after all it’s us that are paying taxes therefore any business the city discuss behind “closed doors” is our business.
Posted on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 @ 5:37 AM by acrider55 with a score of 1
There shouldn’t be any closed meetings, after all it’s us that are paying taxes therefore any business the city discuss behind “closed doors” is our business.
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Especially when it comes to discussing “labour”. We pay a lot of money for the municipal civil service, we deserve to see how free council is with our money.
Land sales or purchases should continue to be discussed in closed meetings otherwise we could create all kinds of problems. However once the sale is completed I believe it is incumbent on City Hall to let the public know what was bought or sold, who purchased/sold it, and the prices involved. This information becomes available through City Hall, however you have to get it yourself through them, or through the land registry office.
Staff problems, hiring/firing etc; should also remain in camera, because of the many laws surrounding these issues.
Labour negotiations once completed should become part of the public domain, after all we the taxpayers are the ones that foot the bills. Once again some of this information is available if one cares to look for it, however we need to be fully aware of what our labour/staff costs are, and who gets paid what, for what.
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