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Council Enters Electronic Era

By 250 News

Monday, February 16, 2009 08:55 PM

Prince George B.C. – While most of the decisions made at Prince George City Council tonight were nothing out of the ordinary,  there was one decision that made history.
February 16th marked the first time a Councilor has been allowed to take part in a meeting electronically.
Councilor Garth Frizzell was not able to attend the session in person as he had to head out of town on business.  He requested to be able to attend the session by conference call for the part of the meeting that dealt with the selection of committee members.
Councilor Brian Skakun had made a request a little over a year ago to attend Council by conference  call but that request was denied. Skakun was on holidays at the time., This situation was deemed different, as  Frizzell had to leave town on short notice .
Councilors Dave Wilbur, Shari Green, Cameron Stolz and Mayor Dan Rogers all voted in favour of allowing Frizzell to attend the session, those voting against were Councilors  Brian Skakun, Don Bassermann, and Debora Munoz.
The Community charter provides for electronic participation if the both ends of the line can hear the other, and if the reason for absence is health or “emerging” issues.
Council has also asked for a clearer definition of “emerging issues” for future reference.

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Posted on Monday, February 16, 2009 08:55 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Comment Posted by: DPJ on February 16 2009 10:53 PM
sounds a good idea. Lets take advantage of the electronic age. We communicate via MSN using the video conferancing alot so it makes sense to use it in council.
Comment Posted by: sum42guy2k on February 16 2009 11:01 PM
if you notice, Skakun asked to be able to teleconferance in, was denied, then denied to let Frizzel teleconference in, probably because if he was not allowed, niether should anyone else...I also noticed the the people voting against were INCUMBANTS! what as suprise! I agree with not letting Skakun teleconferance in because he decided to go on vacation, while Frizzel...well we dont know all the circumstances, but vacations are planned in advance, while Frizzel was called out of town on short notice....
Comment Posted by: Harbinger on February 16 2009 11:28 PM
Turn city hall into a homeless shelter and let all of city council teleconference.
Comment Posted by: heidi1555 on February 17 2009 3:17 AM
Yes, exactly "electronic age". This is a good idea. All the big dogs do it...welcome to big business P.G.
Comment Posted by: rayban68 on February 17 2009 8:23 AM
Telephone? Electronic Era? Welcome to 1876 Prince George!
Comment Posted by: jarodl on February 17 2009 8:43 AM
Awesome, rayban68!
Comment Posted by: metalman on February 17 2009 9:42 AM
I got two words for you:
gotomeeting.com.
Okay, that was more than two words so what.
It is a way for many people to meet without leaving the confines of their office, using a PC or laptop.
Now, that's electronics.
metalman.