The way Whistler engages with council meetings changed earlier this year, and it’s going to stay changed after council voted to permanently apply the new “public comment and question period” trialled as a pilot program over the last seven months.
The pilot, in place between May and November 2023, allowed members of the public to make a comment on, or ask questions about, agenda items at the meeting they were speaking at, or the two previous meetings.
It took the place of a “question and answer period” that allowed members of the public to direct a question (and only a question) on any topic to council members.
In a presentation to council on Dec. 5, the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) deputy corporate officer, Caitlin Hodgson, explained the rationale of the pilot, and the argument for implementing it permanently.
“The pilot program was to improve efficiency at regular council meetings by focusing on business of the day, but also to ensure that those asking the questions or making comments would receive an informed answer or response,” said Hodgson.
Under the rules, with members of the public registering to ask a question or make a comment beforehand, municipal staff (and council members) have the ability to prepare their notes and give a fully-informed answer rather than defer a question—something Hodgson explained was valuable to preserve staff time, and provide valuable information to the public.
THE RESULTS ARE IN
The public was asked to provide input on the pilot program for the seven-month run, with feedback sought on each pilot project parameter.
“It was noted that having the opportunity to present a comment instead of a question was a welcome addition,” said Hodgson. “We also received mostly positive feedback on reducing the speaker’s time limit from five to three minutes, and that most felt that it was enough time to articulate their comment or question.”
On the move to limit questions and comments to the three most recent agendas, Hodgson said feedback was varied, noting limited pushback.
“Responses ranged from supportive to unsupportive of this parameter,” she said. “Members of the community felt that this parameter did not provide the opportunity to discuss issues regarding the RMOW that are important to them, and staff recognizes that limiting comments and questions to the three most current agendas could create a perceived limitation to interacting with mayor and council.
“However, we also wanted to point out that those that have completed the exit survey have also used other ways to interact with mayor and council, including emails, phone calls, personal meetings, submitting correspondence, surveys, and speaking with council members at public events.”
Hodgson also pointed out that members of the public could sidestep the limitation by writing to council prior to the meeting.
“In addition, participants are able to have their issues heard at regular council meetings via correspondence to mayor and council, and therefore have the option to speak to that issue at the meeting where their correspondence is received by council.”
The level of participation in the pilot program was noted to be comparable to participation levels under the previous system.
AMENDMENT FAILS
During discussion on the motion to implement all nine parameters of the public comment and question period, Councillor Jessie Morden moved to strike the requirement all questions and comments be limited to agenda items of the last three meetings.
“There’s no other time that we are all together, that [the public] can address us … I think we should be giving people every opportunity we can to address anything they want. I understand they can write a letter and get it put on the agenda, [but] that’s a process not a lot of people know about, and they don’t watch the council meetings, so they won’t know about it now.”
Coun. Ralph Forsyth agreed with Morden, adding he believed the “elegant solution” of members of the public writing in to council on an issue, and then registering to speak to that issue, was unwelcome “chicanery” that was not useful or helpful.
Forsyth later added he believes there is value in allowing the public to bring everything and anything to council’s attention to allow them more broad-based knowledge and insight that individual councillors and the council as a whole may not be aware of.
Morden’s motion was ultimately unsuccessful, despite support from Forsyth and Coun. Arthur De Jong, with all four other council members voting to keep the requirement in place.
Coun. Jen Ford took the role of the swing vote in discussion, initially indicating she would support Morden’s motion, before eventually voting it down. Ford said the change was drawn from best practices around the province, was intended to focus attention on the matters of the day, and was designed to limit repetitive engagement on issues that were long decided on, when the public could engage councillors in other ways that don’t impact formal council meetings.
Coun. Jeff Murl said he didn’t believe the requirement was overbearing, while Coun. Cathy Jewett asked questions about the system that would allow the public to write in to council and then speak to whatever issue they liked, and appeared happy with the responses from staff.
‘A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION’
Mayor Jack Crompton also supported the rule, telling Pique in an email he is glad residents can make comments as well, rather than being forced to twist everything into a question.
“Most people show up at council meetings wanting to share their thoughts and insights,” he said.
“Until now, we have only allowed questions, so people have ended up having to make their comments in the form of questions. It’s been like a weird form of local government Jeopardy. It hasn’t served residents, council, or our meeting process. This is a step in the right direction.”
The new “public comment and question period” will be in place at all meetings going forward, with the public permitted to provide formal feedback for another year.
While Morden’s motion to strike one parameter from the public engagement period change was defeated, all seven council members voted to approve the staff recommendation as presented.
Under the new rules now adopted, members of the public can make comments or ask questions, are limited to three minutes, will need to sign up in advance online or in person, and can only speak to issues on the current agenda or two previous agendas.
The comment and question period is also limited to 30 minutes, while the chair of the meeting (usually the mayor) has the discretion to extend a member of the public’s speaking time and that of the comment and question period. The order of speakers is in order of sign up.
