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| How to engage with the public during Council sessions made for a short overview at the tail end of the July 24th Council session |
How City Council should engage with the public as part of their schedule of public council gatherings made for some discussion at the July 24th council meeting, with City Councillor Nick Adey offering up his thoughts on the process in place towards community engagement and public notifications.
The topic made for some short conversation at the end of the only council session for July, with the Councillor leading off the discussion.
"On the theme of public notifications ... I guess dialogue with the public, we've just passed three DVP's that go to public notification, I think we've experienced some turbulence around that process recently.
So I think it's worth just I would like to spend just a minute talking about that interaction with the public.
That public notification process with regard to peoples initiatives with their property is really important, I hope that the public attends to it where they can provides some input.
I also think there's another place in our meetings where we have an opportunity for the public to come forward and make comments and ask questions regarding items on the Agenda, I think ironically there were no questions tonight, but sometimes there are.
And I want to be nuanced in how I talk about this, because I think there is an opportunity there to ask questions that perhaps don't necessarily warrant a response in a formal sense, but sometimes the questions do.
So I'm interested in ensuring that people who come and ask questions where it's appropriate that those questions receive some answers, that we endeavour to do so in an endorsed or formalized way."
Towards how Senior staff view the public comment period and how it operate, City Manager Robert Buchan observed that the period is not to be considered a Question and Answer period.
"My first I guess observation on that is that section of the agenda is for public comments it's not a Question and Answer period. That doesn't mean that we don't take note of matters that we can follow up with and do so judiciously.
It's really an opportunity for people to speak to council before Council deals with the item and share their views, that's the intent. But, you know, sometimes within comments there are questions and where appropriate we try to follow up"
Mayor Herb Pond also offered up a short observation of how he views the community engagement process when it comes to the access to Council theme.
"I want to echo what Doctor Buchan said, you know the intention of putting that on the agenda and it's even stated, it's a public comment time.
So that, you know, if you're opposed or you've got a concern around a particular thing that council is discussing you can let Council know that before the decision is made.
We work pretty hard actually to build an agenda where there aren't sort of gotcha questions ... nobody looks good when questions can't be answered immediately. We would love, if we know in advance that something is going to be asked, that we can come very well prepared and inform the public.
And so what I would like to think, and I think it's been talked about, but you know the developing of some kind of Frequently Asked Questions. Where some of these, rather than just having it answered once and then answered again when the next person has the question.
Is it should just go onto the website as a building reservoir of: yeah, we've answered that and here's the answer right and we can be referring people to that"
The full exchange around the council chamber took place at the one hour, seven minute portion of the council session.
As Councillor Adey noted, some of the past exchanges between the public and Council have become somewhat animated, with the city's process of notification in some instances found wanting by residents.
Forum for community participation in Council sessions shows a few area for improved communication
East Side residents find frustration from City's process of information sharing on Apartment plans
At one session, resident Terry Sawka had posed a number of questions in the public forum related to the City's Statement of Financial Income report of June, which city staff indicated would be answered through an update by correspondence.
"I myself have noted the questions, as I'm quite certain our CFO has as well. And we will, someone will get back, likely Ms. Bomben, will get back to Mr. Sawka with those answers" -- City of Prince Rupert Corporate Administrator Rosa Miller at the June 26th Council session
A wider answer for the public to those enquiries however, has yet to be posted to any civic information option.
More notes related to the July 24th Council session can be reviewed here.
Some of those past engagements between the public and Council members can be explored further from our Council Discussion archive page.
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