City Notebook: The great committee consolidation of 2020

By Medicine Hat News Opinion on November 28, 2020.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

Lost in the shuffle of a busy council meeting on Nov. 16 was a vote to overhaul a long list of committees and advisory boards that report to council on a variety of topics.

“Overhaul” is defined in this case as collapsing 10 advisory boards made up of community volunteers into one.

Councillor members were quick to note the contributions of the volunteer board members over the years, while implying that boards became hampered in their mandates and the system needed revision.

A rationale says the situation was unwieldy, and major public consultations in recent years, conducted by city departments or the communications staff, had become the norm, rather than open houses held by the advisory boards that have shrunk in stature.

Social media as well, it says, have changed expectations about having a voice heard by city hall.

Interesting points.

Many councillors also said they’d heard loud and clear from board members that they wanted to do more.

Another way of putting it is they’ve been undervalued and underutilized, and now they’ll not exist.

This at a time when governments the world over are struggling to make citizens feel that their voices are heard. It will be interesting to see how the evolving public outreach strategy will perform in a city that shook at the seams during a 2018 transit review, not to mention each and every single public art decision.

These days, the public only gets official wind of these committee’s activities when they come to council with a strategic plan – usually for the specific committee, not some facet of city operations or policy – or to announce their determination of grant applications.

Gone are most groups mandated to advise council’s public services committee on arts and heritage, transit, public art, social development, parks and rec, and heritage resources, as well as advisory groups for youth, seniors and those with disabilities.

A report states that the committees were created on an “ad hoc” basis over time and held a variety of mandates. One group, the historic resources board, uniquely has the legal power to force council to consider legislation.

The Senior’s Advisory Committee was front and centre as the Veiner Centre was rebuilt, but seems to have lost steam.

All members serve voluntarily, and the total outlay from the city is about $70,000 per year, about one-tenth what city hall spends on postage.

They will all be replaced by a single 10-person committee dubbed the “Community Vibrancy Committee,” which is a buzzy buzzword used an awful lot these days. It’s vaguely defined, but often leads back to council’s priority list that also vaguely describes financial prudence, top-notch services at the best price and citizen involvement.

The move also concentrates this responsibility for outreach into the city’s communications department.

A look ahead

Council’s administrative and legislative review committee met Friday to discuss folding new local election rules into the city’s preparations for the 2021 municipal election, which is now 11 months away. The official campaign period begins Jan. 1.

Seven months ago

A return to remote working, far from the dusty newspaper vault at the News office, means material for this section of the column is well out of grasp.

When it was suspended in the spring, we heard from readers about its popularity, and how the 1910s were pretty intriguing. The approaching 1920s appear less so. Quick, name one big thing that happened in that decade before 1929.

Anyway your author is back among the stuffed animals in his daughter’s bedroom, typing away, spilling coffee and jotting notes on the back covers of colouring books.

We all are, in a sense, but calls in November to self isolate and remotely work, seem infinitely more doable than in the spring.

Winter’s approaching icy grip is a negative – it really was a nice summer to spend outdoors.

Health concerns are spiking, but gone is the general and total sense of dread from last April about a never-ending lockdown.

Remember the knots that accompanied trips for groceries or simply seeing someone approach on a sidewalk?

Recall that initial explanation to young ones about birthday parties, trips to grandma’s or why the whole world was being tipped upside down and hit with a stick.

Without all that, the sky seems brighter.

But, that’s for us who have kids to explain to, a job to remotely work away at, the ability to enjoy a chinook, or a doughnut at a drive-thru.

All this stretching into Christmas is the bummer of all bummers, to say the least.

But Christmas is still Christmas, and that means we’ll all have to do what we can to spread the comfort and joy to those in hardship, seniors in isolation and all who are struggling.

Let’s have a safe and merry Christmas heading towards a much happier new year.

Collin Gallant covers city politics and a variety of topics for the News. Reach him at 403-528-5664 or vi email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com