MEETINGS NEED A TRIM

Calgary is notable for many things, but we should not be proud of being home to the longest city council meetings in Canada. In a rare rebuke of his political masters, city manager Jeff Fielding said council meetings are not being chaired effectively, suggesting an assigned chair would bring more order to deliberations. Mayor Naheed Nenshi currently chairs council meetings, and if he’s away for some reason, the councillor serving as deputy mayor steps in.

“You’ve got to streamline your process,” Fielding told councillors last week during a task force meeting looking at scheduling. “You either change it, or you get someone who’s going to be a little tougher in chairing the meetings.”

Fielding has worked in senior positions in cities across Canada and said he’s never seen another group of politicians hold meetings that “go as long” as those of Calgary city council.

Nenshi is the mayor, so it falls to him to put a stop to the dysfunction. He can either choose to exercise greater control, which is our preference, or hand off the task to one of the councillors through a balloted vote, with the understanding the person will ensure there’s greater discipline.

City council meets two or three times a month on Mondays. The meetings start at 9:30 a.m., and it’s not unusual for them to extend into the evening and then carry on again Tuesday, or sometimes even Wednesday.

“I don’t get it,” Fielding told the councillors. “What I’m trying to get across is that I’m paying a huge amount of money in overtime.”

So the result isn’t simply that elected officials have to put in a long day — there’s a financial cost to be paid for all the high-priced help that is required to be present to provide advice and clarification as meetings drag on and on.

Fielding added that when council meetings move in-camera, where conversations occur behind closed doors, the troubles continue.

“You need to look at what you’re doing incamera because you get woefully off track,” he told the councillors. “There’s no agenda control once you’re in.”

That’s worrisome, because in-camera discussions are supposed to be limited to land negotiations and matters related to personnel or litigation.

Calgarians expect city business to be conducted in the open, not in private.

Every council member shares responsibility for the fact meetings have devolved to the point Fielding felt compelled to say something. Nenshi should establish a tone that leads to shorter, more efficient meetings. The rest of council should do their part to ensure better governance.