A6

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Speak Up

Not all councillors in Saint John are happy with the rules of order they've been asked to follow. Once the novelty wears off, though, the value will become apparent.

You can't manage a city well without sound procedures.

Mayor Norm McFarlane tried to bring order to council sessions with time limits and a stricter interpretation of procedure, but at times the rules seemed to be selectively applied. That may be because the rules are not well understood, even by council's veterans. Mayor Ivan Court recently had to be reminded to surrender the chair before making motions, and Councillor Bill Farren has expressed discontent with rules that limit debate on motions to seek advice from city managers.

Other councillors have observed that the guidelines on when council meetings should end are not consistently followed.

Council's meeting procedures are based on Robert's Rules of Order, a guide that has stood the test of time. Orderly procedures honour important principles, such as the value of waiting for all information to be presented before making decisions, keeping the moderator of a meeting distinct from the participants, and observing time limits to keep the debate focused.

The fact that councillors are finally discussing these issues is positive, as is their decision to start meeting every week.

Since the last municipal election, there have been several occasions when councillors have not been able to deal with all the items on their agenda. Putting off debate on major issues by two weeks, or in some cases for as much as a month, is not good public service, and it is encouraging to see that a majority of councillors are committed to doing better.

City services can be run more efficiently that they are today - and the commitment to order, efficiency and good value for taxpayers must come from the top.