Prince George City Council discussed three resolutions to potentially forward to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) for advocacy at last night’s (Monday) meeting.
The first resolution came from Mayor Simon Yu, which would have UBCM petition to province to finalize agreements with municipalities in BC to have a funding model in place to compensate local governments for providing emergency medical services and pre-hospital care through fire and rescue services.
According to a report from Yu, this could include costs for medical supplies and training.
“We need to get a little bit more funding from the provincial government to deal with this particular area, whether it’s the fire service or if it’s emergency,” he said.
A similar resolution was forwarded to UBCM by Prince George City Council in 2023, and was also endorsed by UBCM.
However, according to Yu’s report, “the provincial response emphasized the voluntary nature of the agreements between BCEHS and the municipality, advising that costs may be managed by scaling back participation in lifesaving emergency medical services and pre-hospital care by fire and rescue services.”
Council approved the resolution.
The second resolution City Council discussed came as a notice of motion from Councillors Trudy Klassen and Brian Skakun.
The resolution presented would have UBCM call on the provincial government to amend the Community Charter to allow termination of a municipal officer by a simple majority vote of council members present, with notice and opportunity to be heard.
Currently, a two-thirds majority is required to terminate a municipal officer.
“Talking to colleagues around the province, and we talk about the super majority, when it comes to removing an officer in local government, some of the debate that’s come up is that just a regular, simple majority applies to loan authorization bylaws, huge ticket items within our budget,” he said.
“Most of the things we do are a simple majority, except things like amending the agenda late, and having the majority to have something added. All it is is about democracy, and a super majority I don’t think should apply for such an important position.”
The notice of motion also asks that UBCM urges the provincial government to amend the Community Charter to extend the suspension review period of a municipal officer to the third meeting after suspension, with notice and opportunity to be heard.
“If there is an issue, and there is a suspension, two weeks is not enough turn around time for a Mayor to bring a report to Council, and two weeks is not enough time for a CAO if their job is challenged to possibly prepare to come to Council and deal with that,” Skakun added.
Skakun said this wasn’t about Prince George’s CAO or the CAO in any other community, it was just about the whole process and being democratic.
“I think the thing I’m struggling with, is that I view this type of decision as perhaps the biggest decision that a Council could make,” said Councillor Cori Ramsay.
“I think for me, having that higher threshold of a super majority makes sense to have it there, because in that super majority, it’s not just about the Council members present, but all Council members.”
Ramsay added if it was changed to just a simple majority of Council members present, the decision could be made by three Councillors if only five were present.
“If there’s only five Council members present, and a motion like this is brought forward, then three members of Council can make such a drastic decision that can have significant consequences for the City,” she said.
Klassen said it wouldn’t shift to the minority, saying that Councillors rarely miss meetings because they can attend virtually now.
“I really see this as voting for each of our members of Council, being able to properly represent their voters,” Klassen said.
“Our residents elect us to govern, and our votes are almost always a majority vote, and this is a vote for our role, and to keep our promises to our residents.”
Klassen added if Council had this, it would create “the incentive for Council and the Municipal Officers to work together much more than the current structure.”
Councillor Ron Polillo said he was opposed to the resolution, and that he felt it wouldn’t garner much support from UBCM.
The resolution was defeated.
The final resolution came from the City’s Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, calling on UBCM to petition the province to declare gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking an epidemic in British Columbia and update BC’s Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.
This resolution was passed.
The Union of BC Municipalities Convention will take place in September in Victoria.
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