Now that Westshore councils are picking up momentum, it seemed like a good time for a friendly competition. Most councils have stated they want more public engagement, so let’s have a look at how easy they make it for the public to engage.
Each Westshore council meets twice a month, mostly Monday evenings. Their agendas are posted a few days in advance. According to provincial rules, municipalities allow public participation in the beginning of their meetings, but comments are limited to whatever is on the agenda—it’s not an open town hall. And, any item on the agenda that has already had a public hearing cannot be commented on. These rules are straightforward for people who watch councils closely, but I’d safely bet we’re a minority.
All over the Westshore, politicians are looking for ways to meaningfully engage with the public. Not easy considering rules municipalities follow, staffing constraints, and general lack of attention most people pay to local government.
Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson wants to see dozens more people attending public meetings simply because they’re interested in what’s going on. To that end he’s planning to renovate council chambers to increase the capacity for viewers. In Sooke, Mayor Maja Tait has put all cards on the table to get people to talk to council.
“We interfere with and upset everybody—uh, routinely. And yet we saw low voter turnout,” she said at the last council meeting.
One way to engage is simply making council meetings easy to watch and understand. So The Westshore came up with a scoring grid to compare each council’s meeting accessibility.
Highlands — last place, but also first?
Highlands council meets at 7pm on the first and third Monday of each month.
Fifth place: Metchosin
Meets at 7pm on the second and fourth Mondays, and is usually well attended by engaged citizens.
Fourth place: Sooke
Sooke council meets on every second and third Monday at 7pm. They used to meet on Tuesdays, but Mayor Maja Tait has declared every future Monday “Municipal Monday” in Sooke, in an effort to keep Mondays on people’s calendars and keep them coming back. Every Monday something will happen, whether a council meeting, committee of the whole, or a casual coffee meet-up.
Third place: View Royal
View Royal council meets on the first and third Tuesdays at 7pm.****
Second place: Langford
Langford council meets every first and third Monday at 7pm. Public is welcome to attend. There is a capacity limit of 45 people in the audience, but Mayor Scott Goodmanson is hoping to expand it significantly with a renovation.
First place: Colwood
Our winning council meets every second and fourth Monday at 6:30pm. The thing that put Colwood over the top is how clear their video recordings are: speakers are clearly visible, the audio is clear, and the videos are posted right away for the benefit of anyone not able to watch live.