Like an angry parent, Lynda Moffat, St. Albert Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, read the city council the riot act on Monday. She, on behalf of the city’s business community, admonished council as whole for what she described as embarrassing conduct, which she added is taking a negative toll on city businesses and residents. (See the transcript of Moffat’s address on page 3.)
Simply stated, she is right. Her scolding-unruly-children approach to the situation was also apt considering this council’s behaviour. Infighting, block voting, innuendo, sarcasm, poorly-handled expenses, direct verbal abuse and inability to follow proper rules of order have made this council a laughingstock and as Moffat said is threatening our ability to attract business and investment.
If those things were not bad enough, the disregard for community residents and city staff demonstrate that our council needs to start convincing us that they are worthy of the seats they were elected to.
We have members of council who have publicly bullied members of the public for trying to discourage residents from advocating for an issue they believe in – most recently the library expansion.
Jacquie Hansen, the city’s former manager of intergovernmental relations, took a parting swipe at council when she resigned her position earlier this month. Hansen, who is just one of a list of senior-level city staffers who have resigned in recent months, told the Gazette there is a morale issue at city hall and she attributed that to the treatment of staff by city council.
Anyone who watches the meetings regularly will have no problem seeing how some councillors treat city staff with comments laden with sarcasm or are all out abusive. Moffat hit the nail on the head when she said council’s behaviour made it appear as though they are driving personal agendas instead of focusing on the betterment of the community as a whole.
She also criticized council for focusing on small matters and occupying time with issues that take away from bettering the city. The endless rodeo that is city manager Patrick Draper’s defamation court case, which council should never have supported to begin with, is the prime example of a waste of time and taxpayer money.
Moffat was right when she said there are no innocent parties in this mess. Ill feelings run deep on council. Former councilor Gilles Prefontaine’s move from elected official to senior management position with the city led to further divisiveness among council members.
It may still be a long way off, but we would hate to see further embarrassment come to our city with municipal affairs intervening as some have suggested already. It is the mayor’s responsibility as chairman to keep things in control and maintain proper decorum during meetings. The councilors simply need to defer to the chair’s authority and refrain from improper conduct. Moffat should not ever feel forced to address council in this manner.
