The issue of council’s size was brought to the attention of the public several months ago, and last week it was discussed in council chambers.
Coun. Keith Hern brought forth a resolution to repeal Bylaw 977, which would reduce the size of Town Council from six councillors to four.
The bylaw was passed in 1996, and increased the size of council from four to six. Repealing it would revert council back to four members.
The primary reason for the proposal was to save the Town some money. Hern calculated the savings at an average of $29,148 per year.
Coun. Ron Oszust seconded the motion, bringing the discussion to the floor, even though he was not in favour of the motion.
“I think it’s a worthwhile discussion to have,” he said.
Oszust voted against the proposal because he believes the diversity that six members bring to council is worth the cost, and allows for better decisions and better representation.
Hern looked into 74 B.C. municipalities with a population below 5,000. Out of that 74, 52 operated with a mayor and four councillors, while 22 (Golden included) operated with a mayor and six councillors.
“Almost every ex-councillor I talked to was in favour of reducing it,” said Hern.
“I put this out in June…And I didn’t hear any strong enough arguments to not do this. I think this is a move that leads the corporation into trying to reduce its operating expenses.”
Coun. Caleb Moss also voted against the motion, calling it a “one dimensional proposal.”
“There’s a reason why council morphed from four to six,” said Moss. “I’m trying to understand the rationale for wanting to change it.”
Moss looked at what he as a councillor brings to the table, and if it is worth the $11,000 a year he is paid (which based on the time he puts in, he calculated as $3.78 an hour).
“I commit this time because I’m committed to this community… There’s an expectation on council that we have to be involved,” he said.
If two positions were vacated, the workload would have to be spread among the remaining four, which Moss says would be a pretty heavy burden and would limit the number of people who could commit to the position, and eliminate the diversity of council.
“I don’t think that’s healthy for Golden, and I don’t think that’s the direction we should be going,” he said.
Hern included in his proposal a list of former Golden mayors and councillors who were in support of eliminating the two positions from council. Coun. Mike Pecora noted that some of the names on that list were people who upped council to six in the first place, and a few resigned from council before completing their term. Therefore he did not believe their support was a legitimate argument for the proposal.
The motion was defeated, with only Coun. Hern in support.
