In a surprise move at Sechelt council, the mayor's red tape reduction advisory committee was resurrected and approved on Sept. 21.
The committee was voted down at the Sept. 7 council meeting in a tie vote between councillors Fred Taylor, Warren Allan and Alice Janisch who were against, and Ann Kershaw, Alice Lutes and Mayor Darren Inkster who were in favour. Council rules state that in a tie vote the motion is defeated.
Coun. Keith Thirkell was absent from the Sept. 7 vote, but he surprised everyone by bringing the committee recommendation back for discussion Sept. 21 after experiencing what he called a "red tape issue."
"I had a recent experience with red tape in the District of Sechelt that was mind boggling," Thirkell said.
He said a building permit he expected to pay $900 for, came with a $2,400 price tag.
While Janisch noted she didn't think Thirkell's surprise bill could be called a red tape issue, Kershaw, who is a supporter of the committee, was quick to draw the parallel.
"Well I'd just like to say that the task force thought it would be very important for people like you to have a place to come and state their case and be listened to and find out either they misunderstood or communication wasn't right or that things could have been improved to make things work better, but the rest of council didn't see it that way," said Kershaw.
Thirkell then said he would be willing to look at the motion again.
"I was never adamantly opposed to the idea, but I wanted further clarification out of the task force," he said. "To me I think it's important to have that discussion at some time and if that came back to council I would look at it personally because it was the extra $500 in permit fees that were nowhere in our discussions last year when we raised our fees. Basically the minimum permit is about $2,400 not $900."
Kershaw decided to reintroduce the motion, with some amended wording around having the committee established for one year pending financial considerations.
Taylor then strung up some red tape of his own by calling the move out of order. He said it was a reconsideration of a previous motion and therefore needed a two-thirds majority vote to be passed. But staff disagreed.
"That's not what I hear has happened. A resolution's been moved and if it gets seconded it's not the same as bringing forward this exact same recommendation," said director of corporate services Jo-Anne Frank.
Some on council didn't agree with Frank's advice, however.
"The wording may be different, but I have to agree with Coun. Taylor. What I'm hearing is an attempt to do a messy end run around a defeated motion" Allan said.
Taylor echoed those sentiments and noted he felt "we've had poor guidance on this issue."
Thirkell said he was not trying to do anything shady by bringing up the committee recommendation again.
"I wasn't trying to create an end run around anyone," said Thirkell. "This isn't a major rezoning development application where some people benefit financially in the six or seven figures range. To me I see something like this as a service delivery review or an operations audit as to where could we make room for improvements."
But after hearing his fellow councillors' concerns Thirkell backtracked.
"In terms of the linear approach, I won't necessarily support that motion for that term a 'red tape reduction task force' at this time, but I would be willing to make a motion that staff look at in conjunction with the group that you worked with some form of service delivery review, a development service delivery review," Thirkell said.
Inkster was unsure where to go with the motion on the floor to start a red tape reduction committee.
"Coun. Thirkell I know what you're saying, but this would have moved us in that direction. Now I don't know where we're going. If this gets defeated I don't know where we go from there," Inkster said.
When the vote was called Taylor, Allan and Janisch were opposed to the committee while Inkster, Kershaw and Lutes were in favour. Thirkell did not raise his hand to vote and by abstaining was counted as in favour.
When asked which way he voted Thirkell said, "I didn't vote against it."
