Just as winter follows autumn, property assessment notices are followed by local government budgeting and big council decisions on tax increases.
Those big decisions, by law and custom, are made in open public meetings.
Gibsons council held its first budget meeting Jan. 22 and I was the only person there who didn’t work for the Town – a fact that did not go unnoticed by Mayor Bill Beamish.
In what he described as “a little rant,” he talked about meeting with some residents and trying to convince them of the importance of showing up because these are important decisions and being there to watch how council comes to those decisions leads to a better understanding of them.
Beamish also said he wasn’t sure what could be done to get people out to meetings.
The fact the meeting was at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday probably has something to do with it. Sechelt and the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) also hold their budget meetings on weekday afternoons.
My scheme to have local governments hold budget meetings on weekends with food, entertainment and daycare for the wee ones is, sadly, unrealistic so I’ll just have to join Mayor Beamish in making a pitch for getting out to see your elected representatives in action as they decide how big your tax bill will be this year.
One solution Sechelt has been at the forefront of here on the Coast is live streaming meetings over the Internet and posting the videos for people to binge watch afterwards. Gibsons and the SCRD are getting on board this year.
It’s a great idea and I’m a big fan. Sometimes the commitments of my job mean I can’t get to a meeting and have to catch up afterwards, but it’s a poor second best to being there.
I’m also a big fan of my iPod, but there’s a reason vinyl records are making a comeback – especially if you’ve got a vintage analogue amp to hook your turntable to.
The analogue experience has a lot going for it.
In the context of council budget meetings, which every taxpayer should try to attend at least once in their lives, being there is worth the effort. You can look your elected reps in the eye. You can ask questions or hear the answers to other people’s questions. Sechelt’s meeting live stream cuts off when the public Q&A starts, so you literally have to be there.
Reporters go into any council meeting, but especially ones on the budget, with the idea that we’re there to be the eyes and ears of the people who can’t be there. On the days I’m doing my job well, my stories are an accurate picture of how council came to its decisions.
I also recognize that reading a council story in the newspaper is a bit like reading a sports writer’s coverage of the big game. It’s really good, but it’s not the same as being there which is why, like Mayor Beamish, I’m sometimes surprised to be the only one at a council meeting.
