Does the City of Vernon Have Too Many Committees?

The contemplated review of the City Vernon’s committee system is to be commended. I understand it is one of the responsibilities of council to assure the mandates of the various advisory committees are being fulfilled by the volunteers who so willing give of their time and several abilities to make Vernon a better place to live and work.

Apparently what has drawn Council’s attention is the sheer number of committees that meet on a regular basis. Perhaps we have too many? Some committees are statutory meaning their existence is mandated by provincial legislation and so council has little room for reducing their demand on staff time and resources. However many of the committees function purely at the behest of Council and are not required by legislation. It with these committees that council may some have room to move. Nevertheless I believe that Council should proceed cautiously.

The present system committees has evolved over the years as past Councils saw the benefit of receiving informed advice on various aspects of making our City a better place to live. The philosophy is simply “two heads are better than one”.

Depending on the changing priorities of staff and elected officials various committees may seem more or less relevant at the moment their continued function is being considered. A case in point may prove instructive.

The City of Vernon used to have a Land Use Advisory Committee which I believe predated the hiring of the current fulltime the real estate position. The purpose of this in camera committee was to offer real estate expertise to Council on proposed land transactions that could involve the city. During the heady days of development leading up to the fall of 2008 it was a very busy committee indeed. Since the recession its activity slowed until the committee met only at the call of the chair and at the specific request of council: sometimes only three times a year: the perception being a committee no Longer useful to the city.

When the writer first became aware of the restructuring deal with Greater Vernon Parks and Recreation involving Vernon giving up is ownership of Kalamalka Beach in what I thought was an inequitable land wasp with the regional district the first question that came to my mind was: did Council get any input from the Vernon Land Use Advisory Committee? I was informed by the Mayor that no input was received or requested because Council had disbanded that committee the previous January. This was unfortunate. Having served on that committee particular committee I am sure there would have been some useful advice available. Who gave the Council any advice on the biggest Vernon land deal of the last decade? Certainly not the committee perfectly suited to advise Council on such a venture because it no longer existed. So Council had unwittingly decided to go it alone forgetting that two heads are better than one. I still have questions about that deal.

I believe that some review of the committees is warranted but as the reader may guess it is with some trepidation I look forward to what this present Council will do to the city’s committee system as it embarks on this task. Do away a committee today and you may well need it tomorrow.

Good city government I believe comes from the collaborative efforts of dedicated staff, informed citizens and elected officials. A robust committee system at City Hall provides the best opportunity for such collaborations to take place.

Cheers,

Shawn Lee a Vernon Taxpayer