Despite municipalities restricting taxpayers from codes of conduct
Some local politicians lack trust and are terrified of the pesky public making complaints about councils under newly minted codes of conduct.
Instead of mandating a standardized code of conduct for 161 municipal councils and 28 regional district boards in BC, the province drafted an optional model. In its infinite wisdom that effectively left everyone to come up with their own version.
As a result, there’s a lack of uniformity across BC, and frankly, a dog’s breakfast of regulations on how to file a complaint, what penalty the mayor or councillor might suffer, how the complaint is adjudicated, and so on.
To the dismay of residents, most jurisdictions in the region including Saanich and Victoria decided residents were ineligible to complain. The CRD is also likely to implement a similar approach in its code of conduct.
By restricting complaints to in-house, an opportunity was lost to enhance public confidence and trust.
So how do we hold our elected local representatives to account prior to the next election and ensure they’re fulfilling their responsibilities and meeting our individual needs?
Fortunately, there are other ways and approaches:
Mine insider knowledge – Query ‘Guide for Municipal Council Members and Regional Directors in BC’ for a legal summation about municipal government prepared by local lawyers.
Approach with civility — It’s a very difficult job running a municipality with ever-increasing demands, costs and complexity. There’s instances of rude, even criminal, behaviour — especially through social media — where residents have crossed the line. If your issue is to be solved, it simply must be approached dispassionately with as much civility as you can muster. At the end of the day, it’s true “we are all in this together.”
Do your homework — If you want to win your issue, build your argument and consider aligning yourself with reputable and supportive organizations. Collect city hall documents, photos, media reports and audio tapes, court documents and so on. Conflicts are often a result of incomplete information or misinformation.
Keep personalities out of it — It’s not easy to like or love politicians sometimes, but things generally go smoother if personalities are kept out of it. The best bet is to behave in a strictly businesslike fashion. While you are essentially their employer, they may be paid little and some log long hours in your service.
Send a delegation to council — You have the right to address and appeal your issue to council. It is fairly painless — you will have a few minutes — but again, bring your homework and documentation. You or your delegation now have the issue on public record, which might interest the media.
Talk to the media — If there’s no progress and you’ve reached a dead end, gather your homework and evidence and talk to a reporter. If you have a legitimate issue of interest to the public, they might bring it to light or even champion the issue. Don’t underestimate writing to the editor; the letters section is one of the best-read parts of the newspaper and can be quite influential.
Petition council — If there’s a pattern of bungling and inaction by an MLA, voters have the power of recall. Not so for municipal politicians, but you can petition council on an issue. The chief administrative officer or city clerk will advise as to how to go about it.
File a freedom-of-information request — While sometimes abused by the public and the government, by and large, freedom-of-information legislation has improved the ability of the public to gain access to documents. It’s easily done and usually at little if any cost, but it can be time-consuming and might come to nothing. Potentially, it is an option to help fight city hall.
Appeal to the ombudsperson — If you think you have been wronged or mistreated
by your local government, the provincial ombudsperson might take on your case. If the issue is resolved, you have the added satisfaction of making a change that will impact the system itself. Unfortunately, the ombudsperson might rule in your favor but has no power to force a resolution.
Launch a lawsuit — Depending on the issue and circumstances, a lawsuit might be in order. A lawyer, of course, would best advise you on whether your case has merit, the odds of winning and the costs. It’s a time-consuming, pricey option that shouldn’t be entered into lightly.
Launch a class action — Again, if all else fails, there’s an ability to collectively sue the local government. The powers and responsibilities of municipalities and districts and their elected officials are detailed at length in the Local Government Act and Community Charter. Again, this option is complicated, expensive, time-consuming and may come to naught.
So, you certainly can hold your council to account despite being locked out of the code of conduct. It will take the right frame of mind, documentation, patience and civility.
It may just take a sit-down for coffee with your mayor or councillor or CRD director. And that should include discussing trust issues between local politicians and residents.