Missed Meeting Fireworks
- kc dyer
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Councillors threatened with financial sanctions
In the second of two scheduled meetings held Monday night, Lions Bay Mayor Ken Berry lashed out at Council members for what he called "deeply concerning" absenteeism.
In a report addressing attendance at public meetings, Berry recommended that Councillors agree to adhere to the "spirit of the legislation and attend duly called Special Meetings to focus on the important business of the community" and that Council members’ renumeration be reduced on a pro-rata basis for any Special Meetings where they fail to show up.
In response, Councillor Neville Abbott said including such divisive items on the agenda “for purely political reasons” was a disservice to the Village, adding that there is no valid legal basis for the remuneration deduction beyond an attempt to make a political statement.
During the often fiery discussion that followed, Berry slammed a stack of emails onto the table that he said were evidence of Councillors deliberately not attending meetings, and said he wanted them read into the record.
Abbott, who was interrupted by the Mayor and Councillor Michael Broughton multiple times during his statement, and said that many of the special meetings in question were called without sufficient supporting information. "The agenda must include a description of the items to be discussed and preferably a report on each item. This is frequently not included or the Mayor refuses to inform Council what is up for discussion. This is neither transparent, respectful or collaborative and is not in keeping with the bylaw or in some instances the Community Charter."
When asked about the propriety of the Mayor's motion by Councillor Ron McLaughlin, Chief Administrative Officer Blackwell confirmed that while it is both good practice and good governance that councillors attend all possible meetings, the statute and Council Procedures Bylaw both give latitude to councillors to make the decision to attend.
"The reason a councillor doesn't attend a meeting is their own," he said. "You don't have to explain, and you should not be judged. It should not be addressed publicly."
Speaking to the visibly angry and upset Council members, Blackwell suggested that as CAO, he is there to help, but that the group have not put his services to good use.
When it came time to vote, the Mayor withdrew the second part of his motion, after being informed that there was no legal basis to fine members of Council.
The motion was defeated.
In other matters Monday night, Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell advised Council of a confirmed funding allocation of nearly $156,000 from the Ministry of Housing to support municipal implementation of recent provincial housing legislation (page 4). He suggested the funds be directed toward undertaking a comprehensive Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw modernization initiative in 2026.
Noting that "public consultation is the lifeblood of an OCP," Blackwell added that an updated and current OCP and zoning bylaw are the most critical documents to the running of a community.
Blackwell later clarified that staff will seek a consultant with the expectation they will employ a range of engagement techniques (focus groups, open houses, conversation cafes, etc.) to involve the community in the OCP process.
After discussion, it was decided that staff would use the funding to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to begin the process of updating the OCP and Zoning Bylaw, and would return to Council with the list of respondents to the RFP before a decision is made.
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The agenda item drawing attention to council meeting attendance records and the suggestion that a member’s salary be reduced for non-attendance, appears to be purely performative and political.
Thanks to the contribution made by CAO Blackwell, a degree of reality prevailed in the discussion.
From my experience on council, I can state unequivocally that the amount of time spent attending council meetings is vastly overshadowed by the considerable time reading and digesting the often lengthy and detailed agendas, researching the items to be considered at meetings, fielding phone calls from constituents, performing fiduciary duties, etc.
The community would benefit from improved leadership and greater efforts made to increase cooperation in order to serve ALL the members of…
The OCP update is critical and long overdue. It no longer fully reflects the voice of the community in the current context of badly needed infrastructure resilience, housing density, our relationship with our natural setting, aging trees and views, friendly neighbor bylaws and modernization in general. Councils mandate is fundamentally managing our common property in a equitable, sustainable, and affordable manner.
I watched this meeting, where does one start.. What is crystal clear here is that it is the last leg of his time as Mayor with little to show for it other than micromanaging, threatening and elementary school bully behaviour. Even with the resignation of two councillors nothing has changed. He has done this to himself and now resorting to "bullying and politicking from the podium". The blame game is all he knows so at least he's consistent.
Please people, read the Bylaw - calling meetings REQUIRES 24 hours notice and a complete agenda so all councillors can finagle their schedules if they can. If you call a meeting with three weeks notice - WITHOUT an agenda and you do…