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Council spars over changes to email inquiries

Aug 19, 2017 | 11:00 AM

A new policy should streamline the process for members to receive answers about concerns from the city but not everyone agrees on how it will come about.

Addressing the issue of city staff bogged down by a heavy influx email inquiries, six recommendations stemming from a management meeting came forward at councils latest council meeting.

Of the recommendations, the one which drew the brunt of criticism pertained to inquiries from councillors who submit questions on behalf of residents. 

“It is important that we don’t tie up our staff which we have been, so they can do their jobs,” Mayor Greg Dionne said.

Currently, these emails go directly to the city managers office, which in turn send a response to every council member to keep them up to date. 

For instance, Dionne said if the city receives 10 inquiries about long grass and weeds, they would all be directed to the city manager, sorted by staff and the response sent out. 

 “Some days, we did not have access to the secretaries because they were responding to all the inquiries we had,” he added.

Dionne made note how all questions and concerns from residents should be directed to the “report a problem” web page currently established for these complaints where they are tracked and queued, not through to the city manager. The new proposal would be to inform senders their question about city services was directed that way and will be dealt with accordingly.

Dionne said councillors who submit concerns for particular residents were trying to “skip the queue,’ adding the new proposal would “not only speed up the responses but free up our staff to do the regular duties.”

The new design will see all information inquiries “related to projects, processes or directions of the city” from council members directed his way. The mayor will become the point man, review the inquiry and forward it down to the city manager “if a response is required” before one is handed out.

But Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp believed the proposals were seemingly undemocratic and launched into an unsettled debate saying she did not “think it is responsible governance for us as councillors to vote in restrictions on information that we can receive.”

“I don’t think it is being responsible to our constituents who have voted us in,” she added. “I hope we think long and hard about what that means.”

Lennox-Zepp argued the city manager can already screen responses and suggested alternative matters to assist in response times, like narrowing who the responce is syphoned back to, but was adamant in always keeping the city managers office as the initial point of contact.

Coun. Charlene Miller was similarly opposed, saying the move “was another step in a process where we are being hindered in doing our jobs as city councillors.”

However, Coun. Ted Zurakowski said the premise of Lennox-Zepp’s concerns were “either misunderstood or incorrect.” 

He said the issue pertained more so to appropriate replies and streamlining the process not members dealing with to many email responces. He also hinted how some answers relayed back from members could pull the city into legal issues.

“Some of the answers have been, and the questions, frankly, could put the corporation at risk,” Zurakowski said. “I think what the mayor’s office does is put a political lens on that so that it can be vetted out. I think that is an important part of the process.”

It was also concluded the mayor was more equipped to stand at the end of the public spear should the reply to a question not be satisfactory and better grapple with public pressure. Members further believed city staff were put into an uncomfortable position when forced to say no to particular requests for information from counicl.

Others questioned why certain inquiries were submitted in the first place. They believed some members could have gotten the answer by themselves and did not need to tie up staff. 

Despite the pushback, the motion passed in the end with Miller and Lennox-Zepp opposed.

 

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr