To have improved consultation the mayor and council needs to use the receptors, ears, that function connected to a brain, that will fairly process ideas other than their own.
How many citizens and groups have tried to generate a dialog at council meetings, through emails, letters and petitions only to have the door slammed in their faces? The list is long.
What happened to the petition against revitalization of Main Street sent by some Main Street merchants? What happened to the concerns of the other stakeholders, dismissed until they could no longer be ignored?
Long delays or no answers to questions asked about questionable dealings is the norm.
The park committee’s mandate is so rigid no non-conforming idea will ever seep in.
Ignored and dismissed is rubber stamping, that is councils doing.
An informed decision can only be made when all points of view are considered.
The done deal announcements offered by this mayor and council needs to be replaced with actual consultation, only they can change that.
They could try listening at well advertised, public meetings that happen before they vote.
Try Brown Bag Lunches for face-to-face meetings or Detroit soup style meetings — before the vote.
Offer a “before I die I wish” board at City Hall so people can publicly display their wish list.
Remove all interior doors at City Hall and remember this is a democracy.
In 2016 there are more ways to communicate with one another than at any other time in history. The mayor’s weekly excuses are not valid.
Lynn Crassweller
Penticton