A resident asked, and council agreed – question period is coming back.
That resident was Dave Hodges, who appeared before council to request a change to the meetings. He wanted to bring back question period to council meetings, and council thought that was a fine idea.
Hodges request was inspired by an earlier meeting in May. Many residents filed into council chambers to voice their thoughts on rising building fees. The meeting went a little haywire, as folks weren’t allowed to speak as nobody was listed as a delegate destined to present that evening.
To speak before Bonfield’s council, one must reach out to the clerk and request to be placed on the agenda. You’ll be considered a delegate and given around 10 minutes to say your piece. But now, inspired by that last meeting, council has plans to bring back public questions at the end of the meeting.
See: Residents revolt against Bonfield’s building fees
“I believe it will give the people of Bonfield a better voice,” Hodges said, “and for you to understand where everybody is coming from.” He emphasized that within Bonfield, there are many seniors, and many residents don’t have the most reliable internet, so navigating the township’s website to discover how to sign up to present to council can be an obstacle.
Allowing people to ask questions directly after a meeting allows that “better voice” Hodges referred to, and “the town would run better and people would have the answers that we’re looking for.” People “need to be heard” and their opinions “need to be taken into account.”
Councillors and Mayor Narry Paquette agreed. She noted that when she was mayor in 2007, “I brought forward the question-and-answer period.” Somewhere over the years that procedure was changed, and there were about nine years without a public question period.
Nobody mentioned they had a problem with the procedure, and council carried on assuming “everybody was happy with it,” Mayor Paquette said. However, the previous council meeting suggested many were no longer happy with the procedures governing who could speak when, and that the time was nigh for change.
Mayor Paquette emphasized that council is always willing to discuss issues with residents and felt it a good idea to bring back a formal question period.
“We have an excellent community here,” Paquette said, “a wonderful community, and I have no problem at all with what you’re requesting.
Council concurred. The next step is to draw up a proposal to see how the new question period will work, for example how long a person can speak. Once drafted, council will add that to the procedures and Bonfield residents will have another way to voice their concerns.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.