Mississauga Musings

Accountability vs. power at city hall

While Mayor David Miller preaches 'transparency,' some councillors complain increasing secrecy is shutting them out

April 20, 2008
JIM BYERS
VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU

Mayor David Miller campaigned on the theme of making city hall more open and accountable.

But current trends have some observers wondering just where his mayoralty is headed.

The leader who once talked of transparency is now pushing for the power to hold secret meetings of the increasingly powerful executive committee, while other committees in which the nitty-gritty work is traditionally done are finding less and less to do.

Miller has talked of Toronto becoming the greenest city in North America. But a meeting of city council's parks and the environment committee was cancelled this past week, apparently for lack of a substantive agenda. He's talked about improving the lives of downtrodden citizens, but Monday's community services and housing committee was cancelled.

And councillors who often find themselves in opposition to Miller's positions say they're increasingly shut out of debates at city meetings and that the voices of the taxpayers they represent are no longer being heard.

"The meetings are so much shorter," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, who often locks horns with the mayor. "Check out the parking garage; it's empty most days. Nobody's here." That, he said, has nothing to do with councillors switching en masse to the TTC.

"I've never seen the schedule this light," said long-time council member Case Ootes. "Given the issues the city faces, it seems quite unusual." Ootes said the executive committee, which Miller controls, is increasingly taking over day-to-day activities.

Deputy mayor Joe Pantalone explained that over the past few years, council has been deliberately focusing on bigger issues, leaving the small stuff to staff and the four community councils.

"There's no doubt the executive is behaving more like a cabinet. But it's what people have been saying we should do, including the mayor's blue-ribbon panel (that reviewed city operations). You can't run a government the size of most provinces the way you would a small village."

Pantalone said several municipal governance experts have suggested the executive committee should be allowed to meet privately.

So how does that jibe with Miller's "open and transparent" platform?

"Open and transparent doesn't mean we have to be inefficient and confused in our decision-making," Pantalone said.

He cited as an example the problem of dealing with solid waste.

"Historically, that has escaped a solution because people talk about all sorts of things that are contradictory; incineration versus landfill versus energy-from-waste versus conservation.

"You need to understand issues like that. They're very complex. It would be better to discuss those issues in private.

"The executive is not supposed to be a debating society, it's supposed to formulate fruitful policies."

The February report of the mayor's panel said the city needs to do a better job of managing its vast real estate portfolio. Councillors traditionally have received quarterly updates on surplus property sales, but a committee this week quietly voted to reduce that to twice a year.

Miller's critics complain that even when committees meet they cannot make their voices heard.

Councillor Karen Stintz was chastised at a recent meeting of the planning and growth management committee for pressing the TTC for financial details on the subway extension. Committee chair Adam Vaughan told Stintz she couldn't ask questions of that nature in the committee – only questions related to planning and growth matters.

A frustrated Stintz, who's not a Miller backer, pointed out that planning and growth is the only committee she's been able to finagle a spot on in five years at city hall.

"I actually followed all the procedures to enable me to engage in this discussion," she said later. "And yet there was an attempt to shut me down because I was outside my purview. When in fact it's the only committee where I have any privilege; it's the only committee where I can ask questions as a sitting member."

During a budget debate, Stintz wanted to bring forward a motion on a new way of budgeting. Speaker Sandra Bussin said Stintz had to go to executive committee to do that – which meant finding a sponsor for the motion. Norm Kelly agreed to do it, but was persuaded by the mayor not to, Stintz said.

Ootes pointed out that Councillor Rob Ford tried during the budget debate to bring forward a motion to reduce councillors' office budgets, but also was ruled out of order.

"There's no consistency," he said. "When I chaired council meetings (under former mayor Mel Lastman) I always applied the rules evenly. The rules have to be applied to protect the minority."

Pantalone said right-wingers on council are having trouble adjusting to the new way of doing things.

"Everybody out there says we have to be more focused and efficient. But that's completely different than shutting people down. There's no intent and I don't believe anybody's doing that."

Pantalone said some left-leaning councillors felt left out when Lastman wore the chain of office.

As for putting forward motions for Stintz or other councillors, Pantalone makes no apologies. "If I don't agree with someone, why would I take carriage of their motion?"

Stintz said the situation at city hall, more than ever, is that you're either on Miller's team or frozen outside the circle.

"If this is the direction the city wants to take, it really begs the question: Do we need 44 councillors plus the mayor? Because if the executive and the mayor are going to make all these decisions on their own, then you don't need elected representatives. Just a mayor ... and his friends, and away you go. But if you hold true to the principle that representative democracy includes the electing of local representatives, then you need to have meaningful roles for those people."

Asked if she feels she can effectively represent her residents under the current regime, Stintz paused.

"It's certainly more challenging," she said.

[Ed: Thanks to "Anonymous and Courtesy TORONTO STAR]

They’ve must have reinvented the new ESL “English as the Success Language” classes because I’ve campared my old Clarkson High School dictionary with an updated Funk & Wagnalls and they still both quote the same thing.

“Volunteers” and “Free Will” workers do the same thing.

These $314 a day Maplehurst Superjail inmates don’t resemble any thing like there was an intention to upload provincial clean up road gang crews that Peel’s built and planned their Ministry of Corrections housing units around.

Notably, Mrs McCallion's Quality Continuing Improvement Centre’s missing from Daniel Ho’s background shot and the Benson and Hedges that wont let Hazel's Unauthorized Solution cigarette butts go away?

http://www.mississauga.com/article/13270