“Point of order.”
Words said to Mayor Debbie Baich by Councillor Dave Auld during a tense exchange between the two at the May 7 town council meeting.
“Thank you, Councillor Auld for giving me permission to speak while I’m chairing the meeting,” came a sharp response from the mayor during a back-and-forth just over two hours into the meeting.
Readers can see the exchange in the video below:
In response to questions from 94.5 Rewind Radio News, Rocky Mountain House town councillors are in agreement that recent meetings have been tense and lacking an acceptable level of professionalism.
Along with the view that recent exchanges are a possible breach of the town council Code of Conduct, Auld says he’s dismayed by frequent displays of unbecoming behaviour.
“It definitely seems that every meeting, there’s displays of unprofessionalism from members of council, myself included,” says Auld. “We all have a job to do, but it seems to be a standard occurrence where we delve into being unprofessional.”
According to the Town’s Code of Conduct Bylaw, members shall:
4.1(c) conduct themselves in a professional manner with dignity and make every effort to participate diligently in the meetings of Council, committees of Council and other bodies to which they are appointed by Council;
8.1 4.1. Members shall act in a manner that demonstrates fairness, respect for individual differences and opinions, and an intention to work together for the common good and in furtherance of the public interest.
Councillor Len Phillips also stated the May 7 meeting fell short of an expected level of professionalism, but declined to say anything further.
In an emailed statement to 94.5 Rewind Radio News, Mayor Debbie Baich took some responsibility.
“The (May 7) meeting was not to my level of professionalism, and I hope as a council, we can move forward to best serve our citizens.”
Auld says the conduct is recurring and has been for some time.
“It’s definitely outside of the norm,” says Auld. “People are now starting to bring very personal feelings and history into the meetings. It’s not just debate anymore, it’s definitely progressed past that.”
Despite the tensions, both Baich and Auld feel that administration has been effective in introducing important initiatives for the community.
Baich points to tourism initiatives such as Discover Rocky, economic development like the expanded Storefront Improvement Program, and international partnerships including the 40th anniversary of the town’s twin municipality, Kamikawa, Japan.
Auld says his hope is council can move past previous incidents, but in the meantime, he believes the conduct is hampering progress.
“I believe the relationships in council have had a negative effect on how we conduct our meetings,” says Auld. “It’s tough for council to make good, solid progress when we seem to be hindered on a continual basis by negativity in council chambers.”
94.5 Rewind Radio also reached out to councillor Tina Hutchinson and CAO Dean Krause for comment on this story, but they declined.
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