Who Really Calls The Shots?
For anyone who actually pays attention to how city hall business is conducted and doesn't just form their opinion on what the local daily prints, you will know things aren't always as they seem.
For example, in my infancy I thought that the Mayor and councillors directed city staff how to best run the city and get the most bang for the buck for the taxpayer. Careful observation for the past three years has put that belief on a par with my faith in the Easter Bunny and Santa.
The Mayor and Council are replaced every three years, and they are charged with determining the competency of senior managers at city hall, esp. the city manager. Since a new council is doing well to find their offices, making a competent decision about staff is ridiculous. Many councillors have nothing in their life experiences to qualify them to make those kind of personnel judgments and most certainly are not qualified to run a $160+ million company. However, that is exactly what our system allows for.
So basically, city hall staff can steer any council in the direction they want them to go. A recent example is the $16 million new staff office instead of no tax increases for 5 years.
Mayor Had No Idea
Demonstrates Leadership??
Yesterday the RCMP distributed copies of bylaw infractions that the Occupy Nanaimo group are guilty of with the occupying of Diana Krall Plaza. The infractions included six different violations of the City of Nanaimo Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 7073. The notice served included the request to take down the tents and shelters and a plea for occupiers to seek shelter at different facilities around town.
After hearing of a potential march on city hall in protest, Mayor Ruttan went to the Plaza to assure the occupiers they were not being evicted and is quoted in the daily as saying:"It's not really our timetable but rather the timetable of the people occupying Diana Krall Plaza."
Who Really Calls The Shots??
The Mayor?? Clearly not, as neither the city manager nor the RCMP thought it important to keep him 'in the loop' when it came to making what would surely be expected to be a controversial decision to ask the occupiers to leave. He is also on record as saying the timetable is entirely in the hands of the protesters. Not really the type of direction I would expect from the Mayor's office.
The City Manager?? In this case it would appear he would be the one whose direction the RCMP were acting upon. But I wonder why the RCMP, since it is a city bylaw matter and we do have city bylaw officers. This action also demonstrates how getting direction from the Mayor or council is of little concern to the city manager.
The RCMP?? It would appear they were just doing what they were asked, perhaps it would appear they have more authority than merely having a bylaw officer deliver the papers. However, they were likely not acting on their own initiative as they surely have more important things to do than deliver handbills.
The Occupiers?? In this case I would have to conclude that the occupiers in fact are the ones calling the shots even though they are in contravension of city bylaws. If they follow the course of other occupy sites, they will declare themselves an authority unto themselves and do not have to acknowledge nor comply with other laws and bylaws. They can thumb their nose at the Mayor, the City Manager and the RCMP and apparently the chief constable (the Mayor?) believes the choice is the occupiers.
Build It and They Will Come
By declaring that the timetable to comply with city bylaws rests in the hands of the occupiers, we as a city, are declaring that should anyone, from anywhere, choose to come to Nanaimo and protest their lot in life, they can build a structure in a local park and live there until they decide they should move.
I predict it will take little time for the Occupy movement to attract others from far away, where they are being evicted, to come to the welcoming shores of Nanaimo where they will be embraced and welcomed by our most courteous Mayor.
Just another episode of the Nanaimo City Hall Gong Show??
The lack of understanding of City Hall is the issue.
ReplyDeleteAt the top of the chain of command, we have the citizens. We make up the majority, not some group of protesters that are camping at a public square that does not allow camping.
Next we have the City Manager who has the responsibility to run the City as we (the citizens) want him to.
One of the City Manager's many responsibilities along with bylaws, city works and fire trucks are the RCMP (our protective services)
Then there is council who are elected by us (that is us, the citizens again), who give DIRECTION to the City Manager who they let run the City of Nanaimo on our behalf.
A basic understanding of the roles of our governing system in the City helps us understand why the City Manager (the guy who manages the city) to contact the RCMP (our protective services) to serve notice to the protesters who are occupying a city space that belongs to the public citizens of the City (that is us, again).
Now, if the Mayor decides he wants to change the above, he gathers council at a meeting and they (the majority of at least 5) make a change known as a bylaw, directing the City Manager to manage the city differently than current bylaws allow him to.
And that, boys and girls is how the city is supposed to be run.