Editor:
I attended the com-mittee of the whole on Feb. 10. The procedure for governing Sechelt has changed with the new council. Dis-cussions and decisions occur in the committee of the whole meetings every second Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. Council meetings are merely a finale to ratify the decisions made a week earlier. Recommendations are often not discussed and are voted on as a block.
To understand the policies ratified at council meetings, you must attend the committee of the whole. Most taxpaying workers can't get there, but attendance is the only way to decide for yourself important questions such as the following: who has control; who knows the procedure for running a meeting; who does their homework and asks pertinent questions; who is concerned about extensive expenditures, where the money will come from and how it can best be used for the good of all; who understands the importance of wording and corrects it to avoid future hazy interpretations; who brings controversial issues forward on the agenda when there are known time constraints on discussions; who is responsible for tweaking some fairly straightforward proposals until they favour business over the wishes of the ratepayers; and who takes pride in always supporting the people's wishes but is capable of voting against them for no sound reason.
Conclusions to these and other questions are easily reached by attending only a few committee of the whole meetings. Do it now before the hype preceding the next election begins in 2011. Decide who is really governing the District of Sechelt: the people we voted for or those who never stood for election. And when you've reached your conclusions, remember they, not the election hype, are the truth and keep your memory long.
Nancy Leathley
West Sechelt
