Who Authorized This Report?

 

COMMENTARY: Surprise Fence Proposal Raises Bigger Questions

Sometimes it takes a fence to show just how high the walls have gotten between staff and the public they serve.

At today’s Finance and Audit Committee meeting, councillors were presented with a staff report recommending $412,000 in fencing and parking lot modifications around City Hall and the SARC. The goal? To protect staff from escalating disorder downtown.

But instead of quietly green-lighting the project, Council pushed back—and voted that no recommendation be forwarded. What’s more, several councillors revealed they first learned of the proposal not from internal briefings, but by reading about it on Voice of Nanaimo.

That should raise eyebrows. Who authorized staff to spend time, resources, and interdepartmental coordination to draft a major capital project proposal without Council direction? On whose authority was this effort initiated? These aren’t rhetorical questions—they’re governance questions.

At least a dozen citizens showed up to the mid-week meeting—an impressive number, considering the good weather and that it was ‘just’ a committee meeting. Clearly, something is shifting. The old model of silent public disengagement may be cracking.

This moment deserves follow-up. Not just a pat on the back for stopping a fence, but a deeper look at how decisions are being made at City Hall. When elected officials are left out of the loop, it’s time to ask harder questions—and maybe file some FOI requests while we’re at it.

Score one for transparency. Score one for the public. And score one for the idea that Council should be in charge—not just informed after the fact.