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Better Idea: Calgary City Council will be more transparent, more efficient, and easier for citizens to engage
- Thursday, August 26th, 2010
- 7 Comments
Policy Overview
Today, Naheed Nenshi released another Better Idea, his policy on making Calgary City Council more transparent, more efficient, and easier for citizens to engage.
Naheed will be a mayor who will reform how City Council works. He will focus on strategic decision making and improve Council’s transparency. Naheed’s changes will help Council better serve citizens. That’s how this Better Idea will lead to a Better Calgary.
Overview Video
Read the full policy – including Naheed’s plan
Download the full-text backgrounder of this Better Idea in PDF:
Listen to the podcast
Listen to the podcast for Better Idea # 8 >
Media Release
“It’s time to turn Council upside-down!”
Nenshi releases comprehensive plan for governance reform
Some of the solutions are simple. Others involve embracing technology to drag Calgary City Council into a closer, better relationship with citizens. Others require a cultural shift towards openness and transparency. Together, they form a package that redefines the relationship between Council and citizens, addressing the number one issue Calgarians have been talking about on the campaign trail – the accessibility and transparency of this Council.
Mayoral candidate Naheed Nenshi today released his latest Better Idea: A council that works. The solutions he outlines include:
- Flipping Council meetings around so that the public portion occurs in the evening and people don’t have to take a day off work
- Publishing more detailed minutes of Council meetings, with video links to discussion and Council member voting records
- Publishing the Mayor and Aldermen’s detailed expenses and logs of whom they meet on the web
- Launching a review of the pay and perks that Council members receive
“Our Council too often spends their time on the wrong things, and spends our money badly,” said Nenshi. “Part of the problem is the process. Council members know no one is paying attention, and this can lead to outrageous behaviour, from charging for dry cleaning to spending hours discussing whether someone can keep a driveway that’s been there for 70 years when they do a renovation. My package will curtail all of these abuses.
“Some of these changes are pretty basic. We don’t need an expensive bureaucratic lobbyist registry, for example, when all we need to do is tell citizens exactly who comes into our office. But all of them represent a significant mindshift towards Council acting as the Board of Directors and governors of this city, not as a glorified student council.”
August 26, 2010 at 10:50 pm, Lindsay Luhnau said:
Great idea Naheed! What about putting in term limits (start with 3 maybe) so we don't councilors sticking around for 30 years?
August 27, 2010 at 9:10 am, Michael Hartford said:
I have been calling for most of these changes for the last year. I have long said that I will make the launching of a Ward 4 website job #1, even if I am doing it unilaterally, to incorporate most of these changes immediately. Having a Ward 4 site with the expense account of the Alderman Truly should be a no-brainer and I agree that city council has been run too much like a clubhouse council for far too long leaving the running of the city to the unelected and largely unmonitored city employees.
August 29, 2010 at 8:49 pm, Dayna Chu said:
The question that I can't shake is, how do you plan to represent the "average Calgarian family" when you, yourself, are single with no children? Cultural diversity is important, yes, however so is a diverse perspective on issues affecting families.
Regards,
Dayna Chu
August 30, 2010 at 4:02 pm, Anar Janmohamed said:
It is about time we need a major CLEANUP IN ALL CITY BUSINESS UNITS – MANY CHIEFS AND NO INDIANS -
September 01, 2010 at 5:57 pm, Mike said:
We also need recall rights to get rid of the councilmen that is out of control or corrupt.
And yes, term limits!
2-3 terms for Mayor and Alderman.
September 09, 2010 at 4:21 am, Dasha said:
I'm in with the term limits for sure, and more transparency.
@Dayna, don't you think that since many/most of our aldermen have families, they will have enough insight to speak for families? Also, can one not empathize with the needs of families if they don't have one? We expect the mayor to represent the disabled if they are not, LGBTQ if they are not, single mothers if they are not, et cetera.
September 22, 2010 at 3:14 pm, We Should Know Naheed Nenshi « GORDON MCDOWELL said:
[...] good people. New alderman will shake things up, gives opportunity to stop dysfunctional behavior. Governance reform, new procedures will help shift adversarial nature. Give ward alderman city-wide [...]