Springwater’s Question Time a bit of a crapshoot

By Sandy Buxtob

Our beloved Springwater Council wants so much to be seen as open, transparent and dedicated to engaging its residents.  They mention this all the time in their myriad releases to the public and on their website.  You just know they really mean it!
Isn’t it odd, then, that Council and Planning meetings, featuring Her Worship, His Deputy Worship, all the Councillors and senior courtiers – oops! staff – start at 5:30 p.m.? Why everyone knows that working people, people needing to eat, people making dinner for their families, people not fortunate enough to live near the Palace in Midhurst etc. etc. find this an ideal time to see firsthand what their Council is up to – sorry, doing.
After all, we’ve been invited well in advance.
Could there actually be some connection between the paltry public attendance and, gasp, the time?  I guess 5:30 suits the Council and entourage just fine.  I mean they’re already there, and maybe someone sends out for food; and, anyway, it’s wrong to keep the staff out too late.  Not to mention our elected representatives.  And what would they do if people started showing up regularly in droves to watch the government they pay for because they could actually get there at, say, 7:00 p.m.?  Why, it would throw everyone off their game and lead to riots or worse, wouldn’t it?
And then there’s Question Period.
What a great idea!
Give those pesky voters 10 minutes to ask Council what’s on their minds. Not at General Committee meetings though, even if those of us who foot the bills are free to attend at even better times like 3 or 4 p.m. In those precious 10 minutes, we can ask 5 questions, with 2 minutes allotted for each one.  Sounds generous, doesn’t it?  But wait – more than half our time is used up by Her Worship’s re-hashing of our questions, fumbling for an answer or graciously allowing staff to say they’ll have to look into it.  So, actually, the public gets about 4 minutes of air time per Question Period.  That’s 8 minutes  every month, there being 2 meetings per month where this democratic feature is permitted. Now, isn’t that just open and engaging government in action!
And here’s the best part.
You may not get an answer to your question!
That’s because they’re not required to answer you, seeing as Question Period is something they don’t have to offer. They may respond, but you just don’t know if they will. It’s bit of a crapshoot. Indeed, sometimes it can feel like your important-to-you question has disappeared right down the rabbit hole, as poor Alice did.  Have you ever seen her re-appear in your life?  Well, some of us are waiting for answers to our questions to appear.  How will we ever know?  Just have to wait and see.  Right?
Dear old Springwater Council.  Bringing open, transparent and interactive government right to the voters.  Have you seen it yet?