Traditionally in the spring council hosts a quote meet the mayor and Councilor. This year we’re trying something different. All Councillors and Mayor will be available on one evening, April 23 from 3 to 7 pm at the Municipal Centre. Fifteen-minute appointment time slots are available and pre-registration online at king.ca/MeetCouncil is encouraged to reserve your preferred timeslot. Please book a different time slot with each elected official you wish to speak to. Walk-ins are welcome and will be accommodated pending availability of Council.
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I prefer the usual system which I believe was from about 6 to 8 pm when more young families are available to come for a visit. Also it is nice to hear our neighbours’s concerns. This way we are more isolated and not acting as a community.
So, Debbie, how did this new system of 1-1 conferences with a Councillor or a Mayor work out? Did you like it better than the usual way of meeting the community instead of individuals?
It was different. I think one’s evaluation of it being better or not is highly influenced with one’s previous experience. I wondered if the location, being the Municipal Centre would be a disadvantage for wards 2,3 and 4 as the meeting did not occur within those wards. What I can report to you is that there were appointments made for the councillors in those wards i.e. people were willing to go to the municipal centre. A big advantage of the set up for 2025 is that senior staff of all the divisions were available to join a Councillor and a constituent if the discussion was such that the knowledge and expertise of the staff person would be of value; hence, in my case some very specific issues got some very detailed answers on the spot as opposed to me documenting the question and telling the constituent that I would be back to them with an answer. I think it is true for all but for sure I can say that I met a couple constituents who are new residents and they felt very comfortable with the process i.e. making an appointment.