Leslie Asks:
What are your thoughts on accountability and transparency and Council decisions made behind closed doors?
Far too often it appears that decisions are taken 'in camera' because the Community Charter ALLOWS the topic to be taken behind closed doors, not because the discussion/decision HAS to be taken behind closed doors.
(The Community Charter is clear on which topics must be discussed in private and which may be discussed in private, leaving a lot of leeway for lack of transparency.)
I think far too many bad decisions end up being made behind closed doors, away from the public and media, especially when it comes to land deals. I understand that certain topics need to be kept confidential, but there's way too much leeway. For example, city council decided to purchase the land on Tranquille Road for supportive housing, borrowing funds to do so, and at that meeting also discussed selling other city-owned properties to pay back the loans. This is why they decided to turn the former Thrupp Manor site into 5 single-family lots, and this is also why they're selling the Raleigh properties now. Why did we go to a public hearing on the Thrupp Manor site without this being disclosed? I've can give a lot more examples.