LAURIE WEIR
RIDEAU LAKES — Council business took a back seat Monday, Aug. 11 as a round of political musical chairs, sparked a 10-minute debate over who should be in what seat.
A request from Mayor Arie Hoogenboom directed councillors Jeff Banks and Dustin Bullock to swap spots at the far end of the table away from the chair, saying the move was meant to cut down on extra conversations and keep business moving.
“There’s far too much chatter at your end of the table,” Hoogenboom told Banks, referring to discussions with Coun. Sue Dunfield, who sits beside him and attended virtually. “That disrupts the chair and it disrupts the business of the meeting. It needs to stop.”
Banks refused to move, asking why the change was being raised now and whether the mayor was trying to control where councillors sit. He said other members also speak quietly with neighbours during meetings without being asked to relocate.
Coun. Paula Banks moved to set aside the procedural bylaw so council could decide seating arrangements, pointing to similar conversations between other members, including when Coun. Ron Pollard often asks Coun. Marcia Maxwell for help with his iPad. “I don’t have a problem with that,” she said.
Maxwell backed the mayor’s directive to maintain order. Bullock said he would sit anywhere and did not want to debate the matter. “I’m not terribly interested in having any conversation about it.”
The discussion lasted more than 10 minutes. Deputy Mayor Deborah Anne Hutchings said any rules should apply equally, while Coun. Linda Carr expressed frustration over the time already spent on the issue.
“This has nothing to do with the business of the township, and we’re wasting our time,” Carr said. “These meetings go on and on. We’ve spent 10 minutes doing nothing. I don’t have time for 10 minutes of nothing anymore.”
Carr suggested leaving the seating as is for now. “You’ve drawn our attention to this, so let’s see where we go. You can keep watching, and we’ll correct ourselves if we over-speak. I think we should be able to sit on the floor if we want to. But this is ridiculous.”
The mayor said the problem had been ongoing.
“I think there has been far too much chatter back and forth between various members of this council, and it’s disruptive to me as the chair and maybe to people in the audience who may be listening or watching,” he said. “Let’s try to do better.”
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