Mayor Danny Breen says a lack of calls from the public for child care at council meetings led to the idea’s defeat.
Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’Leary says sometimes council needs to dig deeper than just waiting for public calls to bring good ideas forward.
The initial proposal, brought forward by O’Leary, asked city staff to explore options for providing child care for after-hours council meetings for councillors and the public.
The measure was suggested as a way to increase public engagement, to allow families with young children to attend council meetings they otherwise may be unable to attend.
At Wednesday morning’s committee of the whole meeting, staff came back with their initial findings, showing the highest-cost option put the bill to the public at $15,847.68. The price tag for 12 public meetings was estimated at $2,390 and for 45 regular meetings of council, the cost was estimated at $8,956. Staff estimated $4,500 worth of equipment would need to be purchased as well.
O’Leary specified that her initial request was only for the 12 public meetings, not the additional 45 regular council meetings.
A motion was put forth for more research by staff, to explore options to decrease the estimated cost, including looking at using high school volunteer hours for some of the care, as well as limiting the child care coverage to the public, not councillors.
Councillors Hope Jamieson, Ian Froude, Maggie Burton, Dave Lane and O’Leary voted for staff to continue exploration.
Breen, and councillors Jamie Korab, Wally Collins, Debbie Hanlon, Sandy Hickman, and Deanne Stapleton voted against further exploration by staff. The motion was defeated, 6-5.
Breen says it was a good idea, but the demand for the service just wasn’t there.
“Whenever you’re adding new services you have to be cognizant of the cost. I think cost was one issue, but even a bigger issue was the demand. I don’t think we see the demand for that service. From my own experience, I haven’t seen a demand,” said Breen.
O’Leary said she is disappointed that more research won’t be done on the matter at this time. She says having to rely on public input on whether to pursue a matter could leave blind spots for council.
“Nobody wants to spend any money, that’s the bottom line. Obviously, we have to be fiscally responsible. But we also have to be available as representatives to the public. We have to make sure we’re available and it’s engaging and as inclusive as we possibly can be,” said O’Leary.
“Just because I’m not getting phone calls regularly on my phone about the need for (child care) doesn’t mean there isn’t an existing need in the community. I don’t get phone calls every day saying that people want their taxes reduced, but I can guarantee that people would love to see their taxes reduced. It’s not exactly a great litmus test or indication of what the public needs.”
The final yes or no will be given at Monday’s council meeting.
Twitter: DavidMaherNL
