I have watched a lot of Wasaga Beaches Council meetings and I have a few observations; This Councils in camera sessions are plentiful, they are long and often, they occur in a shroud of secrecy that seems to go beyond reasonable.

Council or the CAO are welcome to correct me if I’m off base, but it sounds to me like decisions that move the business of the town forward appear to be sometimes decided while “in camera”.

A very popular line delivered during what they call the rising report (after they go public again) is, “item x was considered and direction was given to staff”.

The problem I have with this is that decisions that “appear” to have been discussed sometimes move forward after such a declaration. Is Council voting (even informally) while in camera? If so… it is wrong!

But, there is no problem right? After all, there are seven members of Council and if one of them thought improper activity was taking place while behind closed doors, they need only reach out the closed meeting investigator to have it looked into.

Then, the closed meeting investigator could actually “investigate” by reviewing recordings of these secret sessions. But WAIT! One of the VERY FIRST actions this Council took once they controlled our Chamber, was to eliminate the practice of recording these sessions. The decision to actually record them was made by the last Council so that investigations would move forward unobstructed.

So, what would happen now? Well if any of the 7 members wanted to stop a discussion (or a vote) then they could speak up. If they were disregarded, they have a process to follow.

How many Council Members have initiated this possible investigative process? To my knowledge… Zero!

The Town won’t answer any requests from me, but it sure would be interesting to see the statistics regarding how many hours are spent in our “public” meetings, vs. the “secret” sessions.

Looking at the blue screens, I would estimate it is a real lopsided chart we would have to analyze.

Apparently, one issue discussed at this week’s Council Meeting was the possible acquisition of more property at beach one. Guess what was learned during the rising report. You guessed it, “direction was given to staff on the matter”

Shhhhh, don’t let the public know! What was it Mayor Smith said at the Ratepayers meeting a year or so ago? Something along the line of “we will do things so fast, they won’t know it’s happening until it’s too late.”