Recent moves by council should make taxpayers who are concerned about transparency raise an eyebrow.
In the last few months, council has moved to shift community grant decisions to two local non-profits and delegate more decision-making to District staff.
Residents are getting to see less of how the sausage is made, in other words.
"The council can put in any process it wishes, but it is ultimately the council that is accountable for those decisions," said John Treleaven, chair of the , an organization that keeps watch on island councils. "The council can not delegate the fact that it is spending public money, which is part of the budget of Squamish, for which they are ultimately responsible for," he added.
The difference between business and government is that the latter must show its process and be accountable to all citizens, not just its stakeholders.
To be clear, though often targets for social media vitriol, our current council is made up of well-meaning folks, whether you agree with every decision they make or not, and District staff are resourceful and hard-working locals.
This isn't about throwing stones at those who do the tough job of running things.
But some principles should be adhered to regardless of the integrity of those currently in power.
For its part, the District says delegating more responsibilities such as requests for proposal (RFP) and tender awards, licenses, and permits, to staff will "allow council more time to focus on strategic priorities and policy decisions. The grant decision-making process also supports the streamlining of processes by enabling non-profit groups to administer grant funding on council's behalf."
The new grant policy does have safeguards, such as ensuring the applications are open to all and publicly posted. And there will be a checklist administrators have to adhere to when evaluating applicants and a reporting process.
"As communities grow, it is common practice to adjust the delegated authority for administrative matters in order to free up room in council agendas for strategic priorities and policy decisions. All information will continue to remain public," District staff told The Chief.
This may all be true, and these moves may be just another sign of Squamish's growth from a small town to a bigger one. but the reasoning makes council-watcher Treleaven bristle.
"How can a municipal council be too busy to hear directly from organizations who have a passionate belief in what they are doing, who largely are propelled by a strong sense of vision and mission by people who volunteer their work?" asked Treleaven.
"It is an honour to appear before municipal council, both sides are honoured in my view: both the council and the organizations. And I think that is an important form of recognition of the worthiness of the calling of the volunteers in whatever the group is."
Delegating more power to staff is wise in terms of efficiency, but local government is not a business. It doesn't always run smooth, and that is by design.
The slow and plodding process is meant to ensure accountability and public access to how our elected officials operate.
"The single most important ingredient in the recipe for success is transparency because transparency builds trust," said Denise Morrison, a U.S. businesswoman.
While the former grant process was long and arduous for all involved, it was extremely open and transparent. Each group could come, hat in hand, into council chambers and state its case, as the public, councillors, and media watched.
It was done in chambers so the affair was live-streamed and archived and covered by privilege, meaning media could cover it without fear of reprisal.
Whenever there is an opportunity, local governments should choose more information and process being public, rather than less.
Not because they have anything to hide, but so that as much as possible we can watch what goes into that sausage.
