After writing an article about the insulting 30-second rule North Cowichan was looking into for question period that you can read below and sending an email to council regarding the displeasure of many residents, we received more information from North Cowichan staff, who are always prompt in their responses to inquiries.
“Good afternoon, While I know that you received a general response from Council Support to this email, I wanted to provide you with more information on this topic.
This rule came into effect very recently after the adoption of the updated Council and Committee Procedure Bylaw No. 3945 [section 23] on July 17, 2024. Local governments are required to have a procedure bylaw to establish the general procedures to be followed at council meetings while conducting their business.
The August 21, 2024, regular Council meeting was the first time that the 30-second rule was applied and since that time Council has requested that the 30-second rule be revisited the next time the Council and Committee Procedure Bylaw is being amended. In the interim, Council can waive the 30-second rule by unanimous consent, or if there isn’t unanimous consent, the rule may be suspended for the current meeting by a vote passed by two-thirds of Council members present. Council just waived the 30-second rule by unanimous consent at the September 4, 2024, regular Council meeting.
We are always striving to improve our processes and Council values public input and question period very much. We appreciate your input and as noted above, will be revisiting the 30-second rule provision in the future.
Thank you. *staff member ”
