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According to Saanich’s Corporate Officer, Saanich staff researched and found the cost for holding a potential recorded town hall to be $6000-$8000 per meeting.

By Sasha Izard

March 16, 2025

On March 10, 2025 Saanich Councillor Chambers’ motion that Council direct that Saanich Town Halls be video recorded and the recordings be made publicly available on the District’s website was considered by the Mayor and Council.

The Mayor asked staff for the technical considerations involved.

Saanich’s Corporate Officer noted that staff research indicated the cost of a potential recorded town hall to be $6000-$8000 per meeting.

The video clip of that segment can be viewed below:

Council decided ultimately to refer the issue of recorded town halls to be looked at with the budget.

Also mentioned was that staff are not budgeted for 3 town hall meetings, but only for 2. Previously, Council had approved a motion to have 3 town hall meetings a year. The first slated town hall meeting of the year was cancelled, while the first town hall of the year is likely to take place in May.

Similarly, Open Forum never took place in March of 2024 (it was required to take place by the Council procedure Bylaw at the first committee of the whole of each month).

By the end of the year, the majority of the Council (Councillors Brownoff, Plant, Brice, De Vries, Harper, and Mayor Murdock) voted for the elimination of open forum at the recommendation of senior staff, in order so the staff report claimed: to provide  “additional opportunities for meaningful public engagement in the form of town hall meetings which in turn will eliminate open forum as a business item from committee of the whole meeting agendas.”

If a recorded town hall is “meaningful engagement”, it will so staff claim, cost $6000-$8000, and town halls may only take place twice a year. The former recorded monthly open forums which were previously part and parcel of the first committee of the whole of each month, were eliminated ostensibly to provide additional opportunities for public engagement in the form of town halls. The cost of the former open forums in comparison, were negligible, as the camera and audio equipment was already setup and in-place at Saanich City Hall.


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See also:

LETTER: Loss of open forums shuts the door on public engagement in Saanich – Saanich News

LETTER: Saanich should rethink elimination of open forum – Saanich News

LETTER: Saanich council limits public input – Saanich News


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Resources:

Item H1. on the agenda for March 10, 2025 Meeting

PDF:
https://saanichca.primegov.com/api/compilemeetingattachmenthistory/historyattachment/?historyId=d47bd1a0-1925-4453-b54d-590fd7c30df4

Full video: Council Meeting (Discussing of the item begins at 2:30:50)