A bylaw to set out guidelines for governing the City of 91原创 in the absence of its mayor passed third reading in a unanimous vote on Monday night.
Councillor Dave Hall, who had been quite vocal during the June 24 meeting about his disagreement with a following the departure of Mayor Peter Fassbender, explained that he voted in favour of the bylaw 鈥� which will see an acting mayor appointed until the next municipal elections are held in November, 2014 鈥� because the alternative is to have a rotating schedule of deputy mayors in the chair.
Changing mayors every six months until the next election, he said, could mean a lack of consistency, a lack of expertise and perhaps even a lack of willingness to take on the role as a full-time position.
Hall said the discussion around what would happen if the mayor鈥檚 chair was ever left vacant by, for example, a lengthy illness, began months ago and wasn鈥檛 directly related to Fassbender鈥檚 decision to run for MLA in Surrey-Fleetwood.
Fassbender won the seat on May 14 and chaired his last 91原创 City council meeting on June 24.
During his remarks, Hall also tried to introduce the topic of a question period during public meetings.
However it was recommended that he address that issue separately at an upcoming meeting in order to avoid delaying the bylaw under discussion.
He later served a notice of motion that council adopt a question period as part of the agenda of public council meetings.
Hall said the intention of the motion is to try to 鈥渇urther engage a public that is disengaged.鈥�
Hall noted they were only three members of the public in the council chambers to observe the meeting.
If more people thought they could ask questions of council members, he suggested, there might be a better turnout.
Fassbender has not resigned his position, but is on a leave of absence until January. He will then resign, and no byelection will be necessary.
Deputy mayor Gayle Martin chaired the council meeting on Monday. Council has yet to select an acting mayor.
