Kamloops city council takes step to resolve internal dispute on standing committees

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and three city councillors will serve on a special committee that will determine the makeup of standing committees in Kamloops, B.C.

Coun. Mike O'Reilly is chair of the special committee, which includes Coun. Nancy Bepple, Coun. Margot Middleton and Hamer-Jackson. Current Deputy Mayor Kelly Hall selected the four members, and city council ratified the selections during its Tuesday meeting.

The formation of the special committee comes after the revelation earlier this month that Hamer-Jackson removed several councillors as chairs of standing committees and handpicked members of the public to chair them instead.

Hamer-Jackson named nine members of the community to the city's five standing committees, which focus on things like finance, community services and civic operations.

Kamloops city council then voted on March 21 to pause standing committees and review how they operate.

"Over the past few days I've had the opportunity to meet and discuss and text and e-mail all in [city] council, and had great discussion as to how we want to shape this," Hall said during Tuesday's meeting. "And what I'd like to present today is an opportunity for us to put together a select committee to study the terms of reference of standing committees moving forward."

The special committee is expected to spend the next two months sorting out the terms of reference for the operation of standing committees.

Mayor says he didn't 'pick names out of a hat'

Hamer-Jackson was elected as a first-time mayor of Kamloops in October 2022.

His dissatisfaction with chairs of standing committees largely stems from visible signs of homelessness in Kamloops, along with a sense of increasing crime in the city two subjects he focused on while running for mayor against four other candidates, all of whom had previous local government experience.

Hamer-Jackson said he "didn't just wake up one morning and pick names out of the hat," noting that the people he chose for committee roles have relevant experience.

His intended replacements in chair positions included failed council candidates and a member of his campaign team.

Speaking to CBC on March 21, Hamer-Jackson said the Community Charter grants him the power to make changes to standing committees.

But local governments also have control over the exact makeup of standing committees and Hamer-Jackson found himself outvoted 8-1 on multiple motions, resulting in the pause on all standing committee activity.

Councillors weren't looking to be 'relieved of our workload'

Prior to the suspension of standing committee activity, Kamloops city councillors issued a joint statement in which they voiced their displeasure with Hamer-Jackson's move to name members of the public to those committees.

"Counter to public comments made by Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson [on March 16], no councillor you see before you today has ever expressed a desire to be quote 'relieved of our workload,'" Coun. Katie Neustaeter said at city hall on March 17 as she read from the statement.

"No councillor has ever expressed that they were quote 'kind of overwhelmed.' No chair has shown any quote, 'lack of commitment' or has any conflict," Neustaeter continued.

"These are examples of blatant untruths."