Open Government
A plainly written plan for a more open municipality
These are the specific changes I would bring to the council table. Each one is achievable, low-cost relative to the municipal budget, and already working somewhere else in Manitoba.
- 01
Move regular meetings to the evening where practical
Daytime meetings are open in name but hard to attend for anyone who works days, farms, or drives to a job out of town. Shifting regular council meetings to an evening start — where operationally practical — is the single cheapest way to widen participation.
- 02
Record or livestream meetings and post them to YouTube
A basic camera or conferencing setup and a public YouTube channel would let residents watch live or catch up later. Recordings also create a durable, searchable record of how decisions were actually debated and made.
- 03
Explore Westman Communications community cable coverage
Many residents aren't online or prefer television. I'd like council to explore, with Westman Communications, whether meetings or regular municipal updates could be carried on the local community channel where that's feasible and affordable.
- 04
Publish expenditure descriptions, not just cheque numbers
A listing of date, vendor, amount and cheque number confirms a payment happened but doesn't say what it bought. Adding a short purpose or description — as some neighbouring municipalities already do — answers most residents' questions before they're asked. I'd push to publish as much expenditure detail as is legally and practically possible.
- 05
Make agendas, minutes, reports, budgets and contracts easy to find
Public information that takes twenty minutes to locate isn't really accessible. I'd support one clearly organized section of the municipal website holding agendas, minutes, annual budgets, capital plans, audited statements, major contracts and consultant reports, with consistent naming and dates.
- 06
Reasonable public-input time at meetings
A defined, predictable slot for resident delegations and questions — with a simple published process for submitting a question or concern ahead of time, and a commitment to follow up on what's raised.
- 07
Proactive disclosure over paperwork
Formal information requests should be for the unusual case, not the routine one. If a document is public and residents keep asking for it, the municipality should simply post it.
Where sources belong
As this campaign publishes issue explainers, each post will carry its own source list — bylaws, minutes, budgets or reports — so residents can check the record themselves rather than take anyone's word for it.