Kamloops City Councilors – and the Mayor – should expect to see busier weeks ahead as they sort out how the committee structure will work.

Despite the Mayor withdrawing his citizen nominees from consideration, Councillor Kelly Hall – March’s deputy mayor – says the committee set up to review the Standing Committee structure will be finalized this Tuesday at council.

“I talked with individuals on council – mayor and council – regarding standing on the select committee. We’ve identified the individuals that want to come forward and work on this so that we can do a deeper dive into the terms of reference,” Hall said, on NL Newsday.

While the terms of reference get sorted out, Hall notes things are still happening in the City.

“We did put a pause on the standing committees but the work of the city continues,” he said. “The engagement groups continue to work on behalf of the community and behalf of council for that matter.”

While Hall won’t say how long it may take to get the terms of reference for Standing Committees finalized, he does concede it might mean more work ahead for both mayor and council.

“You are probably going to see more committee of the whole meetings with council and mayor, you are probably going to see more lengthy agendas at council meetings, you could possibly look at extra council meetings,” Hall said.

“With the rescinding of the Standing Committees as he [Mayor Reid Hamer Jackson] proposed, if we were to have the communication as a group earlier, in regards to what are they going to look like with the terms of reference, we could have dealt with all of that ahead of the challenges we are faced with right now.”

In a statement to RadioNL, BC’s Municipal Affairs Minister, Anne Kang, says the province is keeping a close eye on the situation at Kamloops City Hall.

“My ministry is aware of concerns being expressed by some members of the community and media regarding governance in Kamloops. Local governments operate with a high level of autonomy, they are democratically elected and accountable to their communities for their actions. Ministry staff are here to help local governments should they need advice or support respecting any matters which may be affecting the council’s ability to move forward,” she said.

“All local governments are required to publicly consider establishing a new code of conduct or revising an existing one, within six months of a general local election. This allows elected officials to strengthen responsible conduct, respect and inclusion on council by creating a regular process for them to talk about shared expectations. If local governments have any questions I encourage them to reach out to the Ministry.”