“Long time viewer, first time caller.”
Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov may be hearing a lot of that staple phrase of talk radio as council prepares to accept public comment at Tuesday’s council meeting by telephone calls to his office.
It’s the first time residents will be given a chance to participate in the local government process since meetings were suspended at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, then reinstated April 7 as virtual meetings over the Zoom online meeting platform.
Tuesday’s public input by phone is the first of several possible methods that will be tested to facilitate participation by residents, though it’s not required by legislation. As in regular council sessions, speakers will have a maximum of two minutes to voice their opinions on matters before councillors or other issues in the city of concern.
One of the matters they may want to speak about is proposal being considered at Tuesday’s meeting that would allow the city to borrow up to $52.812 million to cover any cash flow problems if property tax payments are delayed.
According to a report by Port Moody’s general manager of finance and technology, if the city has to take on a short-term loan for the full amount from the Municipal Finance Authority, it will cost about $60,000 a month in interest.
But, Paul Rockwood said, such a loan would only be used “if necessary.”
To participate in public input prior to Tuesday’s meeting, call 604-469-4515 shortly after 7 p.m.
The city’s Legislative Services office advises if a call isn’t successfully answered, or it’s placed on hold, you should try again until it’s put into the queue. Oh, and don't forget to turn down the volume on your device.
