FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Reaffirming his commitment to a stricter approach to municipal corporation proceedings, mayor of Falmouth C Junior Gager has made it clear that “grandstanding” by councillors — which in the past saw monthly meetings dragging on until late afternoons — will not be tolerated. He said questions will not be entertained during these sessions as all issues should have been resolved in committee meetings. His advice to members of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) who have something to say: Hold a press conference.

Gager was responding, Thursday, to accusations by a frustrated minority leader, Councillor Garth Wilkinson (PNP, Falmouth Division), that councillors were being muzzled by the mayor during the regular monthly meeting of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC).

But Gager explained that about four to five years ago the corporation changed the format of its meetings to shorten council sessions. The mayor insisted that the TMC will not return to the old format under which questions were raised during regular meetings, often when the media was present. He said council meetings are for council matters only, and all other matters should be addressed at the committee level. He also noted that some departmental reports are no longer presented during regular monthly meetings.

“When we started the meeting in those days, we started at 10 o’clock and sometimes we don’t leave this place until 5 o’ clock in the evening. We sit down the whole day in one meeting! All the other officers, as soon as their thing [presentations] done, they leave us in here. This is one of the recommendations that was made by Minister [of Local Government Desmond McKenzie] of the whole organisation of meetings,” Gager said.

“People coming to meetings have to go back to their jobs. You don’t expect them to stay here whole day sit down with us. So the whole agenda and the structuring of council meeting was done through ministry, and recommendations made. And it goes further than that; directives were made that we trim down the thing,” he added.

Gager said while he could not speak for other municipal corporations, the TMC had adopted the minister’s recommendation, with support from the majority of councillors. He also made the point that in the past he has invited councillors attending monthly meetings to request answers to their questions in writing, and responses would then be provided at future meetings.

The mayor explained that committee meetings, most of which are open to the media — except some sessions related to human resources, public health and sanitation — is the proper forum where councillors are expected to air disagreements and ask questions.

“What should be happening is, during the committee meetings you should have time to argue, flesh out your matter, and disagree with what you want to disagree with. And then from that committee meeting, consensus would be arrived at and it comes to the council meeting so [that] when that item comes up on the agenda you don’t have six or seven persons talking on the matter that would draw out and get council boring,” Gager said.

“Attend the committee meetings. Start coming to committee meetings early,” he quipped.

He also urged councillors elected on a PNP ticket to call press conferences to voice their issues.

“Sometimes it is because we are lazy. Councillors, get your press conference! What wrong with you? As an Opposition, call your press conference if you have something to talk about. Of course you would come and discuss what your concern is, if it is something that we can fix here. But if not, you can call your press conference and make your statement that you want to make to the press,” the mayor urged.

“But look how stupid that would be, we diverted from the old pattern, we accepted this principle, and then all of a sudden we are going to water it down and go back to where we coming from. It wouldn’t look good on us; people will say we don’t stand for nothing — even the press would comment about us,” he added.

Gager also brushed aside Wilkinson’s assertion that, on previous occasions, Deputy Mayor Jonathan Bartley was allowed to ask questions.

“If Councillor Bartley choose to ask questions, Councillor Bartley should know better because he’s my right hand. But you know that mi don’t know if there is another mayor [who is] as transparent as I am and accommodating. So, if you have a concern and come here, I will [allow you to air it] but one of the part I can’t assist you with is the grandstanding, because at the meetings it is the mayor who is in charge of this committee. I can’t grant that request. It is not me,” he insisted.