For months, security at city hall has been a hot topic of debate among Edmonton city councillors but now the conversation will be had among city administrators.
On Tuesday, city council voted 7-4 to let city staff determine which security measures to put in place at council chambers.
Coun. Dave Loken was among those who supported the move.
“We are not objective about our own security because we all have our different opinions on it,” he said. “That’s why I felt it’s better to leave it to the people who are objective, who can see the things that we don’t see.
“I’ve been frustrated with this from the start – that it was politicized,” Loken added.
But some councillors suggested city council simply “passed the buck” by not taking on the issue themselves.
“We’ve also give up our ability to have input into something that I think is really important to the relationship we have with our public,” Coun. Ben Henderson said.
The city has considered setting up metal detectors and bag checks for members of the public who want to attend council and committee meetings.
READ MORE: New security measures at Edmonton City Hall to be discussed in public
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It has also mulled over the idea of installing half-walls between councillors and the public. Currently, council has a peace officer in the room should any situation grow out of hand.
Henderson suggested increasing security measures at city hall could create friction with the public where none currently exists.
“I think we run the risk of creating the very feeling that we’re trying to avoid by putting out a message that we don’t trust our public,” he said.
It has not been disclosed whether a particular incident has prompted changes in security protocol at city hall but outbursts at Edmonton council meetings are rare.
In February, the city sought opinions from citizens in a survey in which it asked Edmontonians to weigh in on questions about safety and security measures inside city hall.
The results showed that 20 per cent of respondents would be less likely to attend council or committee meetings if they had to go through a metal detector. Fifty-five per cent of people said the enhanced security measures would not keep them away and 20 per cent of respondents were neutral on the topic.
READ MORE: Metal detectors, bag searches to be debated again at Edmonton City Hall
“We’ve listened carefully to the feedback that council has provided,” Walter Trocenko, the City of Edmonton’s real estate and housing branch manager, said Tuesday.
“You may see a pony wall, you may not. You may see some bag-screening equipment or you may not.”
“I don’t criticize what they’re trying to do but I think there’s a piece of the puzzle, which is our relationship to the public, which they’re not going to understand,” Henderson said of leaving security decisions to city administrators.
Details of any changes will be provided to councillors in a private memo, on the advice of security staff.
Mayor Don Iveson did not vote on the issue Tuesday as he was in Ottawa ahead of the federal budget, which will be tabled Wednesday.
-with files from Vinesh Pratap and Caley Ramsay.
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