At the first meeting of the new city council, Diane Colley-Urquhart said she is concerned there were less than 300 applications this year from people wanting to serve on boards and commissions, compared to 446 applications in 2016.
On their first day on the job, councillors appointed themselves to committees and selected members of the public to sit on various boards and commissions; such as the Public Library Board, the Police Commission or the Heritage Authority.
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Colley-Urquhart said she wonders if the decline may be the result of the rough ride politicians gave volunteer members of a council compensation committee.
“I was so embarrassed by the way that volunteer council compensation review committee was treated when they came to council,” she said. “It can be a deterrent.”
But, Councillor Jyoti Gondek feels there could be another reason for the lower numbers.
“I think one of the things we have to appreciate in 2017 is that it was an election year,” she said. “So, I know, myself, I didn’t apply to any boards or commissions because I was running in the election.”
“I think there was over 100 people that ran. So, perhaps some of these numbers are down because more people participated in democracy in a different way.”
Colley-Urquhart also wants city council to collect more than just a simple resume from the members of the public that do apply.
“I know the sort of information you can ask. Some of it’s optional, but you can definitely know gender; you can definitely know ethnicity,” she said. “You’re not out of line by asking those things. We have no idea – all we go off of is a resume.”
She said council could then make better decisions and ensure a more diverse cross-section of Calgarians will serve on the various boards.
“Gender isn’t what it used to be; it’s not male-female anymore. And to have those people comfortable identifying themselves allows us to have that voice on those important boards and commissions in the city.”