CORNWALL – City councillors won’t be able to attend council meetings via Skype or on the telephone.
Council voted 8-2 (Maurice Dupelle absent) Tuesday night to not allow electronic participation by council members in council meetings open to the public.
Coun. Justin Towndale accepts that he missed out on key issues in the past like the fluoride vote. But he was worried that it could lead to an abuse issue – basically council members phoning it in.
Coun. Dean Hollingsworth says council meetings are an “attendance kind of job” and that being a councillor, “I think (we) volunteered to be present for.”
Mayor Bernadette Clement says she would have supported electronic participation “along the lines of accessibility.” She had a taste of what it’s like to not be able to get around after falling down a flight of stairs at city hall recently.
Clement and Coun. Todd Bennett were the only two on council to vote against the motion – they wanted the option for electronic participation.