Someone's headed for detention

If city hall had a truancy officer, he or she would likely be knocking on Lise Burcher's door about now.

For the second year in a row the Ward 5 rep had the worst attendance of all councillors last year, attending just 52 of 68 council meetings (including regular and closed-session meetings) and 14 of the 20 committee meetings she was required to attend.

Ward 3 councillor Maggie Laidlaw was next, attending just 57 of the 68 council meetings and 11 of her 15 required council meetings.

Mayor Karen Farbridge -- the only full-time council member -- attended 115 of the 119 council and committee meetings held last year. The mayor missed four council meetings -- two open and two closed -- but got to all 51 committee meetings.

Ward 1 residents should feel well-represented, with Couns. Bob Bell and Jim Furfaro each getting to 112 of the possible 119 meetings in 2011. Bell and Furfaro each missed two council meetings but had pefect attendance at their mandatory committee meetings and also attended 27 and 31, repectively, meetings of committees on which they were not members and therefore not required to attend.

Ward 4 rep Cam Guthrie was the only council member last year to make it to all 68 council meetings, and also had perfect attendance at his committees.

(It should be noted in the interest of fairness that closed and regular council meetings are often held back-to-back on the same night, so a councillor who is absent for one night will likely technically miss two meetings. Also the attendance record does not include explanations of why councillors were absent, such as earning a living or representing the city at conferences or other functions.)

Comments

[Doug]

Someone's headed for detention, and it could be the Guelph Mercury and Scott Tracey.
It's not nice to chase people around town.
But, it's tytpical of left wing drive by media.

[D C]

LOL ... perhaps someone should slithered out from under their rock to actually speak to the press and answer direct questions about what many are suggesting is the biggest voter election fraud in Canadian history.

But, that's typical of right wing cowardice.

[tonyt]

I remember this coming up after the last election. About same time last year(febuary?). I wonder if burcher would have been elected if the people in ward 5 knew that information before the election?(I live in ward 5 and didn't vote for her)
I also wonder with so much missed attendance; if those missing so much time are forfeiting pay like the rest of us do when we don't show up for work. I know they do so much work for so little pay but that is the resposibility they CHOOSE to take on.

[LT]

Cam Guthrie had perfect attendance, seems to always be available to the media, didn't complain when the Merc tried to link him to the Robo-call scandal just because he was standing next to Michael Sona once and he's *gasp* a Conservative!

Take note you coward Marty Burke. This is how a public figure is supposed to act, respond and be accountable.

Oh, and to all you Laidlaw and Farbridge lovers, don't forget it was Guthrie who tried to refuse a raise for councillors' annual salaries.

Meanwhile, Laidlaw, who said she just couldn't live without that raise because of all the hard work that goes into being a councillor, had the second-lowest attendance.

[D C]

I like your style, LT. :)

[K Morant]

Hey LT, not only did Guthrie try to refuse the raise, but he succeeded, if I recall he makes a whole $900 less than all of the other councilors. Refusing perks, and good attendance, if Guthrie were looking for a promotion to say, Mayor, I would think that he's well on his way to earning it....But that's just my opinion. :-)

Now I'm just mad because I'm pretty sure I have stood beside Michael Sona before, and no one, I say no one took my picture or tried to link me to anything! I tell yah.

[geo]

If your absent from work at a 10% or better clip and your not gravely ill then you'd better dust off your resume because your going to be searching for another job.
Perhaps councillors should be paid by the meeting; perhaps there should be a punch clock beside her royal highnesses chair.

[D C]

I'm certain that they wouldn't skip meetings without a valid reason ... I wouldn't want to think that our councilors sometimes takes their positions for granted ...