鈥業f it ain鈥檛 broke, don鈥檛 fix it鈥� is good advice, but the B.C. government seems to have it backwards regarding the Victoria Police Board. Four members of the board were told late last week that their terms, which expired Sunday, would not be renewed, leaving the board without a quorum and putting the hiring of a new police chief in limbo.
The nine-member board governs the combined Victoria-Esquimalt police department in co-operation with the chief constable, so choosing that chief constable is one of the board鈥檚 most important tasks.
The board recently selected Sudbury police chief Frank Elsner to replace Jamie Graham. Elsner鈥檚 contract cannot be ratified without a board quorum.
The board has nine members: the mayors of Victoria and Esquimalt as co-chairs, one member appointed by each municipality and five members appointed by the province. David Johns, who had been appointed by the province, died in March, leaving one vacancy on the board.
Roy Cullen, one of the provincially appointed board members whose term was not renewed, said he was appointed for several months at a time, beginning in December 2011, but the term was automatically renewed as it came due.
Cullen was informed on Thursday that his term would not be renewed. He was surprised at the short notice.
鈥淚 was told they had just decided to go 鈥榣ean and mean,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought: 鈥楾hat鈥檚 fair enough, they鈥檒l cut one or two board members.鈥� 鈥�
Then he learned the three other provincial appointees 鈥� Linda Lee Brougham, Gordy Dodd and Karen Kestaloo 鈥� had also been told they would not be reappointed.
In 2012, mediator Jean Greatbatch delivered a report that called for a substantial overhaul of the police board to repair the dysfunctional relationship between Victoria and Esquimalt regarding policing. The province promised measures that would implement Greatbatch鈥檚 recommendations.
Cullen said he has heard nothing to indicate the board was not functioning satisfactorily. He was told the decision had nothing to do with competency or concerns about the contributions of the board members. Lively debate was common in board deliberations, he said, but there was no infighting.
鈥淭here was no 鈥榯his camp versus that camp,鈥� 鈥� he said.
Intentionally or otherwise, the province is interfering with municipal business by leaving the board unable to function in the midst of hiring a new police chief. If it was done on purpose, it seems malicious. If done unwittingly, it indicates disregard for local government.
But the government鈥檚 intentions are a mystery. Rather than answer media questions, Attorney General Suzanne Anton issued a statement saying she has to 鈥渆nsure a police board has the talent and capacity to take on its strategic goals and maintain co-operative police work across its municipal boundaries. To these ends, we are changing the provincial complement of appointees to support the mediator鈥檚 work and ultimately strengthen the Victoria-Esquimalt policing relationship.鈥�
Anton鈥檚 statement says the government will replace the departed board members. In July, the government posted a notice calling for applications to fill the vacancy left by Johns鈥檚 death, but no such notice could be found relating to the other four positions.
Dismissing all appointees in one move seems counterproductive. Staggering the terms would help ensure continuity and retain institutional knowledge.
And why does the province appoint the majority of the members of a local government board? It would make more sense to have each municipality appoint two members, leaving the province to appoint three.
While province has the right to appoint and dismiss members of the Victoria police board, it should not do so without explanation and in a way that impairs the function of the board.
