Kamloops council on its best behaviour for province's advisor

Kamloops city council made it through a meeting this week with few hiccups while under the watchful eye of a provincially-appointed advisor. Since the 2022 election, there have been precious few council meetings without spats and drama between Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and the rest of city council. Some councillors have been more obvious than others. A regular attendee would have noticed that council was efficient and productive during a meeting Tuesday, March 12. Former Abbotsford mayor and provincially contracted advisor Henry Braun sat in the back of the gallery. "It just shows they can do it," Braun remarked, who heard from more than a few people that council appeared to be on good behaviour for him. READ MORE: Patios coming back to downtown Kamloops https://infotel.ca/newsitem/patios-coming-back-to-downtown-kamloops/it103720 Braun was contracted by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in early February https://infotel.ca/newsitem/new-advisor-appointed-to-help-with-dysfunction-at-kamloops-city-hall/it103226 at the request of Kamloops council. He has met with each member of city council since his arrival and after watching the meeting, Braun said he expects it's enough to draft his final report. The report will first go to the province and will outline the challenges and issues Kamloops city council faces along with recommendations https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-councils-advisor-recommendations-have-no-teeth/it102311 . It will then go to city council. "I'm doing some coaching and mentoring as well when opportunity arises," Braun said. "Communication is always difficult at the best of times, and when there's as much media attention on council with lots of different issues and challenges, it becomes difficult." READ MORE: Kamloops councillor apologizes for saying council critics shouldn't get funding https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-councillor-apologizes-for-saying-council-critics-shouldnt-get-funding/it103721 He didn't give any specific details about his meetings and observations, but he did say he noticed common themes among them. "It'll be the unvarnished truth as I see it," he said of the upcoming report. Council asked the ministry for support in the fall, looking for a mediator to help them smooth out their "dysfunction and discord," as described by councillor Margot Middleton at the time. The province first contracted former Langley mayor and former MLA Peter Fassbender in December. He was given an April deadline, but the province ended the contract before the New Year, stating it had decided to go in a "different direction." To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .