Turmoil in Mission City Council leads city to seek provincial help

Tensions at Mission City Council have reached the point where the city is now seeking the help of the provincial government. According to a press release the city sent out last week, Mission will be seeking the province’s assistance after failing to improve relations between council members using:

• Professional mediation

• Training

• Open dialogue and mutual feedback sessions

• Utilizing independent processes as part of Council’s Code of Responsible Conduct

The city is also requesting a municipal advisor to look into all the issues causing tension within the council. 

“I can’t give the name of the individual, although I think most in our community are fairly aware of this,” Mission Mayor Paul Horn told the Current. “It really is an issue of six of us have the ability to function effectively and are the ones that have sort of been keeping the city moving forward, even when we disagree, we disagree respectfully and functionally, but we’ve continued to have concerns, and they became really apparent recently where information was leaked, but more importantly, where it raised concerns about conflict of interest and insider and outsider influence.”

In late 2023, Mission city councillor, Ken Herar, was censured for breaching the city’s Code of Responsible Conduct. Tensions have been ongoing between Herar and the rest of the council members. The Current reached out to Coun. Herar for comment.

“Thanks so much for reaching out to me. At this time, I don’t have anything more to add to this request,” Herar replied in an email.   

The council raised the issue with the provincial government and informed the Minister of Municipal Affairs that it needs a municipal advisor.

“We indicated to the minister that while we have been able to function to some extent in the past, this thing has gotten to the point now where we had some very serious labour negotiations coming up, and this kind of information being leaked will make that nearly impossible,” Horn said.

The city hall that never was

The current tensions and decision to seek provincial help come in the wake of a large, cancelled civic project. The project in question was a new city hall, which would replace the existing aging structure that does not meet contemporary accessibility or safety standards. 

According to a council report from July 7, the City of Mission was planning to borrow funds to cover part of the $25 million needed for the city hall. The report breaks down the funding: 

• Long-term debt: $16,339,945 

• Capital reserve: $7,564,125 

• Amenity cost charges: $1,095,930

“Based on a loan of $16,339,945 over a 30-year term with an interest rate of 4.08%, the annual debt servicing cost for the Outlook Village Project will be $983,196. Should an increase in property taxes be used to service the debt, a tax increase of 1.95% will be required to service the debt,” the report said. 

However, before the project could even be discussed in council, information was leaked to the public, leading to negative reactions among Mission residents regarding the lack of public consultation. 

When the project finally came to council on July 7, council members voted unanimously to cancel the plan to borrow funds for the city hall project. 

“Unfortunately, public discussion around the City Hall proposal was clouded by leaked and misleading information that deliberately misrepresented Council’s process and intentions. That is troubling. As a result, some residents were led to believe that wrongdoing was taking place,” Horn said in a statement. “In B.C., all municipalities are required to use confidential meetings when discussing sensitive legal, land, and labour matters. These meetings are not secret; they are a legal and essential part of good governance, designed to protect taxpayers from unnecessary costs and risks. Leaking incomplete information mid-process creates confusion, undermines trust, and increases costs. I can assure you that neither Council nor staff were attempting to misuse these processes. Doing so would be both illegal and unethical, and no one on our team would tolerate it.”