At Surrey's Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) meeting on Jan. 25, vice-chair Bob Campbell questioned Coun. Bruce Hayne about his criticisms of the committee.

Hayne now chairs the EAC after Mayor Dianne Watts decided last December to have councillors chair all committees.

After being appointed EAC chair last December, Hayne told the Now he was looking forward to taking a lead on an important committee, but added that it needed to focus a little bit.

Vice-chair of the EAC, Campbell said members worried about where Hayne's comments left them and if there was a different agenda now.

Hayne responded that he wants to focus and dive into specific issues.

"I think like anything, like in business or anywhere else, that we can achieve some really good success by focusing on key issues and prioritizing our issues as opposed to having a more shotgun approach. That's just my style of management. So we'll see where that leads us," Hayne said at the Jan. 25 meeting.

Campbell asked, "So you think we took a shotgun approach in the past?"

To which Hayne responded, "I'm only going by some of the minutes that I've read, going back a couple of years."

Campbell also questioned the move by Watts to have councillors chair committees.

"I think it worked really well when we had chairs that we nominated," Campbell said at the meeting, adding he didn't understand "why there was a decision made to punt those people out."

Hayne said Watts felt a council member could be a better liaison to council as a committee chair than they could by simply sitting on the committee.

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