For the second time in two months Belleville’s mayor has asked city councillors – including himself -- to a take closer look at how they behave during council meetings. Mayor Mitch Panciuk expressed the sentiment at the end of Monday night’s marathon council meeting after yet another round of fireworks erupted, this time around a motion made by Coun. Ryan Williams. Williams was chastised for what were called “disrespectful” comments and for acting like he was in “the wild, wild west,” while for his part Williams slammed Panciuk for “belittling him.” Panciuk closed the meeting by saying while it is OK for things to get a little heated around the horseshoe, councillors had to be careful about personalizing the debate. “Passion without ideas is dangerous,” he said. “And we have to be careful because when we personalize the debate that does not serve us or our constituents. “All of us, myself included, need to reflect on that.” After the meeting, Panciuk said there is no place for comments that are personal in nature during debate. “We all have ideas, we bring them forward, some people are going to support them or not, we are going to win some, we’re going to lose some,” he said. “People don’t expect us to get angry or bitter about them, they expect us to be professional. “My comments were saying, ‘We’re all adults here. We aren’t going to agree all the time, and that’s OK.’ Being collaborative does not mean everyone agrees all the time. Being collaborative means you are open to considering other people’s points of view.” For his part, Williams insisted he was just trying to act in the interest of the residents of the city and bring new ideas to the horseshoe. “Ideas should be encouraged,” he said. “That collaboration the mayor talks about is not two-sided. If that’s the case, than let’s see it from the other side and help work with any one of us who want to bring ideas so that we can make sure they are being presented the right way.” Williams’ motion called for the city to provide loans to help people create secondary suites in their homes that would be rented at 80 per cent of market value. Williams tried to amend the motion to ask for a staff report on the issue instead, but Panciuk ruled it out of order. Williams challenged the ruling but Couns. Kelly McCaw, Pat Culhane, Bill Sandison and Sean Kelly sided with the mayor. “I tried to amend it because after a month and three days of meeting with staff and researching it more I realized it needed a little more legal opinion,” Williams said. “The mayor ruled against that and went right into debate, which I wasn’t really ready to do. We have a big issue here so I’m hoping the staff and the mayor can come up with some great ideas and move this forward because it’s needed.” Williams said his motion, which aimed to help create 250 of the 1,000 affordable rental units the city has committed to developing was a “drop in the bucket” but it was some action at a time when it “is desperately needed.” “It’s low cost, it has great social benefits and it’s something unique,” he said. “Traditional methods are not keeping up.” However, other councillors raised a myriad of concerns, including the fact that cities can’t legally provide loans to individuals unless they specifically create a Community Incentive Plan that allows it. Staff are in the process of creating a CIP for affordable housing. McCaw raised a number of issues with the proposal including how council would enforce the 80 per cent rent and what happens if the property sells, as well as noting any “reputable” person who wanted to create a secondary suite can easily get one at a bank. Sandison argued the move was premature giving that staff were working on a CIP that included plans for secondary suites, noting they were working at “breakneck” speed to deal with the housing crisis. He also suggested Williams just bringing in his own ideas ahead of staff was like “the wild, wild west occurring here... and I’m not happy with it.” But the strongest rebukes of Williams came from the mayor himself who said Williams’ efforts “were not helpful” and that he should have a better understanding of how council works “What is concerning to me is that this is detracting from the work of staff… I would say it is even disrespectful,” Panciuk said. “This is disrespectful of all concerned. “It clearly hasn’t sunk in yet what a motion should be. This does a disservice to all of us and is disrespectful of the team approach we are trying to take here.” Williams rebutted that councillors should be able to bring their ideas before council without being “chided” by the mayor. “I will not be belittled by you,” he told Panciuk. “As a councillor, I take great offence to being talked to by my mayor like that. “I brought an idea. I hope all of you continue to do the same,” he told council. Only Coun. Chris Malette supported Williams’ motion.