Stalled

It has been 90 days since council was elected. Many members were just getting used to their new chairs when they were thrust into a dizzying budget process—learning to make sense of a $57-million government in a week. But they worked hard. Diligently. Long days of listening, asking questions and making some difficult choices. They didn’t take shortcuts or back away from tough issues. It was a good start.

Progress has been harder to measure since then. Council met as a committee last week, as it does twice monthly. Committee of the whole is where the business of our local government can be debated in greater detail. Presentations and deputations to council are permitted more time. Council members are afforded more latitude to probe, ask questions and raise concerns.

Yet the public portion of last week’s meeting was just 45 minutes. A solar developer came looking for support for as many as seven new 100- acre installations. There were some questions and discussion. And that was it. Council then went behind closed doors to deliberate on committee appointments.

An aberration perhaps? After all, several councillors and the mayor had been away to the Good Roads conference in Toronto earlier in the week. But the previous meeting of the council committee was hardly more illuminating. There, a resident made an appeal for compensation related to delays in closing a transaction to sell her parents’ home—a delay she says was caused by the municipality. There was no delay, explained County officials— rather there were unrealistic expectations by the resident. The appeal was rejected. The committee did, however, agree to a Code of Conduct in that meeting. There were a few questions aboutthe future of an empty lotnow that Shopper’s DrugMart has abandoned plansto build there. There were acouple of basic questionsabout Wellington’s secondary plan update. That was it. That meeting was done in about an hour.

In fairness, committee of the whole isn’t the entirety of the council job. Councillors and Mayor Robert Quaiff have been busy in the community, sorting through parking issues, advocating for the Picton hospital and dozens of other issues in a variety of forums.

But committee of the whole is a critical part ofmaking the organization accountable. A couple hours a month isn’t nearly enough to do the job. It is not as though there is a shortage of mat-ters to discuss—roads, waterworks, the hospital, the size of council. These are the issues this council was elected to talk about—to workthrough and to develop solutions. Yet three months have passed and there is precious little they can point to as achievements.

Agreeing to be civil with one another is hardly an accomplishment. Neither is adjudicating individual disputes. Not when there are real problems that need sorting out.

Council needs to re-examine its role and re-assert itself on these critical issues. It has moved a long way in resisting the urge to man-age the organization. But in doing so, council appears to have lost the ability to set the agenda—to chart a course for this community. That has to happen in the committee in the whole. It has to start happening soon. It should have begun already.

Why isn’t council talking about the size of council? This was a commitment most of themmade in their election campaign last fall; but it is nowhere in sight. What are they waiting for? What about roads? The problem will be much worse this spring—what can council do to mitigate this? Economic development has been a taboo subject around the council table for years. Isn’t it time for council to have an adult conversation about the municipality’s role in nurturing job growth and opportunity? Builders, planners and homeowners all complain the planning process in the County is slow, cumbersome and unresponsive. Is it just typical griping about a necessarily careful vetting process? Or is there something more to these concerns? Why isn’t council asking these questions? Seeking answers? Or reworking policies to streamline approvals? Or guide prospective investors and individuals through the process? Why isn’t council looking at other municipalities for better, more effective ways of doing things?

None of this is to say these files aren’t being managed— or managed well. In most cases the evidence suggests they are. This municipality benefits from a competent and skilled management team that keep the wheels of the organization turning effectively. But council’s job is to see the big picture—to set a course for the organization, to show the electorate there is a plan, and to provide a venue for the big issues of the day to be aired and debated.

That hasn’t happened yet. The thing about lethargy is it risks becoming self-perpetuating. The honeymoon is over. It is time the new council realized it isn’t new anymore.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca