Comment
Not an achievement
One of the more intriguing arguments made by some council members explaining why they oppose reducing council size now rather than during the election, is that this group is working well.
“We are proving that council can work,” claimed a first-time councillor proudly last week.
Another diagnosed council’s prior ills to be the last gasps of an old boys club and proclaimed the County free from its grip.
“There is a new sheriff in town, and he’s got a new posse,” declared the councillor.
These aren’t isolated comments made in a weak moment by one or two folks. There has scarcely been a council or committee meeting in recent months that one of their collective hasn’t observed just how well they are getting along. It is both said and implied that the warm feeling between council members is translating into good and productive government. But is it true?
Indeed, they had a good first week. In early December, the new council sat through long budget discussions. They paid attention. Asked mostly good questions. Paid deference to their professional staff who toil in these numbers every day and understand how they work on the ground. It was also their first real look into the deep dark chasm of the County’s infrastructure deficit. Roads, bridges and waterworks are deteriorating faster than we can afford to fix them. When the week was over, they had agreed to allow the tax levy to expand by nearly five per cent.
Since December, the tally of council’s accomplishments has become more incremental and marginal. And some aren’t accomplishments at all.
This council fired its Chief Administrative Officer. Some will see this as an achievement—yet the cost of this fit of pique has not been revealed. We still do not know how much was paid to dispense with the County’s top manager— though his dismissal came just days after this council had approved his 2015 objectives. Under Merlin Dewing’s tenure, the municipality eliminated $1 million of annual overhead and re-organized the business to be more efficient and customer-driven. It is unclear what is being done to retain these savings and to secure operational rigour.
This council rebuilt Union Road. It spent hundreds of thousands of dollars improving a road that many believe redundant and should have been closed.
This council agreed to fund the operation of a splash pad in Picton—if volunteers and service groups built it.
This council agreed to consider replacing a broken sign at the entrance to the Prince Edward Fairgrounds in Picton. They also agreed to pay to have trees removed from Glenwood Cemetery.
This council bought two buildings on Wellington’s main intersection. This story has not yet played out. They paid a rich price. Taxpayers would like to see that money recovered, but plans currently proposed by Shire Hall imagine the corner left blank and our investment sunk into unwanted parkette.
Sadly the list of real issues requiring council’s attention is long—yet so far, there appears little appetite to tackle them.
What has this council done about the spiraling costs of waterworks? Residents feel increasingly powerless as water bills rise even as they consume less. Meanwhile, administrators are borrowing from reserves just to pay the bills, because soaring user rates aren’t enough to cover the cost of the system. What has this council done to fix this problem? To alter the destructive vector we are on?
Roads are crumbling from one corner of the County to the other. The overall condition of the County’s road network is deteriorating each year.
Some County roads will return to gravel, some will be closed. Where is this council on roads? Why aren’t we having this discussion?
Ignoring our problems—though it may enhance the collegiality of council—doesn’t do anything to address them. Sooner or later we must make some tough decisions. But nine months into this new council and not a word on roads. That is not quite true—it did drop a bucket load of money into the few hundred yards of Union Road.
Property taxes and lack of affordable housing are causing our seniors, young families and youth to struggle to live in Prince Edward County. What has this council done to ease the plight of these folks?
Where is the growth in residential development? The municipality depends on residential property taxes for almost all of its revenue. But new home starts have fallen steadily since 2008. That means existing homeowners shoulder a greater share of the burden of keeping the municipality running. What has this council done to promote residential development and nurture growth in the tax base?
These are the issues County residents want resolved. Most could not care less that council members enjoy each other’s company. It is not an achievement to get along.
A smaller council may, or may not, bring these issues to the foreground in a reasonable and intelligent way— but it is simply delusional and contrary to the evidence to suggest this group is working better than previous councils. You have to do something meaningful first.
rick@wellingtontimes.ca
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