Change is hard

It is a sleepy time on council these days. There are few meetings in the summer and the corridors of Shire Hall do not hum. It remains a bit of an anachronism that the machinery of local government gears down during July and August. There is seemingly plenty to do and, come October or February, a senior level bureaucrat will sadly complain their assignment isn’t complete, report unprepared or project has drifted because they didn’t have enough time or staff to do it. It seems summers could be used better.

Yet, behind the serene demeanor, unrest is brewing on council.

Some fear the County’s new chief administrator is moving too fast, too strong. Some fear they are being left behind. And some simply want things to go back to the way they were before.

It was bound to come. The changes that are needed to begin to address the decades of rot and inattention to municipal infrastructure and services are difficult to swallow. They are painful. There is no easy path to unwinding generations of poor hiring practices, unmeasured performances, sloppy finances and neglected pipes, parks and bridges.

The cost of local government doubled in its first decade as an amalgamated entity. Unchecked, the taxpayers’ burden was set to triple by 2017 or ’18—it may yet do so. This might be acceptable were the County’s population growing at a reasonable clip—we would share this burden among more property owners. But it isn’t.

For everyone who decides to move here— someone leaves. Some go to heaven—some go back to Toronto. It depends on what kind of life they’ve led, I guess. So the responsibility to pay for the escalating cost of County government falls on about 25,000 people— about what it was 10 years ago, and 130 years ago.

With the hiring of Merlin Dewing, County council made a dramatic choice to change the way it does business. This is what they were elected to do. Now some are beginning to recoil because change is hard. Some want to put the administrator on a shorter leash.

This is a mistake.

Dewing, Mayor Peter Mertens and council appear to be on the right road. They have begun an important structural transformation that will 1) reduce operating costs; 2) improve efficiency throughout the organization; and, 3) improve services and the customer experience.

Already County government is more transparent and scrutable than it ever has been before. It has a long way to go yet. Which is why council cannot lose its resolve now. It cannot let those who would resist change undermine the important work that is afoot.

Further, council must work harder to refocus its energies upon the role it is supposed to play. Too often past councils became entangled, often willingly, in simple matters with little significance beyond an individual property owner or ratepayer. Some enjoy playing the advocate for the little guy—it is something they understand and it wins votes.

But the job of representing the folks who fund the lion’s share of a $60 million enterprise requires more than 16 folks squabbling for an hour or two over the placement of a culvert or driveway. Somebody needs to make big decisions. Somebody has to keep their eye on the big picture.

Council’s job is to set direction—where do we want go? It is to develop policies that propel the organization in that direction. It is to set guidelines and adjustment measures to ensure it stays on course. It continually measures the performance of its staff, systems and processes to ensure the enterprise moves toward its goals effectively, using its precious funds wisely.

Councillors are not there to manage the day-today business of the organization. As at least one councillor has noted in the past, some of his colleagues seem to have picked the wrong job. Some seem to believe their job is to stand behind staff— approving or disapproving each decision.

These councillors must decide which job they want—strategic or tactical. If they are unsuited or ill-equipped to guide the direction of the organization, they need to step aside—or at least stop getting in the way. If they really want to be at the levers deciding which road gets paved, which farmer gets a severance or which grader the County should buy—they ought to apply for a management job at the County.

County voters made it abundantly clear in the last election that they wanted change. Change is under way. Those who would undermine it, try to block it or return the County to the good old days have grossly misunderstood the hopes and aspirations of the folks who elected them. Or perhaps they simply know better than we do. Or they don’t care.

Either way, it is time council decides if it is going to lead the way forward to a sustainable and affordable future, or head back down the road of incompetence and make-it-up-as-you-go-along management. Taxpayers have borne the cost of this approach these past 12 years—perhaps we can try a little harder to make this new approach work.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca