Comment
Delegated authority
How is Shire Hall faring in the time of pandemic? It is likely not the uppermost question on our minds these days. Nevertheless, the business of local government— or at least portions of it—goes on. Pumps still turn. Potholes are filled. Projects managed. Information shared. All of it without much direct oversight. Council members, like the rest of us, are at home. Our elected municipal officials have not met since March 17, when they transferred some powers to Chief Administrative Officer Marcia Wallace.
The awkward bit is that Ms. Wallace is new to the job, taking over the hot seat only in mid- December. It is also not an overly secure job. She is the fifth County manager in a little more than a decade.
It may seem unimportant (or inappropriate) to hold Shire Hall and its managers to account in a time of stress and uncertainty. But it is exactly at moments of high public anxiety that democracy tends to be most vulnerable. A time when bad habits form, congeal and resist undoing.
We will endure COVID- 19. We will need our institutions more than ever. We have a role to play to ensure our local government remains strong and responsive in the meantime.
So how are they making out? The best way I know to measure local government is to look at the reports that document each of the decisions made under the delegated authority. These are presented in substantial detail as part of the agenda for the virtual council meeting set for tonight—April 15—at 7 p.m. (You can tune in by following the livestreaming links on the County’s website at pecounty.on.ca. I will post a link to the documents at the end of this column and the online version.) The short answer is that Shire Hall seems to be faring well. The CAO has made 11 decisions, so far, under delegated authority. Six are planning matters in which delays would inevitably create an unwarranted financial hardship on the applicants. Another deals with a proposal to manage marinas and docking facilities in 2020. One recommends a plan to nudge along the notion of reconstructing Highway 49. Another puts money into the hands of the Prince Edward Learning Centre to assist folk seeking financial relief during the pandemic. One sorts road restoration work for the summer season. And another report describes the County’s response to the province’s shrinking role in Conservation Authorities.
Each of these 11 reports is laid out clearly, with fulsome detail and presented more or less objectively. Each is clear, measured and wellreasoned. Each lays out the risks, the opportunities and the rationale for a timely decision.
We may agree or disagree with the outcome— but the decision-making is transparent and justifiable by any objective measure. Furthermore, there appears to be little that is irreparable or transformational should things not pan out as planned.
A couple of examples. Regular readers of this column will know my concerns about Highway 49. (It, and Highway 33, were thrust upon this municipality by Mike Harris’s government two decades ago—without the means to pay for their upkeep.) We simply can’t afford it. We certainly can’t afford the tens of millions of dollars required to replace this concrete roadway. Not even close. Yet every few years—under the weight of rising maintenance costs and public opinion—Shire Hall turns its engineers upon the task of producing possible remedies. Most readers will remember the chunk of Hwy. 49 Mayor Quaiff kept in his office for show and tell when media or senior government officials stopped by.
Now County development folks are proposing to hire a Consulting Engineering firm to prepare detailed plans. (The unsaid bit is that they anticipate senior levels of governments may come out of this pandemic eager to restart the economy with infrastructure spending. Best to be prepared if the provincial or federal taps begin to gush.)
It is a risk. Indeed, as much as a $400,000 risk. But while I disagree that it is one worth taking, I can see how the decision was made. (I would argue, if I were in the room, that as much effort should be put into lobbying the province to remove these albatrosses from around the necks of rural eastern Ontario.)
Nevertheless, given the lack of workable alternatives, it is an understandable approach. Explainable. Justifiable. It is a standard elected council has not always achieved.
Another example: Shire Hall is looking to outsource the management and operation of the marinas in Wellington and Picton to private operators. These properties have a long track record of poor service and lossmaking. In Picton, the County has received expressions of interest from a nearby property owner to manage this facility. There is an opportunity for these properties to be better managed, maintained and potentially provide a more reliable, albeit modest, revenue stream to the municipality. So, Shire Hall has decided under its delegated authority to seek proposals to manage these assets.
There is no doubt this decision will raise eyebrows and produce animated objections. But those who may be inclined to do so must first read and consider the arguments and rationale spelled out in the report supporting the decision. Those concerns may remain, but it simply cannot be suggested that this—or any of the other 10 delegated decisions—was made in the dark or obscured by legal, legislative or technical gobbledygook. Each report offers a thorough illumination of the deliberation process and the path to a decision.
None of this is perfect. It isn’t an ideal substitute for elected oversight. Yet it is clear that CAO Wallace and her team are mindful of their special responsibility to ration delegated authority to time-sensitive matters and to conduct themselves in a way that is both transparent and reasonable.
The best bit is that you don’t need to believe or agree with me. You can pull down these reports. Read them. Come to your own conclusions. Share your concerns with Shire Hall directly or through these pages.
Accountability is a two-way street. CAO Wallace and Shire Hall folks have done a good job of explaining their decisions and rationale. It is our job to review their decisions and to say whether we agree or not.
Council’s April 15, 2020 agenda with delegated decisions: https://princeedwardcounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/ 188712?preview=194511
Closing facilities and boat launches are easy. Strategically deaing with required staffing and who is required and who is not takes much more.
I to am curious why layoffs have not taken place. There is Federal support and it could provide some tax relief to struggling home owners.
The government payments do not cover municipal employees.
Yes they do. CERB covers all Canadian workers if they have earned $5,000 in 2019 or in the last 12 months prior to applying. It also substitutes for unemployment insurance. The County taxpayers do not have to take the complete hit for non essential workers.
How long can the taxpayer continue to pay non essential Municipal employees that are not working? Other municipalities are laying off to reduce the strain on taxpayers. No one wants to see people lose jobs temporarily however the Provincial and Federal governments are providing monetary support to workers.