It’s been a long layoff, with council stuff sort of taking a back seat here over the course of the holidays, but with the arrival of the second full week of the month, open council meetings are now part of the crunch.
And they’ll start with a bit of a crunch if the most recent agenda is any indication of what may happen when we all convene in chambers this evening.
Two cases being investigated by the Integrity Commissioner will have reports delivered, one involving Councillor Andrew Dick, and the other Reeve Peter Emon.
In both cases, the council members were found to be offside with respect to decorum aspects of the Code of Conduct. In the first, language was used, and a tone adopted, that implied that Councillor Dick was impinging upon the reputation of an un-named former council member whose company was awarded a municipal contract which the councillor felt flew in the face of transparency and propriety. The commissioner, in the person of Tony Fleming of Anthony Fleming Professional Corporation, in conjunction with the law firm Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little, and Bonham, felt that Councillor Dick’s commentary gave the impression of impropriety, and possibly even illegality with respect to the former councillor.
In the second circumstance, an email was distributed to Council at large by Reeve Emon whereby it’s alleged the Reeve made disparaging comments concerning Councillor John McDonald and, among other things, his intellectual faculties and ability to accurately remember things. It was suggested by the reeve that the councillor be removed from all committees where he currently sits as a member. In this case, the same commissioner, Tony Fleming, opined that the Code of Conduct had been breached as well, and that the Reeve’s purported attempts to mix humour with serious business was not only poorly done, but a transgression of the code.
It was recommended that in both cases, a public apology would be required and forthcoming from Councillor Dick and Reeve Emon respecting each of their cases.
Treasurer Charlene Jackson is recommending Council pass a by-law authorizing short-term borrowing by the town to keep the lights on and the fires burning while revenue collection catches up to spending requirements. The amount to be potentially borrowed would be based upon estimated revenue incoming to the town.
There’s talk of the municipality establishing an interim tax levy and the authorization of the payment of taxes, as well as an authorization for penalty and interest charges for the non-payment of taxes or tax instalments.
A Salt Management Plan (SMP) is included in the agenda for the meeting, as well as a forty page document outlining just about every facet of salt management imaginable. This represents an example of HOWS — Hamster On Wheel Syndrome, whereby municipal governments are required to wade through operational quicksand in order to review best practices to ensure that they fall within the established industry guidelines.
Andrea Bishop, the Acting Director of Infrastructure , Public Works and Engineering, will be on hand to present an introduction to the Overview of Public Works Operations. Within that overview will be the reality that some areas of public works may need to prioritized moving forward because of limitations posed by staff and budgetary shortages inherent in the current situation. In short, not all required tasks can be completed with the resources at hand, or attended to as thoroughly as they may have been in the past.
My goodness, that Deslaurier lease deal emerges from the darkness. I believe this was something that was often discussed in closed meetings, but I guess this one snuck out while someone left the gate unattended. I think I was able to follow most of it, but it will still be nice to gain a bit of insight from someone closer to the file.
Beyond this, the meeting agenda is choked up with minutes of meetings gone by, the kind of thing that when you read them, you thank your Creator for not suggesting you participate yourself.
Like boards and committees everywhere, it’s a bunch of people talking, reviewing, talking, then reviewing, then recommending to council for their input, then reviewing, then asking Horton what they think, followed by writing a letter, but only after recommending a letter be written, only subject to Council approval, which is not forthcoming because Council tables the whole thing for a date off in the distant future, whereupon committee members retire, resign, or die, necessitating their replacement, and all the by-laws needed to oversee all of this, not to mention the ones governing shoe-size and tie colour.
Horses on the way to becoming camels, hamsters on a wheel, or belly-button navel gazing.
Or, if you will, committee work.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 