It’ll be two sessions, one starting mid-morning, the other at maybe 5 PM. Both sessions being limited to a maximum of four hours, since gatherings like these qualify as official council “meetings” and are therefore required to adhere to the procedural rules listed in Clerk Carolynn Errett’s Little Red Book of Municipal Procedure, available at fine bookstores nowhere.
That shouldn’t amount to any sort of problem, because, honestly, four hours is more than enough for an exercise in transparency and accountability, as well as simply putting faces to the various political and staff positions that are behind the day-to-day workings of the Corporation of the Town of Renfrew. Offering two such gatherings is, in my mind, more than generous, so I applaud the effort to hold an event such as this, to close any gaps between the citizens/taxpayers and the staff and political types who govern their municipal affairs.
I’m talking about what has been referred to as a Structured Town Hall, where residents can come out to learn more about how they’re governed and to provide some measure of background to various points of concern and/or curiosity people may have with policy, policy direction, decision-making, and all the other stuff that’s part of running a town, or any other place for that matter.
No matter what, I have to give props to the idea, as well as additional props for the courage and fortitude that may be necessary given a citizenry that, from what I can see, is somewhat in a mood, and not one where a smile is the first indicator. Any time an event like this is planned, a so-called informational event, you run the risk of it becoming an accountability event instead of informational one, where you hear nothing but complaint and negativity and you hear it from people who are angry. I’ve experienced such events before and can say that it can get a little hot for the folks sitting in those “accountability” chairs, even though they’re simply there for informational reasons. It will take some tact, patience, understanding, and the love of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and all the shepherds for staff and politicians to get through the event without being buffeted by the strong winds of discontent.
It might make for an uncomfortable day.
It’s possible that such an intended positive, public-facing event devolves into a street brawl that would have staffers conclude that there’s no point to making such efforts and leaving them to further conclude that it’s better to retreat back into the shadows, back behind the barricades, and sit it out hoping the mood changes. But with property tax rates increasing incrementally year over year, I don’t really see it going away entirely. It may ebb and flow, but as long as property owners continue to get tax bills, there will be a time in every year where that anger can surge to the surface.
It’s important to be attentive to the title, a Structured Town Hall, a bit of a misnomer because it’s not actually a town hall in the manner many of us envision, nor is it an open house, which is more of an un-guided informational event. The key word here is structured, and that refers not just to the format but also more importantly, to the topics under discussion.
As to the first part, the format, nobody on council or on staff seems to have a really sound idea of what the whole thing will “look” like. Councillor Andrew Dick shared what he thought the whole thing looked like in his mind, but moments later Councillor Legris shared his vision, and it wasn’t anywhere near being the same. As the discussion continued, it became obvious that the event conjured up different images in different people, which is concerning because the event is less than three weeks away, coming as part of Renfrew’s observance of Local Government Week in the Province of Ontario. Councillor Dick asked Clerk Errett what she saw in her mind’s eye when thinking of the effort, but she demurred, saying that she’s not in the position of advising council on policy direction, but rather to make sure that council remain firmly fixed on the rails as per her Little Red Book. Keeping “I”s crossed and the “t”s dotted kind of thing, or at least as much as possible. And she said it with a megawatt smile, which forgive me, I didn’t interpret as a sign or expression of positive intent toward the councillor. But it was a knockout smile, to be sure.
No matter the format, it’s the topic selection that is bound to be the source of fireworks when those fine folks of Renfrew enter the Council chambers, or the Ma-Te-Way function room, or wherever the thing is to be held, the date yet undetermined.
Council was provided a short list of topics that would be under discussion on that day, and from that list they were to agree upon two topics that would have exclusivity, meaning they’d be the only two things being talked about. I completely understand the desire and the need to have some guardrails in place, as a wild free-for-all of topics could lead to a wild free-for-all type of discussion, which may not bode well for the people at the front of the room providing the “answers,” or at least the responses to questions.
Yet, a funnelling of discussion topics to come up with just two is going to be, to my mind, problematic , since people are going to be throwing accusations around that this is an attempt to stifle discussion on other topics which may be more top-of-mind for many residents.
The choices on offer had to do with roads and sidewalks, waste management, bylaw and bylaw enforcement, and recreational activities in the community. I believe, after some discussion, that council settled on roads and sidewalks as the two exclusive subjects to be discussed. There will be nothing on Ma-Te-Way, and nothing on taxes.
That means that the promotion of this event had better be on point in advance that these sessions are to be exclusively dedicated towards road and sidewalks. So maybe a little less Structured Town Hall, a combination of words that will be lost on most citizens, and a little more of Sidewalks and Roads Information Session, or something a little more snappy but yet very defined.
Because if people show up thinking they’re going to have an opportunity to talk about taxes, Ma-Te-Way, or anything else other than roads and sidewalks, and they are subsequently yet politely rebuffed, this may well turn into a police event. I genuinely hope not, but as I said, there’s an anger in the land. And people can be, well, people.
I wasn’t the only person attending last night’s council meeting live. There may have been eight or nine others present, and from observing body language and overhearing subdued commentary, they were’t in attendance because they were happy. According to the numbers provided, some 577 people viewed either one or both meetings last night via the YouTube livestream, and I doubt they were all there to see what boots I was wearing or get a look at the majesty of my hair. In fact, I’ll go so far as to suggest that the vast majority of those folks were probably not the happiest of campers either.
As to boots and hair, Eric Withers is the guy to check out in the boot department, and Councillor McWhirter has way better hair. And Andrew Dick has a presentation category completely his own, but we’ve not come up with a word for it just yet, although it does require the need for indoor sunglasses.
Let’s face it, people don’t attend council meetings because they’re happy. So my point is that there are more and more people energized to spend anywhere from four to six hours on a Tuesday night to watch a council meeting, and my premise is that they’re not present because there’s nothing on Netflix.
That energized electorate, that energized stakeholder base, those are the people, and I assume many others, who will show up on October 20th (unless it’s the 14th?) to the Structured Town Hall. I know I’ll be attending both sessions, not as a rabble-rouser but simply as an observer, and perhaps charitably as a reporter, as in someone who reports on what they observe.
But I do believe there will be levels of discontent among the attendees.
I was part of a conversation during a break with one councillor and one of the people who were attending in the gallery, and one comment rang through loud and clear:
“I don’t give a shit about sidewalks or roads. I want to talk about Ma-Te-Way and taxes.”
With my apologies to anyone living on Stevenson Crescent, there appears to be a desire to talk about more than roads and sidewalks.
Featured image by Stefano Ferrario from Pixabay
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