Town Hall to make Council more effective
By Brent Preston
Most Canadians pay attention to municipal politics only at election time, or when an issue arises that has a direct, personal impact on them, like when someone tries to build a wind turbine in their backyard.
Municipal Councillors are also wrapped up in the important issues of the day – drafting budgets, dealing with development applications and building infrastructure. What both elected officials and the public often overlook is the structure of our municipal government and the long-term health of our grassroots democracy. Who runs our municipality and what they do about specific issues are important, but I think we should be spending much more of our time figuring out how our local government should be run.
Last year, Clearview Council voted unanimously to address this important question, setting up a two-part process to strengthen the democratic process in our Township. The first phase involved the review and eventual redrawing of the ward boundaries to better distribute population between the wards, and to better represent the various communities that make up our Township. The ward boundary review set a new standard for public consultation in Clearview, with hundreds of citizens attending Town Hall meetings and submitting written comments.
The second phase of the process is now underway, and though it has not garnered as much public attention as the boundary review, I think it is equally important.
An Effective Representation Advisory Committee, with members from Council and the public, has been working for the past month to explore ways in which our elected Council could be made more effective.
We have been asking some simple but important questions: Do members of Council have the tools and resources they need to do their job? How can we improve communication between Council and the public? What role do we want Councillors to play in our municipal governance? How much should Councillors be paid?
Now the Committee wants to hear from you. A Town Hall meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 19 at 7 pm in the Council Chambers in Stayner, where the Committee will present a list of very preliminary recommendations, and members of the public will have their say.
You can also comment in writing by filling out the public input form that is available on the Township website, at all three Clearview Public Library branches and at the municipal offices in Stayner. All of the comments at the Town Hall, and those received in writing, will form part of the public record of the Committee’s work and will inform a final set of recommendations that will be presented to Council in April.
What kind of democracy do you want in Clearview? That’s the most important question of all.
