 Points of View - Editorial - May 14, 2008 |
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| What did we learn? |
Mayor Nolan Crouse ended the May 5 council meeting on the losing end of a 6-1 vote to decide whether council should cancel a couple of its regular meetings over the summer. Coun. James Burrows works full time and said he needs family time. Coun. Len Bracko suggested while the mayor might be on full-time pay, he certainly wasn’t. And that got us to wondering whether the debacle over Servus Place and taxes might have been prevented if council members were full time. Or would we just pay twice or three times as much for the same level of attention to detail?
We’re not targeting all members of current council. We’ve already been very clear on the failings of members of the previous council for lack of oversight on the 2007 budget for Servus Credit Union Place and how it compared to consultants’ recommendations. Some of them were re-elected and they and we know who they are.
What’s important is figuring out what residents, council and administration have learned and what we should be doing differently.
One thing that became very evident as this story rolled out was how far out of touch with voters some council members were. It doesn’t matter how much they tried to spin it, the unanimous votes to transfer money from reserves to offset the level of tax increase was damage control and a reversal of an earlier 4-3 vote. The money might be going into general revenues rather than a specific pot for Servus Place, but the vote wouldn’t have taken place if it were not for the voter backlash over the Servus fiasco. And the whole problem was made much, much worse by the effect market value assessment had on the 2008 tax increases for many residents. It’s not something council members had any control over, but they should have seen it coming.
Residents don’t get off the hook, either. Voter turnout is average and most pay little or no attention to civic politics until the results of council decisions, or lack of them, land with a big thud in their backyards or through their mailboxes in the form of tax notices. Every voter opposed to Servus Place could have turned out to say so, but most chose to stay home.
Most of us lead very busy lives. Is it reasonable to expect part-time council members to drill down into budgets and binders full of numbers to find the details that hide the devil? Or should the city’s top administrators give council a heads-up when they change anything of significance that has the potential to cause a firestorm of protest?
As the city grows and development begins to occur in the annexed lands, there might be an argument to be made for full-time council members, but would that attract the level of critical thinking and commitment to detail that has been lacking? There’s a need for the right balance to be struck between what we should expect from our civil servants and what we want from our elected officials.
These are questions to ponder over the next year or two. In the meantime, council should give serious consideration to one or two general public input sessions, with impartial facilitators, where residents can ask questions, air concerns without the procedural restrictions imposed by the more formal council meetings. But council members can only get back in touch with their constituents if residents make the effort to meet them half way.
And for the record, we don’t have a problem with council gearing down a bit over the summer. It’s been a tough few months for all of us!
On a brighter note
By the end of this month, St. Albert’s bid to host the 2011 Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games will be in the hands of the selection committee. We urge residents and businesses to give the local bid as much support as possible.
This four-day event will add another dimension to the community’s 150th anniversary celebration, bring competitors and their families to Servus Place and our businesses, enhance our appreciation for our vibrant and growing seniors population and help build community spirit.
We’ve proven in the past we can put on high profile events and engage residents and volunteers. Let’s do it again in 2011. Send your support for St. Albert’s bid to committee chair Doug Kennedy at dougk_25@telus.net |
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