Mayor Nolan Crouse served notice to the president of the St. Albert Taxpayers’ Association that he will not put up with inflammatory language or pot shots at city administration.
Prior to turning over the floor to association president Lynda Flannery to deliver a budget-related presentation to council Monday evening, Crouse issued words of warning.
“The one thing I will not allow this time around is using words that are inappropriate, like ‘lies’ and ‘broken promises,’” Crouse said.
As mayor, Crouse is the chair of proceedings in council chambers and is largely responsible for maintaining proper decorum during public debates.
He went on to say that he will not allow attacks on city administrative staff, who are not in a position to defend themselves.
“I allowed some things to go last [term], public comments to be made, that I won’t allow this time,” he said.
Flannery’s public response to the warning was congenial.
“Thank you for your words of wisdom Mr. Mayor,” she said before beginning her prepared presentation.
In a later interview, however, Flannery wondered why the mayor had chosen to deliver his message publicly when he’d already done so privately.
“The mayor has already made those points to me through a written email,” Flannery said.
One of Crouse’s priorities this term is to improve communication between city council, the city as a corporation and residents. Flannery suggested Crouse’s opening salvo may work against this priority.
“I think that type of public comment has a chilling effect on people coming to council,” she said. “There have been a number of people that have said to me they will never go to council again and it’s because of the way they felt they’ve been received.”
Crouse has made similar speeches in advance of public hearings where numerous citizens were scheduled to speak. He said he missed delivering such a message to Flannery last term because he didn’t want to come across like he was in a confrontation with her.
“I never confronted it when she used the words ‘lies being told’ and ‘broken promises’ and historically blaming staff for certain things in a derogatory way so I felt we might as well nip it in the bud before it got started,” he said.
Crouse felt it was important to lay out the ground rules in public.
“It’s a brand new set of councillors at the table. We’re all learning what the right protocols are and I don’t want there to be any confusion as to what they are, with council, with our staff, or with the public,” he said.
City manager Bill Holtby was supportive of Crouse’s insistence upon professional conduct from all parties in council chambers. He said members of administration sometimes have to bite their tongues during public presentations, because these sessions are between the public and council.
“The administration is at a disadvantage where we are not in a position where we can publicly defend our actions and we rely upon council to provide that defence for us if it’s required,” Holtby said.
Which isn’t to say he thinks city administration should be off-limits from public criticism.
“If it’s done in a professional way, then yes, we are certainly open to critique by the public,” Holtby said. “As public servants, that’s part of our job.”
