The four-page pullout in the Feb. 19 Gazette appears to indicate council is confusing activities with results. The terminology used is full of ‘motherhood’ statements. Words such as ‘approved, continued, completed, adopted, introduced’ are meaningless unless we know what the desired expectations were and if they were met or exceeded.
For example, ‘continued work on restoring St. Albert’s grain elevators’ should instead read ‘spent $1 million painting the grain elevators. Budget was $500,000. Did not meet expectations.’
If council and the mayor are serious about keeping the residents informed and engaged, do so in a meaningful way. Give us the information we need to determine if your performance as a group meets or exceeds expectations, or if it fails to. Tell us the results compared to the expectations, not the activities.
Reporting activities disguised as results is an attempt to hide the fact that nothing worthwhile has been accomplished and to make it appear the participants were somehow productive.
Norm Harley, St. Albert
