Wellington North Mayor Mike Broomhead believes councillors should get out more.
He said council is now halfway through its term of office and needs to look at ways to better get its message out to citizens. He noted that last year, council had not considered switching committees, and suggested that perhaps it could be considered for the coming year.
Broomhead also advocated the idea of town hall style meetings, or sending letters to local groups and organizations indicating a willingness of council members to come speak or get information about various issues.
In the past few years, Broomhead said council has taken on an amazing number of projects. While there have been great successes, he said there has also been a certain criticism and skepticism about where the money is coming from and what council’s goals are.
“People are asking questions, and they may not be getting the answers they need.”
He believes that council representatives getting out in the community more might prevent misunderstandings.
“People seem to be having more and more questions and we need to be able to give them the proper answers.”
One of those ways, he said, could be a New Year’s Levee.
Although the first one last year might not have been well attended, Broomhead said the information presented made an impact on those who did come.
He hopes to hold another in 2009, although perhaps a bit later in January, and possibly in conjunction with a walk around the track at the Mount Forest Sportsplex.
Councillor John Matusinec agreed that moving the event away from New Year’s Day might help boost attendance.
