Local councillors by their very nature of serving local residents tend to be a bit parochial. It’s pretty easy to spout off about that darn county.
For former local councillors elected to a county seat by virtue of winning the mayor’s race or a ward councillor spot, the transition to this level of government has some difficulties. Previous claims on the election trail quickly wither when the reality sets in that maybe some talking points were a bit off base.
Some candidates and the public often talk about the big spending ways at the county. They point to wasted money on capital projects, like the county library branch in Fergus or the high taxes that make it difficult for the lower tier to raise funds and get work done.
The county budget for 2015 passed with relatively little discussion, which suggests to us many talking points from the election have been forgotten.
Or could the complaints have just been electioneering? Time will tell.
What we do know is each mayor is paid a hefty sum to attend county council, where they represent the interests of their community in a regional context. More importantly they must also represent the interests and needs of all residents county-wide, if the system is to work effectively.
Taking on this county council role is no easy task. We hazard to guess it will be months before the scope of deeds performed at the upper tier really begin to sink in. That’s why some slack should be given to Centre Wellington’s new mayor for missing an opportunity last week to inform business leaders on regional issues.
Mayor Kelly Linton recently addressed the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce’s annual mayor’s breakfast meeting. By all accounts it was a good address, but missing was any significant amount of conversation on the county’s role as it pertains to Centre Wellington.
Whether by design or as a matter of being a “local” event, there was little mention of where approximately half of every tax dollar is spent. A quick suggestion was made that maybe the local economic development office could work more closely with the county office. Then a question came from the floor about the library and when it may open. That was about it.
While it’s great to see local pride in the happenings of the township, if we understand Linton’s hope for more transparent government, it’s awfully hard to deliver when fully half of the equation is missing. While it’s unfair to suggest he bears responsibility for the whole tax bill, since part of it relates to education, he should have used the chance to put some salve on the big spending he decried last fall. It’s maybe not quite what he thought.
Currently the county is one of the largest employers in Centre Wellington. These are good paying jobs, which is good News for local business people who count on steady patronage. Centre Wellington also benefits from affordable housing, a relatively new police station, the Wellington Terrace, three libraries, dozens of kilometres of high quality roads, social services, ambulance service, garbage/ recycling and so much more.
We hope going forward that all mayors use any chances given to promote and help residents fully understand both levels of local government.
