‘Need for information works both ways’
Dear Editor,
I would like to commend council and Christine Nadon, manager of communications, for developing a new policy to encourage residents to get engaged in the town’s decision making process. I looked up the draft policy on the town’s website, as suggested, and found it quite interesting.
I do note however that one of the first things mentioned in the policy is informing the community of current and future issues that are of interest. In that regard, I would like to comment that although there has been public input on the current operating budget, there has been, as far as I can tell, no mention of the capital budget for 2013. Unless the operating budget indicates a reduction in services or expansion of programs or a huge increase in taxes, it does not necessarily generate much interest with the readers.
The capital budget however can sometimes be very stimulating and often controversial as it outlines future plans for new buildings, new or replacement equipment and investment in infrastructure which can be quite costly for the taxpayers. I am sure it would be of interest to the public to know what capital expenditures there may be in the coming year.
Although council and administration seek input and information from the public it must be remembered that this need for information works both ways. We all know that one of the factors in a good relationship is communication.
As an example, there seems to be a shroud of secrecy surrounding the progress of our new library. I have occasion to walk by there almost every day and often the lack of activity makes one think the project has been abandoned. The lack of information on the library’s progress or other issues is starting to generate some weird rumours, innuendo and speculation on the part of some residents, which in my experience can often be so far from the truth as to be laughable.
However this will always happen when people are kept in the dark and little or no truthful information is forthcoming. The only update I can remember in the Fitzhugh was a few months ago when the CAO indicated there were some mechanical problems with the library but he did not wish to elaborate.
Have these problems been solved? What is the expected completion date now? Is it going to remain one million dollars over budget or has that increased and if so by how much? Possibly this silence is from a concern that there may be some backlash or criticism from the community and that bothers me.
The unfortunate thing with civic politics is that, unlike federal or provincial legislatures, there is no official opposition to ask and demand answers to these types of questions. That function is left up to the public in municipalities. This makes it even more important in civic politics for council and the news media to make sure information is flowing both ways.
All politicians must be a little thick skinned as they will always get negative feedback regardless of the decisions made, but public feedback is the only way the public has of keeping the local politicians on their toes and accountable. Keeping the public in the dark and just guessing as to what is happening is a sure way of stifling public engagement, not encouraging it.
I hope that this new policy, if adopted by council, will work both ways, with both sides engaged, so that decisions affecting all parties can have meaningful input.
Jack Templeton
Jasper, Atla.
