Dear Editor,
Kudos to Caleb Nickerson for his Nov. 19 editorial and his Nov. 26 report of the MRC Pontiac’s committee members selection. His editorial’s analysis of the warden’s priorities was accurate. I counted a total of 22 and five promises including the renewal of the rally for a pool during her campaign. I saw no specific implementation plans or strategies listed for achieving results. Ultimately, it is the council of mayors who decide on priorities and direct the warden to ensure their implementation. Hopefully the new council will take a more focused approach.
The report on the committees is most appreciated as you have provided us with a current list of committee members. This, we would not have had until late December or early January as not even draft minutes are released often until some 45 days after each meeting.
Changes to the method of creating and populating committees is recommended as expressed by Mayor Quaile of Otter Lake. At the November meeting, Warden Toller stated that “we will look at a policy for committees.” A policy already exists that was adopted on Apr. 15, 2020, during her term, under resolution C.M. 2020-04-12. It can be searched on the MRC website, but the minutes of the meeting at which it was passed are not available on the site.
The municipal site currently lists a total of 21 committees. I cannot find the resolutions originally creating them and detailing their mandates on the MRC website. The mayors have a program called Ideside designed to provide them with all the documents necessary for decision making. I question whether historical information is available to them on their site, particularly to the newly elected mayors.
Consideration should be given to the workload of the 18 mayors, and municipal staff, as creating and managing numerous committees may present significant challenges. A council member could propose creating a Policy Development Commission made up of mayors and experienced public representatives. This commission would be tasked with reviewing existing policies and committees, making recommendations to the mayors, and developing proposals for future policies.
Keep up the good work at THE EQUITY.
Linda Lafortune, Otter Lake
