Transparency
Good municipal governance means the decision making process is conducted with the utmost transparency, competence and responsiveness.
Lethbridge wants a change!
For almost 8 year the citizens of Lethbridge have been treated to a Mayor and Council that have collectively disappointed time after time. Matters that have demanded attention such as a skyrocketing crime rate and property taxes are given short shrift. Meanwhile pet projects the majority of citizens are not interested in keep garnering all the support and attention. Enough I say!
the second major plank
GOVERNANCE TRANSPARENCY
The only the public will ever believe their Municipal Government has their back is if they have confidence in the process. Back room deals, excessive and unnecessary in-camera meetings and turning a deaf ear to public concerns is the surest way to erode support.
Getting public support for programs and initiatives requires confidence that Council is acting in the community’s best interests.
Background
Things are not rosy in Lethbridge these days as a number of natural and man-made events have come together in a way that few could have predicted. The Alberta Municipal Government Act is the governing legislation that details the obligations, responsibilities and powers of a municipality. While the items on this list shouldn’t come as a surprise, it seems there are folks who don’t quite realize the extent of the limitations in place.
Municipal Government Act
Part 1
Purposes, Powers and Capacity of Municipalities
Municipal Purposes
3. The purposes of a municipality are
(a). to provide good government,
(i). to foster the well-being of the environment,
(b). to provide services, facilities, or other things that, in the opinion of council, are necessary or desirable for all or part of the municipality,
(c). to develop and maintain safe and viable communities, and
(d). to work collaboratively with neighbouring muncipalities to plan, deliver and fund intermunicipal services.
RSA 2000 cM-26 s3;2016 c24 s6;2017 c13 s1(3)
Transparency is the capacity of outsiders to obtain valid and timely information about the activities of government.
TRUTH
1
There is information. And then there are facts. If the information being promulgated is not factual it is not the truth.
TRUST
2
Leadership only works when those who are tasked to support have trust in those who are making the decisions.
TRANSPARENCY
3
Citizens have the right to understand the processes at work when their chosen representatives are making the decisions for which they are elected.
"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others." - Winston Churchill
TRUTH, TRUST &
TRANSPARENCY
Words. They may not seem like much at times but the reality is that’s about all we’ve got to work with when it comes to matters of government. We expect that the words or elected officials serve up for our consumption are not just truthful and accurate but complete as well. We do not expect there to be gaps, equivocations, contingencies nor obfuscation. When questions are asked, we expect answers from a single set of agreed upon facts. If there is no agreement as to the facts, then we need to know where the discrepancies lay. Only when there is a fulsome and timely disclosure of the facts can we begin to develop informed opinions.
In recent times we have learned that we can no longer trust our political leaders to be fulsome, timely and honest when it comes to keeping the electorate informed. Information comes at us in sound bites with gaps and weasel words. When we ask questions we don’t always get the answers. We get a verbal salad of answers to the questions they wish we had asked. If there’s any truth their answers, it’s probably just a coincidence.
Since we’re in the realm of reality here, the fact of the matter is we don’t have a lot of options. Since we’re stuck with politicians whose primary qualification for the job is a burning desire is to get elected (and re-elected) we need another method of keeping them honest.
Technically there are only criteria under which municipal governments have the power to keep us, the taxpaying and voting citizens that are keeping the boat afloat:
1. Personnel
2. Finances
3. Land Activities
The need for privacy or discussion “in camera” are obvious. Yet we see time and again actions by City Council being sprung on us with fair disclosure. We deserve better. We demand better. We will receive better.
As my campaign unfolds I will be introducing a selection of measures intended to increase the trust we have in municipal government through transparency.