Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "First Comment To The Last Post":
To those unfamiliar with the terminology, the Board of Directors is responsible for policy and long-range planning.
The Chief Executive Officer runs the business with all positions junior reporting to him.
Really quite simple.
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No. It's not simple at all. It's not like any other business either.
The elected body is the senior authority. Each member of council is elected to speak for the community and state his or her position on every question that comes before council.
Decisions are made by majority vote. The minority is not squelched by the majority.Just because the majority decides, doesn't mean the minority must fall into step. A pox on that notion. They must only abide by the majority decision and may not keep harping on about it within a council meeting. Once the decision is made, it's on to the next item of business.
Unless a member who voted with the majority discovers information after the decision which made him change his mind. If it is within six months of the decision,he can ask for procedure to be waived to re-consider the decision. Any member can bring the matter up for re-consideration six months after the original decision. Unless of course the decision was to transfer title to a property or something else irreversible.
The Mayor is the CEO. I'm not sure why that title has been introduced or when. I'm not exactly sure what it means. The Mayor has no authority over councillors. Each Councillor carrries the authority to speak for the people. It can be assumed there are plenty of different opinions in the community to allow for a number in council.
The Mayor's opinion has no more authority than any other. The majority rules.
The Mayor's role is to provide guidance and leadership. The Municipal Act says so.
But to do so,the Mayor must enjoy the respect of council. It is a distinct advantage to have experience and good sense. Not having experience doesn't mean he can't provide guidance. He has the advantage of being full-time, an office in the town hall and the opportunity to suss out pertinent information to pass on to council before a decision is made.
Above all else, a Mayor must build a relationship of trust between himself and council and do everything possible to foster a good working relationship between councillors. Neither task is easy.
It takes time and consistent good will to build. Leadership in a democratic institution is not about ruling, cracking the whip or banging the gavel. It's about bringing out the best in people.
I think the CEO bit may be about ensuring decisions made by council are followed by the administration promptly and precisely.Ensuring the administration never forgets council is in charge.That council, good,bad or indifferent, occupy their chairs by the will of the electorate. Disrespect should never be tolerated.A staff person who has not understood or acquired the discipline,is not in the right job.
Neither is a Mayor who does not understand the significance.
A working relationship must be maintained between the Mayor and the administration .At the same time as an understanding between them of the separate roles of council and administration.
An indication the Mayor has aligned himself with the administration, against the role of council. is not conducive to good leadership . It negates the opportunity to provide guidance. There will be no trust
I have to go and cook..
The comment you have chosen to print is but a short addendum to a longer previous one that you elected not to share.
ReplyDeleteA Board of Directors votes on issues and the majority holds sway. No different from any form of democratic government. But a Board of Directors is usually far more knowledgeable about the matters on which they vote.
You have a wonderful sense of what politics should be in a democracy. But the fact is that potential voters have become more and more disengaged from and disgusted with the entire process. In last week's Ontario election 49.2% of eligible voters cast ballots, the lowest percentage ever. The Liberals had 37.62% of votes cast, the Conservatives 35.43%, the NDP 22.73% and the Green Party 2.94%. I will let you do the math to determine what percentage of votes cast represents the will of the people. Less than 20% of eligibles voted in the barely minority government.
It was also very interesting to see that the blowhard Toronto mayor, who was supposed to gather in all sorts of Conservative votes in his city, produced not a single seat. It should be obvious that a big man with an even bigger voice making outrageous statements is not going to be a positive influence for very long. And so it came to pass.
The only Department Director who in my opinion is doing a good job is Leisure Services. All the others, including the Clerk and the CAO need to pull up their socks, and a long way at that. The report card recently issued by Christopher Watts dealt quite accurately with members of Council and the mayor.
One cannot expect high performance when four out of nine are well below failing grade.
Politics and politicians have become things and creatures generally less than admired. Some seek office in order to give something back of themselves to their community. Many others are attracted by a message their egos rattles around in their heads. They like the concept of power. I am sick and tired of seeing a news story start: "So and so has come to power." The only acceptable word is "responsibility." "Power" should be treated as a weasel word.
You talk about good working relationships and trust, about bringing out the best in people. What if there isn't very much of this "best" to start with? If you follow American politics could you please show me where there is any good working relationship and trust. Politicians and their parties to the south of us act like two of packs of rabid dogs. What was a once great country is losing its political, financial and moral way.
And even though we aren't nearly as bad as them we are also in a decline
I'm glad that I've found this www.evelynmbuck.blogspot.com web site. I don't have much to add to the conversation, but I'm right there with you. Your post said exactly what I have been thinking. Good to see you posting again.
ReplyDelete"Good to see you posting again."
ReplyDeleteUm,... when did she stop?