"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

O.K .Back To Work

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Faulty Recall":

Someone must have signed those contracts. I notice at Council there will be a motion for the Mayor & Clerk to sign specific papers about certain deals. There must be a similar situation with the Provincial Government

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It appears the Premier of Ontario does have authority to cancel contracts on the spot.
Nobody  has suggested he acted without authority.
It was done in public,on the hustings
No caucus deliberation. 
No Cabinet consultation. 
Just the announcement. 
Months have passed.  Cost of the decision has not been released. All kinds of figures have been tossed about. 
Last reference in the media was to a report citing  a cost of $1.3 billion. The report  was said to be rejected by the Premier. He offered no  information for his contention that $1.3 billion was wrong .
While the House is prorogued, the Speaker is  not on hand  to call upon the Premier to respond to the question.
Still ,the question  persists.
A similar situation at the municipal level;
Agreements and contracts call for Council to authorize the  Mayor and Clerk to sign.
Not the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer.
It's the Clerk. 
Municipal cheques  must bear signatures of both the  Mayor and Treasurer .
Not the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer.
It's the Treasurer.
 I have wondered lately about the shared  responsibility between Council and Administration
Specifically about liability. 
I heard of a  previous Treasurer refusing to sign a  cheque  for legal services not previously authorised by Council. 
Being a statutory officer clearly gave him  that option. .
I have known a clerk halt a discussion behind closed  doors  because it was not previously declared  as an agenda item.
This week, we are informed of  a letter  from the Chief Administrative officer, affirming to  music festival organizers   ongoing future use of town facilities .
I am a Councillor. I know nothing of the letter. Council gave no authority for such a  commitment. 
Permit applications are the business of  the Leisure Services Department. .
Not the Chief Administrative Officer. 
If the story is  accurate,what does it say about the authority  of Council ?
Is there such a thing as Council authority? 
Or has it fallen by the wayside?
The question is relevant?
What does the  electorate intend when they choose a  Council ?
I thought I knew.  
          

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Prenez garde pour le renard encore

Anonymous said...

Am I being simplistic to suggest Council simply ask the CAO why he chose to send that particular letter? It would just be a query, not a criticism of a staff member. As Councillor Gaertner would put it, " For Information. "

Anonymous said...


Is there an administrative chain of command, of authority, of responsibility?

Who is accountable to who and for what?

Where do Council and individual councillors fit in the broad scheme of things?

Is there a distinction between administrative and policy functions?

This Council is almost two years old. One would have thought that by now the above questions would have been answered.

But that is not the impression one gets.