"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

Sunday 9 October 2011

It Aint That Simple

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..

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The comment you have chosen to print is but a short addendum to a longer previous one that you elected not to share.

A 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

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

"Good to see you posting again."

Um,... when did she stop?