I am proud to have been part of an exceptionally successful Council over the past 3 ½ years. Here are some of the reasons why I think we did so well.
1. Diversity of perspectives and good decision making process
Council decisions are better when the discussion is informed by a diversity of perspectives and is guided by a good decision making process. Our Council worked well together to make good decisions: each member of Council brought his or her unique experience, knowledge and opinion to the table, shared these, listened to one another, and worked toward solutions that satisfied the broadest requirements of the issue.
With this process of developing the best solution, it is rare that any Councillor has to abandon any deeply held conviction. Success came from working together in a process, sharing diverse views, listening, and contributing to an improved final solution.
2. Having staff understand and support the strategic plan is crucial
The creation of the organization that delivers the result Council wants at the standard that Council wants was a critical achievement of the last term. Business as usual was not going to be good enough when our term started. To us, the Town of Pelham needed to become a leader in the provision of municipal customer service, both to the residents and to developers. Systems and processes – the way things get done - needed to be updated, adopted, learned, and implemented by staff.
The shape of the organization was changed to better meet expected outcomes, and Pelham’s employment policies were reviewed and updated to allow staff to do the quality of job they wanted to do, and to recognize and reward the good performance Council wanted. As we all know, change is hard for some, and this is reflected in organizational changes that happened early in the term. But the result is that our staff produces more municipal work faster, better, and without creating a greater tax burden on residents.
3. Resident involvement is critical.
We are creating more opportunities and better processes by which residents can be involved in the activities of the Town. Resident involvement is an important goal within the strategic plan. Resident involvement helps keep us real, grounded and in close touch with what residents want in Pelham.
Resident involvement has contributed a lot to the cultural quality of life in Pelham. Consider the role of residents on committees and as volunteers in the Farmers’ Market, the Suppermarket, programming at the bandshell, Canada Day, Summerfest, the 160th anniversary celebration in Fenwick, the Rhiel Skatepark, and soon the design of the proposed community centre in East Fonthill, among many more. Our town is defined by these cultural and recreational opportunities as much as our roads, waterworks, and governing bylaws.
It was my honour and pleasure to represent the residents of Ward 1 in the Council whose term is now concluding. With your help and support, I hope to be elected to the next Council to continue effective, efficient and responsive town governance in the years to come.
Public service is a privilege and a duty, and as I have the time, energy and interest to contribute, I want to continue to offer my services to my community and represent the concerns of the citizens of Pelham Ward 1 at Town Council. Richard
