Open Letter to Mayor and Council

OPEN LETTER

August 15, 2011

Dear Mayor and Council,

RE: Seizing this opportunity – UARB Decision to reduce council size

The reduction in Council size is an important decision in the history of our Municipality. It presents an opportunity for Council to take pause and ask of itself and the citizens whether we have the right governance model to move forward together. This conversation should not happen lightly, nor should it be rushed.

The previous boundary consultation was undertaken on the assumption that we would continue with twenty three districts, so conclusions arising from those discussions may be out of context now and should be reexamined. In addition to this, the UARB expressed reservations with the scope and extent of the previous consultations especially with regards to a full and fair hearing of all possible models of Council governance. For these reasons, the onus is upon Council to request a new process, thereby seizing this opportunity to engage the broader community in a conversation and education process on governance for HRM.

As citizens of this strong and diverse community we ask that you request a short extension from the UARB for the submission of proposed new district boundaries. The UARB should have little difficulty approving such a request given the basis for their recent decision on Council size.

The extension should be used to engage with the public to define how this new Council will work. It should be used not only to discuss the new boundaries but to address the more fundamental issues of how those boundaries and other governance processes impact the day to day operation of not only Council but our municipality.

The decision to reduce Council size is our first truly transformational opportunity since amalgamation to define, for ourselves, who and what we want to be. By taking the time now to fully and publicly explore the ongoing governance challenges presented by our unique community we can invigorate the public and encourage greater citizen interest and engagement not only leading into but following out of next Fall’s municipal election.

We propose that the new consultations and community conversation be guided by the following principles:

Independent from Council (Councillors should be allowed to make submissions and participate during the consultation, but they should not be members of the steering committee)
Guided by the legal limitations under which we operate (so all legal limits should be known and adjusted for, but where change in those limits is required it should be identified)
Not restricted beyond the current legal limitations (all options should be on the table without artificially limiting the options by placing undue restrictions in advance such as “limiting change for voters”)

Conditions have changed since the governance review, and the process that follows the UARB decision offers HRM the opportunity to solidify public confidence in its institutions and governance. In a time when there is great potential for individual concern and posturing by Councilors on a new Governance model; Council would show exceptional leadership and solidarity by asking the right questions about what is the best way forward for all of us.

Thank you in advance for your consideration on this important matter,

Charles Cirtwill
Cheryl Stewart
Waye Mason
Andrew Black
David Finlayson

CC: The Honourable Darrell Dexter, Premier
The Honourable John MacDonell, Minister Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations

We the undersigned ask you to sign our petition.

William Gilligan,

Shannon MacDonald,

Heather Ternoway,

joe metlege,

Kathy Yeats,

M.H. (Moe) Reynolds,

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Ken Walker,

Richard Lavoie,

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Nathan Kroll,
I fear that the mayor and some on council ( only some) do not have the strength of character resist doing what is in their own self interest and do what is in the interest of the city

Holly Dunn,

Al Hollingsworth,
We have a chance to rid ourselves of career politicians.

lorry conrod,

Alan Farquhar,

matt christie,

Judith Cookey,

James Caven,

jordi morgan,

Angela Walker,

Christa Fisher,

Debbie Pineau,

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Please Google Graham Royal Commission- It was the most comprehensive study ever done on Governance in N.S. (Over1300 pages) political entities did not support it because it represented a downsize of the bureaucracy. It was supported by the Chamber of Commerce and seems to me it still represents the best way our Province and Municipalities should be restructured. The Google site has only about 60 pages of info but reading their recommendations you will find many of their ideas that have stood the test of time.

Andrea Hilchie-Pye,

Paul Russell,
A governance model should match the needs of the electorate. Simply reducing the size of council, without paying due diligence to consider the appropriateness of the governance model, is only doing half the job.

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I agree in principle that the governance structure of HRM needs to be examined, and also that this is the right time to do it. For that reason, I am signing my support, but with one qualifier: if the governance structure is examined with the intent to change it prior to the next election, this should be done VERY quickly, with a strict deadline of no later than the end of this year. If there is uncertainty about district boundaries moving into the new year, I feel that this could affect the ability and/or willingness of potential candidates to consider running (i.e. if one doesn't know where their district is, they won't know whom they may be running against, or where to concentrate early campaigning or fundraising efforts). In the interests of not creating impediments to potential candidates, this process - while important - should be finished by no later than the end of this year.

Graeme Gunn,

Paul W. Bennett,
Reducing HRM Council size is just the first step. We need to reform the municipal governance structure to ensure better public accountability.

Holly Chisholm,

Liam Mather,
I echo the comments of Mr. O'Keefe above... Let's get this right and champion effective change within HRM!

Level Chan,

Ted Sutcliffe,
This is an opportunity.

Donna Lugar,
I have been saying for quite some time now that the governance structure of HRM is flawed. I have also suggested that Community Council's be given total control (financially as well) to deal with community-centric issues and that Regional Council be left to deal with the bigger picture. I, however, feel that as long as we have Districts we will have issues. When looking at changes to governance we should also look at the possibility of electing Councillors at-large to represent the entire Municipality. Effective Community Councils will eliminate the concern about community representation. Yes, we are large. Yes, we are diverse. However, it can work!

Juanita Cirtwill,

Jason Wareham,

Matt Welch,

Bobby O\'Keefe,
I don't necessarily agree with the UARB decision. But no matter the number of councillors, the structure needs examination and change. And that examination needs to be free of council and preferably political control. So I support this petition.

David Gough,

Bryan Wiens,

Martine Comeau,

Bill McKinnon,
We must all consider this change carefully and get it right for all people in HRM

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Chris Crowell,

Chris Poole,

Andrew Alcorn,

Gordon Stevens,

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Ben Wedge,

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