<<>>They’re awake!>

<<>>Wonder of wonders, there is some heat in New Tecumseth council.>

<<>>Good to see there is some life in this council which, while effective in many areas, has had the flavour of cold porridge. >

<<>>Councillors Barb Huson and Dennis Egan have poked council to life. They did it in a most peculiar way that has observers and their fellow councillors shaking their heads, and they probably were not expecting this much reaction.>

<<>>Huson and Egan resigned from almost all of their committees over what The Herald concluded was resentment over an uneven committee workload. Other councillors have taken strong exception to this pointing out, quite rightly, that committee work is only one indicator of work done by councillors.>

<<>>The salient point in last week’s editorial wasn’t about workload or budgets or which group gets money and which doesn’t, it’s about honouring a commitment. If a councillor puts his or her hand up to serve on a committee then he or she should attend meetings and be a useful contributor. If, after volunteering, the workload proves too much or the meeting time inconvenient then the solution is simple, resign and let someone else who can accommodate it serve instead.>

<<>>These committees have council representatives because it gives them a voice on our town council. It helps them with requests for assistance, financial or otherwise. They need this voice and have come to depend upon it. Empty chairs do them little good and actually send a message that the town really doesn’t care about their endeavours.>

<<>>Huson and Egan resigned their volunteer committees in a snit of some sort and have been far from candid with their reasoning. Even after an hour-long discussion at council Monday night it was still unclear what their issues with the committees are. Councillor Jamie Smith summed it up well when he said there still were no clear arguments being made and quoted Albert the Alligator, “my powerful brain is all blowed up!”>

<<>>Being a municipal councillor is a lot of work, but that’s what these people signed up for. In fact, they actively went out and sought a job that is open to criticism from the public and the media.>

<<>>Huson and Egan have painted themselves into a corner, and despite efforts by councillor Jess Prothero to get them to talk openly and honestly about what’s bothering them, they are keeping their thoughts to themselves. That is not productive.>

<<>>To all members of council — yes, being a member of council can be a great deal of work. Yes you all have a satisfactory or better record of attending your mandatory meetings of council, committee of the whole and committees of council, but the system requires that councillors volunteer their time to other committees throughout town, such as the Downtown Cores Improvement Task Force, the Economic Development Advisory Committee, and the Beeton/Tottenham Revitalization Task Force.>

<<>>Our point is that when you make a commitment, keep it.  >

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