C08a. THIS MAYOR AND HIS ADMINISTRATION

C8a.:

The Mayor’s letter dated October 06, 2008
(Hereafter you will find the retyped text of the Mayor’s letter under the seal of the Town of Wolfville, Office of the Mayor)

“TO THE RESIDENTS OF WOLFVILLE:

Municipal Government is the level of Government closest to the people and our Town is a shining example of this. I am proud that all the affairs of the Town, with minor and legal exception, operate in an open and transparent manner. It is not only that this helps to make your elected representatives and Town administration accountable but also it opens up many avenues for the public to understand and participate in its civic affairs. Both of these are strong virtues. I know that I speak on behalf of the entire Council and staff when I say that we would not want it any other way.

The vast majority of residents who come to Council sessions, participate with one or more of our committees, volunteer for civic events or who just want to talk about something of concern are well-meaning, well-intentioned people who have only the best interests of the community at heart. This does not mean that we will always agree but rather when there is disagreement it is presented in a thoughtful and respectful manner.

As in all walks of life, there are individuals who will take the freedoms and opportunities that we all enjoy and use them for self-serving purposes. They simply and cleverly disguise self interest under the umbrella of community interest. Their behavior also acts as a negative role model and thereby discourages others from participating. As a politician I take this as part of the landscape and accept it as an unfortunate part of the price of open government.

Over the past several weeks many items of correspondence have been circulated throughout the Wolfville community. In that correspondence, Town staff has been subjected to accusations which are unfair and incorrect. The focus of much of this correspondence has been the Chief Administrative Officer Roy Brideau, the Director of Planning Gregg Morrison and Council and me.

Because of the challenging, negative, threatening tone and nature of much of the materials which impugn the qualifications and work records of these persons and indirectly bring into disrepute the records of support staff, I feel it necessary as Mayor to respond.

The atmosphere being created within town is negative and divisive and springs from your being provided information which at times is at best inaccurate. In other cases you are being provided with information which is misleading, only half true or frankly is completely false. It is designed to foster suspicion and lack of trust in both your council and your staff. This makes me very sad since our Town staff should not have to be subject to this kind of treatment to which they cannot respond and be distracted from their important duties.
I simply state for the record and on behalf of Council that the Town of Wolfville has an outstanding staff who act selflessly and tirelessly on behalf of all residents in the Town in both a legal and professional manner. I have complete confidence in their ability and the highest respect for their integrity. It is simply no accident that Town administrations from across the Province and elsewhere look to Wolfville for best practices. We all have reason to be proud of our Town and the men and women in the Town administration who work on our behalf.

We have a wonderful community which is held as a model for municipal units in Nova Scotia and have often been recognized provincially and nationally for leadership and success. I am confident that the voices of reason which predominate in this community will be heard.


Yours very truly,


(signed)
Robert A. Stead
Mayor”