Council’s commitment is to make informed decisions: Mayor

October 26, 2016 · 0 Comments

(Re: “Nobody wants to make a commitment,” October 13)

Mr. Holmes, in his letter of October 13, states “no one on Council, including the Mayor, wants to make a decision,” and that further, “some Councillors are frustrated at the lack of commitment.”
Before moving on, we should probably differentiate between decisions and commitments that we like versus those we don’t. Depending on your point of view, any decision can either be frustrating or rewarding.
Decisions are difficult because we know that one side of the argument is disappointed or frustrated where the opposite side is satisfied or rewarded. The decision-making process that is followed by us involves a great deal of fact-checking and a good portion of principled thought so the best decision for the most of the Town is selected.
Now, to the main contention; that Council does not make decisions: that is simply not the case. Decision-making is always done. Deciding to do something is a decision and deciding not to do something is also a decision. For example, last Saturday, October 15, Council met from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. discussing the Capital budget. We dealt with 90 items. Over the last number of years we have developed a process whereby Council will; approve an item outright; approve an item in principle pending a further report from staff; defer it back to staff; or delete it from the budget.
Of the 90 before us, we approved 75 (83.3%) outright, 8 in principle and 7 were deemed not ready for an informed decision. In all cases, decisions were being made, even when they are deferred, because we have a responsibility to be completely and properly informed and we take that responsibility seriously.
One of the items we decided upon was project number 34527, the Yonge / Wellington Intersection Improvements. This project included a dedicated right turn lane from Yonge Street southbound to Wellington westbound; to be designed in 2017 and constructed by 2019, to which I am thoroughly committed.
Council’s commitment, as a whole, is to make informed decisions, based on professional advice from our staff and input from our residents. Quite frankly, that is the most important commitment that we can make.

Geoffrey Dawe
Mayor