Parsons: Service review an ‘exhaustive’, necessary process
Wallaceburg Counc. Sheldon Parsons agrees a municipal-wide service review is a necessary task for Chatham-Kent Council to embark upon.
The motion was approved by Council on Monday to move forward with the, potentially three-year-long review.
Parson says this review is necessary, as one has not been completed since the initial amalgamation of Chatham-Kent.
“We went through this exhaustive review at amalgamation, we examined all the services, we set service levels, we harmonized services across 23 former entities,” he said. “I think we’re now up against the same process where we need to do it all over again… to remain current and ensure we remain the government of the future and not the government of the past.”
He added this process will examine all service delivered across C-K.
“We will look at every service that we provide to the community,” Parsons said. “We’ll examine it in terms of, is this a service that we should be providing and if it is, at what level should we be proving that service.”
Parsons says its tough to balanace the hard services, like roads and bridges, with soft services, like cultural and recreational opportunities. Parsons says the review is essential, as the Municipality cannot continue down the same path.
“It’s going to be a very difficult process to go through but I think Council is up to the task and we need public input,” he said. “We need the public to tell us what services they value and they hope to see continue. We are not sustainable in the current mode or format.”
A public meeting will be held in the Council Chambers on Wednesday, July 25, at 7 p.m. to discuss the process.
Thackeray
June 27, 2012 at 3:57 pm
the service review is the easy part. The hard part will be having council agree to service changes and reductions ( oh that dirty word) – as no councillor will agree to changes in their own ward, and the temptation to engage in us vs. them – ie. chatham against the rest , all urban against rural etc. will likely be too great for many to resist.
This will provide a real test of , and opportunity for vision and leadership. Lets trust and hope this council is up for that challenge.
Realitycheck
June 27, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Thackeray:
You hit the nail on the head!
Biggest problem CK has is its bulk of Councillors (17 largest council in Canada), on per capita basis.
They can’t or won’t decide on such matters.
Wallace Burger
June 27, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Blah blah blah, wonder how much this “Study” is costing tax payers. How many consultants does it take to tell you the truth? We all know the result will be the same as the previous, need more services in Chatham and less in the surrounds! Council agrees to turn a busy Hotel in Wallaceburg into a Old Age home, now what do we do with the Visitors for Hunting, Fishing, Sports etc coming to our community?
Thackeray
June 27, 2012 at 9:49 pm
To W.B. – good creative productive thinking – tough to know what to cut and what to change without a review. And if that is what an objective report says – we better deal with it .
And it was an local entrepeneur who asked for the change – and council agreed- would you have felt better if council had refused to meet the request of someone who put their money into a change- to meet changing demographics etc.
Wallace Burger
June 28, 2012 at 1:28 pm
To Thack, my comment was stating that we will end up with the same results as we always do, we spend loads of money on consultant fees to hear the obvious and then we hum and haw for months over what can’t we do and what can we afford to lose. The end result will be the same as it always is, if we cut more services from the surrounding areas it will provide more dollars for services in Chatham and then everone can be forced to drive to the centre of the Universe to partake in normal community services no longer offered in their communities! But I do agree with Reality that the true test will be if the Councillor’s can put forward what is truly best for the community and not self serving air time!
realitycheck
June 28, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Real problem, is a Council that’s way to large. This oversized Council leads to a lot of needles speeches and motions with nothing getting done.
If you want a recent example, just look at the failed budget process. On and on it went without making any significant cuts.
Finally, they simply stole from infrastructure funding.
South Kent Voter
July 2, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Exactly what “normal community services” are no longer offered in Wallaceburg, or Tilbury, or Ridgetown? Because it seems to me that most community services can now be accessed over the phone or online. In your opinion how many customers per day coming into a municipal office, say Dresden or Erieau or Bothwell, makes running it worthwhile? Six people per day? Twelve? Twenty? What if it gets 20 some days but on other days only 10? And if it costs $150,000/year to keep each office open? Is it worth $50 per customer — if they could get the same answers over the phone for $1? I don’t know the answers, but at least I think about the numbers before I make generalized inflammatory statements about things I don’t understand.
realitycheck
July 3, 2012 at 1:08 pm
South Kent Voter
You make some very good points.
However this information is available now as Councillor Gilbert has already pointed out.
Administration have on many occasions presented Council with the facts and offered up alternatives. The problem is . . . Politics get in the way of making any changes.
The politics won’t change even after throwing a few thousand at a study.
doubter
July 3, 2012 at 1:52 am
So if a local entrepreneur asked for a review, is that person going to help fund it?
Realitycheck
June 28, 2012 at 10:42 am
” good creative productive thinking ” Not so sure.
There will be lots of posturing for the camera and lots of wordy reports but in the end, as Thackeray (above) suggests, ” The hard part will be having council agree to service changes and reductions ( oh that dirty word) – as no councillor will agree to changes in their own ward, and the temptation to engage in us vs. them – ie. chatham against the rest , all urban against rural etc. will likely be too great for many to resist.”
Sorry, history will repeat itself.