‘Talking about everything and doing nothing’
Windsor, West Hants dealing with existential crisis as councils try to work more closely together
Both Windsor and West Hants councillors say they want to work more closely together, but at the most recent joint council session in Windsor, it was clear that exactly how that’s going to work remains up in the air.
Following a presentation from the Valley Regional Enterprise Network’s new chief executive officer, Deborah Dennis, councillors from both West Hants and Windsor dove head first into figuring out what the two municipalities are trying to achieve with joint council and whether or not it’s actually working.
“Whether we pick specific topics like economic development, tourism, recreation, whatever it may be, and focus on those areas, we need to structure it so we’re more productive,” West Hants Coun. Jennifer Daniels said during the June 28 meeting.
She would like to see joint council have ‘ more teeth’ in its ability to get things done.
Currently, nothing gets officially passed at joint council; instead, recommendations are brought back to the two individual councils, where each council can choose to either ratify the recommendations or not.
Daniels also said that the name ‘ joint council’ itself needs a change, suggesting something catchier, such as Avon Regional Council.
West Hants Coun. Rupert Jannasch said those recommendations often fall through because the discussion at joint council isn’t thorough enough and more information is revealed by the time both councils return to their own chambers.
“I don’t think we necessarily have to come up with motions and decisions at every meeting,” he said.
The idea of a joint committee of the whole, rather than council, was discussed as a possible solution.
Windsor Mayor Anna Allen said one obvious area both councils could and should work more closely together on is planning — with both units needing a planning review in the near future.
“We both having planning issues, which we overlap on all the time, so maybe that’s a good starting point,” Allen said. “Maybe we should start making some planning decisions together that are common threads.”
Eager for change
West Hants Coun. Paul Morton said he was fed up with the current system and is eager for a change.
“I’m tired of coming to these meetings, talking about everything and doing nothing,” Morton said. “It drives me crazy.”
West Hants Warden Abraham Zebian agreed, saying it’s time to stop grasping for topics and sink their teeth into real issues.
“We have two really big units here, and I think it’s time to start aligning things,” Zebian said.
Still, as Windsor Coun. John Bregante pointed out, this iteration of joint council has gone much more smoothly than during the previous administration, when joint council was abruptly ended following a standoff on several issues between the two municipal units.
“I’ve seen more trust in this