Is it just us, or are municipal officials, specifically councillors, seemingly doing everything they can to anger our rural residents?
At a time where petitions are bouncing around various parts of Chatham-Kent seeking to have communities leave C-K, the optics show the majority of council ignoring this growing discontent.
Yes, our councillors were voted in to make decisions which they believe are for the best interest of all of Chatham-Kent, but failing to properly address the unrest, while making choices that will only further stir the pot, should be concerning.
The latest matter might seem trivial to most – the dissolution of the Infrastructure, Bridges, Culverts and Roads Innovation Committee. But it’s another element that is rural focused that is being stripped away.
The Kent Federation of Agriculture opposed the move. But only five members of council voted to try to keep the committee, which had been in place since 2017, running.
That’s just the latest in a spate of decisions that wound rural residents, at least in their eyes.
And optics are very important in politics.
Add to that the budget-time decision to remove dust suppression on dirt roads, a move that doubles the rate at which those roads are being transitioned to chip and tar. It’s great that more roads are being improved, but given the extensive network of gravel roads in C-K, most residents won’t see such benefits for years, while many on dirt roads will be forced to keep their windows shut during the dry periods in the summer due to dust kicked up by passing vehicles.
Then there is the ward boundary change that is coming. Three fewer municipal councillors, all being lost in rural wards. This move should have taken place years ago, and money should be saved as a result (it won’t be, trust us), but now is not the time to slice representation away from rural residents.
People feel they don’t have council’s ear. Heck the C-K Watchdogs group formed as a result of their perceptions that council is not listening. They’re better at organizing public meetings, it seems, than municipal officials. Why? They like to meet people in person, rather than take info through a web portal.
C-K is losing the perception fight to a handful of private citizens. How daft is that?
Could not agree more. And you didn’t even mention the usual tactic during budget deliberations of dragging out the ‘hit’ list made up of mostly rural facilities and services. Or the Hub project, deeply unpopular in rural CK. I can only hope Council will back away from the Council restructuring plan when it comes back for final approval.