Langley Township council should dispatch the idea of a committee of inquiry to the round file, when a notice of motion by Councillor Grant Ward comes up for discussion at next Monday’s meeting.
A committee of inquiry would add nothing to the facts already gathered through numerous expensive inquiries into Mayor Rick Green’s conduct involving a brown envelope, and would be a complete waste of time and public funds.
There is more at stake than the wasting of tax dollars. All the motions, counter motions, lawyers’ investigations, RCMP investigations and special prosecutor decisions have involved an inordinate amount of council and staff time. That means they have not been devoting that time to the many pressing needs within Langley Township.
This inattention to the Township’s business does not serve anyone well, and is a slap in the face to taxpayers, who have been asked to cough up more and more each year. The Township is a large and growing community, and demands for services far exceed the resources available.
Another factor to be considered is how an inquiry would impact the ability to attract talented senior staff to work at the Township. Few capable people in municipal management ranks are willing to come to work in a community where members of council are openly feuding with one another, and trying to score cheap political points. They prefer to work in a community where the council and staff share a vision and a work ethic to make their community the best that it can be.
The new Township council, which will be elected on Nov. 19, should be a council that wants to go forward, not resurrect the past. It needs to be made up of members who will be willing to work with whomever the voters select — even someone they campaigned against.
Ultimately, it is Township voters who decide which candidates are the ones they want to oversee their business for the next three years. There are three capable candidates for mayor, and another 27 for the eight councillors’ positions.
Voter participation needs to be as extensive as possible. The Times has posted videos at www.langleytimes.com to help voters make decisions, and will be publishing candidate responses and interviews with mayoral candidates in coming weeks. Check them out, and decide to vote.
