Council isn’t leading. It isn’t even reacting. It’s just approving. Decisions move forward with little scrutiny — including cases where over $100,000 has been wasted — and residents are left dealing with the consequences.
In May 2024, I put my name forward to fill a vacant Council seat. Eight residents applied. I raised concerns about accountability, direction, and how Council was functioning.
"I appreciate that you have a vast background in planning but around here we need boots on the ground."Mayor Tom Piper, May 9, 2024
That moment explains a lot. I do not think planning and oversight are separate from practical leadership. I think they are part of it. Council's job is not to simply sit through meetings and approve what comes forward. Council's job is to set direction, ask questions, and hold the system accountable.
These are not random files pulled together to make a point. They are five different situations that all point back to the same problem: weak oversight and not enough visible course correction when things change.
The Township set out to hire a CAO. Midstream, the structure changed, the role was redefined, and the person already in place ended up in the new model.
The issue: the process changed after it started, and residents never got a clear explanation.
The RFP was declared inadequate, the scope shifted, the original vendor path failed, and the Township only got to a working result after years of drift and a reset.
The issue: Council never visibly reset the process when it was clear the original path was not working.
Council approved a clear deadline. Questions were put directly to Council before it passed. The deadline was missed, and Council approved the change without asking a single question.
The issue: when Council sets a date and changes it without discussion, the decision was never really being managed.
The Township adopted a short plan late in the cycle, before the previous plan had fully run its course. In 2023, a resident warned this would leave the Township without direction in an election year. It is now Spring 2026.
The issue: a plan that is too short, approved too late, and never cited in decisions is a document — not a strategy.
A by-law requiring annual committee appointments had been in place since 2008. Staff rolled memberships over without them. A resident flagged it in writing. Council changed the by-law to match the practice — without the written concern appearing in the record.
The issue: policy should drive practice. When it works the other way, Council is not governing — it is ratifying.
These files are different on the surface, but the underlying pattern is consistent. The Township does not just need better communication after things go wrong. It needs stronger leadership before they do.
Scope changes, timelines slip, structures shift, and residents are often left figuring out what happened after the fact.
There is too little visible challenge when staff recommendations drift, timelines move, or earlier decisions stop matching reality.
When residents cannot easily see why decisions changed or who pushed for accountability, confidence in the process starts to break down.
I am not documenting these cases to replay old arguments. I am documenting them because they reveal what needs to change going forward.
When staff recommendations shift or timelines start slipping, Council should be pressing for clarity before the public is left behind.
People should not have to dig through scattered PDFs, buried motions, and half-explained updates just to understand basic decisions.
Deadlines, procurement, planning, and communication should all have clearer ownership and clearer follow-through.
Residents should be able to see what is being decided, why it changed, and whether anyone at the table pushed back when it mattered.
Stronger public records. Better communication. Recorded votes. Clearer accountability. My platform is built around practical, low-cost improvements that make Township government easier to follow and harder to let drift.