Dear Editor,
After a miscommunication with the Town of Castor’s Public Works Department, I was given a very direct email from the Public Works foreman clearly stating the department’s position on work they do and don’t do for taxpayers.
In this email several staff in the Public Works and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) were also copied in on the email, I’m assuming to make sure that everyone received the same information.
Within a matter of weeks, I communicated this information to a customer, and the customer contacted the Town Office or Public Works. Contrary to what was expressed to me,
the Public Works foreman dispatched an employee to do exactly what I was told that Public Works does NOT do.
When I contacted the CAO, she relayed to me that on “rare occasions” Public Works would do such work.
This is contrary to what was clearly stated in the email to me. My requests for clarification on the term “rare occasion” was met with silence.
Subsequently, I filed a complaint against the Public Works foreman for not following the directive he gave me as well as a complaint against the CAO for refusing to clarify the Town’s Policy and simply refusing to reply to my email.
As a business owner in Castor that is expected to disseminate correct information to the public, I rely on the town to provide accurate and clear information.
When my employees and I disseminate said information to the public and the town turns around and contradicts the very information, this amounts to a clear attack on my integrity as a business owner.
In my opinion, this incident was NOT an accident. If it was, it would have been addressed immediately and my emails would not be left unanswered. It was a clear undermining of trust bestowed on our public officials.
This leads to the far greater problem we are experiencing in our community. The lack of transparency within the Town.
First is the obvious fact that the CAO just simply refused to return emails when she was asked to clarify the Town’s position. This is not the type of behaviour that is expected of a public servant when disseminating what should be publicly available material.
Second is the fact that the Public Works foreman is telling contractors one thing and doing the exact opposite within weeks of relaying the information.
This leads one to believe he does not understand how to properly communicate to the public.
The third issue is the lack of concern by our town council when it comes to the behaviour of our public servants.
While I was relaying my complaint and subsequent statement to the council, which they took into closed session, they seemed uninterested in anything I had to say; not even one follow-up question was asked, no directions as to steps to ameliorate this embarrassment was communicated.
While I’m not looking for the punishment that may be handed out, I want to understand the degree to which my concerns are valid.
When a member of the public makes a complaint, they need to know if the complaint is valid so the standard can be clear on what warrants a complaint and what does not.
Instead, the council cloaks complaints in secrecy refusing to disclose any relevant information so the public can be clear on issues.
Finally, the town council needs to be reminded that their job is to serve the people, not run cover for the public servants. Town council is supposed to be a bulwark to protect the people from poor decision-making of public servants, not be an extension of the public servants to keep information from the public.
Dane Jackson, Owner, Dark Knight Electric LTD.
