Crowsnest mayoral candidates debate issues

Mayoral Candidates Bruce Decoux, Blair Painter, John Prince
C. Davis photo and videos

Joni MacFarlane, Crowsnest Voice

Part two of the candidates’ forums was held last night with those vying for the mayor’s seat making their case for votes.

Hosted by the Crowsnest Pass Chamber of Commerce, the well-attended forum was tightly controlled and, unlike some past public meetings, was a respectful and somber affair.


The three mayoral candidates each gave an introductory speech with a brief comment on their qualifications and accomplishments along with their reasons for wanting the job.

Each was then asked a series of three questions. Mediator Val Danielson explained that Chamber executive pulled nine questions based on recommendations from the municipal inspection report recently completed by Russell Farmer & Associates.

Candidates had the opportunity to review the questions beforehand but no one knew which one they would be asked to respond to. The other candidates were also given a briefer opportunity to comment on each question.

The first question addressed the problem of working relationships among municipal staff. Candidate John Prince responded that, “there is probably one bad apple that has ruined the barrel”.

He described the municipal management style as “authoritarian, top-down”, staff are not respected or appreciated and leadership is setting the wrong example.

Candidate Blair Painter described communication as a two-way dialogue between both parties without bullying or threatening tactics.

“We need to respect employees, we need to give them a good working environment and value them,” he said. “We need to listen to their concerns before they become grievances. My council will lead by example.”

Mayor Bruce Decoux said he knows there are problems but noted that the study said only “in a few situations”. Much of problem, he said, is due to the high turnover of CAOs.

Next, candidates were asked if they thought the cancellation of Thunder in the Valley® was handled correctly and if not, why not.

Decoux acknowledged that it wasn’t handled perfectly, but said they were a new council and were “faced with a tradition of doing things a certain way”. He said the RCMP warned of public safety issues and council believed it was their duty to protect citizens.

“Change processes are complicated,” Decoux said. “You can’t change something within a very short period of time… We had to live with the repercussions of that which we didn’t like but we had a job to do and we did it.”

Prince said council “killed the goose that laid the golden egg for this community to appease a small segment of our community while possibly giving some payback to those you felt offended by”.

Painter agreed that cancellation was handled incorrectly and that the fireworks had a positive economic effect on the community. “It made the Crowsnest Pass a destination and put us on the map,” he said.

He added that security issues should have been addressed with RCMP.

The third question went to Painter who was asked if he was satisfied with the manner in which the fire department was reorganized.

He answered no, but said restructuring has already happened and it would be difficult to go back. “We can only go forward,” he said.

He said he has no problem with hiring a full time fire chief but all new firefighters and safety code officers need to be adequately trained and certified to reduce municipal risk.

He recommended increasing the number of firefighters to reduce calling all of them out to a scene and to merge the new and old departments.

“We need to make our fire department the most cost effective it can be,” he said. “We only have so much money to go around and the fire department budget has more than tripled.”

Decoux agreed the restructuring could have been handled better but repeated that the change process was difficult and that they were dealing with a culture that had been built up over many years.

He disagreed that costs had increased and said they had gone down. In addition, commercial insurance costs had decreased while residential were likely to follow next year, he said.

Prince said that when the firefighters turned in their pagers, he advocated they not walk out, but wait another year until the next election.

He added that although it worked out badly for the volunteers, much needed changes worked out for the community including a full time fire chief.

In rebuttal, Painter asked how the costs could be less than the former $300,000 and that the fire insurance on his business recently increased.

Next, Prince was asked for his recommendations for greater efficiencies and effectiveness of municipal operations.

He recommended lobbying the province to find revenue streams other than property tax much like other provincial organizations are doing, implementing regional cooperation to share resources, and increasing the industrial base to grow residential and commercial development.

“We are top heavy in management and salaries here are far too high, in the top 80 percentile,” said Prince. He advocated “streamlining” positions, primarily management, along with a 10-15% salary cut and one-year freeze for management.

Painter said the community is alarmed by the growth of administration over the last few years. He would look at what positions are needed and where cuts could be made.

“With all this high priced administration, why are we relying so heavily on outside consultants to make our decisions for us,” he said. “We need to rely on our own resources… We have a lot of smart people in our workforce and in our community that we can rely on. Efficiencies will come when we empower our employees first.”

Decoux said steps have already been taken to rationalize operations including consolidation of municipal yards. He also believes administrative staff may be reduced as employees are trained in other areas.

“The legacy issues that we were left are on the way to being concluded and we will accrue some advantages in that area as well,” he said. “These legacy issues have cost us a lot dollars.”

The fifth question addressed communication issues between council, administration and residents. Candidates were asked what they would do to initiate a consistent flow of communication.

Decoux said the relationship between the CAO and council was the best he’d ever seen. He added that he disagreed with an earlier report (George B. Cuff & Assoc. Oct. 2009) and will begin attending administrative and union meetings as an observer, “so that everyone understands council does have eyes and ears on what’s happening”. He also said he would ask for public monthly Directors’ reports and town hall meetings every two months.

Prince agreed and said the mayor should sit in on management meetings “to ensure council’s directives are being followed while at the same time communicating back to council when needed and necessary”.

However, he said council shouldn’t micro-manage or tell employees what or how to do their jobs, and that everyone should be made to feel part of the team.

Painter said communication should be about listening and less talking. “Effective communication is a dialogue between our residents and council and between our council and administration. This is not happening, there is no dialogue, only monologue,” he said. “If you listen to what our community is saying, then you’d be having a dialogue… Our council has failed by not listening to our community.”

In rebuttal, Decoux said he would direct the CAO to initiate a communication plan.

The next question noted there were 13 recommendations in the Farmer report about operations that included budgetary, financial and Human Resource practices as well as staffing levels. Candidates were asked which they regarded as most important.

Painter said the budget process tops his list and believes a dedicated HR person must be hired to assure staff they work in a confidential and non-biased atmosphere. Also staff must be made aware of council and administrative directives including bylaws, policies or issues that directly affect them.

Decoux said the relationship between the CAO and HR is distinct and should be separate.

Prince said HR is by far the most immediate issue to repair the morale and relationship issues that hinder moving forward.

Question seven asked candidates what they would do to unify the five communities.

Prince said a transportation system was crucial.

He quoted a blog contributor who said that as facilities are eliminated, residents must now travel to a central location. “Residents with low income or no transportation started to be excluded… whereas before they could walk or bike there and participate.”

Prince said the idea of eliminating facilities might have worked if they’d added public transit to get from town to town to get to central facilities.

“I think it’s paramount, it’s long overdue and it’s another example of where we’ve dropped the ball,” he added.

Painter pointed out that the Farmer report was inconsistent, first by saying there is a lack of unity and then saying there is a strong sense of community.

He said having five separate communities is not unique - there are many instances across the province where communities have become part of a larger entity.

“Many of our problems over the last three years is that council did not recognize our strong sense of community,” he said. “We need to work on a plan that unites us all and not a plan that divides us. My plan begins with respect.”

Decoux said he was concerned about Farmer’s recommendation to complete a viability study.

“I know that didn’t come from a single person in the Crowsnest Pass because nobody wants to consider that,” he said.

He suggested it resulted from last year’s petition and the municipal inspection. “I wouldn’t touch that problem with a ten foot pole because it’s not my plan.”

Prince added that dissolution is a serious threat to the community and that the province was warning that the community must act together.

Candidates were then asked how they would attract new mining families to the Pass.

Decoux said young people regard safety as a top priority as well as medical facilities, schools, police and fire protection, bylaws, shopping and recreation opportunities.

He said the Pass has these things but has to look at low cost housing and making recreation superior.

Prince said we need to provide services and facilities such as an indoor swimming pool while keeping the cost of living, especially property taxes, lower. He believes Crowsnest Pass is “pricing themselves out of the market”.

Painter responded by saying that we have to sell the advantages of Alberta over B.C., such as a lower provincial tax, no sales tax, clean environment, schools, medical facilities, a high number of doctors and recreation opportunities for all ages.

He added council needs to work with industry to ensure jobs for people and to work with developers to provide new homes.

In rebuttal, Decoux said annexing land from the M.D. Ranchland would bring additional revenue to keep taxes low.

Lastly, candidates were asked whether they would bring back Thunder in the Valley®.

Painter said yes because it was not only an economic benefit by attracting a large volume of people, but it put the Crowsnest Pass on the map and gave people an opportunity see what the community offered. In some cases, visitors bought homes and developed businesses.

“There were concerns, yes there were. They could have been addressed, absolutely,” said Painter. “This event had more positives than negatives for the Crowsnest Pass than just to throw it away.”

Decoux said he also thought Thunder was a good thing but it was unsafe and they were lucky there were no accidents.

The audience reacted strongly when he added that he had a plan in place with Lethbridge Exhibition to bring fireworks and country & western acts, but this was cancelled due to the petition and subsequent provincial inspection.

“If the people want this next year the plan is ready. You can go ahead and do it,” he said. “The land is there, the people are ready to put it on.”

Prince also agreed he would bring back Thunder. “It put us on the map… Communities die for draws such as this and spend vast fortunes in trying to achieve that which we just haphazardly threw away,” he said. “We need economic generators such as Thunder in the Valley. We need what it represents - mountain freedom, the spirit of the Pass and its people.”

The forum then opened questions from the audience that addressed a wide range of issues. These included the role of mayor to council and CAO, the need to respect volunteers, financial data included in the inspection report, maintaining Fire Underwriters’ survey ratings, budgetary experience, annexation, peace officer program, comparison of administrative team with other communities, attracting industry with sustainable salaries, and how candidates would pay for public transit.

All candidates were asked if they would continue to increase franchise fees. All said no.

They were also asked if they would support a chairlift at Pass Powderkeg Ski hill. All said yes with Prince adding the qualifier, “If we can afford it”.