Brownsburg-Chatham residents demand municipal accountability

It's been just over a year since a new municipal council took office in Brownsburg-Chatham and the transition has been a rough one, according to some.

Key municipal posts have been vacated, the town has just hired its third director-general of the year, and not all residents are pleased with what they refer to as a "lack of municipal vision."

The Brownsburg-Chatham Citizens Action Committee was formed in early November by seven citizens who say they are working to restore vision to their town.

"Everyone here is scared of the inaction in our community," said committee member Jean-Sébastien Patrice, following a press conference on Thursday, December 2. "All we hear is that there is no money. The municipality is facing a deficit and we keep being told that the new hockey school will fix it all, even though they can't pin down when it might be coming. The hockey school is not true. It's like a chick that died in the egg."

Patrice contends the new council - elected on a platform of open government and change - is instead closing the doors to communication, turning away volunteers and community initiatives, and demolishing positive projects proposed and initiated during the previous council's term.

"The day after his election, under the pretext of saving money and getting rid of staff deemed incompetent, the council conducted a dismantling of the administration," he said. "They eliminated the information officer position; fired the campsite manager, François Bertrand; cancelled the contract of director-general Jean Vachon; forced the departure of tourism and recreation director Robert Brunet; replaced the city's legal firm, and fired one of three librarians."

The results have left such citizens with fewer venues to contact the city as well as the costs associated with severance payments. Brownsburg-Chatham recently hired its third director-general this month, following the departure of René Lachance, who had only just completed his six-month probation period.

Patrice noted that François Bertrand, who was terminated from his position as campsite manager, was fired with severance only to later be re-hired with a raise.

"In the middle of the destruction of Main Street, our public works director quit," said committee member and Bar Gagnon owner Teresa Cameron. "For two days during the excavation, there was no way for an ambulance or fire truck to pass through. The project lacked planning and it meant that for two days my restaurant was empty and residents weren't safe because the project lacked coordination and order.

Determined to fight for access to communication, the seven members of the Brownsburg-Chatham Citizens Action Committee have pledged to find ways to petition the council for change. The group said it wants to provide a means to encourage community projects and a voice for citizens who feel they are being shot down by the administration.

"Our goal is to not constantly criticize the administration, but to propose solutions that we hope will carry positive changes," Patrice said. "We do not want to substitute ourselves for the council; however, we do want to be creative and suggest ideas for development projects."

Each of the seven directors on the citizens committee currently belongs to an assortment of municipal committees and they are all active participants in the community.

The group has launched a blog at cacbc.wordpress.com and they plan to host regular meetings in the community, in addition to vigilantly attending council meetings.

"Individually, we all belong to small community groups that impact our community, but we need a place for the bigger vision to evolve," committee member Francois Jobin concluded.