It may be the summer doldrums, but we're surprised there isn't more interest in the upcoming municipal election.
So far there are very few declared races, although the east side of the township is being hotly contested; nobody has of yet put their name in to challenge current mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj.
It may be the summer vacation season, the fact that few people even think about the fall until the start of school, or that nominations don't close for weeks. People have until 2 p.m. on Sept. 10 to file their papers, and perhaps there are a slew of concerned citizens who don't want to tip their hands too early. Although filing papers early lets a candidate officially begin campaigning ahead of others, it also allows others time to think of mounting a challenge.
The "last minute filing" was a common practice in small rural municipalities, especially where there wasn't much interest in council, when a well-backed or favoured candidate would be "slipped in" to a vacant seat just minutes before the nomination deadline.
But there really isn't that much interest in municipal government, decisions, or the election - which is especially surprising considering how directly council decisions bear on everyday life.
Municipal and county councillors control three-quarters of the local property tax bill - more than half of what you pay goes to county expenses, with about a quarter used by Centre Wellington Township.
The people you elect in the Oct. 25 municipal election determine what gets spent on what - within the somewhat narrow parameters of non-essential spending. Councillors at the county and township level decide what's going to be added or taken away from the budget to set up a large or small tax increase. They can decide whether to go ahead with projects, put priority on certain areas of spending, put money away in reserves for future projects or use it now.
Local councils also have a big say in the daily life of the community, though regulations and bylaws and things like creating planning guidelines that set the tone for future development. A council that's "friendly to business" can write legislation that makes it easy for developers to get projects moving, that loosens restrictions on things like sign dimensions, parking spaces, and fees.
It's the elected representatives who set the community's directions, which staff then carry out. Staff get to make recommendations on what they believe to be the best course of action, based on their experience, but it's the council that approves the recommendations or not.
While one person may not seem to have much chance to influence policy, even a single councillor has more of a voice in local government than someone in the general public. There's an opportunity to debate issues, present other views, argue points, and push for another course of action - in meeting where decisions are actually made.
Given the controversies that typically rage around municipal government - high taxes, poor roads, council and staff salaries, and feelings on a host of recent projects - we have to wonder why more people haven't yet filed their nomination papers and declared their intentions.