I have been following the ongoing struggle of the Baddeck Village Commission to bring its governance and fiscal management under control, for lack of a better term.
Whilst it is pleasing that the minister for municipal affairs has set out orders requiring the village commission to get its affairs in order, it is disturbing that the governance at the organization declined to its present level – And there really is no excuse.
As a small business owner, the tax office requires me to have my books in order each and every year, or I face legal repercussions. The fact that I am the only full-time employee does not matter. You either have your affairs in order or you face the legal consequences.
Moreover, if I do not invoice on time, I do not get paid and the business falters. You simply have to get on with things and make it work, regardless of how few people there are to do the work. I am sure many small business owners will relate to this.
The Baddeck Village Commission, whilst not a large organization, has more resources available to it than many small businesses and the governance of the commission should never have been permitted to decline to the levels that it had.
I commend those now working to bring the organization back to an adequate level of governance, but I think their attempt to bring about a vote to dissolve the village late last year was misguided. This was akin to the village commissioners throwing their arms in the air because the job they have been elected to do is too hard, thereby absconding the purpose their role exists in the first place.
Other small communities in Nova Scotia operate village commissions without the struggle that has taken hold at Baddeck. The fact that individuals were unable to manage the basic governance of the organization should not result in an entire community losing its ability to govern itself. Rather, it speaks more about the inability or unwillingness of those in charge to undertake their responsibilities in an appropriate manner.
The Baddeck Village Commission must sort out its issues, get its affairs in order and get back to serving the people of Baddeck. The navel-gazing should only continue for as long as it takes to get things back on track, and then the focus must return to the core responsibilities of the village.
What is required is not dissolution, but rather professional governance commensurate with that expected of a municipal unit. If Dover (Guysborough County), St Peters, Tatamagouche and others can do it, there is no reason that Baddeck cannot.
This piece was published in the Cape Breton Post on 12 April 2022. Photograph by Caperbooklady from Pixabay.
