City resignations mark unique crossroads
Sunday, November 4, 2007 2:04 AM PST
In a number of different ways, the resignation last week of Ontario Public Works Director Steve Gaschler marked a milestone for Ontario city government.
The reasons for Gaschler’s departure will remain, it seems, open to conjecture.
City officials, including Mayor Joe Dominick, have said they are restricted by law from going into detail about personnel matters. So exactly why the public works director left will remain an open question.
Also of some note was the news that longtime Ontario City Manager Scott Trainor has stepped down and will take a new job in Colorado.
Trainor’s departure, will also mark a milestone for the city.
Both of these high-placed city leaders are departing in the wake of a saga revolving around system development charges and the proper use of a city tax collected on water bills.
No matter how one looks at it, the departure of Trainor and Gaschler means the city is poised to go down a new road to a different horizon. Whether it is the right road or not is debatable. The fact is, though, change has arrived.
One key goal for the future for both the City Council and appointed city leaders should be refining and improving existing oversight mechanisms.
Too much in the past has been shuffled off to city staff. Too few questions have been asked, and little or no oversight, at least until recently, has been conducted on important matters such as the proper use of taxpayer money. Voters vote representatives into office for a variety of reasons, but one key rationale revolves around an expectation those who are elected will keep a close eye on the business of government. Politics and democracy can be messy. At the least, both are difficult. But elected leaders must strive to be observant and to ask questions, even if they are difficult, in an ongoing ministry to fulfill the will of the people.
