SUBMITTED BY MIKE HENRY, NOTL.
OPINION

Dear editor:

It seems like our new town council is fixated on passing new bylaws and is struggling to agree on how to enforce them. A few thoughts:

1. Councillors should explain the rationale for any new bylaw. For example, I don’t know why there is a new bylaw for swimming pools and now hot tubs. Has there been an outbreak of injuries and deaths I failed to know about? What are the statistics that support why they have done this? Why is it retroactive? The building code changes all the time but rarely, if ever, is it retroactive.

2. When agreeing to institute a new bylaw they should also agree on how it will be implemented and what resources will be required not only by the town but by all affected parties. What will be the cost to a typical owner of a swimming pool or hot tub? How could they include hot tubs when they have no idea how many there are in town? 

 3. They should agree on what will define success or failure in terms of compliance, costs and desired end result that justified the new bylaw in the first place. Then they need to assign accountability with regular reports on performance vs. plan.

4. They should improve their communication on these bylaws, not only telling what they are about but with all the details noted above. 

Mike Henry

NOTL