KAGAWONG—A new era has begun in Billings Township, with the swearing in of a new mayor and three new council members joining one incumbent council member.
“I would like to welcome everyone in attendance here tonight,” stated Ian Anderson, elected the new mayor for the township in the recent municipal elections. He was joined by council members consisting of incumbent Sharon Alkenbrack and newcomers Bryan Barker, Michael Hunt and Sharon Jackson at the council’s swearing in ceremony this past Monday.
Mayor Anderson paid special recognition to one member of the audience; “I want to pay special tribute to recently retired mayor of the township Austin Hunt; thank you for being in attendance here tonight.”
“On behalf of council, we have a busy first agenda for your new mayor and council and while for most of us-—our learning curve will be quite steep, I have every confidence that in the fullness of a reasonable length of time we will all become proficient in our roles.”
“We are blessed in Billings township with exceptional volunteers, township staff and past councils, which have collectively contributed to where we are today,” continued Mr. Anderson. “The job of elected representatives is to make decisions based on the good of the broader public and those who will come in the future. This is a direct quote from the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers’ successful staff/council relations paper.”
“And, in accordance with the Billings Township accountability Transparency Policy, I encourage public access and participation to ensure that our decision making is responsive to the needs of our constituents and that we are receptive to their opinions. Thank you again for your interest and support he said,” the mayor said to members of the public in attendance.
Next on the agenda was council’s selection of a Deputy Mayor.
Councillor Alkenbrack noted she wanted to submit councillor Bryan Barker’s name for the deputy mayor position based on the fact, “that Brian received the most votes in the (recent) election for council.”
Councillor Hunt seconded a motion put forward by Councillor Alkenbrack to this effect, which was passed by council.
