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10 Friday, October 12, 2018 brooklintowncrier.com What Our Elected Officials Do Regional Chair In Ontario, the Municipal Act sets out the responsibilities of the Regional Chair. The Regional Chair is both the head of council and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Region. The Regional Chair is responsible for: Introducing motions and voting on items during Committee of the Whole meetings (the Regional Chair has one vote, the same as all members of Durham Regional Council). Opening and chairing Durham Regional Council meetings. Declaring emergencies under the Emer- gency Management and Civil Protection Act. Being a member of all Regional Commit- tees, serving on the Durham Regional Po- lice Services Board and as Chief Executive Officer of the Durham Region Transit Com- mission. Providing leadership, information and recommendations to Durham Region Council. • Acting as the primary speaker on public issues, and acting as Durham Region's representative within and outside of the municipality. Acting as the head of the institution under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Encouraging public interest and participation in the Region and our activities. Promoting Durham Region. Participating in and leading activities that improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of Durham Region and its residents. Regional Councillor The role of Council is outlined in Section 224 of the Municipal Act as follows: It is the role of council, (a) to represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality; (b) to develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality; (c) to determine which services the municipality provides; (d) to ensure that administrative policies, practices and procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council; (d.1) to ensure the accountability and transpar- ency of the operations of the municipality, in- cluding the activities of the senior management of the municipality; (e) to maintain the financial integrity of the municipality; and (f) to carry out the duties of council under this or any other Act. Mayor of Whitby The Mayor, as Head of Council, is the Council spokesperson and is responsible for the following additional duties as specified in the Municipal Act, 2001 s. 225: To act as chief executive officer of the municipality To preside over Council meetings To provide leadership to Council To provide information and recommendations to Council with respect to their role regarding procedures, accountability, and transparency To represent the municipality at official functions To carry out the duties of the head of Council under this or any other act Whitby North Ward Councillor Role/Duties of Council As specified in the Municipal Act, s. 224, the role of Council is as follows: To represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality To develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality To determine which services the municipality provides To ensure administrative practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of Council To ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality including the activities of senior manage- ment of the municipality To maintain the financial integrity of the municipality To carry out the duties of Council under this or any other act School Board Trustees DDSB Working together, a school trustee is responsible, as a member of the Board: to govern and set policy to govern for the provision of curriculum, facilities, human and financial resources to advocate for the needs of their communities as a constituency representative, to explain the policies and decisions of the Durham District School Board to residents Trustees are available to help taxpayers, parents and others address any issues they may have about the public school system. Trustees meet as a Board on a regular basis and also participate on organized Standing Committees. The meeting schedule lists public meetings. DCDSB Trustees promote a vision that reflects the input of their communities. They advocate for excellence in education and act as role models to maintain confidence in publicly funded education. In addition, Catholic school trustees are stewards and guardians of Catholic education. Politicians: Time To Listen To The Teenagers By Ryan O'Connor With the elections looming large on October 22nd, it is important that Brooklin residents ask themselves what changes they would most like to see in and around their home- town. By posing these questions, we can narrow our decisions to which candidate we want to see win their respective elections. These decisions are important since a new face on a regional or local chair can bring about the changes we want. I'm still in high school, which means I can't yet vote let alone run for a position. However, my ideal candidate would be one who takes an interest in my concerns as a teenager. No focus on teens I often find myself being disinterested and uninformed in local elections as are other teens I've asked. I notice that politicians do not focus their efforts on teenagers and this leads to a lack of interest in a group of people who will be voting in the near future. If candidates could perhaps designate one or two days leading up to the election to visit local high schools and deliver campaign speeches, they would appeal more to a younger audience and communicate what they could contribute to Brooklin. Furthermore, I think it would be a good strategy if the candidates teamed up with students who are interested in politics within the school system so they could work together on common policies. By doing this, teenagers could voice concerns on what we would like to see changed in the community. Teens such as me consider politics a strictly adult matter because we often feel our voices are lost. If politicians simply took the time to listen to us, we would appreciate them and their policies more. Any new programs? For example, we teenagers would like to hear more about the status of the proposed recreational facility in Brooklin. How about introducing new town-run programs to help teens cope with mental health? Looking around Brooklin, I'm not sure the seemingly endless number of candidates' signs will give people more motivation to vote. I've actually noticed some candidates have created Twitter or Instagram pages asking followers to vote, which is certainly a great platform, especially for the younger demographic. Teenagers are stuck to their phones, so introducing this feature could be another way to connect with future voters. But overall, the largest change I'd like to see is candidates simply taking the time to recognize us and hear our problems. Having said this, I am proud to live in such a safe and connected community like Brooklin and I look for- ward to what the future holds. Ryan O'Connor is a grade 12 student at All Saints Catholic Second- ary School