River Valley Sun responds to social media post
In a rare social media post, the Woodstock Chief Administrative Officer, Allan Walker, used the municipality’s Facebook page to publicly criticize the River Valley Sun’s April 30 story about the purchase of 105 Moffatt Street.
Read the story here:
“I must express my disappointment with the timing, tone, and content of the article published online today, April 30th, by the River Valley Sun,” wrote Walker.
“Friday evening, April 24th, we received a request from the River Valley Sun for information regarding the purchase of 105 Moffatt Street.
Mayor Jones provided a detailed response Saturday morning, and we then received follow-up questions that required staff input.
On Monday morning April 27 I advised River Valley Sun that we would respond on Wednesday or Thursday as we were preparing for both the final Council meeting before the election, and the Candidates Presentation evening. The publication acknowledged this timing and did not reference a deadline for an article publication.”
Walker goes on to explain that characterizing the purchase as a ‘misstep’ is misleading.
“We currently have unusually large cash holdings in both General and Utility capital reserves, and significant police realignment funds available that are accessible for this use, totaling in excess of $3.9 million. It must be emphasized that the building is indeed paid for from our current funds and we are simply awaiting a recommendation from our auditor as to how to most appropriately apply the costs of the purchase.”
Walker explained that a municipal financing loan would have been of “some advantage to spread the cost over multiple years but was not a requirement given our current reserves.”
Walker noted the building will be used by multiple departments.
“To be clear, this purchase did not negatively impact any delivery of service to our residents, nor will it impact our tax rates,” wrote Walker.
“It is also concerning that the River Valley Sun sought comment from an individual that had been Chief Administrative Officer in Woodstock for less than two years and returned to Ontario six years ago and did not give the current Chief Administrative Officer an opportunity to respond to those comments.
“This, quite frankly, is unprofessional conduct and does not meet expected standards of journalism particularly during an election which should require press neutrality and a commitment to present facts without favour or bias. A news outlet that seeks to unduly influence rather than thoughtfully inform risks losing it’s credibility as a source to trust.”
The River Valley Sun made the RTIPPA request in March, prior to the campaign. We stand by our story and look forward to reporting on the town’s response to our inquiries about why the letter was not shared publicly and how the town will manage issues like these moving forward.
