Conflict and Confusion

The Mayor has informed a confidante Mr. Whitehurst will be resuming his appointment with the Arts and Culture Committee soon. Mr. Whitehurst has been on a "Leave of absence" from the committee while being paid as "Administrative Assistant"

We learned about the Leave of Absence from the record of attendance on the Leisure Services Advisory Committee Report. His absence was noted with information about "a leave of absence." On the next report, the absence was again noted by " endorsed leave of absence".Councillor Evalina MacEachern is chairman of that Committee.

A leave of absence is not taken. It is requested and must be granted. I know of no such request. I did ask once if Mr. Whitehurst had accepted the paid appointment and if so, had he resigned from the Arts and Culture Committee which would clearly be required. . .

The Mayor was outraged by my question. She said Mr. Whitehurst's family had endured much because of publicity over the issue. Mr. Whitehurst. she declared , is a dear friend and a fine individual. he was also known to be a supporter and helped in the mayor's election campaign.

I had previously and privately asked the Clerk if he had received or seen Mr. Whitehurst's resignation. He had not. Then I asked the question publicly because of the controversy created by the appointment. People who had expressed concern were entitled to know the answer..

The Clerk later advised he had referred the question for a legal opinion. As yet none has been forthcoming. The clerk has since retired. Reference to "Leave of Absence" may be thought to have solved the problem. I don't think so.

Mr. Whitehurst accepted the paid appointment. It was recommended by a committee of which he was a member. There is no record of his resignation from the committee nor of a request for a leave of absence. If Leave had been granted it would have been after the fact.and without council involvement would have been invalid. I doubt it would meet the test.

Statements have been made that the post is full-time and pays $120,000 a year. That's not accurate. It is an interim position. Hours are up to twenty a week. The pay is $60 an hour, $1200 a week for twenty hours.

There's another odd thing. Museum curator, Kathy Malloy was also a member of the committee. She resigned. herv post as curator . It seems Mr. Whitehurst was taking her place as a resource person

. For thirty years , the town has made a grant to the Aurora Historical Society to help pay the curator salary. . Jackie Stewart held the post and was a valuable resource to the town's planning department in research of heritage homes. Jackie would help anyone who had an inquiry over and above being curator of the museum collection.
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The museum had been closed for three years when Jackie retired. The town had hired a full-time Heritage planner, Michael Seaman. He came from Markham and has since departed for Oakville.

The museum has been closed five years now. The collection still in storage. The new curator hired by the Historical Society. is assigned to Hillary House Museum which is not a Town facility. The $50,000 town grant is still being paid.

Through the efforts of Ms Malloy , while she was a member of the Arts and Culture Committee, a substantial grant was obtained for renovations to Church Street School from the federal government. When Ms Malloy resigned to take a position in Markham, the town ended up paying the Historical Society an additional $10,000 for her work in obtaining the grant.

Everywhere we turn, the town doles out money and taxpayers get the short end of the stick.

Helen Roberts, President of The Aurora Historical Society was publicly supportive of Mr. Whitehurst and enunciated in a letter to the editor, the eminent suitability of his appointment to the paid position.

The 2009 budget proposed for the Arts and Culture Centre at Church Street School is half a million dollars. It is new expenditure. and in addition to the $50. thousand grant. Four full-time employees will work office hours. When I asked the consultant what new programs Aurora residents might expect, to justify the additional burden on their taxes, none were identified.Councillor Gaertner is Chair of that Committee.

When the Aurora Historical Society decided last year to withdraw from a legal commitment they made to the town to provide museum services , Ms. Roberts suggested the Society should receive a budget from the town on the same basis as the library. It seems that's exactly what is about to happen.without of course being identified as such.

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A prompt response to this post asks me to list my contribution in the past to the town's progress.

The past is past , Now is the present. I have never claimed sole credit for our accomplishments as a community. I always regarded council and staff as a team . Worthwhile things can not be accomplished, one without the other.

In 1976 we provided the Historical Society with a home for the museum collection in Church Street School. Having a location made the Society eligible for a $40,thousand dollar annual grant for rent. It partially covered the cost of operating the building.
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During John West's administration, the grant was turned back to the society . It allowed them to hire a curator, who was Jackie Stewart.

Jackie was added to the town's payroll in order to be part of the town's benefit program. I could never get John to admit sleight of hand over how the grant to the Society from the province became a grant to the Society from the Town. . At some further point the provincial grant must have come to an end and the town started ponying up $50 thousand dollars a year from property taxes without the public ever being aware of the fact. There was never any question of value received.

Now ,if my respondent would like to offer a rational for why a friend and supporter of the Mayor should be appointed to a paid position while holding an appointed position and explain how that fits with the terms of The Code of Conduct, I am certain readers would be interested .I would post that.

Calling me names contributes nothing to the public debate .