Last Night's Meeting

We passed the hour of adjournment. Still we chatted. A motion was made to extend the hour of adjournment .

!0.40 pm.We had not yet started the agenda. Councillor Gaertner and the Mayor had things to say under Public Service Announcements which were not public service announcements. They chatted easily and comfortably about all the things they wanted to talk about except public service announcements.

I've never understood what public service announcements have to do with the Corporation's Business Agenda. It's like Council is Acting Promotional Agent for every organization in this Town and others around. .

Department Heads are chained to their chairs in rapt attention. I often wonder how they manage to fit in time off, in lieu of all the late hours they spend at Council and still manage to get their work done. I believe we have to pay after a certain number of hours off in lieu. Sometimes so many hours are owing, it amounts to an extra week off.

Add that to vacation entitlement, and it's not hard to see how Topsy grows.

So when you are sitting at home watching and listening to the amazing stuff you see and hear at Aurora Council Meetings, just imagine the ching ching of a cash register every hour on the hour.
Or a one-armed bandit ringing loudly and spilling out the winnings. You however, are not the winner.Nobody is really.

I've noticed the Town Solicitor making use of his time. He appears to be doing some editing Everyone else occupies the time trying to keep expressions blank. Even while
talking, the Mayor's eyes are everywhere, watching to see who might be exchanging glances.

It was beyond eleven pm. before items on the agenda were called for discussion. I left at ten- past eleven.

There was an item from the general committee meeting I particularly wanted to discuss.

It hadn't come up before I left the previous week which was also at ten minutes past eleven.. .

Last night. when I raised the question, the Mayor wanted to know, had I participated in the discussion at the previous meeting. I said, "I am participating now, Madam Mayor.

She asked the question again. . I gave the same answer. I am mostly polite.

Finally I said, "if you are not going to allow me to participate Madam Mayor, I will leave the chamber now"

So, she did. And I did. But even though staff were nodding in agreement with my argument, it made no difference.

Ever the optimist..... I just keep trying......you know.

After all, it's the reason I'm there. Well, you know that And I know that. The question is, do they know that. Hardly seems so.

An in- camera meeting was to follow the public meeting. We had spent four hours lazily
lounging around the table listening to the Mayor, challenging, explaining and creatively changing and embellishing the salient facts.

The Aurora Library Board presented their Strategic Plan last night.

Councillor Gaertner had some questions about whether board meetings are public? Is an agenda circulated? Is there space for the public to attend ? How does the board let the public know they can attend ?

Councillor MacEachern had some helpful comments about how the board could improve their operation so that Councillors and the public could be more aware of the library's business affairs.

There are three Councillors on the Board and all other members are appointed by Council. One of them, a special friend and close confidant of Councillor MacEachern.

It was an odd discussion. There was a hint of something.

My Goodness Me...there's nothing secret about a library . We fill shelves with books, all kinds of people come to browse happily , leave with armfuls, bring them back and get more.

We provide helpful assistance to library users and according to a survey done by the Town some years ago, library service is on a par with parks in people's esteem.

The Board's presentation was to have been made weeks ago. When cameras were still in the Council Chamber. People at home might have enjoyed hearing about the Library's Strategic Plan. Or listening to the answers o the questions. It might have been fun to guess what they are up to now.

Council had deferred the board's presentation until last night.

Prior to our previous town CAO's leave-taking, Louise the Librarian, CAO of the library, was a member of the Town's Management Team. Since then ...Not.

We never heard of a reason for the change.

Maybe it's a secret.

I heard they left the Town Hall at 1-15 a.m. this morning.