It's All I Got

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Still On The Public Payroll":

Evelyn, I too am outraged regarding the IC contract. If Council feels there is that much of a need for one I don't understand why we could not have a sharing agreement with other York Region municipalities or employ one on an as needed basis. Aurora is a small town and having an individual on an expensive retainer who mostly does little to no work is an insult to taxpayers. Adding injury to insult this individual recused himself from reviewing a particular complaint. Was he still paid his monthly retainer for electing NOT to do the job he was contracted for? I remember reading on your blog, when you first shared with us that a new complaint had been filed against you. Was a reason given for dropping the complaint? If it was legitimate rather than political why choose not to see it through?

I don't know why anyone who lives or works in a small town would assume secrecy could be sought or maintained for long. Dark little secrets always manage to come into the light eventually. I suspect that our former Mayor made a grave miscalulation when she launched her lawsuit against citizens, perhaps hoping that they would skulk away silently into hiding to contemplate their fate at the hands of She Who Must Be Obeyed and the Kingdom she foolishly thought was hers alone to rule.

Luckywife

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We have a shared agreement costing us money with several municipalities for another cockamamie piece of provincial legislation.

It gives citizens the right to demand an investigation if they believe matters are being discussed behind closed doors which are nor permitted under the Municipal Act.

Municipalities either had to sign up an investigative agency or be subject to investigation by the Ontario Ombudsman.

Now there's a bogey man if I ever saw one.

We have shared the retainer fee with several municipalities for several years. Never heard of a request for an investigation.

I'm not sure how that would come about.

If a discussion takes place behind closed doors, how does a citizen know or suspect it.It is going on behind closed doors.

I've taken a position a specific item should be discussed in public session. No citizen ever got their knickers in a twist about it and asked for an investigation.

Even if an investigation was requested, nothing could be discovered. No records are kept of discussions behind closed doors.Except of course reports containing solicitor/client advice.

All that's recorded is a resolution resulting from discussion and according to regulations that's supposed to be reported out. The problem with that regulation, it doesn't say when it must be reported out.

So even if a citizen was inclined to work through the red tape,the results would reveal nothing.

Even the complaint process for the Code of Conduct never worked for citizenry.I heard from a number of people who resolved to take the opportunity.

The only ones that got through were complaints against myself by other councillors
and an employee. I guess that makes me the only bad-ass in the books.

So, “what's it all about Alfie?”

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I accepted advice about writing the post in office writer and transferring it to the blog. It allows for editing to be completed prior to posting.

It eliminates the possibility of losing the entire post before clicking on publish.

Unfortunately, I'm a creature of habit. I worked on this post yesterday. I'm just finishing it today.I'm not satisfied with it.

But it's all I got