D.V.D. of a Council Meeting.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Cult of Mormac Is Alive and Well":

Councilor Buck I dare say there's not a more astute politician in the land than you , and with any luck just a tiny fraction of your knowledge and courage will rub off on the 6 other very competent members of the new team, Perhaps your next motion should reflect the need for an immediate independent audit of the Towns water delivery process ,after this latest revelation who knows what other gems are yet to be discovered.

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D'you know, I don't think of myself as particularly smart. It just seems  questions that occur to me  are reasonable. A sensible answer satisfies me.Non sense does not. Refusal to provide an  answer convinces me there's something to hide. I can't help it. It's the way my mind works.

As a Councillor representing people in this community,  in the absence of answers, I will put two and two to-gether and come up with four or maybe five. I will not be silenced by being denied answers. Or by a senior  municipal employee throwing a hissy fit and flouncing out of the council chamber.

I watched the DVD of the  Council meeting last night. I hate doing that. So much of what we do cannot be classified in any way as  " "corporation business"

Council has been  reduced  to little more than  a social committee. 

Tuesday was a classic. Councillor Gaertner was star of the show.

I moved to re-consider water rates passed in April to take effect on May 1st. It passed. That was  encouraging. It's the second year of the battle. It meant this Council was giving credence and prepared to listen to my argument.

The motion  was seconded. The question was on the floor. I set forth  factors which I believe prove the increase in water rates cannot be fully justified.

Gaertner called a point of order and stated I was providing the public with misinformation. It shouldn't be allowed, she intoned.

The Mayor supported the point of order. He did not offer a rationale.

I challenged the ruling. I pointed out the purpose of  debate. A Councillor puts forward a motion. Takes a position offers points of argument. Other Councillors put forward arguments. They can either refute, support or not respond to the question. Councillors are allowed to speak twice but not repeat themselves. The mover of the motion is allowed the last word. The vote is taken.

The best that can happen is logic will prevail.

Making a flat statement, in a point of order, that a Councillor is providing  misinformation and should not be allowed to mislead people is tantamount to calling a Councillor a liar.

Criticising an argument is not the same as refuting.

The rule is civility. Respect for the role of a Councillor to bring different perspectives to the question. 

Gaertner has no sense of the rule.  Respect is a foreign concept. Hardly a meeting  passes without someone being  accused of "providing misinformation" while Gaetner perceives herself to be the oracle of all wisdom.

At the first meeting  of the new Council, Gaertner  accused the Mayor of not upholding proper procedure and gave dire warning to the public of what was to come.

The Mayor is harried by the Councillor on a regular basis.

Yet on Tuesday, the Mayor supported the Councillor's  grossly out of order point of order.

Do not ask me to explain that.

My argument is that  water used by tax supported services has been inaccurately identified as "water loss".

In fact, it is water taken from  unmetered sources. Millions of gallons  are used in various departments; more in parks than anywhere else.

It is factored in to calculate rates charged to metered users to raise sufficient revenue to pay the bill from the Region. Users are residents and business owners struggling to survive in a terrible economy.

The Mayor believe water is the best bargain we get.

My points were supported. It is established  water parks ,outdoor ice surfaces and irrigation of parks are not from a metered source.Fire pumpers are re-filled from hydrants. They are not metered.

We sell water to water supply contractors. Several times a day they fill up. I don't remember seeing a figure for revenue in the water budget.

These  are not unidentified water loss. They are identified water use. Wrongly classified.

Gaertner, without proof,accused me of lying. The Mayor supported the accusation and ruled in favour of her point.

I perceive the  intent is to shut me up and stop the public from hearing the  argument,  If I am right,it means Council was wrong in adopting increased water rates. Right? We are overcharging meter users for water they did not use.

Shut the woman up. Call her a liar.Make the public choose between who is lying and who isn't.  Not the best way to restore confidence in an embattled administration.

But the strategy is misguided .It has the opposite effect. I am more determined to prove my point. Language becomes my weapon of choice. I use words calculated to capture attention. Sensitivity is not a premium. . There is a fight worth fighting to be fought.

If I can't convince Council,I can make sure the people I'm fighting for, understand the issue.

Am I forbidding? Yes I am. Unforgiving? Most certainly. Are there holds barred? Absolutely not.

A former solicitor once advised a former Councillor and Mayor; "Councillor Buck goes right to the line. She does not cross it"

It's a discipline I acquired long ago.

I recognise no rule that allows stupidity to prevail. People pay high taxes. They are entitled to fair return.

If I don't see it happening, I will prove it.

I will fight the devil incarnate and enjoy every minute.

That reminds me of a poster on the office wall of Dr.Owen Slingerland , Medical Officer of Health when I was Chairman of the Board many moons ago.

It read: " It's not corruption you have to worry about. It's stupidity"