Aimless Meandering

The posts of the last few days are acknowledged aimless meandering in a corner of my mind.

Not without reason

I arrived at a point last week when the weight became overwhelming.

I was reminded of limits. I needed to step back for a bit and take stock.

A long drawn out budget process and summer recess means town issues have backed up and piled up.

From my perspective,directions undertaken in the last term should have been,at the very least,halted.

They have not.

Capital items  during budget discussions, were deferred for later in-depth study.

When the day came for that to happen , half the time was taken up with presentations from consultants on Strategic Plan and re-designing the town hall to accommodate extra staff resulting from re-organisation.

I had to listen to an astoundingly foolish statement from a consultant that town administration of the mid-nineties built a facility to meet the needs of the population and staff of the day. It was the first sentence out of her mouth.

My immediate reaction was... Oh.... My..... God.

Eventually we did deal with one proposed capital item for replacement of an elevator and repairs to  inefficient and extravagant ice-making machinery at the  Auirora Family Leisure Centre.

After lengthy discussion,we did not approve the recommendations.

But guess what, they slipped through procedure and went forward anyway.

The Mayor's rational was "you didn't call it for discussion"

The Chief Administrative Officer said the session was simply for Council to have "input" into the decision-making process.

Like children, we were allowed to have our say.

I found the concept stunning but it seemed I was  the only one.

Does it mean I am off kilter?

Am I spinning my wheels and exhausting my energies to accomplish nothing?

Am I simply a person who can never be satisfied?

If I find recommendations,time after time,falling far short of logic,does the fault lie with me,Dear Brutus?

It would be a relief to think so. The Municipal Act requires only that I vote yea or nay.

The public record reflects no comments.

Energy expended in argument is lost in the ether. May even contribute to global warming.

It might be nice instead to smile like an angel, raise my hand in blessing and think:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with string
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
when the bee stings
And I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
Then I don't feel so bad.

How long can it last?