Anonymous @ 15 January, 2012 12:19 PM said....
"There is no point nagging and repeating ourselves here."
You must be new to this blog.
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No kidding. The water rates battle went no where so this is the new cause of the Ev-ites.
This is just another swipe at rubbing the MorMacs' nose in it. What everyone here forgets is that these deals were done withing the legal mandate that the council of the day had. When are we going to stop trying to reverse every MorMac initiative and start doing what needs to be done and govern this Town?
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I posted this and the last comment to illustrate:
I have related a first lesson on Council. I watched a veteran councillor relate inaccurate information to a resident and realised something profound.
The exchange was not about how poorly the councillor understood. It was about how well he understood, how little the resident understood and how easy it was to misinform.
It is the opposite of trust and respect.
The comment I've printed is in the same genre.
Despite everything said in the last three years about flawed methodology for calculating water rates. Despite that this year, water used by the parks department will be charged to the parks budget. instead of to meter users. The commenter above still insists nothing has changed. .
Yet change was accomplished. Community understanding and reaction made it happen..
For two years and more my arguments about water rates were dismissed as "semantics" by the administration.
The Mayor compounded disrespect by offering the comment, "water is the best bargain we have"
An accusation was made against me in public by a staff member and supported by others until the record was produced and proved it false.
It was aooarently considered acceptable because neither the Mayor nor fellow councilllors gave much sign of understanding the issue. There was no move to stay a second 12% increase in water rates in two years.
Though, it has not evolved as it should, the charge to parks for water used by that department , is acknowledgment of the fact the town has consistently overcharged meter users for untold years.
It is not yet fixed.
But that is no longer the main problem.
It took an unnecessary and entirely inappropriate public clash between an elected official and the appointed administration to compel the correction.
There was inefficiency. Disrespect. Arrogance. And a profound lack of judgement for all to witness.
A deficit was also in the chair, to see it coming and head it off.
Has it contributed to public trust, confidence and propriety ?
Though it is part of their legacy, we are not talking now about Mormac .
Ignorance prevails.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Okay... I just paid my water bill last night. When will I see a DECREASE in the water bill? Anything short of that will not be considered a success of your cause.
ReplyDeleteIt's fine to get other to pay their share (ie. parks) but unless it gives me a reduction, all you have done in increase the revenue to the Town.
It might be best if all these [ maybe only 1 or 2 ] people would just run for election and fix everything for themselves instead of taking pot-shots from the comfort of their abodes.
ReplyDeleteOh, maybe they did run and that's why they have nothing better to do. Sorry. I thought we might have encountered intelligent life. My mistake.
Actually we might be making progress more swiftly if the former Council had folding their legalistic and moralistic tents and faded off into the desert. Instead they fight for each pice of territory, draining the treasury with monthly legal bills and drawing funds to which they claim to be entitled. It matters not that they were ousted legally in the last election - so they carp from the sidelines.
ReplyDeleteWhy not ? It doesn't cost them a penny, The taxpayer is the loser once more.
Who is authorizing the ongoing legal drain ? Why has the matter not been settled? Does anyone give a damn ?
Hello! Out There !
"There was inefficiency. Disrespect. Arrogance. And a profound lack of judgement for all to witness".
ReplyDeleteAnd witness we did !. every time you blow the lid off one issue or other with facts ,experience and knowledge , hairs on their backs rise , blood pressures increase . cold chills run up their spines and next thing you know they run for the hills with their bluster and BS , stomp out of meetings and deflect, deflect, deflect ,
There was inefficiency. Disrespect. Arrogance. And a profound lack of judgement for all to witness".
ReplyDeleteYes.. this was of course th eonly council tha had that too. What about a council member that yelled at a resident in council chambers because he did not like the question. Or the councillor that hit another with a newspaper. The MorMac era was very similar to a lot of councils before and will be similar to a lot after.
7:57 PM
ReplyDeleteI think you are going to have to file a FOI request to discover who has been OKing those legal bills for the former Council members, and two of the sitting ones, for 15 months. It boggles that the 2 remaining have a say in getting their fees paid. It's ridiculous but the elephant no one wants to acknowledge. There is a good new solicitor in place but that does not guarantee he has been allowed to make an inquiry,