Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The
THings One Hears":
Here's something I heard: all full-time Town
staff members received vouchers for free meals to be used at the Ribfest
yesterday.
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I don't know about staff but Councillors received a voucher.
Doesn't mean it will be used. What if it is? Does it mean the price of a man's soul is a pottage of ribs, on a paper plate, served outdoors in the rain?
I hear attendance figures for Friday hovered around seven thousand . The music was spectacular . And the Rotary Club, operating the beer garden worked hard keeping the libations flowing and earning revenue to fullfil their mission.
***************
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "I Had A
Call": Excuse me, please. Staff have ' now' discovered that the '
audited readership ' was flawed? NOW ? And they want to continue to advise on
the same subject? After failing to provide accurate information? Boggles.
*************
"Audited readership" for which The Banner received 15 points the Auroran didn't, was not necessarily flawed. It was done in 2010. Two years ago. Not current. Not relevant .
Credited by staff nevertheless
Information learned by the CAO from comments heard during last week's council discussion and cited in his report to be considered on Tuesday, is a startling revelation.
The Banner distribution includes all of Newmarket and East Gwillimbury. .Apparently, for the purpose of their "proposal" they did not separate out Aurora circulation.
Since Metroland acquired the two newspapers , at least two decades ago, distribution has always included the three municipalities for the amalgamated publication.
Aurora staff have apparently not been aware of that fact. How can that be?
An occasional scan reveals the obvious.
Since the last contract was signed, the name changed to The Banner from The Era/Banner .
Section B of the publication which includes the Aurora Notice Board is entitled Aurora Banner. The names change nothing.
If salient facts about one publication were not understood, why should we expect awareness of the differences between the two?
The situation allows me to put flesh on the bones of a long simmering sense of unease about our affairs.
I've said it before. Our town has become a mini-satellite of the Region. More of our staff are former regional staff.
The executive leadership does not live in Town
Nor have they since the 2003/6 term of office.
How can they have a sense of the community they serve?
How can they know what they do not know?
I asked the question when the "Customer Service Plan" was recommended and adopted;
I am a Councillor. In the front line. Why am I not aware (at that time) of problems with customer service?
The answer ;
Newmarket and Whitchurch-Stouffville have adopted the plan.
The problem is exacerbated by those on council's side of the table, equally lacking in community awareness.
Labour law, does not allow discrimination against a job applicant on the basis of domicile.Neither should it.
Recruitment restricted to a small area, for a position requiring specialty skills would be useless. .
Still, I think not living within the community one serves is a disadvantage.
Failure to recognise obvious and major differences between two local publications being assessed for a municipal contract a perfect example.
The community is appalled.
Professional advice falls into disrepute
Confidence in our institution of government falters.
The wounds are self-inflicted.
Sunday 9 September 2012
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9 comments:
There really is no excuse for this particular instance of staff ignorance. If one lives in Bradford, the history of the Banner is as clear as it is in Aurora. We lived there and didn't read their sad publication then either. But it wasn't just staff ignorance on display the other night. Four Councillors voted to continue with the same tired old deal.
The hard truth that staff has yet to accept is that Aurorans do not use the town web-site for information either. We get information from The Auroran and Blogs as well as from our neighbours. Town web-site is only for meetings & agendas. Could we please have a readership audit of that sucker?
No, as with most things, the community is oblivious. A mere handful of us are aware of this issue (pun intended).
If no one will admit reading that calendar in the Banner and the town is still ticking along nicely, maybe we do not require the calendar at all ? Save a bit of money.
Oddly enough, the individuals - on both the staff & Council side - who support the Banner renewal have almost all been with the Town since prior to this Council. Councillor Pirri is probably the only newbie taking that position. Councillor Ballard claims to be a whiz at Aurora history. Other than Pirri, they all should have known better on this issue. I'm not at all impressed with the level of competence from ye old Leadership Team. With leadership comes taking responsibility for the job.
Sometimes an apology helps but that is difficult when there is no sign of contrition, just the push to carry on as if nothing has happened.
E. I suspect you are getting some heat about comments being made about ataff and councillors on your Blog. May I point out that from what I have seen everyone is being very careful to deal with available information. That being out of the way, this is like shooting fish in a barrel.
How incredibly stupid not to know that the Auroran is Family, no matter who owns or edits it! Even Snarky [ 11:12 PM ] is on board. Well done, Evelyn. Hopefully Tuesday's meeting will be short when it deals with this situation. [ fingers crossed ]
In the past day or so, I heard that a top by=law enforcement person was no longer doing that job & that Council was not informed. So I will stick a reluctant toe into this dangerous pond & ask just what staff employment Council is responsible for handling. Has it all been handed to top staff people with no input from Council? These are people who work for the town of Aurora. Why are other Staff given the right to deal with their disposition? Who works for whom? Is there a captain on board?
Feel free not to post.
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