"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday 4 July 2013

That is the question

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Clause 7 and the unwritten rule":

Granted, 4:40 PM, but that wasn't the question. The question was about which services or facilities in town cover their costs (capital and operational). Do the "sports centres" 


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There's  an air of  entitlement to the question .

It calls for an answer.

Anyone who has raised  children in the  town is well aware of user fees  charged for sports  facilities.

They know  also sports  organizations  must  have executives to manage  business affairs Parents to volunteer as coaches and team managers.

The town's web site no doubt has information about user fees.

For a number of years, ninety per cent of capital cost of construction  have been covered by
development  charges.

Minor Hockey has in the past paid a surcharge on user fees when new ice facilities were needed

When artificial turf was installed at Sheppards  Bush, ninety per cent was funded  from D.Cs
ten per cent  came from a sports organization.

The  Town's web site  no doubt  provides the information about user fees  They are not a secret.

Development  charges  are collected  at the time  building permits are issued. Families buying homes pay for the new facilities.  No part of  the cost of new recreation facilities are funded from the annual tax levy.

If the question is intended to prove capital costs of construction and  operating costs should be on the
backs of the taxpayers. the argument does not carry.

Only one facility provides services at  the expense of the taxpayer ; the  Culture  Centre  at Church  Street School. \

The town provides rent free facilities, maintenance costs and  a grant of $370,000 to  provide Region wide programs.

Paid for from the  pockets of the taxpayers of Aurora 

Capital costs of renovations came from funds raised in the community. grants received from Heritage
Ontario  and  $2.3 million from the town's Hydro Reserve Fund ,  all for the  specific purpose of a state of the art museum and cultural services. 

Community trust was betrayed.

The Entitlement  Generation were in charge.  They had the  powa.

They wanted it.

They took it.

 They cared nothing what the community thought.

It's  been done before, they said.

Well ....No....It has not.

It will not be allowed to pass.




7 comments:

Anonymous said...

We had exactly the same arguments during that nasty
Centre controversy. Probably from the same individuals. And when an individual, trying to simplify the argument, responded that they were comparing apples & oranges, they come back with a definition of fruit. Same old, same old. It's all semantics. And lousy logic.

Anonymous said...


What will happen when at some future date Aurora is "fully built" and there is no further development, thus no more development charges?

By then the population will have increased significantly and the demand on recreational facilities mushroomed.

Is this being taken into account in any town studies?

Anonymous said...

I think it might all stem from the urge to be in charge, to be in a position to order others to do the work. There is a sad inability to appreciate what Aurora already has including the Stronach gift. This is a great town that requires maintenance financially & physically now and for the future. No more levies on the tax dollars without seeing something in the in-coming column.

Anonymous said...

We can only do our best, Evelyn. The door to the Mayor's office may no longer be locked. But access to his mind seems to be a real problem for early supporters. It is his call.

Anonymous said...

Entitlement? It would seem that your all-emcompassing talents - self-proclaimed, of course - stretch to mind reading.

Anonymous said...

politicians on all levels are heading for the hills, for summer vacations, en route to registered provinces, to consult with their lawyers. their bankers etc. don't let yourself become the convenient punching bag of the silly season. could be a long summer. take care.

*encompassing* said...

Oops! It would seem I'm entitled to a typo.