A little bit of this...A little bit of that

Tuesday's Council meeting was different. The Mayor has become assertive. Council has too. A couple of staff recommendations were not approved. The Mayor made a number of amazing statements. When the Mayor speaks at the end of a debate, there is no opportunity for rebuttal. Which is not to say his comments will not return to haunt him. In Tuesday, he defended the Region's $2 billion worth of debt. Said it was a sign o good financial health. A triple A rating, he said. The argument may go down well in Financial circles. I doubt there would be joy in Aurora households. He declared forcefully regulations were coming for full cost recovery for water and sewers. I'm not clear who the Mayor thinks has been paying the freight for water and sewers until now. In a scolding tone, Council were informed. we are not a small town any more, we are a $52 million operating business corporation. Of course, we are still proportionately a small town. Spending $52 million a year to service a population of 55 thousand does not Aurora a major metropolis. It makes us a small town with a ridiculously high annual budget. The Mayor has become clicker-happy. If a Councillor doesn't stop talking when he says so,he turns off the microphone. I am sure it gives him a sense of power. The problem is,the Mayor over-steps his authority. A Council is the sum of its part. Aurora Council is nine parts. Each equal. The Mayor,everywhere except in Toronto,is but one of the parts. He has extra responsibility to maintain order. He does that by applying the rules all have agreed to abide by. There is no autocratic power. Nothing. Nil. Nada. If the Mayor fails to call a Councillor to order, a Councillor may do so from the floor. Order can and should be maintained by a gentle reminder of an applicable rule. It bespeaks familiarity and facility. If the Mayor is obliged to make a ruling ...the ruling can be challenged. Council support the chair's ruling...Or not. Risk of challenge is not to be taken lightly. If a ruling fails to win support, there's a loss of face. Face is important in politics. A Mayor needs a good working relationship with Councillors. Politicians tend to be skittish...always champing at the bit. Tuesday's agenda was once again completely unrealistic. At 10.30p.m, a motion to extend the hour of adjournment passed. At 11.p.m. a second motion was made to extend the hour. Two third majority is required. Three members voted in favour. The meeting adjourned with a substantial amount of business incomplete. There were no presentations or delegations or speakers at public forum. Just a series of weighty items to be decided ad a Council electing to exercise its authority.