Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Apropos to the Previous Post":
Sport Aurora is paid by local sports organizations.
I'm not sure what they have done for local sports yet, except publish a glossy magazine that shows teams from private schools and athletes not neccessarily from Aurora in their pages, and host a few evenings to honour people that have already been honoured by their various clubs and associations. Sponsoring this group smells just like the St. Kitts fiasco, with many council members lapping up the spin, and not seeing the hand out for what it is. Lobbying at it's municpal best.
Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 29 September 2013 05:19
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Added information is welcome on this blog . Being anonymous is not an impediment. If it's not correct, it can be challenged.
The last sponsorship provided was $5,000. There was a string attached.A financial statement had to be provided after the event.
No receipts were required to show how the funds were used .
Nothing submitted to show how the town's economy benefitted.
there are interesting inconsistencies in the way we do business.
In the last Council, the sitting Mayor and sometimes friends were able to access external legal consultants to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars without check and without accounting.
The Aurora Legion's property taxes are paid by the town without knowing percentage of revenue that services veterans of two world wars. The Legion competes with local business in the hospitality
industry
We pay property taxes for a soccer bubble though the operation is deemed to be commercial. By the time the lease expires, we will have contributed millions to a private business.
A million dollar property is leased to a sports organization for a dollar. a year. A club house on the
property competes with tax-paying business in the hospitality industry.
We continue to provide a grant and increased it, to the Historical Society ten years after the museum closed for renovations costing almost $4 million and never re-opened.
The Historical Society promotes events "free " to the community.
A Culture Centre Board , having displaced the museum ,pays no rent or maintenance and
receives $400,000 from tax revenues . They also promote programs region-wide as "free".
We leased a valuable industrial property for an indefinite period to a senior level of government
for less than the assessment we lost. To say nothing of the employment opportunities we critically need.
Yes indeedy.
If town revenues were from any other source than taxes, this ship would be sitting on the bottom of the deep blue sea long since
Sunday, 29 September 2013
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15 comments:
In "free" there is no connotation of "being on the dole." That went out years ago.
In our present society "free" is an entitlement.
And woe be to he/she who raises a challenge to our entitlements.
Silly old me. I really thought this term would be different. But the good ship Aurora just keeps lurching along.
But the weather is great & doesn't appear to be added to my tax bill.
Perhaps someone to explain why it is going to take 8 weeks to repave the parking lot. Beacon Hall did theirs, including tree removal to allow increased space, in less than 2 weeks. Activity at the Golf Course went right ahead as usual.
Humphery’s talks about “Grants” from the provincial/federal government like it’s free money. If I’m not mistaken…those “grants” are from tax revenues as well. So when Council decides to provide “sponsorship “to the Sports Hall Of Fame so that they are in a better position to receive a Trillium grant, the residents of Aurora tax dollars are supporting this organization twice.
Has anyone ever figured out the cost of one hour during a meeting of Council or GC?
One would have to include salaries for councillors, staff, cost of electricity, cost of heating/cooling, wear and tear on equipment and depreciation on same, wear and tear on furnishings, tables, chairs, etc. and depreciation on same, wear and tear on the building and depreciation on same, water consumed along with coffee/tea provided and any edible items such as cookies.
There are probably a lot of other things that I have missed.
But the point is, what does it cost for every stupid, wasted discussion that ends in a motion to defer or in a hung jury, where the town's business was not advanced?
I bet the figure would startle most people, including the mayor, councillors, directors, staff and the public.
Taxpayers are entitled to know this!
Council should butt out. They should concentrate on Town business If they can find some.. Not try to micro-manage every little facet of the lives of residents. Let kids play sports and don't drag the parents into choosing sides between conflicting groups. Let residents deal with their own local tussles and petty squabbles. The last Council blew up trying to be everything to everyone. We don't need a repeat.
Good Grief ! The Agenda!
After 3 years Council has decided to be creative & imaginative !
They have decided that they ' might ' have the gumption to level those buildings around the old Library.
What are they planning to construct for residents of Aurora?
Wait for it......
A flipping multi-level parking lot !
Be still, my beating heart!
I note that at the GC meeting scheduled for October 1 has something called a Tree Protection By-Law.
It is "RECOMMENDED THAT Report PR-13-046 be received, and THAT Council repeal By-Law Number 4474-03-D, and THAT a new by-law to deal with matters relating to the injury and destruction of trees located wholly on private property, being the proposed By-law Number 5551-13 (the "Private Tree Protection By-law") be enacted and...."
What sort of total lunacy has come over Aurora Council where it deems it within its powers to exercise total control over every tree on every private property in the town? This is something that we should seek to challenge in the courts.
What does the Town Solicitor have to say about this proposed by-law? Will Aurora Council next create and pass a by-law dealing with the use of physical contact between a parent and a child, as in a slap? Will this same Council create and pass a by-law limiting the consumption of sugary sodas by teenagers as these contribute to over-weight and ultimately obesity?
Pierre Trudeau wisely said that the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation.
What would he say about the stupid arrogance of Aurora's proposed Private Tree Protection by-law?
Are we going to have to hire ten additional staff to conduct round the clock checks on tens of thousands of "private" trees? Or will we assume that our neighbours will snitch and report us?
Quite frankly I would prefer to have ten trees sitting around the council table instead of the dim-wits who have come up with this ludicrous proposal.
Frank Stronach's election vote is tomorrow. After that, we will be able to ask him directly about his Park, since no one here is willing to say.
The image of trees seated around the council table is one of the funniest things to come out of this council term.
I'm already trying to personalize them.
They would all have to be sprayed before entering the chamber, and no nests allowed.
Councillor Windy has already been in my neighbourhood nattering about cedar hedges & how high & thick they should be required to be. The new builder grinned & said, " Sure, Sugar ". Then did his own thing. If she really wanted to be useful, she could crawl into our hedge & retrieve all the baggies of dog poop & coffee cups thrown in there all the time.Once we found a stolen bike.
Private trees need so much protection? But developers are allowed to clear cut and completely re-define past farmlands and woodlands into new level subdivisions for which they then plant small trees on the boulevards. What's wrong with this picture? This is what urbanization has brought us. And as all of the land is urbanized in Aurora then we'll just build upwards like at the Centro development at Yonge & Wellington that will play havoc with traffic on Centre St. and the surrounding area and intersections unless a better solution is found for the area traffic. Growth is inevitable but better planning and thought processes into all of it is needed.
To 12:42 - I agree
Just work out the hourly costs of the town staff at the most recent council meeting and you would be blown away by the numbers.
(Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Customer and Legislative Services/Town Clerk, Director of Building and By-law Services, Director of Corporate and Financial Services/Treasurer, Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services, Director of Legal Services/Town Solicitor, Director of Parks and Recreation Services, Director of Planning and Development Services, and Council/Committee Secretary)
If I count correctly that 9 staff or 1 for each member of council.
The above list was cut & pasted from the September 24th council meeting minutes. The Councillors pay is minor compared with the town staff around the table especially since they need time off in lieu and then have less time to get their daily work done.
Are we going to need trimming permits and an inspection by Mr. Tree?
Will we be eligible for Trillium grants?
There is more dead wood around the council chamber than in all the trees in Aurora.
9:15
Watch the feathers fly if Timberlane or Oakland Hall, maybe even Willow Farm, go for development. Aurora's fiscal tank is running on empty. We have no money to blow on useless OMB appeals. Incoming money is badly needed just to keep up with all the ridiculous commitments being made on behalf of taxpayers by Council.
Pity that.
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