Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "What you hear,is not what you get ....":
@10:10
That Bus Fuss came via the C of A.
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The Committee of Adjustment is not an advisory committee.
Nor is it subject to the authority of Council.
It is a quasi=judicial body with statutory authority.
A application for a minor variance can be handled without the lugubrious process of an application for a zoning change or a plan of subdivision.
An application fee is charged. All parties that might have an interest, including the municipality. and neighbors with a certain distance are notified and invited to provide input. ...for or against.
C of A decisions are not the last word.
They can be appealed .
The OMB has similar authority.
The appeal can be granted or denied.
If denied, the town has two options.
We can prosecute a charge against people with special needs for having a bus in the driveway that doesn't conform to the zoning Bylaw.
The people with special needs get a day in court.
A judge can decide if, in the circumstances, the Bylaw is reasonable or not.
If not, the Bylaw gets tossed.
A Bylaw that doesn't stand up in court is not worth the paper it's written on.
Any time a bylaw is challenged in court, there's a risk it will be up-ended. .
Then it's back to the drawing board for re-write of a Bylaw that is reasonable.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "What you hear,is not what you get ....":
I see on the Agenda for Council for February 11 By-Laws to appoint a Clerk and a Deputy Clerk.
Is it normal for a two month time lapse for a Council to fill these two positions, the first being a statutory requirement under the Municipal Act?
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Nothing about the situation is normal.
Staff recommended and Council authorized a Consultant Study on Service Levels.
The study showed we were spending more on services than comparative municipalities.
It concluded the higher cost was because of higher levels of service.
I'm not sure Culture was included as a service level.
In any case, after concluding higher cost could be rationalized, the suggestion was made that if Council wanted to save money we could get rid of a Director's position.
Without further ado, the recommendation was made to eliminate the position of Director of Legislative and Corporate Services .
The work load was transferred to the Director of Legal Services . We must assume there were idle hands in that department waiting for a new function.
The Bylaw to appoint a Municipal Clerk, a statutory requirement, appears to indicate there will not be a lesser number on the payroll.
Savings are yet to be established.
Sunday 9 February 2014
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8 comments:
That OMB result will be very interesting. Hopefully it won't take too long.
Council will still have to run for re-election with the higher service charges on their watch for people to examine. Nothing is going to change on the books between now and then.
Ahhh so…They had no intentions to eliminate the position to save money?…. Some call councillors “theatrical performers” It seems town staff are the directors of the performances.
I cannot see any savings. I think cutting staff should start at the bottom & only if the job appears redundant. Like business-retention maybe. Just an idea.
18:05…I think your right. I would go even a step further. God only knows how much work is being farmed out to outside companies already. It seems like the Directors farm out every report/study/plan/advice and act as department coordinators of information that council requests. There are outside property management companies that can take care of our buildings, roads, parks. We've done it with our garbage collection. It wouldn't be a very popular move but considering what the state of our economy is right now. And they way our Town taxes keep rising it would be irresponsible to not look at it.
19:21 Your comment makes good sense except that our Mayor and Deputy are on record as advocating for annual tax increases. They have little regard to holding the increases to inflation. Their record demonstrates it.
So if they cut here more to spend there. That is dawbel (dawe and abel) economics.
20:22
You are a wee bit out of date. the problem now is deflation & the devaluation of the Canadian loonie.
9:54 Please check the price of transportation fuel today. Please also check your energy costs for electricity and natural gas. You might also check your water and sewer services bill and, if you get a minute, check on the price for a fare on the VIVA or the TTC. You could estimate your municipal taxes for 2014 and see if it fits your theory.
You see, we know inflation was about 0.9% in 2013. So, many people got a 0.9% increase or less in their wages or pensions. But under the dawbel economic plan
we see much bigger increases and especially when we factor in water and sewer services. If inflation is low why are we seeing approx. 10% annual increases in water and sewer? And don't give me that old Walkerton tale - its was previously factored in.
If you like extravagance on the taxpayers' dime continue to support our team leaders and they will, I am sure, oblige with more uncontrolled spending.
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