"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

Saturday 25 April 2015

A WATERSHED......PERHAPS

I've spent time contemplating blog's future.  
Time for change? 
New theme.
New design. 
Different focus.
Starting over.
Now and Then
This and That 
Freewheeling.
Still thinking.

Meanwhile back at the ranch,Town Treasurer's excuses not to provide Council with information
on staff conferences prompts a reaction.

"it is going to take months " "to go through and develop a repository for 2014 for each staff person's training, what they got ....To go person to person,credential by credential"

Brock Weir, The Auroran reporter, has a tape
recorder on the desk in front of him. Be assured...the quote is accurate. 

Also nonsensical and preposterous.
Obfuscation at its worst. 
Flat obstruction of Council authority. 
In the circumstance, reasonable to surmise willful avoidance of disclosure of how funds are used.MIn a previous discussion,the CAO had a great deal to say about benefits derived and Budget funds should not be reduced by half.

At Tuesday's meeting, the Mayor took his usual stand and spluttered meaningless twaddle about Council trying to "manage the business" and if that's what they want to do, he knows of "six salaries that could be cut" and reduce the budget "big time"

Yes indeedy "big time" is what it's about.

He could not have been referring to six council salaries. In their entirety, that's not as much as the employee training and conference budget.

He opposed the motion because of all the work to obtain the information and Council did not know what they intend to do with it when they get  it. 

Apparently though, with the exception of Geoff and Jeff, Council knows quite well what they intend. 

The resolution directing staff to provide the information was approved. 

$100,000. is a third of a point in the tax rate. 

Not highly significant in a fifty-odd million dollar budget.

But in terms of a Council taking responsibility.....it's  a watershed ....long overdue.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...


No Sir. The Treasurer does not know where the training money is going and the Engineer does not know where the water is going and no one knows why we now need renovations of the just completed renovation at the recreation centre.

Our Mayor says run it like a business ... tell the CAO we needed it for last week but since he did not seem to understand that have it on my desk for Monday morning.

Some on council are starting to get the picture and that's a good thing.



Anonymous said...


For calendar year 2014 how many members of staff (total number) received training?

What was the highest cost per person and what was the lowest cost per person?

What was the total cost and then divide this by total number of staff to obtain the average.

This figure may be totally meaningless.

What department had the most members of staff and what department had the fewest members of staff who received training?