"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

Sunday 16 January 2011

Offsite Orientation

We had useful discussion at the off-site orientation held yesterday. I think the location was not far enough from home, not long enough and material presented from the perspective of a Councillor's role and authority was not how I would have planned it.

Knowledge will be acquired as we go forward but it will be slower and harder. A crash course on limits and restraints is always better received and more easily accepted from an outside,impartial expert.

We heard from staff how a budget is constructed.

I had something to say on just about everything. But I'm conscious that mine is a personal political perspective. Every Councillor has to develop their own. An off-site orientation would normally provide some of the tools.

From the cold hard analytical level of finance, it may make sense to levy taxes in 2011 to create reserve funds for replacement of buildings in 2051.

I think the idea is prepostorous.

The Community Centre on Aurora Heights is an example.

The theory is when a facility is completed, depreciation sets in immediately. For planning purposes presented ,estimated life span of a building is forty years.

The community centre is forty-three years old. We paid for it by debenture debt.The same way we buy a house. We had no development charges in those days. The building still stands. Properly maintained,I expect it will for another forty-three years.It was built stronger than Church Street School and that building is still there, more than a hundred years after completion.

Then there's the Illustrious Petch House.

I feel no inclination to pay taxes to-day so that residents forty years from now, can have the funds to build a new community centre at no cost to themselves. Courtesy of people who, by that time, may not live here or anywhere else for that matter.

History of the Hydro Reserve fund was provided. Estimated balance in 2010 is $32.2million.

We used $2.535million for renovation of Church Street School.

The fund has been there five years. Council passed a resolution to make it difficult to spend in dribs and drabs with nothing to show.

That can be changed but I wouldn't vote to change it, unless it was to be used for an important project. We disposed of a substantial asset.We should replace it with a substantial asset. Whatever that might be.

In the meantime,we use the interest for a variety of projects.

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Toronto families can swim and skate free in city facilities.

I would like to be able to provide that.I really mind that families who can't afford to swim or skate have to subsidise families who can afford it.

Statistics provided at the orientation,showed the average family expenditure in Aurora is $124,208.

I find that incredible.But I've always had trouble understanding how people are able to mortgage a $300.K. house and pay what it costs for day care and commuting and all the rest.

We're doing a lot of crystal ball gazing at the provincial and municipal level. We probably spend millions, maybe billions on forecasting all kinds airy-fairy stuff.

I wonder of anybody forecast that Ontario would become a have-not province ten or even five years ago.

2 comments:

Robert the Bruce said...

Can you provide more details as to this statement?

Statistics provided at the orientation,showed the average family expenditure in Aurora is $124,208.

Are you talking about all expeditures? Over what period of time? I'd like to understand what this number is.

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I really mind that families who can't afford to swim or skate have to subsidise families who can afford it.

How are they being subsidized? There is a service, there is a cost. If you can pay the cost you can use the service. If you were to provide free access to all, are you not making those that don't use the service subidize everyone that uses it?

I think that just because Toronto does not charge is not a good reason. Look at where Toronto is fiscally, they need to review all of those things and make common sense prevail.

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I find that incredible.But I've always had trouble understanding how people are able to mortgage a $300.K. house and pay what it costs for day care and commuting and all the rest.

What I find hard to understand is after the mortgage crisis in the US, we still have banks giving young married couples mortgages for a $250,000 house with no money down; allowing them to amortize it over 25 years, not councilling them on bi-weekly payments or extra paydowns; knowing that the couple each have jobs that would garner them maybe $50k/year gross. And then they are surprised when they have to foreclose.

I find that the young people have an "entitlement" mentality that will get them into fiscal chaos if they are not careful.

Fuimus

Anonymous said...

Did ALL councillors attend the offsite orientation?