"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

Thursday 13 January 2011

You Were Asking

Anonymous has left a new comment on my post "Taxes":

Dear Evelyn:

What form of support do you require?

Picks and shovels, sacks and barrows and a mid-sized truck?

Please let us know how we can support and assist you in your quest.

*****

Council are being polled for an all day budget session on Feb 14th. In the past, we have encouraged participation by residents. It usually amounts to people who want something included in the budget.

These things are usually tedious but if enough people were to indicate interest in attending, there may be a format to make the invitation to participate meaningful.

Half a dozen members of council have not had the experience of budget deliberations before so that puts them on a par with the rest of the community.

It's a long day, from nine until four in the afternoon. I think it's too long to be crunching figures. But we are late starting. Like four months late.

Lunch is usually provided which means there's a break.

If any citizen wanted to spend the whole day with us, I think we should spring for lunch.

I have no idea of a workable format myself. It might not be feasible.But I think it's worth talking about. At the public forum of council or in an e-mail or in conversation with your favourite councillor. At this point, everybody has an open mind and anxious to do the job best we can.

Which could mean trying something different.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Picks and shovels??

Maybe what we need is carpenters to build gallows. That was we can hang the previous council for all of the crimes against the good people of this town.

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe you would allow a comment suggesting former councillors should be killed. (Not to mention it accuses them of criminal acts.)

The political violence that just happened in Arizona makes it even more troubling.

I hope this threat is forwarded to the police so you can finally be held accountable for your disgraceful behaviour.

Elizabeth Bishenden said...

I think that Councillors need to have a chance to think about the various proposals, as well as the way the community expresses what it values.

I'd also like Councillors to see what happens when the budget proposals are taken back to their departments/boards/committees for reconsideration with a goal in mind.

I'd note that while many on Council have not seen a full Town budget come to fruition, many of them are very familiar with the process of setting a budget for an organization.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous - 01/14/11 4:44pm


Phyllis? Is that you?