Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "An $18million Story Of Stupidity":
Does the Region have its own parks, or are the parks within the Region the sole responsibility of the individual component towns?
Most plants, including trees, will flourish if located properly and managed appropriately.
Does the Region not have on its staff one or more persons who could have provided some criteria for this project?
This appears to be another example of gross incompetence and mismanagement involving the cost to taxpayers of many millions of dollars, not to speak of the lack of trees to soften and enhance a street, a neighbourhood.
The Regional chairman has never been elected by taxpayers so far as I know, rather by Regional Councillors, often unopposed.
Does any of this make sense?
If I wanted to write a note about every piece of government mismanagement municipally, provincially or federally I would need half a dozen stenographers to jot down my thoughts, my voice and appetite would have disintegrated and I would be on the edge of some sort of breakdown.
How do you manage to dish out all this crap so consistently?
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It's not hard "to dish out all this crap so consistently" There's a ready supply . The story about the $18 million dollars worth of waste on planting trees in hostile soil, where they would be splashed with road salt all winter and suffer from drought all summer was written and circulated by the Region's communication department in a media release. The Chairperson was quoted and the Chairman of the committee, the Mayor of Whitchurch- Stouffville They particularly wanted people to know of their responsibility in the matter. Like they are proud of their efforts.
Furthermore, they are going to keep on doing the same thing, except they are putting in a trench of growing soil for new trees, watering them fourteen times a year instead of ten and putting some kind of cap on them so that the water is directed to the roots.
That will mean new watering trucks and a manpower crew.The trees will still be drenched with winter salt,the roots will quickly reach the bad soil and they will continue to waste millions trying to nurture trees in a totally hostile environment.
Because trees are good for the environment dontcha know? All you gotta do is spend millions to get the little suckers to survive adverse conditions and your name will be forever known as a champion of the environment.
Undoubtedly there were experts to advise. The Region does nothing without an army of experts. We know them as consultants. Neither as expert as they should be or simply masquerading for politicians or the high price personnel.
I am simply a channeler. I read or experience the stuff and pass it on. I am like Shirley Valentine. She talked to the kitchen wall and a large black rock on a white sand Greek beach. My wall is Blog. I only know people are reading in a daily average of five hundred and by the occasional comment and the people who wring my hand and make me promise to keep telling them what's going on.
Fact is, I need to keep writing. It keeps me sane. When I fail to convince Councillors, I always have my readers to turn to for solace.
Take Tuesday night, there was the budget and skewed water rates that didn't get fixed and a couple of other dooseys.
A cancer fund raising group had asked council to waive user fees of $650
There is no fee to use the park. Parks are public places. If an organisation plans an event in the park, they need picnic tables and garbage bins and a clean-up before and after. There is a cost.
User fees are not plucked from the sky. We know the hourly rate of manpower and the hourly rate for a truck. User fees are an exact reflection of cost. There is no profit factor. If we do not charge the user, the tax-payer pays the freight.
We pick the pockets of the taxpayers to fill town coffers. We do not have a money mint in the town hall basement.We are bound to use the money for services to the community.It is not our money to hand out as largesse wherever we fancy. like Lady Bountiful.
Council struck the user fee policy aeon's ago in order to assure the community that everyone receives fair and equal treatment There is a grant policy and criteria to determine eligibility.Eighty per cent of the group or organisation must be Aurora based, in order to receive a grant from Aurora funds
The most recent group soliciting a hand-out is an established and successful cancer fund- raising group. They raised $80ks last year and anticipate more this year. But still they seek to cut down on the overheads. They received it before so why not?
It swells their end numbers slightly and the plaudits they receive.
Councillor Thompson has a resolution on record directing staff to prepare a policy to deal with such requests. So that Council will have precedents to lean on when considering requests. He has been publicly commended for his foresight.
This last request was referred to staff to process as a grant.
Staff recommended it be refused. It does not meet the grant criteria.The 80% residential qualification is not met.
Ho! Ho!
Councillor Thompson however solemnly and righteously moved the hand-out be handed out. . He said we should not use grant funds. We should use the Council's discretionary fund instead. As if the money did not still come from the taxpayers' pockets and the group seeking the hand-out were still not from outside Aurora.
He said the picnic tables and garbage bins are just sitting there anyway. They don't cost money.
Six other councillors and the Mayor agreed .Councillor Gaertner
So you see, the municipality can have a policy. It can be clear and succinct. It can calculate to the penny, the cost of providing a service. It 's purpose can be to assure the public of fair and equal and transparent decision making and it can still be set aside for hocus pocus. smoke and mirrors and abrecadabra accompanied by soulful glances, full of compassion.
A whole schmier of histrionics and not an ounce of integrity.
The policy is applied to small groups who don't have much political clout. But not to organisations that get public attention.
It's the kind of thing that earns politics and politicians rancid reputations while they still fondly and sincerely believe, they are being righteous, full of the milk of human kindness and they will win he rewards at the polls as being solely in the interest of the common good except for the people who trusted them to protect their interest.
Like the blockheads at the region, who themselves revealed the facts of their $18million tree planting debacle, they will reap what they sow and I cannot help them or save them from themselves.
So...why should I protect them.
Unlike the Region, people in Aurora do pay attention.
They will have their day.
Thursday 28 April 2011
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1 comment:
Could you list ALL the events/charities to which the town makes a contribution, be it cash, waiver of fees, providing facilities requiring town staff labour/vehicles or any event that doesn't fall within the aforementioned?
Which are charities, which are entertainment and which are something else?
Finally, can you provide the cost to the town for each event, in direct dollars when cheques are issued, in waivers of fees, in labour provided by town staff including use of vehicles, and in any other category you can think of?
This will go a long way to being able to understand the demands made on the town, the problems, and how an appropriate policy might come to be written that is clear and fair to all.
Thank you.
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